“I’m pissing on your floors!” she professed as a trickle of urine ran down the chair and pooled around her bare feet.
Refusing to cry despite her situation, she threw her head back and gasped for air. The smell of her own bodily functions was starting to choke her to the point of gagging. She had been given no food or water. No one had said a word to her. It was as if she didn’t exist. Her first reaction was to scream until a neighbor heard her, but after hours of being ignored, she assumed the walls must have been sound proof or the neighbors had already left.
“Motherfucker, I know you hear me in there!” she screamed again. “Coward!” Suddenly, she heard the front door open and several low voices talking in the next room. Rocking the chair violently, she screamed out. “HELP!” as loud as she could, although her voice had gone from bold and shrill to hoarse and shaky.
Still no one came.
Her mind raced, wondering what her captors wanted from her. It was clear that it had something to do with Ryan, but outside of that, she was clueless.
Seeing a light flicker on beyond the darkness of the bag over her head, she popped her head up and tried to pull free again. “Let me go!” she screamed toward the person she knew was in the room.
Gabriel covered his nose with his hand. “You stink,” he said, walking over to her. His feet echoed on the cheap plastic floor. Pulling off her cover, he looked down at the woman and raised a brow. She wasn’t anything special.
Eddy looked up at the stranger, dressed in a suit, guns peeking out of his jacket, and knew she was in trouble. Her captor was extremely tall and handsome with dark hair, green eyes, tanned skin and a look of privilege. More than likely, he was a pushover. Too rich to get his own hands dirty.
Sizing him up, she narrowed her gaze on the man. If it was one thing she had learned in jail, it was to show no fear. “Well, if you had let me go to the fucking restroom, I wouldn’t be sitting here like this.” Rolling her eyes, she looked around the white-washed room to find she had several guests, none of whom she recognized.
“What’s this about?” she asked, not waiting for the men to tell her. Their silence was unnerving. It was important to keep talking, keep fighting to hide her anxiety.
But Gabriel knew all the tricks. He had not only tortured quite a few men over the last year, he had been tortured as well once.
“Did you hear me?” Eddy screamed. “What the fuck do you want?”
Gabriel didn’t like Eddy, not in the least. He had read up on her before he came here, and what he knew of the woman was that she was a bully, a loud mouth, and a wannabe gangster who liked living rough and taking people for whatever she could get from them. But most of all, she was her pimp’s right hand, encouraging his tyrannical behavior and profiting from it.
Gabriel stepped back across the room and ran his hand over the fixture to turn on the fan and circulate some air in the room. “We will get to all that in a minute, my dear.” He began to take off his suit jacket, when one of the guards stepped over to help him. Methodically, he rolled up his sleeves like he was getting ready to go to work.
That made Eddy nervous. It was his voice, his arrogance, the way he commanded the room and the men in it. She knew her first impression of him had been wrong. He wasn’t some rich boy, he was a killer.
“Beating me won’t get you anywhere,” she said, breathing hard. She licked her cracked lips and tried to free her wrists.
Gabriel was meticulous about preparing for his interrogation. Without looking back at her, he responded in a calm, ominous voice. “Well, not torturing you isn’t going to get me anywhere either.” When he was done rolling up his sleeves, he slipped on black leather gloves and turned to her with a smile.
“When was the last time that you had a check-up?” he asked with a wink. Bending down, he rolled out a black leather kit on the floor to reveal sterling silver surgical equipment. Running his fingers over the strange little items, he finally pulled out a bone saw.
Eddy’s eyes grew big. “Hey mister,” she pleaded, voice trembling. “I don’t know what you think I know, but you got the wrong girl.”
Gabriel kept his face pleasant, but his eyes were as dark as night. “Leslie Edwina Lewis, affectionately called Eddy, born 1982 in Jacksonville, Florida. Daughter to Lena and Edward Lewis. Ran away at age 16 to Miami, Florida. Eighteen counts of prostitution. Two counts of assault. Four counts of shoplifting. Three counts of misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.” He turned slowly to face her. “Is that you?”
