Dark Facade (Book One) (Dark Facade Series)

by Hubbard, Sylvia

  There was no answer and she proceeded down a long dim hallway. At the end of this hallway was another door that led into the next room, which was a large ballroom, but she could only see this from the light of the kitchen because this room contained no windows. It was pitch black, but as she stood there letting her eyes get use to the darkness, she was positive she saw an open doorway beyond the ballroom. She knew if she walked there, she would be blind to see if there was anyone there.

  “Hello!” she called out again.

  Still no answer. In disappointment, she turned to leave, but heard a movement to her left in the darkness, and something moved suddenly to the right of her.

  “Black Bitch!” someone sneered behind her.

  Turning to the voice, which was right in her ear, she was greeted with instant painful blackness.

  *****

  An awful stench greeted her nose as Maxine came awake. It smelled like hot body funk and stale corn chips.

  “There ya go, purdy,” a voice that sounded like it was filled with flam gurgled above her, but she couldn’t see the face.

  Maxine was awake, but she couldn’t see anything. Something was over her eyes. “Kidnapping is a federal offense!” she seethed, trying to feel out her own body quickly. Had something been done to her while she was asleep?

  The back of her head throbbed. Her wrist and ankles were secured and she was practically hog tied on the floor. Her clothes were still on and she didn’t feel any other pain in her body other than the back of her head.

  “Who is she?” someone whispered very quietly far away.

  “A nosey ass bitch! She ain’t got no chain on so she ain’t got no rights here.” someone else with a slightly deeper voice said. “I should hit her ass again for breaking and entering.”

  “Shut yer mouth,” the first male growled.

  “I was looking for Lisa Tate,” she said desperately.

  “Who?” the first man asked.

  “Lisa Tate. She’s black, twenty-nine, five foot two, real skinny with short hair like Halle Berry.”

  “Lisa don’t look like no Halle Berry,” the third man snickered.

  “Shut yer mouth!” the first man sneered at the third man.

  Were they going to kill her? Maxine desperately wondered.

  With her eyes covered, her other senses were heightened and she was almost breaking her neck to direct her head wherever she heard noises. Lying on the ground, noises seemed to come from every direction.

  The room had gotten quiet and suddenly she felt a hand on her stomach. Screaming she tried to roll away and then another hand touched her thigh. Someone snickered wickedly amused by her terrified state.

  “We gonna do something?” the third man asked, with what could be the same thing Maxine was thinking.

  “No!” the second man said. “Just put her out. She’s had enough scare. She won’t be coming back here if she knows what’s good for her.”

  “Should we tell’em?” the third one asked.

  “No and hurry it up before everyone arrives for the meeting. Last thing I want is more questions from outsiders,” the second ordered. “Plus you guys know the rules. We aren’t to be seen.”

  Footsteps walked away and then someone grabbed her arm, cut all the ropes off and helped Maxine to her feet. She whimpered worriedly as she was helped down some steps. In her blindness, she tripped, but the person helping her was patient and then she was slightly pushed forward.

  “Please don’t kill me!” Maxine cried terrified.

  “You just stay away from places you haven’t been invited to, gurlie,” the first man sneered.

  “Yeah,” the third one said. He was closer to her. “Or you might not be so lucky next time.”

  Her hair was yanked slightly as the blindfold was snatched off and then a door slammed behind her.

  She was back out in the parking lot behind the building and this time the door was locked. Her purse was at her feet.

  Quickly grabbing it up, she ran to her car. Her keys were in the purse and she fumbled at the lock trying to get the key in, but when she did, she didn’t hesitate to take off.

  When she was a safe distance away, she looked in her purse. Everything was there even her money and credit cards except her digital camera and the invitation. Her head still pounded and she knew she just needed to get home.

  Still worried about Lisa, she drove back to her co-worker’s home. The lights were on and Lisa’s car was parked in the driveway. Getting out, Maxine went up to the door and knocked hard.

  The door opened suddenly and Lisa stood there looking like she had been having a good time. Her eyes were slightly glazed and Maxine figured she had been drinking quite heavily because she reeked of alcohol. Loud rock music played that hurt Maxine’s ears and she had to actually repeat her question twice at the top of her voice in order for Lisa to hear her.

  “Where have you been?!” Maxine demanded to know.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Lisa slurred and burped very unladylike.

  “Who the hell is that at the door?!” someone bellowed from the back of Lisa’s house, but didn’t show their face.

  Lisa covered Maxine’s mouth and this look of terror crossed her features. Whispering, Lisa hissed, “Just go, Max! Please.” There was this petrified look on her face.

  Maxine slowly stepped away from the door and watched as Lisa closed the door and then the curtains.

  Even more confused, Maxine got in her car and drove home. That was the last time she would worry over Lisa. Very last!

  What the hell happened to her?!

