Chapter Five
Salvatore
I should have ripped that fucker limb from limb, and I’ll regret not taking him out then and there forever. Even if Mara was a horrid bitch, you don’t force yourself on women.
That was my rule.
Mara scared the crap out of me. She wasn’t scared or sad, but instead, there was excitement in her eyes. Being battered and bruised had made her bolder.
“Fine. Let’s go. Once we get out that door, I’m in charge,” I said.
“Yes, sir,” Mara said and fake saluted me. “But remember, this has got to look real.”
“It looks like your boyfriend here helped us get a head start with that.”
She punched me right in the gut. “Fuck you, asshole. He was not my boyfriend.”
I don’t know what came over me, but I snapped. It was as if my hands acted on their own. I reached up and took her by the neck. Mara laughed as I shoved her into the wall and put the plastic cuffs around her wrists.
“Oh yeah, Daddy. That’s how I like it,” she taunted.
I spun her around and slammed her back into the wall harder than I intended. “Mara, you have to stop. If we’re going to make it out of this alive, you have to cooperate at least a little.”
She spit in my face and headbutted me.
“Enough,” I growled and picked Mara up.
I threw her over my shoulder and held her down with one hand as she thrashed and tried to bite me through my leather jacket. I suddenly wished I’d brought a gag. I had no idea she was going to fight so hard. It crossed my mind for a moment to drop her and leave her on the yacht.
Instead, I held her tighter and walked through the bedroom door. The party was raging at the other end of the yacht, and the only resistance I met getting off the boat was from Mara trying to beat the shit out of me.
None of them even turned their heads until we were on the sidewalk, moving down toward the car. By then, I just had to jog to the car to get away from her screaming friends. I almost went deaf, though, because once Mara knew her friends were watching, she started screaming bloody murder as well.
I opened the passenger door and tossed her into the seat. As I was slamming the door closed, she demanded that I uncuff her. I ignored her and went around to the driver’s side. Once I was in, she demanded again that I free her hands.
“Fuck you, princess,” I said. “You can stay that way until we get to the cabin.”
“How far is it?” she whispered, and I smiled because I could tell Mara knew she wasn’t in control.
“It’s about a ten-hour drive from here if we don’t stop.”
“And you’re going to leave me cuffed the whole time? You’re a dick,” Mara said.
“I’m going to find something to gag you with too if you don’t shut your mouth,” I snarled, but I kinda hoped she didn’t listen, because I had something I really wanted to stuff in between her pouty lips.
Six hours in and Mara began whining about needing to pee. I tried to ignore her, but eventually she said I either needed to get her to a bathroom or she’d pee in my car.
I pulled off the road at a truck stop and pulled a switchblade out of my console. “Don’t draw attention to us,” I said as I cut the plastic cuffs from her wrist.
It was then that it occurred to me that there was no way Mara wasn’t going to draw attention. Even if she hadn’t been dressed in a red sequined micro dress and sky-high heels, a beautiful woman like her always turned heads. It didn’t help that she had bruises and red marks.
I hoped that the truck drivers would mind their own business. I didn’t need a brawl with a bunch of angry men because that was the kind of thing that drew police attention.
“I’m going to take a piss and then buy us a soda. I’ll keep the clerk’s attention on me. If any of the truckers stop you, tell them you’re an amateur boxer.”
Mara’s shoulders slumped, and she pulled her hair down so that it covered most of her face. She took my hand and we walked into the brightly-lit building like a couple. We split up at the restrooms, and I hurried so that I could get back out to the convenience store and distract the clerk.
I pulled my black baseball cap down to ensure my face was covered. We were still several hours from my cabin, so it wouldn’t matter if they caught me on camera there, but it was better not to take any chances.
After I paid for our drinks, Mara came out of the restroom and I met her at the exit doors. She took my hand again, and we walked casually back to the car. As far as I could tell, no one even noticed us, and it was good to finally have something go smoothly.