Eddy unease grew. Looking at the bone saw in Gabriel’s hand, she let the tears fall from her eyes. “What do you want from me?”
“Oh, now you want to cooperate?” Gabriel stood up and walked over to her so that she could get a better view of his toy. “I want…to know…” He flashed the saw in front of her eyes, it’s reflection glimmering against her sweaty skin. “…where Ryan Colt is.”
“I don’t know,” she answered quickly.
Without another word, Gabriel reached back his large gloved hand and slapped the taste out of her mouth. Her face went slack with pain. As she tried to catch her breath, he ran a hand over his shirt. “I don’t believe you, Eddy,” he said, voice still calm.
“He’s just my pimp,” she said, spitting blood. “He doesn’t check in with me, or tell me where he is or where he’s going.” She took a deep breath and looked up at Gabriel, defiant until the bitter end. “That’s not the way it works.”
“Really, how does it work, then?” Gabriel asked.
Gabriel knew Eddy was lying. She was more than just some whore he ran out of the strip club. She was his lover, his confidant.
And it was his job today to not only confirm those facts, but to also scare the shit out of her and force her to run to him.
“How does it work!” Gabriel screamed into her ear.
“I don’t know where he is!” Eddy screamed.
Grabbing her by her hair, Gabriel pulled her face to meet his. His eyes were wild and intense, blue veins protruded out from his neck, but even in the sweltering heat of the room, he didn’t sweat.
That scared Eddy the most.
Gabriel exhaled into her mouth. “I am not a very patient man, Ms. Lewis. Either tell me what I want to know,” He balled up his fist, the sound of the leathering stretching around his knuckles, “or I am going to be your last customer.”
***
The room was starting to spin. After an hour of being thrown around the small space, beaten badly and interrogated, Eddy held firm to not knowing where Ryan Colt was hiding, although she had a good idea. Crouching in the corner as Gabriel stood over her, she braced for whatever the man would do to her next.
Gabriel was quietly impressed with Eddy’s blind loyalty for the man, but as Renee and Royal had already told him the night before, she would never give him up. She loved him. Adored him even. She felt the responsibility to protect him. Women like her would go to their grave before they disappointed their pimps; many of them did.
Checking his watch to make sure they were still on schedule, Gabriel wiped his black brow and pulled at the top of his crisp white shirt. “Well, now that we’re done with our warm up, we can get to the real workout.” He stalked across the room and picked up the bone saw again right as the door flew open.
“Boss,” the old Russian who had been sitting outside said, looking over at Eddy.
“What?” Gabriel snapped. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
The Russian stuttered. “The call just came through. Colt’s going to make a deal.”
Gabriel paused and shot a glance over at Eddy. His voice went flat. “Well, now, that’s disappointing.”
Eddy wasn’t sure what the old man was talking about, but she prayed Ryan was going to make a deal to get her out of here. She wiped the blood from her eye and pushed back further into the corner like a scared, cornered animal.
Gabriel stood up and shook his head like he was frustrated with the decision. “So, what do they want us to
do with her? Finish the job or…”
“They said to get rid of her,” the old man answered.
“But I wasn’t done playing yet.” Gabriel bit his lip and pretended to be disappointed.
Eddy teared up. If the exchange wasn’t for her, then who was it for? Did he have another girl? “Mister, please don’t hurt me,” she begged.
Gabriel pulled his gun from its leather holster under his arm. Clutching it in his hand with his finger on the trigger, he pointed it in her direction. “Should we just put a bullet in her?”
The old Russian shrugged indifferently. “They said to just get rid of her, let her go. She’s not important, but it’s up to you. Do what you want, Boss.”
Eddy wasn’t sure what hurt more – Gabriel’s beating or the old man’s words. Ryan had always professed his love for her, but when she needed him most, he wasn’t there. Why? What was going on?
Gabriel walked over to Eddy and kneeled before her. His mossy green eyes were cool now as the storm inside of him subsided. Moving the matted strands of the long brown weave from her swollen face, he sniffed her. “Eddy, you smell afraid,” he said, voice low. “Or is that piss?”
