Saving Della-Ray

by Le Carre, Georgia

  Just then, a sudden shout came from above. All our heads shot up to the ceiling towards the thundering of footsteps.

  Snake’s gaze immediately connected with mine. “Go!” he commanded.

  I turned to Volt to come with me.

  We hurried up the stairs to retrieve the guns that we had surrendered. I quickly found mine while Volt did the same and we rushed towards the front to see two of the Mexicans crouching and peeping through the window.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Rose turned to me, fear in his eyes. “The cops are here. They’ve fucking surrounded the building. How the hell did this fucking happen?”

  “Remain calm,” I said to him.

  “How the fuck are we going to get out of here?” he shouted.

  I could see that the entire house was surrounded by almost a dozen Dallas police cars, if not more. They were all stationed out of their cars, their guns at the ready. I gave Rose the only answer that would be suitable, “It’s going to get bloody.”

  “Fuck!” he screamed.

  I hurried back down to the basement to inform the rest of the men of the situation.

  Panic instantly broke out.

  “What the fuck!” RJ’s cousin Marcus turned to Snake in fury. “Did you fucking do this?”

  Snake was immediately triggered. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “Then how the fuck is this happening?” Marcus asked. “We only sent you this location an hour ago, so how the fuck is this happening?”

  “You got a fucking snitch in your nest?” one of the Mexicans screamed.

  Another of his companions spat, “RJ, what the fuck is this?”

  RJ’s hands were on his head. He looked doomed. I had never seen him so quiet as he shook his head, wide-eyed with confusion. “I c-can’t understand.”

  “We need to figure out how to get out of here,” Snake said, his voice cold and measured as usual.

  “Should we surrender?” I asked.

  They all looked at me like I was insane, the previous suspicion of my loyalty flashing across their eyes, but in that moment they had bigger fish to fry. Mainly how to get out of this death trap alive.

  “We don’t have that much ice in here,” I explained. “Perhaps the cash would be the biggest problem.”

  “With this much cash present, they’ll be on the fucking look out for the rest of the shipment. We’re going to fucking lose everything,” Tyler said.

  “We can burn the money,” I suggested. “Without that, they’ve got nothing.”

  The room was silent as everyone contemplated my suggestion. They knew it was our only hope. Suddenly, Skippy flew down the stairs. “They’re advancing!” he cried. “We need to get out of here.”

  We all exchanged looks with Snake, but it was the Mexican gang’s boss who made the call, “I’m not getting arrested. I either walk out of here on my own two feet or as a corpse.”

  That ended any debate we could have had.

  Snake stepped forward and we all headed upstairs. From the window, we assessed the situation.

  Tyler straightened and said, “We need a hostage and it has to be someone big.”

  I studied the area and knew exactly who to point to. “Him,” I responded, the sheriff at the back who was on the phone. “He seems to be the one in charge.”

  “We might not be able to get to him,” said one of the Mexican dealers. “Any one of them is just as good. The moment someone gets out here and just before you’re arrested, disarm someone and place the gun to his head.”

  “That’s fucking risky,” Snake said. “They might—”

  “It won’t be,” Marcus countered. “We’ll attack from here. Which of your men have clear shots? We’ll use that to startle them before they put him in handcuffs. From this distance, they can’t fucking miss.”

  The room went quiet. A few seconds later, it was broken by Tyler as he cocked the gun in his hand. “I won’t miss,” he said with steel resolve in his eyes.

  “Neither would most of us here. The real question is who’s going to take the risk and go fight for a chance for the rest of us?”

  The room went even more silent, the only sound was the loudspeaker outside commanding us all to step out in surrender.

  Suddenly the last voice I wanted to hear spoke up, “I’ll go.”

  We all turned to RJ.

  “I set this up in the first place, I’ll be the one to end it.”

  Tyler immediately retaliated. “I’m not fucking putting my life in the hands of a madman like you.”

  “So what the fuck are we going to do then?” RJ roared.

  Tyler pointed the gun at him. “Just fucking stay put. If you’re itching for a bullet through your head I can help you out with that, but not at the risk of the only shot we might have of getting out of here.”

  The room went silent again.

  “If we mess it up this once, they won’t fall for it again,” Marcus said.

  “I’ll go,” Snake suddenly announced pulling his jean jacket off his shoulders.

  I wasn't surprised. I kinda knew he would step up, but I was ready for him. “No. You’re too important to our club. Without the head, the snake doesn’t live to fight another day. I’ll go.”

  The room went silent at my declaration. I cocked my gun in preparation. No one else would care enough to stop me since I was offering, but the quiet grief over my safety filled the room.

  “You might not make it,” Snake said quietly.

  I tucked the gun behind me into the waistband of my jeans. “Well, someone has to go,” was my response. “I’ll hold onto one of them for as long as I can. Make sure that you’re all able to take them.”

  “Stay alive,” Skippy said. “They’ll arrest you but we’ll be able to get you out. Just make sure to stay alive.”