Back in the car, Mara held her wrists out to me as if she expected me to put plastic cuffs on her again. “You’re paying me to do this, remember? No one’s watching. There’s no reason for me to bind your wrists.”
“Okay,” Mara said, and I thought for a moment she might have been disappointed.
The next three and a half hours of the drive were uneventful. I was almost certain that Mara even dozed off for a while. We got to the point where I planned on ditching the car, and I pulled the car off the road.
Mara stirred from her nap. “Are we there?” she asked sleepily and stretched.
“Not quite, cupcake. We’ve got a bit of a hike. There’s no road to the cabin, and I wouldn’t want to drive there anyway.”
“We have to walk? How long?”
“It’ll take a few hours. We should be there by dawn,” I said and popped the trunk.
“Fucking dawn? You’ve got to be kidding. Have you seen my shoes?” she shrieked.
“Mara, calm down. You hired me because I’m a professional. There’s jeans, shirt, jacket, wool socks, and hiking boots in my trunk. Hurry and change. We need to get going. There’s a backpack in there for you too. You can put your precious shoes in there if you want to keep them.”
She mumbled obscenities the entire time, but Mara got out of the car and changed her clothes. I turned my back and waited for her to finish. My instincts told me that she was cursing so much to draw my attention to her, but I wouldn’t play her games. If I wanted to look at Mara’s body, I would do it on my own terms.
The night air was cool, so the walk to the cabin wasn’t entirely unpleasant. There was plenty of moonlight, and we didn’t need our flashlights. Mara’s face was screwed up into a grimace as we traversed the woods. I could tell that she wanted to complain, but her pride kept her silent. That was a good thing because I was enjoying the quiet night walk, and her constant bitching would have ruined it completely.
My pulse quickened when I saw the cabin in the distance. It was a relief to see it still standing. That meant that the men hunting me probably didn’t know about it. Yet.
When an old business associate, who didn’t want to see me dead, tipped me off about the job kidnapping Mara, I knew I’d put the place to good use one last time before I left the country.
I’d wanted to swing by and check to be sure the old cabin was standing and secure on my way to meet with Mara, but it had been too far out of the way. I only had a day from the time that my associate told me about her contract to get to the meeting, and it was a long drive from my final assignment in Texas to the East Coast.
Mara waited at the tree line while I checked the cabin. All of my traps were still in place, and nothing outside had been disturbed either. I disabled the trap at the front door and motioned to Mara to follow me in.
She hurried to the front porch but stood in the doorway and peered into the cabin’s living area. Mara’s chest heaved and she didn’t even try to contain the sigh that escaped her lips.
“It’s not that bad. Wait till[MS11] you see it with the lights on,” I said and flipped the switch.
I suppose it wasn’t what she was accustomed to, but other than a little dust, I thought my retirement home was quite nice. It wasn’t a run-down shack in the woods by any stretch of the imagination. The furnishings were all high-end. We had running water and electricity. There wasn’t much to eat beyond c
anned goods and shelf-stable pantry items, but I hoped that we wouldn’t be there long. At least I’d kept the place stocked with some food in case of an emergency.
“That’s the problem,” she whined. “This place is too nice. It’s going to be hard to shoot a video of the horrible living conditions you’re keeping me in when this place looks like a resort.”
“Don’t worry. There’s a basement. And if you don’t quit your bellyaching, I’ll lock you down there for real.”
Chapter Six
Mara
“I want to see the basement,” I said. “I need to know that this is going to work. I can’t believe this is your hideout. Is there a spa attached too?” I mocked.
My father would never pay up if he saw the cabin. He’d know in a second that he’d been conned. It was a bit of a relief to know that I wouldn’t be spending my few days of fake captivity in a shithole, but I hoped the basement would make a good place to film the ransom video.
“I’m sure you’ll find the accommodations in the basement suit your needs,” he said.