  CHAPTER 3

  His thick tongue swirled around her clitoris causing her hips to buck. She gasped running her fingers through the soft dark soft brown hair with a significant length and grinding her hips against his mouth. He suckled her vulva, lapping her juices in his mouth loudly and then tongue fucking her rapidly until-

  Screaming in passion, this time Maxine jumped up from the bed as if the devil had been there.

  When she was assured she was alone in her one bedroom apartment, she fell to the floor. Her legs were quivering from the near orgasm she had been about to have. Feeling under her nightgown, she felt her juices soaking her underwear. Taking them off, she tossed them in the hamper. Even without the light on in the room, she knew where everything was.

  After getting a new pair of panties and a long drink of cold water, Maxine crawled back in bed. She couldn’t sleep right without thinking about that mysterious man on Lisa’s computer screen and she couldn’t close her eyes without thinking something was just not right with Lisa.

  After tossing and turning for a while, Maxine got out of bed and wrote down some notes:

  Detroit Masquerade

  Masks

  Three men (maybe 2 black & 1 white)

  Underneath this, she indented and wrote:

   older man, talk with slang and smelled bad (black)

   young man, a bully and mean (knows Lisa for sure) (black)

   ?? man; quiet; leader? (white)

  Maxine looked at the list and went over to the computer and got on the Internet. Going to a search engine, she typed in: Detroit Masquerade. Nothing came up except silly sights about dressing up and elaborated charity balls that took place around the Metro Detroit area. Nothing mentioned the Milwaukee address, but Maxine had a feeling something would connect her back to the building.

  Going back to the search engines main page, she just stared at the screen until she realized that she was looking at the options that the search engine offered and one of them was groups. Clicking in there, she typed in the groups search engine: Detroit Masquerade. Taking a chance, she selected the Google option “I’m Feeling Lucky.”

  The screen paused for a moment and then a beautiful African American woman came up on the screen leaning over a chair wearing a white thong and four inch black heels. At her feet was a gold masque. Maxine couldn’t see her face and there was nothing to indicate the woman had been
forced to bend over the chair like that.

  Beside the picture, Maxine read the intro:

  Welcum to Detroit Masquerade. Your journey begins now as you find your true calling in this world; Where YOU are supposed to be. Join us and play in the fun of finding the truth.

  There was a spot for members to click on and if you were a new member, she had to click on another box, which she did. Another screen came up asking her to input her information.

  Maxine wasn’t sure what she was getting into, so she used a dummy email address that she kept just in case she didn’t want to be contacted or known. At the end, instructions requested her to send in a photo of herself for further approval. Once her form and picture were given to the moderator of the group, she would be considered for membership.

  Maxine found her other digital camera in her cabinet. She combed her hair down and to the front of her face to partially cover it up and put on some makeup. Holding up the camera, she made sure her robe was partially opened and flashed the picture. Uploading it into the computer, she looked a bit too sultry, but it was the middle of the night, so what did they expect.

  She knew the approval process might take a day or so, so she tried to see what else was out there on the sites and were there other sites that were linked to this website that might tell her what this one was all about.

  Yet, with her not being a member, most of the things she clicked on, led her to a screen that asked for her membership name and number. Oddly, the link that went away from the page was all the way at the bottom and it must have been some weird mistake that led her to an old spiritual page about how black slaves were raped, tortured or subdued to their white slave masters back in the day of slavery. How these women bore mixed children gladly for their masters and catered to them hand and foot for the rest of their lives. How these women were often shared even by the master to his guest and how they would forsake everything to please their master.

  Maxine thought it was a bunch of drivel what would be allowed on the Internet from crazies, but it was one of the last places in the world for free expression.

  Yawning, she laid back down in bed reminding herself to check it out in the morning. For some reason, she was able to sleep for the rest of the night.

  *****

  After having her coffee the next morning, Maxine checked her bogus email and was surprised to see that she had gained approval for admission into the group, yet this didn’t seem like an ordinary group.

  Before step two of your acceptance can be accomplished, the moderator of this group requires more information from you. Below are questions we would need you to fill out. Please reply to this email address with your answers and all your contact information within six hours.

  Your age and month you were born

  Brief description of yourself?

  What were your reasons for joining our group?

  What do you hope to expect from our group?

  Last time you received a physical? Results?

  Would you consider yourself social active or a homebody?

  What are your experiences with men? (Great, Good, Bad, Terrible)

  What are your preferences with men, when it comes to color?

  What is your home address and phone number?

  Would you be willing to fly out of town on moment’s notice or with some prior notice for the group?

  Name up to five things that you do as rewards for yourself.

  Name up to five things you hate to do

  What do you treasure most of all?

  The highest level of college you completed.

  Are your parents alive or dead?

  How many siblings do you have?

  The closest person in your life?

  Are you married or involved with someone?

  When did you lose your virginity?

  Would you rate yourself a beginner, intermediate, or advance lover?

  Who referred you to this group?

  The questions were rather weird. It was as if she was applying for a job of some type where her personal life was very involved. Printing the questions off to think about the answers on the way to work, she grabbed her travel mug and headed to her car.

