Her hate-filled eyes meet mine as uncontrollable laughter bubbles up from my chest. I feel almost as crazy as she is. “I hope I get to watch as Gabriel kills you,” I cackle. I feel as though I’m having an out of body experience. I’m losing it and I can’t seem to stop. Tears fall with abandon as I hunch over, laughing so hard I have to hold my aching stomach.
Out of my peripheral vision, I see her fight against Gianni to get to me, but he’s too strong. Minutes after the door closes and locks behind them, I finally get my laughter under control.
I have to get out of here.
***
It’s been four days since Marley was taken, and with each passing second, I’m going more and more out of my mind. If I don’t find her soon I’m going to break.
“There she is,” Aldo’s voice carries from the passenger seat and my eyes follow his line of vision. Kiersten skips out of her apartment building and jumps into the cab waiting at the curb as though she doesn’t have a care in the world.
“You see her face? Looks like someone beat the shit out of her,” Carlo calls from the back seat.
“That’s nothing compared to what I’m going to do to her.” I turn around to face the back seat. “Did your man find anything on her property records?” After I figured out Kiersten was a part of this, it only made sense that wherever they were keeping my girl, had to be somewhere the bitch owned. We’d combed the entire fucking city and the surrounding areas for Eduardo and Gianni for too long now. They were counting on us never to suspect her involvement.
“Not yet, but he’s close. We should have everything we need soon. He knows his shit, boss. We’ll have everything from her property records to how many goddamned cavities she’s had filled.”
“Tell him to speed it the fuck up,” I respond curtly before throwing the truck into drive and following the cab, making sure to stay at least two car lengths behind the entire time.
He pulls his cell phone from his pocket and shoots off a quick message. “On it, boss.”
We ride in complete silence as I tail the cab. We’re thirty minutes outside the city when it finally pulls over in a rundown part of town.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Aldo asks the question I’m currently thinking. This is most definitely not Kiersten Van Beck’s scene. She wouldn’t be caught dead in the slums.
She climbs from the back of the cab and shuts the door, walking up the crumbling sidewalk as the driver takes off like a bat out of hell. Even he knows you don’t want to be caught dead in this place after dark. We all watch with rapt attention as she walks up the rickety stairs of the neglected house and knocks on the door. It swings open after a minute and the light from the naked bulb on the porch illuminates the occupant perfectly.
“Bingo. Looks like we found our man.”
I cut my eyes over to Aldo and smile. His lips tip up to mirror my own before we turn our attention back to the front porch just in time to see Gianni pull Kiersten into the house and shut the door behind them.
We wait, watching as a light on the second floor comes on. Now’s our chance. “Show time,” I tell my guys. As one, we pull our guns and get out of the truck, making our way to the back of the house on silent feet.
The piece of shit house is so run down there isn’t even a proper lock on the back door. Being careful where we tread to prevent stepping on creaky floorboards, we enter the house. I give myself a few seconds to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness before waving Aldo and Carlo on.
I keep my ears open for noises of people moving around as I take in my surroundings. Dirty dishes and trash are strewn across the stained and cracked kitchen counters. Ripped linoleum is peeling up all over the kitchen and dining room floors. The living room is no better. A busted up, ratty love seat and a cheap, plastic lawn chair are the only pieces of furniture in the room, both turned to face an old school tube TV that probably doesn’t get more than three channels on it. This place really is a shit hole.
Aldo raises a fist in the air telling Carlo and me to stop moving. All three of us listen to whatever caught my friend’s attention.
His big finger points in the direction of the stairs at the same time a feminine moan sounds from above as I lead the way up, Aldo close behind with Carlo at his back. Quickly but silently, we ascend the stairs to the second level. The moans become louder with each step I climb, followed by male grunts.
Once I hit the landing, I’m able to make out what the two of them are saying, and I wish to Christ I’d never heard it.
“Yes! Oh God, yeah! Just like that, Gabe. Fuck me harder!”
The fuck?
I turn and make eye contact with my guys, all three of us frozen as Kiersten pants and shrieks like a fucking cat in heat from the bedroom. I give my head a violent shake to try to dislodge the memory of what I just heard, but it’s pointless.
