More blood dripped down from the level above, landing right next to my bare feet. Drip. Drip. The rhythm went perfectly with the slow hammering of my heart.
“Are you going to kill me, too?” The words fell from my mouth, burning my raw throat. Pain locked up my limbs but I held still as best as I could.
Pressure gripped harder and I didn’t fight the hold. The stranger’s head tilted and the side of his mouth lifted into a smile that caused fear to spark for the first time. I knew that look. I’d seen it on every man’s face who’d ever wanted me.
“You’re not going die, Mary Hagen. Not today. Your father has something that belongs to me. Until he gives it back...” His other hand brushed the hair back from my face and a finger came to trace over my lips.
“You belong to me.”
Chapter 3
Mary
The terror on Bethany’s face as she rushed down the pier didn’t compare to the shock that registered for me when she pulled a gun out from underneath her fancy dress. My sister, with a weapon? She was a vegetarian for crying out loud. She didn’t like guns. She couldn’t.
The speed boat I’d been tossed into took off so fast my head jerked forward. Where it was going, I didn’t have a clue. Wouldn’t either. My hands were handcuffed behind my back, and before Bethany was completely gone from my sight, a blindfold settled over my eyes and everything went dark. The movement and impact with the waves didn’t take long for my stomach to start becoming queasy. I tried keeping my head up, using the air rushing around me to make myself feel better, but I was doomed. Especially since I was facing backwards from the bow.
Shit. I was going to be sick. Panic surged as I contemplated what to do. My head moved left and then right. Left. I needed to try to miss being sick on the interior. A hand clamped onto my leg as I lunged over and tried to make it to the side. The force of the wind accompanied with the sudden grip threw me off balance and I fell, hitting the back of my head on what I assumed was the edge I was trying to make it to. Sickness took over from there and I heaved until sharp pains cramped my stomach. Warm throbbing pulsed with every heartbeat. Hands eased me up, placing me back on the seat. From the scent that assaulted me, I knew who it was. The gunman. The one who had stabbed Jordan without a second thought.
“Let me see.”
He turned my head and began rubbing his fingers over my scalp, but I fought to get away from his nearness. I knew I wasn’t bleeding.
“Don’t fucking touch me. You did this. Don’t pretend to give a shit if I’m hurt.”
A scream exploded from my mouth at him balling my hair in his fist. The injury flared, making me dry heave.
“I don’t pretend. If I’m doing something, it’s because I fucking want to. And no one is going to tell me different. If I want to check your injury, I will, and there will be nothing you can do about it. Let’s get something straight right here and now, Princess. You may be a spoiled little brat back home, but until you leave my care, you’re nothing more than what I make of you. When I give you an order, you follow it. No questions. If you dare even think about challenging me, you’ll regret it.”
Over the years, I’d learned many things. One was self-defense. My mind battled over rationalization or retaliation. I wanted to hit this man. He’d taken me from my family, from the option of going home. He’d hurt me, when I hadn’t given consent, and he needed to know that no matter what he planned to do with me, I wasn’t going to let him get away with it without a fight. But was it smart to do it on a boat, handcuffed? Probably not. I was masochistic, not stupid.
“Will you at least tell me why this is happening? What was in those crates?”
The hold on my hair disappeared and he leaned back, letting me go completely. “Now’s not the time. You’ll learn everything soon enough. Try to get some rest. We have a long trip. Where we’re going, no one will ever find us.”
I obeyed. For now. It didn’t take me long to realize he wasn’t lying. The boat ride ended and I thought we were finished. How wrong I was. I was ushered into the back of a vehicle and the drive lasted for what felt like days. Off and on I dozed, waking up here and there to attempt to be sick some more, but at that point, I didn’t have anything left. I was weak, exhausted, and most of all, ready to stop. I craved a total lack of movement. It’d be perfectly alright with me if I never got on another boat, or in a car, again.