“Please, just let me go,” she said again. “I won’t say nothing.”
“No, I doubt you will. You’re a very lucky girl. Ryan Colt just saved your life, whether he knows it or not.” Gabriel understood that to keep her in play, they must also keep her in the dark. If she knew that Ryan not only didn’t care about where she was, but also didn’t know, she might very well just disappear instead of leading them to him.
Eddy nodded, sobbing softly. All those years of being the big bad stripper, and in less than sixty minutes, she’d been reduced by this stranger into a scared little girl. It was embarrassing, humiliating even.
Gabriel taunted her in a whiny voice as he stroked the side of her face with his leather glove. “He must love you very much. Too bad he’s going to die.”
Eddy’s eyes widened, but she dared not say anything to upset the stranger.
Gabriel twisted up his lip, toying with her as he appeared to contemplate her future. Standing up abruptly, he sighed. “Throw her out somewhere and get back to the house. We’ve got shit to do. We’re killing Ryan Colt tonight.”
“Do you want me to shoot her?” the old man asked, still standing at the threshold waiting for clear directives.
Another guard came in with Gabriel’s jacket and helped him in it.
“No,” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes. “We don’t have time to clean up the mess. Just throw her out somewhere.” Walking out of the room, he left her there naked, bloody and falling right into their trap.
***
By mid-morning, the violent winds had picked up considerably. Stuffed in the trunk of a Cadillac, Eddy could hear the roaring of the rain and debris hitting the car as it drove through the streets.
Pulling at her wrists, bound by ropes, she tried to find something to hold on to as the car jolted her around. It hurt to have her swollen face against the carpet, but her mind wasn’t on her superficial wounds. As far as she was concerned, the beating could have been a lot worse. What she was worried about was what the stranger had told her before he left.
Ryan Colt was going to die tonight.
She had to get to him before they did. Once before, she and Ryan had discussed that if he were ever in any trouble, running from the cops or anyone else, he had one place no one would ever think to look. He had taken her there once – a mansion on Key Biscayne Island, to pick up a few girls for his brothel. More than likely, that was where he was now. It had taken all the strength she could muster not to give that little piece of information to the stranger, but even if it had cost her, her life, she refused to be a snitch. There was a code on the streets. No matter what, you didn’t give up your Daddy for anyone.
She heard the radio inside the car lower and two men started to talk. Pressing her body toward the sound, she tried to make out what they were saying, but then the car slowed, moved into a parked position and stopped.
A few seconds later, the trunk popped open and the old Russian man from earlier and a man she didn’t recognize yanked her out into the rain. The heavy pellets beat against her skin, stinging her body all over, but the coolness of it eased her burning abrasions.
“You’re one lucky bitch,” the old man said, shoving her over the curb onto the sidewalk. He turned her around, cut the ropes off her wrists and threw her to the concrete. “A few more minutes in the room with the boss and you’d be eating through a straw right now.”
“Fuck you, asshole!” Eddy said, spitting and wiping rain water from her face.
“Maybe later,” the old man winked.
Laughing at the woman, the men jumped back in their car and sped off leaving her alone as instructed.
Thank God it was finally over. She had never been so happy to see the taillights of car. Relieved to be alive and in one piece, Eddy looked around the street, but didn’t recognize where she had been dropped off. Time was running out. She had to think of something fast.
Naked and covered in blood and waste, she knew that she couldn’t just walk in the rain until she figured it out. She had to find shelter.
“Hey, you alright?” a woman said, coming from a small bricked apartment complex just a few feet away. In a pair of heels, a short denim skirt and peach-colored halter top, a young black woman trotted over to her with an umbrella.
Eddy looked over at the woman and stood up. “I’m fine.”
The young woman frowned. “You do know you’re naked, right?”
Eddy looked down at herself and ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah, I know.”
