by Sloan Storm
“Shut up! Both of you on the couch. Come on! Go!”
After we sat down, one of the men walked close to me, jamming his pistol in the front of his pants before stopping a couple of feet short and looking down at me.
In the background, the other gunmen kept his firearm at the ready.
The one staring in my direction tilted his head to one side, extending and cracking his neck. I winced at the sounds.
Growing up in one of the poorer parts of Vegas, I’d seen gang colors before. With their tattoos and clothing, it wasn’t a stretch to guess they were members. It was all the evidence I needed to know that my dad’s prediction was a warning I should have heeded.
The man looked down at me, running his tongue back and forth across his teeth with his mouth closed before he spoke at last.
“Bitch, you know why we’re here?”
I wasn’t about to be intimidated by them. After all, I was the one they wanted, not Ainsley. A sudden jolt of courage shot through my veins.
“Fuck. You.” I growled.
The man’s face wrinkled with amusement. He turned to his partner and they started to laugh. He looked at me again.
“You’re a stupid cunt, aren’t you?”
I swallowed hard, never breaking eye contact with him. He stepped closer, narrowing his eyes and looking at me like a hyena.
“Maybe we should fuck both of you before making you pay for what happened to Juan.”
I had no idea who they were talking about but everything pointed to revenge for the hitman. Somehow, I had to get Ainsley out of there. By the looks of them, it seemed like the odds were pretty good he’d follow through on his promise.
“Listen,” I began, leaning forward. “Let her go. She has nothing to do with any of this.”
“What are you talking about?” Ainsley asked.
I shook my head and shot a glare at her. “Don’t talk.”
The man across from me pointed at Ainsley. “Yeah, bitch. Shut your fucking mouth before I put my cock in it.”
“I didn’t kill him!” I blurted out. “He…”
The gunmen looked at me again, this time grabbing his weapon from his pants and pointing at me. “I don’t want to hear a single word out of your mouth, you puta. A good man is gone. His mother is devastated. This is payback, nothing more.”
Staring down the barrel, I forced a dry swallow down my throat but didn’t respond.
“That’s better,” he said, nodding.
He started to turn to say something to the other gunman, but before he could I spoke again.
“How is killing either one of us going to help? What good is it going to do his mother?”
He looked at me and made a noise that sounded like a cross between a scoff and a chuckle. “Bitch, who said anything about killing you?”
Wordless, I blinked at him, the terror of an unknown fate gripping me.
“No…” he snarled, “you are worth far more alive than dead.”
The man then turned his attention to Ainsley. “And so are you, gringa.”
He backed away and nodded at the other man. “Let’s do this.”
While he stood guard over us, the other gunman tied us up and blindfolded both of us. Once he’d finished, the man who held Ainsley and I at gunpoint barked one last set of orders at him.
“Get all of their shit, and put it in the van. Once the sun goes down, we’ll get out of here and deliver them.”
Deliver us?
14
Long Wait (Dorian)
I had a bit of a weather delay in Pocatello. After wrapping up a few business calls I decided to get in touch with Tempest and let her know I’d be running behind. I called her phone a couple of times, letting it go to the fourth or fifth ring before hanging up.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
Swiping my phone on again, I decided to try Ainsley instead.
Same goddamn thing.
“Where is everyone?”
As a last resort, I decided to call the estate. After I nearly hung up on the fourth ring, Oksana answered.
“Oksana, where is Tempest?”
“She not here.”
Frowning, I continued. “She’s not there? Where is she?”
“Um, Ainsley told me they go to Tempest’s old apartment. Why?”
I closed my eyes, hammering my head into the headrest. “They went to her old apartment? Are you sure?”
A bit of nervous energy crept into her tone. “Yes. Is everything okay?”
Biting my lip, I answered. “I really can’t say.”
With that, I hung up, banging my hand on the desk in front of me. “Fuck!”
Carly peeked her head around the corner. “Is everything okay, sir?”
Reaching out in front of me, I placed my palms flat on the table and stared at her. I had to calm down.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
A timid smile came to her face just before she ducked back around the corner.
God dammit, Dorian. Chill out.
Picking up my cell phone, I swiped it on and muttered, “Everything is fine, just make the call, Dorian.”
I dialed my head of security after locating his number. He answered after the first ring.
“Yes sir, Mr. Scott.”
I relaxed the tension in my shoulders. “Mark, did any of your men escort Tempest and Ainsley off the property today when they left?”
I still couldn’t believe I had to even ask this question. Ainsley should have known better. We still weren’t in the clear.
“Yes, sir. Devon and Robert went with them.”
It seemed like I hadn’t taken a fucking breath in five minutes. Hearing that helped, but only a little.
“Good,” I began, easing back into my chair. “Glad to hear that.”
“Is there a problem, sir?”
I glanced out the window and shook my head, wondering when the weather would finally clear.
“It’s um, it’s probably nothing but me being fucking paranoid. Do me a favor, Mark…”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want you to get in touch with your men right away. You need to be sure the scene at her apartment is secure. Is that clear?”
