by Brook Wilder
As I sped back to The Valley, Piper was all I could think about. In my mind, I’d knock on her door, she’d see me, the joyful, Hollywood music would suddenly start playing and she’d jump into my arms. At least, that was the plan.
There was only a little daylight left when I got to her apartment. I bounded up the stairs and knocked. Nothing. I knocked louder and tried the door. It was locked. Surely she hadn’t gone to work, back to that fucking place, after last night? They only thing I could do was go and find out. I got back on my motorcycle and headed over there, a completely different and far less uplifting scenario playing itself out in my head.
CHAPTER 11: Piper
I hauled my ass back to Madam X’s. By that time, thankfully, I was feeling practically nothing. I was numb. I walked in through the side doors in a daze. I barely registered Anna, beckoning me into the break room, but I followed her there anyway.
“Darling,” she said, almost whispering, “You’ve had your fun now, I hope, but it’s time you grew up. You need to face facts. I just can’t turn down this deal with Vinnie.”
“I know,” I muttered.
“I don’t think you do, Piper,” she said more urgently. “I couldn’t turn down this deal if I wanted to, do you understand?” I nodded slowly. I was beginning to understand now that Anna was as trapped by Vinnie and his connections as I was about to be “And be clear on this; if he ever hears about you even going near Theo again, I guarantee Theo won’t survive another day.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I told her, “I’ve made my choice.”
“Good girl,” replied Anna. I thought I spotted a hint of regret around her normally uncaring eyes, but decided I was imagining it. “Now get ready, Vinnie’s already here for his Monday session with you. You should get upstairs.”
I swallowed and headed off to meet my fate.
***
Approaching the door to Vinnie’s usual room normally filled me with dread, the long walk there always give time for beads of sweat to break out on my back, for my mouth to go dry and my knees to start shaking. Only today, I just didn’t care. I reached the door, took a breath and put on my game face. My fake, fun smiles and cheery eyes never failed to make my clients believe I’d been holding my breath for him to come back and see me.
“Hey, baby,” I sang as I breezed in. Vinnie was there, tall and broad in his dark suit. He smiled as his eyes traveled up and down my body. A movement drew my eyes away from him to one of his goons standing in the corner. This was unusual. I heard the door close behind me and felt strong hands on my shoulder and arm. Another of his mobsters had appeared behind me and was now marching me to the soft green armchair in front of his boss. As usual, the whole room had this tropical feel to it, with lots of artificial sunlight, palm fronds everywhere, and a pleasant water feature in the middle of the west wall. Aside from the armchairs, one of which I had been sat in, were recliners, cushioned wicker benches, and a four poster bed fashioned from bamboo in the furthest corner from the door. In nearly a year, Vinnie had never had me on that bed.
“Stay seated, Miss,” growled Vinnie’s man. These weren’t the same guys that pulled their guns on Theo the other day, these were new guys.
“Vinnie, baby,” I kept smiling at the guard as I spoke, “we talked about this. Whether they join in or just watch, each extra guy doubles the price, remember?”
“Don’t worry about that right now, beautiful,” replied Vinnie. His voice was a low, dangerous sneer. If I gave a single, solitary fuck about myself right now, I would have been nervous. I’d seen him like this a few times and it had always meant a harder time for me. I figured, though, I should get a little more accustomed to the pain. The way I felt about myself at that moment, I might even start to enjoy it.
“It’s your money,” I smiled, turning my face back towards him. “So, what’s your pleasure today?” I parted my legs, lifting one foot up onto the chair, exposing my bare pussy to him.
He walked slowly towards me. I drew in a soft breath as his fingers tickled their way down my thigh. When his hand reached my knee, he unbent it and gently lowered my leg back to the floor. I just kept smiling, giving him control. It was the easiest way to get through these sessions, just let him do what he wanted until he exhausted himself. He rarely hit me anymore. It provoked complaints from Anna and, anyway, he was more into less obvious ways of hurting me. He liked to bend my arms or legs uncomfortably, try large and unusual objects and devices in me, choke me, humiliate me. The worst time I remembered, he bent me over the bathtub and held my head underwater as he took me anally, letting me up to snatch some air each time I thought I was going to drown. For two hours straight, until he finally came in my ass as I was about to pass out.
He held out his hands for mine but, as I reached for him, he grabbed my wrists tightly. I let out a small shriek of surprise but kept up my smile.
“Don’t I treat you good?” he asked me, sounding hurt. The pressure on my arms forced me to stand up.
“Sure you do, baby,” I reassured him. If I told him he was hurting me, it would only turn him on more.
“Then why do you want to hurt me?” he whined. “Madam X says you didn’t want to come and be with me.”
“I made a mistake, baby. I do, now.”
“She says you tried to run, that you were thinking of running again,” he hissed through clenched teeth. Yeah, today was going to hurt bad. “She told me you were out with that biker last night. Did you fuck him?”
“Vinnie, baby, you know I sleep with other clients.” I pleaded. “Until your deal is done, I have to.”
