by Ruby Madden
I shivered in repulsion. Disgusted that I’d ever allowed this man to be inside or even near my body.
Oh my dear god, what had I gotten myself into?! Why had I accepted this stupid job?!
My need for water and my thirst prioritized over my disgust at being in proximity to him or his touch. I needed to keep my head on, be practical. Stay fed and watered.
“I’m hungry, Todd.” I said, very little emotion in my voice. It might be the only piece of power I had at the moment, but I’d use it to its utmost.
“Just like that. You start asking for favors before offering to do anything for me?” He said, a lascivious smirk on his face.
I recoiled, “Never-mind. I’ll starve first.”
“Celeste, we’ve already been intimate.” He said, reminding me of what had been a good memory, now spoiled by his true nature being revealed to me.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
I was so angry with myself. For even starting the maid job at the Manor. For allowing the situation to get to me. For allowing my heart to fall for Sir Cardiff…
I gulped, “True. But I wasn’t tied up against my will. Certainly not kidnapped.”
“Don’t you maids like this sort of thing? Being tied up, used and abused? Isn’t that what gets you off?” Todd said, glowering at me.
Mortified, I just stared at him. Was there any way to reason with a man who was clearly a psychopath? A sociopath, perhaps?
I felt like I was going to pass out. My heart was beating furiously again and I felt dizzy. Why in the world had I taken that walk to the pond?! I could shoot myself for ever leaving the Manor.
Todd stood up from his crouching position, reminding me how tall and physically in shape he was.
“Alright princess. I’ll get you some food. You be good now? You hear me? No struggling or attempting to get anyone’s attention?”
He put the ball-gag back in my mouth but didn’t put the blind-fold on. That, I was at least thankful for. I watched him put on his coat and then as he exited the door, he had the nerve to ask me what kind of food I liked.
Asshole! He knew I couldn’t answer…
“You’ll take what I give you.” He said, leering and then winking.
His message couldn’t have been louder or clearer what he had in store for me. Once the door closed behind him, I began to cry.
I was as good as dead. I just knew it.
~ ~ ~ ~
Sebastian’s cell rang and he jumped as if he’d been hit with an electric cattle prong. “This is Sebastian,” he answered, a bit flustered.
“Sir, its Max. I have an update… You may want to sit down. But first, know that I’m on my way to Cardiff as we speak.”
Sebastian groaned, his stomach immediately turning into a piece of dark, cold coal. “Just tell me, what the fuck is going on?!”
Max took a deep breath, “Sir, she’s been abducted.”
“Abducted?! Fuck…”
“Yes, sir. We have the surveillance footage. I need to ask some questions. The sooner we get on top of this, the more likely her successful recovery.”
Sebastian’s heart stilled at those words. Successful recovery… As in alive, not dead. “Go ahead,” he stated as calmly and quietly as he could contain himself.
“Has anyone been in contact? Seeking reward or compensation? Sabotage or blackmail? Anything of the sort, sir?” Max asked.
“No. Not a peep… Nothing I can think of…” Sebastian answered, his mouth feeling like cotton, all the moisture sucked out.
“Sir, I have to ask a difficult question. It will help in how to move forward and maneuver this incident.”
“Of course, whatever you need. By all means.”
“Is Miss Celeste important to you, sir. Outside of the usual terms of employment with your maids?”
Sebastian stood frozen in place. His mind wanted to blurt out, “No. They’re equally all important to me. Cared for and well-taken care of in terms of being high-paid playmates…”
“Sir, you there?”
Sebastian realized he hadn’t answered yet. Max was waiting for a response. One that he didn’t quite know the answer to yet, himself. They were only just getting acquainted. Yet, his heart defied his mind, his instincts to remain objective, aloof and emotionally un-invested.
“Sir, I have to ask again. Is Celeste important to you? Do you care for her, and her well-being?”
“Yes,” Sebastian said, almost a whisper. A revelation to himself.
“Thank you, sir. I can imagine how hard this must be for you. We will do everything in our power to return her safely and unharmed.” Max said, the determination in his voice revealing itself. He was doing what he did best, keeping it together while his employer comprehended the extent of what was happening.
What had happened.
A woman he cared for had been abducted right off of his property.
“We have a lead. In reviewing the perimeter surveillance, one of my guys recognized the gait of the abductor—“
“You have footage! You witnessed an abduction?” Sebastian cried out, angry that Max hadn’t revealed this to begin with.
Clearly his head of security was handling him since he knew the emotional component and reaction from his clients was incredibly important to manage so that they could effectively tackle the situation.
“Yes, sir and I will show it to you ASAP, but there is something incredibly important we need to ask.” Max shared, doing his best to control the conversation.
“What?” Sebastian barked out, a bit too firm. Wincing at his own conviction.
“Is there any reason, any reason at all why your friend, Queen, would be at odds with you or have any reason to be sabotaging you?”
“What!?” Sebastian declared loudly as if what had been asked was the most incredulous question he’d ever been asked in his entire life.
“Sir, I apologize. It’s vitally important we know. Please.”