“Yes. Anything else, Mr. Scott?”
“No. Not right now. I’m on my way back to Vegas. I’ve got a bit of weather at my current location, but I should be there in a few hours. One way or another, I want you to track them down.”
Mark didn’t hesitate. “Right away, I’ll…”
“Hey, don’t alert them to the fact I’m asking questions,” I said, interrupting him. “This is just between the two of us. Just call me, and let me know when they’ve been located.”
“I will, sir.”
I flipped the cell phone on the desk in front of me. It rattled to a stop. Now wasn’t the time to blow my stack. Chances were everything was completely fine, but until I got the confirmation I needed I wasn’t going to do a whole lot of relaxing.
It was going to be a long few hours back to Vegas.
15
Into The Unknown (Tempest)
I don’t know how long we were in the back of that van. Time stands still when you can’t see anything. It seemed like a while though, long enough to get almost anywhere in Vegas. After a sudden stop, I heard the sound of the door grinding open, followed by a command.
“Okay bitches, let’s go.”
One of the men snatched me by the arm and dragged me out of the van, nearly causing me to trip and fall.
“Watch it!” I said. “I can’t see a thing!”
He tightened his grip on me, pulling me close to him with a violent tug. I was close enough to feel the heat from his body, the clamminess of his palm, and smell the horrific stench of his breath.
My skin crawled.
“Shut up,” he warned. “Just start walking. When I’m ready to take your blindfold off, I will.”
With that, we continued on. The entire time he held on to me while I struggled not to trip. I
heard the sound of a large door opening. The next thing I felt, a cool rush of ice cold, air conditioned wind blew against my face.
“What is going on?” Ainsley asked, causing me to slow.
“Be quiet!” the man behind me yelled. “Say one more word, bitch. One more.”
“Keep going,” the man holding me snarled. “Don’t stop.”
The door slammed closed behind us, the sound echoing in every direction. Whatever we’d entered, the space was immense. I felt him reach around behind my head and untie the knot. The blindfold fell away from my eyes. Blinking myself back into awareness, I looked in every direction.
It looked to be a large warehouse. All around were racks and shelves filled with outlandish costumes, colorful wigs, and other performance gear. The gunman tucked the blindfold in his back pocket. I turned and looked to see Ainsley had hers removed as well.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“None of your fucking business,” the man who dragged me inside said. “Straight ahead. Get moving.”
The other man shoved Ainsley, nearly causing her to fall over. I stepped in front of her at the last instant, blocking her fall with my body. Snapping my head behind me, I yelled, “What the hell is wrong with you? We are tied up! We’re going! Okay?”
He didn’t bother to respond. I turn my attention to Ainsley again. “Are you okay?”
She was absolutely terrified. She didn’t say a word but did manage a nervous nod.
“Come on,” I whispered.
After a brief walk, we turned a corner. I’d gone around just ahead of Ainsley. Not far in front of me stood three men. Ainsley appeared to my left, stopping dead in her tracks.
“Keep walking, bitch,” warned one of the gunman.
Ainsley didn’t listen. She kept trying to back up, yanking against the restraints on her wrists.
“You idiots!” Ainsley screamed at the gunmen. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with! What the hell have you gotten yourselves into? He’ll never pay you! He’ll kill both of you!”
The gunmen holding on to her had heard enough.
“Shut up!” he yelled before pistol whipping her and knocking her out cold.
“You son of a bitch!” I screamed.
The other gunman rushed up to me. “Say another word and you’re next.”
The entire time all of this was going on, the three men walked towards all of us. The man who’d held on to me, guiding me into the warehouse, suddenly seemed uneasy. He pointed his pistol at the three men, specifically the man in the middle.
His hand shook.
“What’s that bitch talking about, homes? You better not be trying to fuck us!”
The man in the middle came into clear view. He had red hair, a freakish red-orange hue. His eyes were dark, beady and vacant, like a doll’s eyes. I swear to God he looked like a sinister version of a clown, fitting right in amongst the strange surroundings.
I glanced towards the man on either side of him. Each held large duffle bags in their hands. I glanced towards Ainsley who still remained unconscious on the ground.
“A deal is a deal.” Clown man said. “You’ve delivered as promised. I don’t understand what the problem is.”
With that, he turned and looked at each man nodding for them to drop the duffle bags. They did. The man who knocked Ainsley out reached for them, dragging them close with a nervous pull.
The man standing behind me spoke. “Count it. Make sure it’s all there. If it isn’t the deal is off, and we’re taking these bitches with us.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes fixated on the kneeling man. He reached for the zipper, yanking on it and then reaching inside.
“What the…” he muttered.
He glanced up towards clown man. I did the same. He had a bizarre grin on his face, bordering on sinister. I heard the sound of a second zipper followed by rummaging inside of another one of the duffle bags. I’d just about turned to see what was happening when I noticed the gunman leap to his feet, pointing his weapon.
“What the fuck is this?”
The man still holding my arm looked at his partner. “What’s wrong?”