“Shut the fuck up, you stupid whore,” Gianni grunts as I step in front of the open door, flanked by Aldo and Carlo on each side.
A naked Kiersten is bent over a dresser as Gianni fucks her from behind, mashing her face down into the wood with his hand. I can see red handprints on her ass and thighs clear as day. Red welts are forming across her back from where he’s used his belt as a whip. His arm comes up then swings back down with so much force, the crack of the leather hitting her back, sets my teeth on edge. Christ! That had to fucking hurt.
But she doesn’t scream in pain. Her back arches, pressing her fake tits harder into the dresser as she screams out my name. “Fuck yeah, Gabe. Hit me again, baby. I’ve been a bad girl. Oh, fuck yes, Gabriel!”
“I’ll fucking gag you, bitch. Shut the fuck up!” he tells her with a hard slap across her face. All that hit does is make her scream for it harder. There isn’t enough booze in the world to make this image okay. I’ve seen enough.
“Jesus Christ. You really are one crazy-ass cunt, aren’t you?”
Gianni spins around at the same time Kiersten comes off the dresser with a yelp. He moves for his gun, but there are already three pointed at him before he even had a chance to pull his cock out of that dirty bitch’s rancid pussy.
“Gabe!” Kiersten cries, rushing over to me. I turn my gun on her before she gets within reaching distance, causing her to freeze on the spot. “I’m so sorry, baby. It didn’t mean anything! You know I love you. Please don’t be angry with me.” The psycho freak is crying, clasping her hands in front of her naked tits like a prayer as she begs me to forgive her. How did I not see she’s completely out of her head, batshit fucking crazy?
Before I can say anything, Aldo sends a right hook to her temple, knocking her out cold. When I turn stunned eyes on him, he just shrugs. “What? Crazy bitch was getting annoying.”
All I can do is shake my head before turning back to Gianni. He stands naked as the day he was born with his hands in the air, his cock still standing at attention. No doubt, this is one of the most disturbing nights I’ve ever lived through.
“Should have used a condom, no telling what that slut’s carrying,” I tell him right before I put a bullet in his left thigh. He goes down with a yell as I walk up to him, turning the gun in my hand. “Lucky for you, you won’t live long enough to find out what all she gave you.” With a perfectly placed hit, he’s knocked the fuck out, also. “Let’s get them to the basement. Time to have some fun.”
Kiersten and Gianni come to with a start, both bound to a couple wooden chairs we found in the basement. Walking up to Gianni, I rip the duct tape from his mouth and take my seat in front of him, wielding the hammer in my hands, which I found on an old work bench. I’ve already taken the necessary precautions, having removed my expensive shirt and replaced it with one of his that I found in the room upstairs. No doubt, this is about to get messy.
“You’re never getting her back.” Gianni laughs. “It’s too late, Almaraz already has her.”
Without hesitation, I bring the hammer down on his left index finger so hard I completely shatter the bone. He bellows out a stream of
curse words as Kiersten watches from the corner, whimpering behind her gag. The bitch should be scared. She’s next.
Standing over him, I grab Gianni’s chin and jerk his head back so he’s focusing on me. “Where the fuck is he keeping her?” I seethe.
He laughs between breaths. “Like I’ll ever fucking tell you. You’re a sellout. A goddamned pussy,” he hisses in my face.
I smash his left middle finger without blinking, ignoring his agonizing cries. This goes on for way too fucking long. Ten minutes of him refusing to answer, and me crushing every single finger on his left hand, it’s time for a change in tactics.
We stare at each other for long moments, in a standoff to see who will crack first.
“It was so easy, Gabe.” He smiles. His breathing is labored due to the intense pain he’s feeling, but he’s holding strong. The goddamned fool always was too fucking stubborn for his own good. “Your little slut over there came up with the whole plan,” he says with a tilt of his chin in Kiersten’s direction causing her eyes to grow wide. “All we had to do was snatch that little blonde cunt, and your bitch came running to the rescue.”
I feel Aldo beside me before I see him.