Gravel began to crunch under the tires. A groan involuntarily left me as we hit a big bump and I bounced off the floor. Where in the hell were we? Definitely in the middle of nowhere, but where was that? Were we even still in the United States? Canada and Mexico weren’t that far away, and we’d been going now for hours. I wasn’t sure how many, but long enough to know that I’d missed more than one meal.
Waves of nausea threatened while my head connected with floor from the next bump. Unconsciousness beckoned. I could feel myself slipping away, but I tried like hell to fight it. What if we stopped and I was knocked out? What if they took the only thing I had left? No, it might have been stupid, but my virginity was everything to me. It was mine and no one else’s.
What I assumed was a van finally came to a stop and the sound of a door opened. Whether it was to the back or the side, I had no idea. My sense of direction was off. Hands picked me up and the air left me as I was thrown over a shoulder.
Immediately, I started thrashing. If they dropped me, fine. At least I wasn’t going easily.
“Hold still, Mary.”
I didn’t listen. Fire stung into my ass and my head shot up. The world spun at the abrupt movement, but I noticed for the first time the blindfold I had on had shifted a little. A dim sense of color emanated through the bottom and I dropped my head again, twisting and trying my best to shake it off. A bounce stole my breath, but the force was enough to cause the material to give way to my vision. My head lifted as best as it could and all I saw in the distance was what looked to be dark shadows of trees. It was nighttime.
“Hey, put that back on,” a man’s voice boomed from behind, black boots appearing as he ran up. The blindfold was fitted back over my eyes and I let out a blood curdling scream. I didn’t get to finish before lights flashed before my eyes and the most excruciating pain rocked my head to the side. Then…nothing.
****
“What the fuck were you thinking?” The sound of the gunman’s voice faded in and out while I fought to wake up. Shuffling moved close to me and I felt the blindfold being eased off. The agony had my head trying to turn the other way. Cold leather touching my shoulders and arms made me shiver. Was I on a sofa? If I could just open my eyes, I would see. But I couldn’t. My body didn’t have the physical strength.
“She was screaming. What if someone heard her? I thought I was doing us a favor.”
A growl tore through the room. “There’s not a neighbor for miles. Haven’t you seen what she’s been through on this trip? Then you go and hit her? I should fucking filet you alive. Get the fuck out of my sight before I change my mind and let your blood make my night.”
Footsteps hurried away and the touch returned to my face. Fingers angled my head to the side while more traveled lightly across my cheek.
“Mary, I know you’re awake. You’re breathing is too quick for someone who’s unconscious. Open your eyes.”
As if I could. Were it that easy, I would have slapped his hands off of me.
“Come on, darlin’.” He turned my head to the other side and a sound came from my mouth. “There we go. Now open your eyes.”
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t. His voice muffled off and on and I must have passed out again because the next thing I knew, I was sitting against something. Another sound. Was that me?
“Shh.”
Fuck. I was rocking. Was I back on the boat? Light filtered through, only to disappear again. My eyes rolled and a room blurred by. A huge room with what looked to be fancy artwork on the walls and a grand piano in the corner. Definitely not a boat.
That smell.
I tuned in, noticing it got stronger. My eyes flew open as everything bombarded my aching brain. “I’m going to be sick.” My voice sounded raspy, broken up between syllables. A bowl was put in front of me. I tried moving away from the gunman, but he wouldn’t let me go. My stomach heaved but nothing came out. God, was this ever going to end? I couldn’t afford to get sick anymore. My head felt like it was going to explode and my throat was beyond raw.
The bowl was taken from me and laid on the other cushion. I looked up into the eyes of my abductor, only mere inches away from my own, and let my gaze burn into his soul. To what lay behind those gray orbs looking at me so intently. He needed to see I wasn’t afraid of him. That I hated him with everything in my being.
“Tell me why I’m here and what I did to deserve this?” My hand came to my cheek. It was so swollen, I couldn’t even fit it in my palm.
“Not yet. You need to rest.”