“But you don’t have to go out and have fun with a pretty biker you barely know,” he roared, shaking me by the wrists until I fell back into the chair. He turned and stomped away from me. “I think you need to be reminded of what can happen to girls who run. Reminded of what could happen if you run from me.”
Vinnie snapped his fingers and I saw the guy in the corner heave out a long duffle bag. He slid it towards Vinnie. It was clearly heavy but it slid well along the smooth, tiled floor. Vinnie looked at me over his shoulder and gave me a grin so evil, it made my blood run cold. I had a feeling I knew what was in the bag and prayed I was wrong. I was scared now. Not for myself, I still didn’t care about me, but I was terrified of what Vinnie was about to show me. The big mobster bent down, unzipped the bag and stood right back up. Being held upright by the neck, in his huge hand, was April.
Horror silenced me. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think, just stare. Her long dark hair was limp and straggly, her waif-like body naked and bruised. Her hands were bound behind her back and the black tape over her eyes and mouth made it difficult to see her face, but it was her. And she was conscious, struggling to hyperventilate through her nose as Vinnie kept her standing.
“She ran,” he hissed, his face so close to her ear that the words made her scream and jump. “We found her the day before yesterday, after your little boyfriend got wise with me. As you can imagine, Rico and Pauley were pretty distressed by your hero’s threatening behavior. So I let them have April here, for a while, to make them feel better.”
I was shaking as he spoke. I could only imagine the suffering she’d been through over the last forty-eight hours. And it wasn’t over. Now, she was being tortured, made an example to me. I felt the tears roll down my face and I only hoped they had enough mercy in their hearts to kill her after this mental and emotional trauma. It would be cruel to force her to go on living.
“Don’t cry, beautiful,” Vinnie mocked me. Too fast for my eyes to follow he delivered an accurate and brutal jab to April’s skinny stomach. The tiny girl silently doubled over in pain and fell to her knees.
“Please, Vinnie,” I cried. “I’ll never leave you. I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt her anymore.”
Vinnie got down on his knees at April’s head. He crouched right down, putting his face level with hers, reached out and quickly tore the tape off her mouth. She yelped, coughed, and
then just fell forward onto her face, quietly panting. Vinnie straightened up and undid his belt. He loosened his pants and they hit the floor, revealing his fat, erect cock. April must have heard his pants drop because she started whimpering. “Oh God, Vinnie,” I sobbed, “please don’t.”
“It’s okay, beautiful,” he whispered, to which of us I don’t know, “we’re just getting started.”
Roughly, he grabbed April’s nose, pinching it between thumb and forefinger, and raised her head up. April gasped and hurried to draw breath through her open mouth. Vinnie turned to me and smiled, before forcing himself into that same open mouth, his smile widening as her desperate, muffled screams grew louder.
CHAPTER 12: Theo
I rode up to Madam X’s. Sure enough, there was Piper’s car in the parking lot. What made me feel worse, though, was the sight of a big black Mercedes pulling away from the club. Vinnie had been here. I tried to remain calm. Maybe he’d had a business meeting with Anna, or been to see one of the other girls. I successfully managed to lie to myself all the way up to the side door.
I tried it and it was locked. Who was it Frost had said he’d sent to replace me? Oh, yeah. Joey. I knew him. A little older than me, a little fatter, but a good guy.
“Joey!” I shouted, waving at the security camera. “Let me in, dude. It’s Theo.”
“I can see that, dumbass,” came Joey’s voice over the intercom. “Sorry, brother, I got orders not to let you in.” There was a pause. “Hold on, someone’s coming out to meet you.”
My heart leaped, spreading a nice warm feeling throughout my chest. I knew I shouldn’t have got my hopes up, but I was elated to hear that Piper was coming down to speak to me. I saw the light moving inside as the inner door opened, and I heard high heels clicking across the stone floor.
As quickly as it had leaped up, my heart sank as I saw Anna at the door. She had that same playful, predatory smile on her face as the time she came out of her shower naked to seduce me.
“Unless you’re here to repeat the praise-worthy performance you delivered to me on my couch, you need to go, Theo,” she didn’t take her cold eyes off me the whole time she spoke.
“Please, Anna, just let me speak to Piper.”
“She’s… indisposed at the moment, not that it matters. The deal with Vinnie is going ahead. You’ll never see her again,” she announced, then lowered her tone. The smile dropped from her red lips also, as she spoke. “I like you, Theo, despite my best efforts. Don’t worry, I’m not going to show up at your door with flowers and a ring. I just don’t want to see anything too bad happen to you and, if you keep hanging around Piper, it will. She’s Vinnie’s now and he’ll kill you both before he’ll see you together.”
I believed she was actually trying to help, for once. I didn’t believe it was for mine or Piper’s benefit, though, not for a second. It was more likely she didn’t want dead bodies turning up all over, putting Vinnie and, by association, her in the spotlight. Still, I appreciated her honesty.
“Okay,” I conceded, “I’ll go. Once I’ve heard it from her.”
I saw Anna’s eyes narrow in anger but, after a few second’s thought, she seemed to reach a decision.
“Wait here,” she instructed, then quickly walked away.