Clown man took a couple of steps forward. The bottom of his expensive looking loafers scraped the cement flooring. The sound captured my attention. I looked at him again.
“What?” he began, drawing his hands together behind his back. He walked until he reached one of the bags, peering down inside of it. He looked at our captors. “It’s all there. Count it.”
The gunman who’d looked into the bag, reached inside of it and grabbed a handful of the cash, brandishing it at clown man.
“It’s got your face on it! This ain’t real money! Where’s our money mother fucker?”
Clown man nodded, slowly raising his index finger upwards. Kneeling down in front of one of the duffle bags, he grabbed a few of the phony bills before standing up again.
“Oh that’s simple,” he began, peeling the bills off one at a time and tossing them to the floor. “I just wanted my face to be the last thing you see before you go to hell.”
The men who dragged Ainsley and me into the warehouse backed away, raising their guns. Clown man released the remainder of the money from his hand. It fluttered to the ground and then…
KAPOW!
A deafening sound, almost like cannon fire, echoed from overhead. On instinct, I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut. The thunder subsided, and I heard Ainsley groaning on the floor. The firm grip of the man who’d held me withered away. Opening my eyes, I staggered back in horror. Both of them lay dead, half of their skulls missing.
Immediately, I turned my attention to clown man.
He looked up towards the ceiling and called out. “Well done gentleman. Clean kills.”
I followed his gaze upward to see two men perched in the superstructure overhead with high-powered rifles in their hands.
Jesus Christ!
It was only the sound of Ainsley that broke my attention on them. I turned to see her scooting backward on her butt, hands still bound.
“Stay away from me you… You fucking psycho!”
Clown man seemed unconcerned with her insult. He turned to one of his men.
“Help her up, and then get rid of those two dirt bags. There’s no sense leaving a mess behind.”
One of the men stepped towards me. I backed away, but it was no use. He grabbed me before I could take another step. The other man took hold of Ainsley and pulled her into a standing position. Clown man approached her. Ainsley’s face went white as a sheet.
“It’s been a long time, Ainsley. Too long. You are more beautiful than I remember.”
Clown man reached for her face, touching her cheek with the back of his hand. Ainsley recoiled, her demeanor changing on a dime. She looked back at him with a hard expression on her face.
“Whatever you are doing, Malcolm, it’s not going to work. Dorian will hunt you down and kill you… Like the worthless dog you are.”
I swallowed hard, looking at clown man again, a name finally matching the face.
Holy shit!
This is the Malcolm. The one Dorian and Kendrick were discussing the first night I was at his estate.
Oh no.
16
Stop At Nothing (Dorian)
I felt like a caged animal the entire flight. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself everything was fine — man, there was something gnawing at me. No sooner did we touch down than I grabbed the phone, calling my security chief again.
“What’s the latest, Mark?” I asked the instant he answered.
He cleared his throat, obviously hesitating. That didn’t help my state of mind, not one goddamn bit.
“Out with it!” I demanded.
“Haven’t established contact with them yet, sir.”
Dumbfounded, I jerked backwards in my chair. “What the hell do you mean you haven’t made contact with them yet? It’s been hours since you and I talked last.”
Mark started to say
something, give me some bullshit excuse, but I cut him off.
“Have you sent anyone else over there to see what the hell is going on?”
“No, sir,” he muttered.
“Jesus!” I balled up my fist, just about to put it through the fuselage before I managed to get my rage under control.
“Quit fucking around. Text me the address to her apartment. I’m headed straight over there from the airport, and we will break down the fucking door if we have to. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, sir, I…”
Before he could say another word and mumble some half assed apology, I disconnected the call. Within minutes, he texted me the address to Tempest’s apartment. We arrived, and I saw Mark along with a few of my other security detail huddled at the base of the stairs. After getting out of the limo, I marched towards them, not even bothering to stop and talk.
“Let’s go. Fuck, come on. What the hell am I paying you for?”
Leaving them behind, I ran up the stairs, nearly taking two at a time. Together we stormed down the hallway until I reached the door of her apartment. Without waiting, I knocked on it with several hard strikes.
“Tempest! Open up!”
I paused, pressing my ear to the door. Turning over my shoulder, I glanced at Mark. “I don’t hear a goddamn thing.”
He shook his head. I turned back towards the door and started to pound on it with my fist. “Tempest! Ainsley!”
“Fuck!” I growled, backing away from the door. “Kick the fucking thing in.”
Mark gestured for a couple of the guys to step up. We broke through and I walked in ahead of everyone. The place was completely trashed, beat to hell. I looked to my left and saw the bodies of Devon and Robert. Tempest and Ainsley were nowhere to be found.
“Fuck,” I moaned, raking my hand through my hair.
Mark walked up behind me, and I turned in place, pointing my finger at him and poking it into his chest.
“I should fire you for this right now. How could you let this happen?”
He started to say something, but I turned my back on him, waving him off. “Don’t talk to me right now. Just start searching for anything you can find that might tell us where they were taken.”