“Goddamnit.” I winced through the pain. “Just tell me. What does my father have that’s so important you had to take me to get your point across?”
Nothing. Not a single word came from him. With every minute that passed, I could feel my body getting heavy. Sleep. I needed some of that. But not here. Not like this. I wiggled, but knew it was useless. He held on, content with just holding me. I didn’t understand. This wasn’t the normal behavior of someone who went around kidnapping people, was it? This man didn’t look like a thug or convict. The house he lived in, the clothes he wore, the smell of his cologne, it all spoke of money. Not to mention, he let me see his face. Did he plan on killing me in the end? Is that where the small amount of affection came in to play? Maybe remorse for what he was going to have to do?
A door opened and two men walked inside. I recognized them from the boat. The first had to be close to almost seven feet tall, while the other was maybe six feet. The taller of the two was bald, but from the look of him, it wasn’t age that made him decide not to have hair. He looked maybe thirty, possibly a little older. The other was maybe mid-twenties, but he had dark skin and dark eyes. One look into his face and I felt pure terror. That one wasn’t right. He was evil.
My stare moved to my captor. I’d gotten that impression from him at first, too. He held the emptiness within, but where he could be kind, I knew the other one wasn’t. Shit, I needed to get out of here. Was it possible to escape? In time, I’d find out. The moment I was back to normal, I was going to run like hell. Where? I didn’t care. Just away from here.
“Connection is all set up and waiting on you. Whenever you’re ready.”
Suddenly, I was being cradled. He followed them through a large gourmet kitchen and into what I thought was a pantry. As we descended down the stairs, I clutched to his shirt, ready to tear into his face with my nails if I needed to.
“I’m going to put you on a chair, gag you, and tie you up. If you fight me or do anything that pisses me off, I’m going to leave you there for three days. Do you understand?”
There was no way I was going to escape if I was locked down in an underground room. I swallowed hard as a dim light gave view of the wooden chair he spoke of. Electrical equipment, a camera, and monitors were set up throughout. Chills raced from head to toe. Was he here to make a video? Like a porno? Or was this going to be for my father? God, I hoped it was the latter. “I promise not to fight.”
“Good.” He sat me down and reached for my arms, pulling them behind my back. The hemp burned into my skin with each wrap around my forearms. My eyes closed on contact. Damn, I loved the feeling of rope. Well, I had, before this. The tiny spark of arousal faded as he backed away and came to kneel before me. His hands eased up my dress to settle it in my lap. Our eyes met and held as he tied up my feet. With each bind of rope, my breathing got heavier, more labored. I couldn’t help it. It only made me more pissed off. “That should do it.” He took a ball gag from the taller man and my eyes flew open.
“Wait.” I looked between them. “Isn’t there cloth or something you can put in my mouth instead? What are we doing? Please.” I began to panic. The only thing keeping me sane was that I was in a chair. They couldn’t fuck me if I was sitting down. But I was already tied, and it wasn’t to the chair. Shit. If they wanted to pick me up, I’d be at their mercy.
A frown came to my abductor’s face and he leaned forward. “Open.” A single tear fell down my cheek. I hated weakness. Hated it so much that I opened wide for him. Surprise flashed across his face for the briefest moment. “Good girl.”
Oh, how I’d longed for those words in the past. Not anymore. Not from him.
“Bring me the other chair.” He kneeled again and met my glare. “I know you don’t understand, but you will soon enough. This has to happen. Just…” A chair was sat down beside mine and he didn’t continue. “Call him.” There was that cold tone. The one I’d heard before. I looked over and met the eyes of a monster. Of the devil, himself. And I couldn’t look away. It was as though I was sucked in and held hostage. And wasn’t I, for real? My captor in this form was soulless. His darkness surpassed mine and made me feel like a child trapped in his internal hell. A little girl asking to play on his playground of wicked rides. But I didn’t want to be on this roller coaster. I wanted off. Out. Away from him and what he was. If I could only break our eye contact… Somehow, I managed.