  There was a small envelope under her windshield wipers with her name on it and she opened it after she had pull out the driveway.

  Dear Max, I’m not coming to work today. Please don’t worry about me. I just need some time to myself. I’ll make sure you don’t have to lie anymore for me. I’ll make it all right. Don’t call me and don’t try to get in touch with me or come by the house because I won’t be there. I’ve found something that I need to take care of. I love you and I’ll miss you. Lisa.

  Maxine read off the laser jet printed letter twice and then put it in her purse. Lisa hadn’t even taken the time to sign the letter.

  Glancing over the questions again, she had to wonder if this really did have something to do with Lisa.

  Remembering the time they had first met, Lisa had been going through a horrible divorce. She had moved from Chicago to Detroit just to get away. Max had been working in the basement of another advertising firm with no chance of advancement and was hired for the great artistry she was able to produce on the computer.

  They were both alone in the world and had no one but each other. Other people Lisa hung out at the clubs with were more associates than friends. Lisa had family, but her ex-husband had driven basically everyone away and they all lived in California.

  Maxine was adopted twice. She had never really known her parents and the second couple who adopted her died, while Max had gone to Central University on a scholarship. She came back home, buried her adopted parents and went back to school. Never having anyone close to her seemed to make her focus.

  That along with never really being able to have a relationship with men, made it very lonely. After college, she had become extremely shy and didn’t know how to relate to the opposite sex anymore. Most men were forward and when she wasn’t ready, they were. Since college, her sexual relationships were few and far between. Yet, all of them were unsatisfying to her because she knew in the end they would leave, just like everyone else in her life.

  Her fear of being in control usually drove everyone away, all except Lisa, but that was only because they worked together. Lisa had to come to work and maybe Lisa didn’t think she was that close to Maxine, but Maxine felt that Lisa was the only current constant in her life and without her she would absolutely be nothing in this world.

  Maxine never really told Lisa how much her friendship meant to her, yet now with the knowledge Lisa wasn’t trying to be around anywhere, Maxine wished she had told Lisa about her feelings.

  Although Maxine had never considered suicide, she didn’t know what she would do without knowing that there was no one out there who actually cared whether she lived or died.

  Her cell phone rung just as she was ten minutes away from downtown. Hoping it was Lisa, she answered it.

  “No, it’s not Lisa,” Gerald Moss said.

  Sighing in disappointment, she said, “Isn’t it kind of early to bug someone, Gerald?”

  “Never too early to think about sex, Maxine. You still cold as ever?” he sneered sarcastically.

  “You still lame as ever?” she bit back.

  Gerald had worked with her at her last job. She had thought he loved her and was going to eventually marry her until she found out he was already married. For a long while she didn’t want to be near him; Even after she found out about the divorce a year later.

  Gerald had been the first guy she had opened up to in a while; Even going so far as to tell him about her life before college so he could understand her current “shyness.” He usually used that against her now and Maxine hated him for that, plus after breaking up with Gerald, she promised she wouldn’t let another man know her past ever again.

  With his new found relationship freedom, Gerald felt he now could start calling her again, which he did every once in a while just to see if he could get b
ack between her legs.

  Maxine wasn’t having any part of him anymore, especially between her legs. Yet, her loneliness drove her to accept his calls and put up with his smart-ass remarks because there was no other man pestering her like this.

  “Come on, Max. I know your ass haven’t had dick since I was fucking you. That was three years ago. You have got to get off your high ass horse and come down to the real world. Don’t nobody want you, but me, so you might as well settle and let me in.”

  This was an awful thing to say and worst of all it was true, but Maxine had her pride and she wasn’t going to give in to Gerald.

  Lying, she said, “Matter of fact, Gerald, I met this great guy who’s a great lover.”

  “Who?” he asked possessively. “Do I know him?”

  Flustering, she said the first thing she could think of, “He’s white! You don’t know him. He’s got these great eyes and beautiful smile.”

  Gerald cackled. “No white man is ever going to like you, Maxine. The only way you’re going to get a white guy to fuck you is in your dreams.”

  She hung up the phone on him and fought the tears that welled up in her eyes. Damn him for being right! Damn him!

  CHAPTER 4

  Composing herself before getting to work, she walked through the office shielding her emotions perfectly letting no one know what was going on inside of her head. On one hand all she could think about was Lisa and then the cruel remarks of Gerald, but a cloud of lust circled throughout each thought about the man that seemed to take over every nook and cranny of her mind.

  Once the door to her office was closed, she checked the time to see she had time before really get down to work, but she needed to also get in the questions before the requested time. According to the clock, she had three hours to turn in her questions. As she sat at her desk, she pulled up her email account and hit reply on the screen. She had to answer these questions, but she wasn’t even sure what this group was about.

  There were too many questions running around her head about the group was all about and if her application wasn’t approved, what would be the alternative to infiltrate to see what they were doing to Lisa? And if she did get accepted? The worry really started to make her nervous.