“Of course not! Queen is my closest friend. She’s practically a sister to me! What in the fuck is going on?!” Sebastian barked out losing his patience.
“Okay, good. One of my men recognized the gait of the abductor. Despite being hooded up and having no recognizable facial features to work with, physically he has the same stats as Todd, one of Queen’s bodyguards. I believe he’s gone rogue. For what reason, we don’t know. But I’m sure we’ll know soon enough.”
Sebastian sat down in a nearby chair with a crashing thud.
Dear god! He knew from what Queen had shared with him that Todd was a former CIA operative gone into private security for the world’s elite.
He was one of Queen’s most trusted security team-members. This was the type of betrayal that neither of them would have ever seen coming. It was also partly why the rich and powerful often had such a hard time trusting anyone or allowing their hearts to become invested too soon. Betrayals, of all sizes and flavor occurred frequently.
Sebastian could handle most of them. But not at the hands of a paid security staff member and certainly not with regards to someone he was growing attached to and had feelings for.
What a way to figure out that he cared for her!? That, in such a short time, he’d grown so fond of her.
It made no sense and he knew it, but his head wasn’t making the rules any longer. His heart was. This was new territory for him. A different way of proceeding and he was somewhat at a loss.
Thank God for Max…
“Shall I contact Queen or is it best that I leave that to you, sir? Either way is okay by me. I respect how challenging this situation is.” Max asked slowly and carefully. Softly, with a gentleness in his voice shared between men who knew that vital relationships and lives were on the line.
“I will.” Sebastian said, his heart heavy in more ways than one.
~ ~ ~ ~
When Todd returned with what smelled like Chinese food, I jerked to attention after having drifted off to sleep.
<
br /> I was surprised I’d nodded off as I thought that a situation like this would likely keep anyone wide awake. That could only mean that he’d been gone a while. I looked for anything that might show the time, but was out of luck. The only thing I could gauge by was the nominal bit of light peeking through the window.
“I’m going to undue your hands so you can eat. No funny business, eh?” Todd said calmly while laying out our meal on a table.
I’d already decided that I would be very complacent, agreeable and cooperative until I had a plan in place. Once his guard was down, I knew my advantages better and had him believing that I wouldn’t dare attempt to make a move on his life or an attempt to escape, I’d find a window of opportunity.
I might not know much, but I would need to play on the element of surprise.
Or so, at least – I prayed that I would have that chance. The opportunity to make a getaway.
He lifted me and the chair that I was more or less strapped to, up and over to a small round table. He took off my ball-gag and then reached to undue one of my hands. I watched him, keeping my guard down. Being passive.
Once he had everything set out to eat, he handed me a pair of chopsticks. I waited until he gave me permission to dig in. When I did, I moved slowly and calmly. No sudden movements. Nothing to make him think I might try something.
I dug in and found the food to be good. Although my stomach was tied up in knots from nerves, I knew I needed to keep myself fed if I was going to survive this.
“Do you like it?” He asked.
I nodded.
“Good.”
We ate in silence. He finished before I did as I was eating slower than usual on purpose. I wanted to get my fill and I wanted to assess his mental state. I already knew mine – panicked and scared out of my mind.
“We have a long trip ahead of us, so you need keep your energy in check. Eat, rest and behave. That is all I ask of you.”
Something in me wanted to react like a wild cat gone mad. I wanted to claw out his eyes and rip off his face. Instead, I continued eating, seething.
Where the fuck was he taking me?
As if he’d read my mind, he continued. “I’m taking you to someone who will properly appreciate you. You and your submissive nature.”
I couldn’t help it, but before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “I don’t even know if I’m submissive! I just took this job to pay the rent! I was borderline homeless...”
He didn’t seem convinced and remained quiet, seemingly immune to my outburst.
My appetite complete disappeared and I stopped eating. I fell silent and did everything in my power to not cry, to stay in control of my feelings and emotions. My body betrayed me however as I started to shake uncontrollably.
I couldn’t hide my fear.
Which caused him to stand, grab his jacket and drape it over me. He gestured to my food, “Eat.” He said firmly.
I gulped and picked up my chopsticks again. I wanted nothing more than to poke out both of his eyes but I knew the end result would be me injured, not him. Besides, I had free use of my hands, no ball-gag at the moment and my vision back. For those, I’d be more than obedient. For now.
We sat in silence, and I listened to him chewing. His firm jaw, the one that had been so close to me before, clicked a bit with each bit. It was a shame, I’d found him very handsome. Thrilling actually.
Fuck! What a fool I was…
Then it hit me. What if this is what Sir Cardiff did?! Was he the one who’d put Todd up to this?!
My thoughts racing, being paranoid, I felt the need to implode. Explode. Disappear through the floor. Just… something!
Todd turned on a TV set that I hadn’t even noticed and tuned into a station with a sports game. It was a shame since one of the teams was a favorite of mine. Not that I’d share it with him. Thankfully, it did the trick. I knew what he was up to. Attempting to take my mind off of the situation I found myself in. It took me a long time to finish eating, but I managed to do it and he was patient about it. At that point, I desperately needed to use the bathroom.
“When can I use a bathroom?” I asked meekly.