The taller man headed behind the camera and turned, pushing and messing with things on the computer. A weird ringing I’d never heard before fill the room. It wasn’t the typical kind you’d hear while calling on a cell phone. This one had a variation of short tones. Almost like an old school internet dial-up connection.
My father’s face was suddenly on one of the monitors and I could feel myself shaking. I wanted to yell at him to come get me. To take me away from here. I’d do anything. There’d be no more embarrassment from me. I’d be the best daughter possible.
“Jesus! What have you done to my daughter?” Red covered his face while he stared into the screen. Where were the cops? Were they recording this? Would they trace the call?
“This is only the beginning.” My kidnapper reached over and grabbed a folder from the smaller guy, opening it. “Illegal guns. Drugs.” Pictures fell to the floor as he flashed them at the camera and let them fall to the ground. I looked down, shocked. Crates rested in the floor of my sister’s room. In the next pictures, the wooden boxes were opened, revealing guns and packages of what I assumed were the drugs he was speaking of.
My eyes slowly rose to my father. Was it true? Where they all involved with illegal activities?
“But this isn’t the only thing you and the Brighton’s traffic, is it?”
“You’ve lost your mind. Give my daughter back and we’ll walk away from this without any more trouble.”
The kidnapper leaned further in the chair. “You fucking wish. Don’t think you’re going to get away with this. I have evidence that may not tie you directly, but I sure as hell could ruin your career.”
I looked to my father, my mind racing, going over every sort of trafficking I could think of. There was only one more that became apparent. My blood turned cold as the realization hit. Every muscle that twitched in my father’s face, I noticed. There wasn’t a single change in expression that I didn’t catch. Mostly, I looked into his eyes. They told me everything I needed to know. My heart broke and I had to turn my head away. He was guilty of something and everything in me told me it was what I suspected. Shit. The knowledge that he could be a part of anything that touched on rape was enough for me to want to turn my back on him. Sex trafficking…please, no.
For a good half minute Victor didn’t say anything. When I glanced back at the monitor, only then did he speak. “What are you getting at? What the hell do you want?”
Lightheadedness made my eyes roll. Please don’t let me be sick with a ball gag in my mouth. Fuck. It was true. Victor Hagen was not my father anymore. Not after what had happened to me. How could he do such a thing?
“Your son-in-law and daughter were responsibl
e for my sister’s disappearance. I want her back. Do you hear me?” His deep tone was full of threats as he went on. “Lily Roberts. Nineteen years old. Lured out of a nightclub in San Francisco while she was visiting friends, three months ago. You have thirty days to locate and bring her back to me. If you don’t, Mary will be sold to the buyer of my choice. In the meantime, your daughter will partake in what I assume my sister is experiencing. She’s mine in every way.”
Victor slammed his fist on the desk. “You don’t understand. We don’t deal in names. Finding her will be impossible.”
“Bullshit! You did this. Now fix it.”
I jerked wildly in the chair. The ball gag was suddenly too much. Drool fell from my lower lip as I tried to scream. This was not happening.
The camera shut off and the gunman lowered his head into his hands.
“Enough,” he snapped at me. “Take her—
At his words, I shook my head wildly. I’d rather go with him than those two goons. One was better to fight off than two.
He paused and raised an eyebrow at me. “You don’t want to leave this room?”
Slowly, I nodded. Just calm, Mary. Slow down.
“So then you want to leave here, but what?”
My eyes jerked to the men and I shook my head no, again.
“You don’t want them to take you?”
Again, I shook my head.
“Too bad. Take her to my room.”
Chapter 4
Slade
Don’t do it, Slade. The scotch disappeared from the glass as my mind contemplated what I knew I had to do. Mary Hagen was my bargaining chip for the safe return of Lily. Only she could bring my sister home from the hell that would have been her life now for almost three months. But, not without a price. If my sister had to suffer, so did she. And, in my hands, I wouldn’t have to do anything but be myself.
SLADE: Captive to the Dark Page 4