I smoked two cigarettes while I was waiting, the hot night air making it hard to even feel the smoke going into my lungs, then I finally heard the door open again. I peered into the gloom and saw Piper. I almost didn’t recognize her. Her long blonde hair was everywhere, her smile had disappeared, and her mascara was bleeding down her face. Added to that, her usual confident, sexy way of walking had gone too, replaced by a slow, hunched shuffle, like someone had literally sucked out her spirit since last night. I was lost for words. I’d never been heartbroken before, just figured it was something boy bands sang about to sell records but, seeing her like this, I was sure I felt mine fall to pieces.
“Theo,” she croaked, her voice sounding hoarse. She didn’t open the door more than a foot, didn’t lean out, didn’t take my hand. Nothing.
“What happened?” was all I could manage.
“I’m fine, I’m just a little upset, that’s all,” she replied.
“I saw Vinnie just leaving, did he…”
“No. He didn’t touch me,” she interrupted. “Listen, Theo. I’ve decided to stay. I’m going to go with Vinnie. I need you to forget about me. I’m a big girl and I can look after myself.”
She turned to go, like that was the end of it. I couldn’t let her. I reached in and put my hand on her shoulder. “Piper, I…” love you, I was going to say, finally, only I couldn’t finish the sentence. The look of revulsion and hatred that appeared on her face when I touched her, it was frightening.
“Theo,” she said, her voice low, “I don’t love you. And, despite what you think, I never will. Please just go.”
I was wrong earlier. That was when I felt my heart breaking.
CHAPTER 13: Piper
I needed some time. Anna made a fuss before I reminded her how much Vinnie was paying for me, then she relented. I just wanted to find the nearest bed and lay down in it. I wanted to cry myself to sleep, but I knew I’d have no chance of sleeping. The look on Theo’s face when I told him I didn’t love him haunted me every waking moment. Even so I couldn’t sleep, not yet, at least.
I picked up some things and went back to the tropical room. April was passed out on the floor where they’d left her. Either from trauma or sheer exhaustion, I wasn’t sure. I took the tape from her eyes, as gently as possible, and set about cleaning her poor frail body as best I could. I used a sponge and warm water with a cherry flavor soap to clean the dried jizz off her back, butt, stomach and face, as well as the grime that had built up on her hands and feet. Those animals, they didn’t quit abusing her even when she lost consciousness. And the more I pleaded for them to stop, the faster they’d fuck and the worse they’d hurt her, so I had to sit in silence and watch.
The cleansing seemed to bring her around. Her eyes slowly opened and she smiled at me. I wrapped a warm, super-soft and furry blanket around her.
“Thanks, Piper,” she murmured. “Mmm, I smell cherries, my favorite.”
“I know,” I sobbed, turning my face away from her.
“What happened?” she asked softly. She didn’t seem to remember anything. If she’d repressed it, I didn’t want to be around when the memories came back.
“You don’t remember?”
“I meant you,” she smiled weakly. “I remember Vinnie and all those mobsters, of course, but I’ll be okay.”
“Alright, we’re going to take you to a hospital. You’re in shock, you’ve been beaten and you probably haven’t eaten in three days.”
“Okay, Piper.”
She sounded delirious.
***
I got April downstairs. Anna even held the door as Joey and I took her to my car. I wanted to be mad at her for allowing this, but I knew it had nothing to do with her. Vinnie had given her no choice. Anna wasn’t above roughing up the girls who ran out on her, but she was always careful not to do too much permanent damage. She didn’t abuse and torture like this. I got the feeling that, in a sick and twisted way, Anna did actually care about us, at least a little. I wondered exactly how much pressure Vinnie was applying to her and her business, and how much it was hurting her to have to bow to him.
I hoped it was a lot.
I drove April to an urgent care clinic the other side of The Valley. I explained to her that I couldn’t come in with her, she needed to just walk in and tell them she was raped then claim amnesia.
“Sure, I understand,” she said clearly, and I realized what had happened to her, why she wasn’t crying or hysterical. She’d grown up. Even as an ex-junkie prostitute, April had always had a childlike view of the world. She believed everyone was decent and good things happened to good people. Vinnie and his gang of assholes hadn’t actually broken her; they’d just forced her to mature. Her body would heal.
Her innocence, though, and probably her joy and will to live, that was gone forever.
And that was what I had to look forward to. Sure, Vinnie would be good to me on occasion. Maybe even for days or weeks at a time. I’d be wearing expensive jewels and dresses, walking in on his arm to the black tie charity events he’s invited to as a prominent local businessman, and maybe going with him to the lavish mob events he organizes for the families. He might be a rough and extreme lover but I would only have to fuck one man, instead of four or five a day. It might not be so bad.
But it would only take one bad day, one bad deal, and I would be able to tell it was coming. His rage would be palpable and, when he caught me, I would suffer. What he did to April, I could look forward to similar treatment on a semiweekly basis. I’d be waking up every day not knowing whether he was feeling cruel or kind that day, and have to tolerate being terrified every second that dragged by, until I found out.