“Well, grab a chair and bring it down there. We need to get moving on the video. Bring the zip ties for my wrists and ankles. Oh, and you’ll need a gag too.”
“That part I completely agree with,” he grumbled.
It was hard to believe that this guy used to be one of the deadliest assassins in the country. He seemed completely clueless about kidnapping, but I guessed they were different skill sets.
I watched him shed his jacket and pick up a chair from the little breakfast nook next to the kitchen. It was obviously a high-quality, handcrafted piece of furniture, but it was rustic too. Hopefully, in the low light of the basement, it would look more rustic.
“You should have brought a metal folding chair or something,” I said as I followed him down the basement stairs.
He didn’t say anything. I looked around when Salvatore flipped on the dim light that barely illuminated the dank basement. The floors and walls were concrete, but off to the side was a small room with dirt and brick instead. It looked like a root cellar from a movie, and I figured that there must have been a much smaller, older cabin at the location in the past.
“I’m going to put you right under the light,” Salvatore said. “I think that will make your scratches and bruises look the worst.”
I stripped off my pants and t-shirt and sat down inchair[MS12]. “I don’t think what I’ve got is going to be enough,” I said.
“Whoa, what are you doing?” Salvatore asked when he turned around and saw me in my panties and bra.
“You’re only going to get the full ransom from my father if he thinks I’m still a virgin. If he thinks you fucked me, he’s not going to pay out. We need to make him think that his precious daughter’s virtue is at stake. Plus, I think there are some bruises that won’t show if I’m dressed.”
“Okay, we need to get a few things straight. If I kidnap you and fuck you, that’s rape. You’re talking about it like it’s some casual thing, and it’s frankly frightening. Two, that thing you threw out about not having enough bruises, drop it. I won’t hurt you. I kill bad men. I don’t murder, beat, and rape women,” he said even as he took out the zip tie restraints.
“You killed a woman on your last job,” I said and watched him bristle at my words. “I looked up pictures of her on the net. She was pretty. You sure you didn’t have a little fun with her before you put a bullet in her head?” He glared at me with barely contained fury. “I bet you liked when the kid watched you fuck his mother. I just bet you love that sort of thing.”
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he growled. “I’m not that easy.” Salvatore went back to getting the restraints and gag ready.
“I’m telling you to hit me,” I said. “If you can’t, it’s because you’re a pussy. Fuck you, pussy boy. This is my life, and you’re not going to fuck it up just because you don’t have the stomach for the job.”
“Stop, Mara, or I walk away,” he practically whispered.
So, I did the only thing I could think of. I stood toe-to-toe with him and bitch-slapped him right across the face. He looked a little shocked, but I caught him off guard by kneeing him in the balls. It wasn’t a full force blow, but it was enough to piss Salvatore off. When he stumbled, I grabbed a fist full of his thick brown hair and pulled hard.
“Let go,” he said.
Instead of letting go, I reached up with my other hand and took another fistful of his hair. I pulled with everything I had and didn’t stop until he pressed his thumbs into the bottom of my wrists and my hands involuntarily let go. I stumbled back when I saw the feral look in his eyes. I’d brought the killer to the surface, but he still didn’t hit me. I took one last swipe at him and clawed his neck deep enough to draw a bit of blood.
Salvatore’s hand raised and he slapped me across the cheek. I saw white stars behind my eyes, felt the burning sting where his hand made contact with my face. “Sit the fuck down and stop,” he said and shoved me into the chair.
In a flash, he was up the stairs and through the basement door. I started to make fun of him for running away when I heard a bolt lock slide into place. I ran up the stairs and tried to open the door. I banged on it until my fists were numb, and I had to accept what had happened.
He’d locked me in the basement.
Chapter Seven
Salvatore
I sat on the other side of the door and listened to Mara pound on it until she wore herself out. Getting away from her let me breathe for a moment and think clearly.