“Why don’t you come inside. I’ve got some things you can borrow. You ain’t my size, but it’s better than nothing.” She pointed toward the door. “I’m just right inside of here.”
Eddy nodded and stepped under the umbrella with her. They ran back inside to an apartment on the first floor. It was a shitty building in an even shitter part of town. The lights flickered because of the storm. The roof was leaking, and the small space was a mess, but Eddy was grateful for it.
When she came inside, a blonde man with tattoos in a white T-shirt sat on the sofa with his feet propped up. He didn’t even bat an eye when he saw Eddy.
The woman went to quickly explain. “Daddy, I know I’ve got a client coming,” she said, stepping over an empty potato chip bag, “but I found this young lady out in the rain. I just need to get her something to wear. I mean…we can’t just leave her out there like that.”
The man instantly looked irritated. “Look, he’s going to be here in five minutes. You are not going to make him fucking wait like you did last time.” He sat up and picked up the open container of beer on the coffee table. “You can give the bitch whatever you want, but you better be out of here in five minutes flat.”
“I will, Daddy. Promise,” the young woman said, motioning for Eddy to follow her.
Eddy quietly went into the bedroom. She should have known the young woman was a working girl. Who else would be out in heels during a hurricane?
“What’s your name?” Eddy asked, looking around the bedroom. It was decorated in animal print from the curtains to the bed sheets. Condoms, lube and dildos lined the dresser.
The young woman was over in the corner, digging in a pile of clothes on the floor. She looked back and smiled. “Peaches.”
“Thanks, Peaches,” Eddy said sincerely. “I don’t mean to put you out with your man.”
“I’ve got four minutes,” Peaches said, walking back across the room with a slinky little black dress. She looked down at Eddy’s feet. “I don’t think we’re the same size, but I got some flip flops you can have.” She dashed over behind the bed and pulled out a pair of black thong flip flops and brought them back over to Eddy.
“You’re very sweet,” Eddy said as she slipped on the dress. “Hey, do you have a phone around here.”
“Daddy don’t let me have a phone,”
Peaches said, ducking her head. “He takes all the calls.”
“Think he’d let me borrow the phone?” Eddy asked as she put on the flip flops. Peaches was right. She was much bigger than she was. The clothes fit her snugly, but it was better than parading around Miami naked.
“Daddy doesn’t let anyone borrow his phone,” Peaches said, voice meek. She walked to the door and closed it slightly. “But if you need to go somewhere I can ask my john to take you. He’s not talkative, on the count that he’s so shy, but he does favors for me when I ask. Last week, he snuck me to Starbucks, so I could try that unicorn drink.”
Eddy smiled ruefully. “Well, he sounds nice.”
“You want him to take you somewhere?” Peaches asked in a whisper.
“Yeah,” Eddy said, ready to get the hell out of this place. “Think he could take me to Mashta Island? I know it’s out of the way, but I’d be very grateful. I’m sure when I get there, I could throw you a few bones for your troubles.”
Peaches smiled and nodded. “My john can do that. He’s one of my regulars. We’ve been hooking up for a long time. That’s why my Daddy lets me go alone with him. Plus, he’s into the kink, and you can’t do that sort of stuff on the street, you know.” She giggled. “His place isn’t far from the island. He lives in one of those big nice condos by the waterway. When I look out from his window, I swear I can see Cuba.”
Eddy tried not to frown, but Peaches was as dumb as a pile of rocks. It was no wonder she had such a jerkoff as a pimp. “I’d appreciate that.”
“Get the fuck out there, now!” the man screamed from the sofa.
His voice made Peaches jump. “Coming!” she said, grabbing Eddy’s hand. “We better go. He’s only going to tell me once. If I keep lagging around, I’ll look like you.” She sucked in a breath. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Eddy said, following Peaches out of the bedroom.
As Eddy came out of the room, the pimp whistled toward her. “You clean up good, girl. You should come work for me, eh,” the man said, winking at Eddy. “I can take good care of you. Keep you from getting fucked up like that.”
Anatoly's Retribution: Book Two Page 17