“What did you say?” his deep voice rumbles.
Gianni turns his sneer to Aldo. “You heard me. That little slut you’ve been playing house with. Gotta tell you man, no wonder you’ve been all over that piece. Her pussy’s fucking addictive. Tight as a glove.” He turns his face back toward me. “Didn’t get a chance to sample your girl yet. But I’ll be sure to make her scream my name.”
Snatching the hammer from my hand, Aldo lets out a shout as he busts both of Gianni’s knee caps in quick succession before dropping it to the ground and whipping his knife out, shoving it into the bullet wound on Gianni’s thigh. Carlo and I jump into action, grabbing hold of the massive man and pulling him off Gianni before he can kill him. He’ll die tonight, but it’s going to be slow and brutally painful.
“Enough, brother.” I try to rationalize with him as he fights against me while Gianni howls in pain behind me. “We’ll find her, Aldo.”
“Finish it,” he finally tells me once he’s calmed down somewhat. His chest rises and falls with every rapid, angry breath he takes. He knows as well as I do, we aren’t getting any answers from him. But what he did give us was a new toy to play with and force answers from. No fucking way in hell Kiersten would ever be able to hold off.
Gianni’s lack of clothing is about to be used to my advantage. Walking back to the workbench, I grab the object I’d spotted earlier. It’s perfect. Dull, rusted, serrated blade. This is going to take a lot of effort on my part, and a twisted smile spreads across my face as I turn and make my way back to a bound and whimpering Gianni. He sees the old knife in my hand and immediately begins to yell.
“Gag him.” At my command, Carlo tapes Gianni’s mouth shut as he flails around in the chair, trying to break free of his bindings. Too bad for him, it’s useless.
I return to my chair in front of him and get to work as Carlo and Aldo hold him still.
I guess the blade was duller than I initially thought. By the time, I’m done hacking and sawing at that oh so sensitive appendage, the reason I never went to med school becomes quite clear. I guess I just didn’t have the steady hands required to be a surgeon. Taking the rusted knife, I stand and grab hold of the back of Gianni’s head. Tears and snot cover his face, vomit seeps from behind the tape.
“You were my brother once,” I tell him, as I look him in the eyes. “You never should have stabbed me in the back.”
With that, I slowly bury the blunt knife in his jugular before pulling it back out and stepping away, watching as he bleeds to death in a filthy basement of some shitty house. It’s a fitting ending for a traitor.
Turning around, I see Aldo watching Kiersten with murder in his eyes. She used his girl as bait, getting her hurt in the process. It’s no longer just Marley we’re looking for, we have to get Carmen back as well. He’s never admitted his feelings for her to me, but I’ve known my best friend long enough to see how much he cares for Carmen. It doesn’t need to be said, it’s written all over his face and in his body language. And for that reason, Kiersten belongs to him. I’m just surprised he’s held back from ripping her apart so far.
Like a fucking miracle, Carlo’s phone chooses that moment to chime. He pulls it from his pocket and reads the message he’s just received. From the smile on his face, it’s clear that it’s good news.
“We got it, Gabe. Property records show she purchased an abandoned building not too far from here at the same time she bought this dump. No doubt that’s where we’ll find them.”
Walking over to Aldo, I slap him on the back and place a hand on his shoulder as he continues to stare her down. The bitch is so fucking scared right now she’s pissed herself. “She’s all yours, brother,” I tell him. The moment the words leave my mouth Kiersten’s eyes shoot up to mine, wide with terror as she shakes her head vehemently.
“You really thought I’d save your psychotic ass?” I ask her with a laugh. “You truly are out of your mind. You’re not even worth my time to finish off myself. That’s how little you mean to me.”
Muffled screams come from behind the duct tape as she fights against the ropes holding her to the chair.
Aldo walks up to her and rips the tape from her mouth. When I look at him questioningly, all he does is lift his shoulder and tell me, “I want to hear her scream.”
“Please, Gabe, don’t do this,” she sobs. “Don’t do this, baby. I love you. Please! I know you love me, too! I’m begging you.”
“You’ve got five minutes then we’re rolling out,” I tell Aldo. “Make them count.”