Something about the darkness in Mara brought out the darkness in me. She turned me into a man I didn’t want to be, but damn it felt good. I’d been thinking I was a moment away from being a dead man for the last few days, and Mara made me feel alive again. It was frightening shit.
“Are you ready to settle the fuck down and let me make the goddamned video,” I called through the door.
I heard her come up the stairs halfway. “Yes,” she said, and then went back down to the bottom.
When I opened the door, I half expected her to be waiting on the other side to murder me with something she’d found in the basement. [MS13]Instead, Mara was sitting in the chair waiting for me to tie her up and gag her.
I quickly bound her hands and ankles to the chair. There was always the chance she’d been waiting to hurt me when I was vulnerable, and I wanted her tied up and secure as soon as possible. Next, I put the cloth I’d planned on using as a gag in her mouth and tied it behind her head.
“Good girl,” I cooed and patted her on the head.
She growled and fought the bonds, but Mara was good and stuck. I laughed a little, and she bit down on the gag while making guttural, animalistic noises.
“I’m going to need you to act like a scared, sad little girl and less like a bound animal,” I directed.
Immediately, Mara’s body language changed. She looked frightened, and the crazy bitch even managed to turn on some realistic-looking crocodile tears.
I wasn’t going to be in the frame, but I put on a mask anyway. It was a safety precaution in case I accidently turned the camera lens on myself and didn’t realize it or caught a reflection of myself in something.
After pointing the camera at Mara, I said, “Ten million dollars or the bitch dies.”
Then I turned it off and watched Mara’s eyes. She was confused and had every right to be. It was twice the money she’d told me to ask for. But, fuck it. If her daddy had five million, he had ten. I didn’t know who her father was yet, but I knew men like him.
Men who sold their daughters to mafia rivals for money and favors were like kings in the world I had inhabited. Mara’s father would continue to benefit from the marriage deal for decades. If he[MS14] found the right match, the ten million I’d demanded was crumbs.
When I looked over at Mara, I knew her father would find the right husband too. Well, as long as he’d be able to keep her quiet. Any potential husband would think twice after she opened he
r mouth, but I imagined that the kind of man who would buy a wife from a rival family had his ways of breaking her.
That was the problem, though. Mara was already broken. Part of me wished that I’d met her before her father’s world ruined her. But then again, there was something about Mara that made it feel good to wreck her. It wasn’t so much that she was asking for it because she was such a cold bitch, but it was that she wanted it.
The video was short, but it was enough. I didn’t want to reveal any more information than I had to give for the results I desired. I slid the small recorder into my pocket and crossed the basement to remove Mara’s gag.
“What the fuck was that?” she yelled. “Ten million dollars is not what we discussed. My father is just going to ignore that.”
“No, he isn’t,” I said. “You’re trying to tell me he doesn’t have it? That the business deal I’m compromising isn’t worth it to him?”
“He has it,” she said.
“Are you trying to say you’re not worth it?” This question stung. I could see it in her face.
“It’s not that I’m not worth it. I’m property to him.”
“And I think, that as property, you’re worth ten million. But you can have a while to think on it. I’m going upstairs to send the video.”
“Wait, don’t you dare leave me tied up like this,” she spat.
“Fuck you, bitch. You wanted the video sent as quickly as possible. I’m just giving you what you want.”
Upstairs in the little den off the living room, I could barely hear her yelling at me, but I could hear her enough that the sounds of her screaming obscenities made me hard.
My mind kept drifting to thoughts of breaking her fully. Mara was not shattered enough to make her behave. She had just enough fucked up running through her veins[MS15] to make her perpetually behave like a petulant teenager. Mara needed training.
Those were thoughts I had to push aside. Not just because they made me feel deep shame, but because there was work to do. I was by no means an accomplished hacker, but I knew enough to get the video to Mara’s father without leaving a breadcrumb trail right to the cabin’s front door.
Hitman's Obsession Page 3