  With one last look at the men, whose world I had lived in for the last two years, I pulled the door open and with my hands in the air I stepped out towards the barrage of law enforcement officials awaiting me.

  Della Ray

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmTiK9jp970

  -there’s a calm before the storm-

  I was halfway through the first coat of shell pink polish on my right hand, when my phone began to ring. I was ready to ignore it, but when I saw that it was Nichole, I leaned over and tapped the call through. “Hey.”

  “Where are you?” she asked, her tone grim.

  “Home. I just put Jess to bed. We left pizza for you. Where are you?”

  “Sorry I couldn’t come back on time to help you with Jess.”

  “It’s okay. I don’t start back at the Sinkhole until tomorrow.”

  “Are you in the living room? Is the television on?”

  My brows furrowed at her strange questions. “No,” I replied. “I’m in my room. Why?”

  “Nothing,” she responded. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Are you okay?” I asked again.

  “Of course. We’ll talk when I get back. Bye.”

  “Okaaaaaay,” I responded and wondered at her strange tone. I went over to the living room and switched on the television. The news channel was on, but it was on a commercial break.

  Before I could pay much attention however, there was a knock on the door. It was hard and immediately made me ill at ease. I went over to it and took a peek through the peephole, but saw no one. I waited, as uneasy feeling trickled down my spine. I had ordered some new shoes for Jess, but a delivery at this time? My hand reached out to lock it, when the door flew open. I fell back with a scream and Michael loomed over me. There was a sick leer on his face, but there was something different about it. It was as if he knew something I didn’t. I was afraid, but I wouldn’t show him. Nichole would be here anytime.

  There wasn’t much he could do to me.

  “You’re here again?” I spat. “How can you have absolutely no self-respect? I told you the next time—”

  With his hand to my chest, he pushed me into the house.

/>   I staggered back, losing my footing and landing on my ass painfully. Now, I was really afraid.

  He looked around. “You haven’t heard, have you?”

  I was stunned and very afraid. I began to peel myself off the floor.

  “Bone is dead!” he announced.

  Everything in me stilled. The strength left my bones, and I collapsed back on the floor. My voice was a whisper. “What?”

  He linked his hands together to watch me, and I suddenly realized why he came here. To watch me spectacularly fall apart.

  He turned towards the television that I had put on, but had not yet paid attention to. They had returned from their commercial break and the red breaking news strip lined the screen. I listened to the broadcaster, her face not particularly registering, but her words striking every single chord in my shocked heart.

  She was discussing with another guest about the bust of more than 3500 pounds of meth hidden in tomato crates heading across the state, discovered through the interception of the dealings between the Mexican cartel and the outlaw biker club based in the picturesque town of Arnault.

  They had tried to escape, with the now deceased member simply known as Bone holding an officer at gunpoint, but the officials had been able to quickly disarm him and in the confusion, he had been killed. All the culprits were now in custody with many wounded from the resulting vehicle crashes.

  Thus far, only one death had been recorded and it was the one that chased my soul out of my body.

  I turned to Michael, who was watching me intently.

  “I’ve seen it,” I replied woodenly. “Could you please leave now?”

  His laughter was haunting. “Not on your life.”

  Della Ray

  I left without making a fuss because Michael asked me whether I wanted to go with him alone or would I need to take Jess with us. She was the perfect bargaining chip for my submission.

  He seemed quite disappointed at how easily I had given in, but at this point rather than panic, my brain seemed to have shut down. Instead, I could only look on and regard everything with a numb emptiness. I didn’t even feel pain at Gage’s death. That would come later.

  Three men were waiting for me outside the black van parked in front of the house. I knew then that I was in deep trouble. This was not a little revenge planned and executed by Michael. This was club business.

  Never mind, at least I would be getting away from Jess first and then I would figure out the rest once she was out of the equation. I was bundled into the back and the doors were shut. There was nothing in there, except some old pieces of cardboard. I sat on them and let my eyes get used to the darkness.

  We drove through the night, much farther than I had expected. A couple of hours later or perhaps it only felt that way to me, and we arrived at a cabin in the middle of nowhere. The doors opened and the only thing I could see all around was shrubbery. Behind them, tall giant trees hid the cabin from the rest of the world. It felt like we had travelled to the ends of the world. There would be no one here to save me.

  I wondered then if this was where it would all end for me.

  Was I being punished for my relationship with Gage? Well, if I was, I would have done it all again. It was worth it. No matter what happened now. It was worth it.

  “Move!” One of the three men pushed me forward and I stumbled into the cabin. I heard one of them say something to the others and it was followed by laughter that howled into the night. They wouldn’t dare do this if Gage were alive.

  I felt my chest constrict with the first cry of despair, but I refused to think about him. A plethora of horrible emotions were bubbling up inside me. The worst of them was anger. Such anger at him that I wanted to destroy everything in my sight. I would never forgive him. I told him. I told him to walk away. Did he listen? No, he had to go and die.

  And all for what?

  Bastard. How could he leave me to suffer this?