He responded by unfastening me from the chair, lifted me from it and hoisted me over his shoulder and carried me to a small bathroom. Before I knew it, my pants and underwear had been peeled down and he sat me down on the toilet.
Mortified, I looked up at him like he was some sort of monster.
“Do your business and don’t be shy about it.”
I looked away, desperate to relieve my bowels and bladder. Nothing happened at first, but after a minute or so, I finally relented to the humiliation of being looked-over like some toddler learning potty-training. If being abducted wasn’t already so horrific, this was definitely up there with utterly embarrassing and awful to experience.
When I was done, after I pulled up my panties and pants, he hoisted me over his shoulder again.
“Hey! At least allow me to wash my hands!”
“There’s no need, I know where they’ve been. I kinda like having the scent of a woman’s pussy on her fingers.”
It was too much, so violating and ridiculous. Fucking perv!
I squirmed like mad and kicked my legs in revolt, testing his resolve. Bad move, he hoisted me off his shoulder, had my hands behind my back, sat down and had my body over his lap in no time.
Equally fast, my pants and panties had been pulled back down and he was slapping my ass. Hard.
“Fuck you, you fucking asshole!!” I screamed out, fighting him with everything my petite frame could give.
I barely paid attention to the pain he was delivering to my ass, I was too desperate. Desperate to be released and free. Free of him and this awful situation I was in.
Smack! Slap! Thwack!
Fuck, this was really beginning to hurt. I stopped squirming. Finally, I relented.
“Stop misbehaving, Celeste.” He said coldly.
“Fuck you, T—“
And just like that, I was ball-gagged again.
Shit. Fuck. Crap. So much for having my hands and voice back…
“The sooner you accept the inevitable, the more freedom you’ll have. Play nice with me, and I’ll relay that to your new master. It will work in your favor, for where you’re headed.”
Then it hit me. He wasn’t going to keep me for himself or murder me. He was selling me! I was being abducted by a sex-slave trafficker!
I simply couldn’t handle my reality at the moment, it was too bloody much! Everything started to spin and for the second time in less than two days, I passed out cold.
~ ~ ~ ~
Max Spencer hated being outwitted – by anyone. To catch an abductor, he needed to think like one.
He sat waiting, which was a great deal of what his job was about. He did a lot of thinking, plotting and figuring out his next steps, so the essence of his work was in the waiting.
Currently, he was waiting for an update by his men out in the field. Men he trusted with his own life and had utter confidence in. Men who’d he’d selected himself for incidences such as this.
He knew well enough that he was representing both Sir Cardiff and Queen. A scandal this big would create some unsavory and very much unwanted PR for both of them. Let alone the toll it would take on Sir Cardiff.
Max like Sir Cardiff, as a human being. As a person. Which wasn’t something he could say for many of his prior employers or bosses. Most were power-hungry, money-grubbing, greedy and selfish bastards who truly believe the world was their personal oyster and oasis to strip, rape, ravage and treat like a slave. Selfish bastards he’d grown very weary of working for.
Sir Cardiff was a breath of fresh air, as was Queen. Both were truly noble, kind, and thoughtful people. Their business efforts were primarily devoted to philanthropic causes and for that, he overlooked their unique kinks, sexual fetishes and alternative life-styles.
His cell buzzed and he a
nswered. There was a bit of static on his end of the line, but he had a back-up walkie-talkie if needed. Everyone on his team did.
“Sir, it’s been calm for a while now. It would seem that she’s resting again. That, or he has her drugged to keep her docile.”
“Most likely. She could also be passing out from fear too, so I want to monitor her core body temp. He’s trained to prevent shock, so I anticipate that he’s preventing that from happening.”
“Of course.”
To date, none of Sir Cardiff’s employees or loved ones had been abducted, which stood as a testament to his high-level of security and skills. That this had occurred, a blemish on his perfect record, was already inexcusable. For it to have happened with a woman that meant more to Sir Cardiff than just another high-level, playmate – made it all the worse.
Thankfully, he was already on Todd’s trail, but needed to play it all out so that no one got harmed. In the end, it came down to money. It always did. If Todd wasn’t asking for money, which he would have done by now – then it was easy to determine that he was providing a service for someone else.
How Celeste had come to the top of that list in such a short period of time under Sir Cardiff’s roof and employment was another mystery to be solved.
He’d already secured her location, but couldn’t inform Sir Cardiff just yet. He needed to ascertain Todd’s next steps and find a window of opportunity to retrieve her. He knew that Todd would be quickly on the move and if the information he was reviewing was accurate, he was planning on taking her to the Orient – Asia. Which was a long journey to successfully pull off such an operation. So, whoever had secured her, was willing to pay for it and a high price at that.
Who would go to this much trouble and why?
Celeste was indeed a lovely, demure woman and potential submissive, but as it stood, she was barely introduced into the world of elite play-mate services for the rich and powerful. For her to be specifically targeted was very curious for Max. Odd and made no sense to him. He trusted his gut that there was more to this story than met the eye – there always was. Something that perhaps his employer hadn’t correlated or was highly reluctant to share.