Carlo and I walk up the stairs and out of the room without so much as a glance in her direction as she begs and pleads with me. Once the basement door is shut behind us, all we’re able to hear are her muffled screams of pure agony. From the sounds of it, Aldo’s definitely making his five minutes count.
“I’ve been told you’re not eating, my love,” Eduardo’s cold voice pulls me from a fitful sleep. My eyes slowly open, blinking against the harsh light and I slowly lift my head to take him in. I have no idea how long I’ve been trapped in this room, but it’s been long enough that my refusal to eat is beginning to take its toll on my body. I can barely stand on my own when I’m allowed one of my infrequent restroom breaks. Resting my head back on the mattress, I close my eyes and try to visualize myself anywhere but here.
“You must eat, Marlena, you’re getting too thin. You know I don’t like you to be skin and bones.” His words dredge up painful memories from my past, being force fed, unable to fight after my body had been used to its breaking point. Bile churns in my empty stomach as I recall gagging against whatever Eduardo and his men forced down my throat.
His frustrated sigh sounds through the room when I don’t bother to acknowledge him. “Fine, you leave me no choice. I will not tolerate insolence, even from you.” I hear footsteps, praying he’ll just leave me be when the lock clicks on the door and it opens. Instead of him leaving, he calls out, “Bring her in.”
Despite my body’s weak state, I jerk to sitting when feminine screams carry up the hallway, getting closer and closer to my room. “No! No! Let me go!”
Oh, God. What have I done?
Two men appear in the open doorway, throwing Carmen’s naked, fighting body to the floor. Before she even has a chance to sit up, they’re on her. Kicking and punching with all their strength.
“STOP!” I scream at the top of my lungs. When I try to climb off the bed, Eduardo halts me by grabbing a handful of my hair and yanking me back so hard, my eyes sting with fresh tears.
“Look at what you’ve made me do, Marlena, all because you don’t want to behave.”
Carmen’s body is curled into a fetal position, her arms covering her head as she uselessly tries to protect herself from each crushing blow. “Please! Stop, you’re killing her!” I scream thro
ugh my sobs. “I’ll eat.” I turn to face my devil and beg. “Eduardo, I’ll eat, I swear! Please just make them stop!”
“Enough!” Eduardo barks and his men instantly stop. Eduardo’s hold on my hair loosens and I immediately dive from the bed, grabbing Carmen and cradling her in my lap.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” I cry hysterically as I rock her beaten body back and forth. Her eyes are squeezed closed as she whimpers in pain, making my tears fall even harder.
“Take her away.” I try to fight as they rip Carmen from my arms, but it’s no use. She’s limp as they drag her from the room, and shut and lock the door behind them. “You will eat now, my love,” Eduardo orders, pulling me back onto the mattress and pushing a tray in front of me.
I look down without really seeing what’s in front of me and begin shoveling food into my mouth, struggling to swallow past the vomit that burns my throat. I’m so focused on not losing what food I’ve managed to get down; I haven’t noticed Eduardo moving until I feel his legs stretch out on either side of me. As I eat, I’m pulled back into his body until my behind is pressed up against his groin. His hands come down to grip my hips so tightly I flinch. Closing my eyes, I try to ignore his touch on my body.
“Eat,” he demands when he notices I’ve stopped.
Suppressing a shiver of disgust at having his hands on me, I push more food in my mouth and swallow, not tasting a thing as it goes down. His hands on my hips shift, pulling me tighter against his body, and I cringe at the feel of him growing harder against me. It takes everything in me not to throw up.
His hips jerk up as he pulls me back, and then a fresh batch of tears breaks free when I realize what he’s doing. I force another bite, trying my best to drown out his groans from behind me as his erection rubs against my behind repeatedly, but as he uses my body for his own pleasure, it’s all I can do not to choke.
“I’ve missed you, my love,” he whispers in my ear, and the heat of his breath on my neck makes me gag. My hand flies up to cover my mouth in order to keep the vomit in as he ruts and grunts against me. “I can’t wait to be inside you again, Marlena. It’s been too long.”
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