  I was thrown into a room like a captured animal and the door was locked behind me. I had seen from a small oil lamp set, which they took away with them that the room was small and there was a window, but it was nailed shut with planks. I didn’t bother looking for a main switch. I knew without looking there would be none. In the darkness, I prayed for the sun to quickly rise so some light might come into the room. I sat on the bed, and waited for my eyes to get used to the dark. Then I began to scan the space for anything I could use as a weapon.

  A few hours passed, and through a small slit in the wood, I could see the new day had arrived. By now, Nichole would have realized that something was terribly wrong. I had never once disappeared without telling her where I was going. Maybe she would call the police, but they wouldn’t do anything until forty-eight hours passed. So, I couldn’t put too much hope that anything was going to happen that way.

  A few more hours must have passed before the door was pushed open and I looked up to see Michael had appeared bringing with him his nauseating scent of tobacco and alcohol and a wooden chair. His grin was wide and smug.

  It made me sick to my stomach. I knew he had brought me here to break me and rape me, maybe even gang rape me with all his friends, but I refused to cower or to be intimidated by him. Even if it all ended in my death, he would never get an ounce of whatever satisfaction he sought from me. I would never beg him to spare me. I was ready to die without giving in to him.

  “I can see you’re deep in thought,” he said confidently as he dragged the wooden chair with him and set it in front of me. “I hope I'm in there somewhere.” He sat on the chair and leaned forward to stare into my eyes. “For once. Granted, it’s not under the best of circumstances but hey, I’ll take it.” He reached forward to brush my hair out of my eyes.

  For a moment, I thought that I’d let him to show him how little he meant to me, but the very thought made my skin shrivel up. I jerked back as his fingers brushed my skin.

  “You’re fucking beautiful,” he said, leaning back. “Too beautiful for your own good. Maybe it made you stupid, otherwise how else would you have been with a fucker like Bone?” He suddenly swung forward and yanked on my hair.

  A wince escaped my lips at the pain.

  “You’ve humiliated me quite grandly in the past,” he said, tightening his grip. He kept pulling and pulling until my face was positioned in front of his smelly crotch. “Now is the time to pay for it.”

  When I immediately lifted my head, he struck a blow across my face that was so hard I saw flashes before my eyes. Tears misted in my eyes, but I shut my lids and ordered them away. I thought of how they had tortured Gage and he never once cracked. I used him as my model. I would be strong like him.

  He began to unbutton his jeans then lowered his underwear and his cock sprung out of his jeans. Grabbing my hair, he dragged me so I was stuck between his legs. “Now,” he said, his voice thick with lust. “You can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either you suck my cock like a good girl or I knock out every tooth you have and you still have to suck my cock. Only difference is you’ll be eating baby food for the rest of your life. You decide.”

  I gazed at the already hardened cock and lifted my haunted gaze to his. I spat on his face and gave my response. “Over my dead body.”

  At the sudden attack, he wiped the saliva off his face and gave me a look that froze my soul over. He rose to his feet and grabbed my hair roughly. From then on, I wasn’t even sure what happened. I felt my feet leave the floor and then my body crashed down as I was thrown to the ground like a ragdoll.

  The breath was knocked out of me and I lay there gasping like a stranded fish, but he wasn't finished. He tossed me onto my back in fury and sat on my face. I thrashed my head about like someone possessed and tried screaming at the top of my lungs as I fought with all my might to get him off me, but all that came out of my mouth was a muffled sound.

  I stopped struggling and let my limbs go limp.

  He raised his crotch from my face.

  “All right. All right. You win. We’
ll do it your way,” I said.

  “I knew you’d see the light.” He shoved his cock into my mouth.

  I almost choked at the disgusting intrusion. When it was all the way down I bit down as hard as I could, determined to cut it off. His roar was agonized enough to wake the dead. He began to pummel my head with blows. I heard the thundering of footsteps then the door flung open. Three men had come to his rescue. I could feel the salty taste of blood run down my throat. The sensation of drinking his blood was so disgusting I opened my mouth to spit it out.

  He was pulled up and rushed away from the room.

  A fist pummeled into my jaw and blood spewed from my mouth.

  “Fucking bitch,” one of the men hurled over his shoulder as they left the room.

  I crawled away to one corner of the room. It felt as though my face had been struck in a thousand ways and I didn’t know if my nose had been broken. I spat out blood and using my pajama top, I wiped his blood from my face and mouth.

  To my surprise, none of them came back for more freak show hour from me.

  Della Ray

  “Are you ready?” asked Joel Lee, the detective that I had become quite familiar with over the last six hours.

  I looked up from my coffee cup. “I am.” I rose to my feet and followed him.

  The Dallas Police department was bustling with activity, officers, detectives and staff. All hurrying from place to place, as they handled a seemingly endless stream of offenders.

  Outside, an irritating mob of press was camped, hoping for any juicy bit of an update from the bust earlier in the day so they could breathlessly update their networks with it. To all I was still proclaimed as dead and it was to remain that way.

  “I suppose you’ll never want to hear of Arnault again?”