by Kira Adams
There are audible noises coming from the background as we pass through the house to the outside. The fresh air is the first thing that kisses my face along with the lower temperatures. Once the blindfold is removed, my gaze lands on the dark sky, which is littered with stars. Glancing around, it’s eerily quiet and secluded at this time of night.
“Well, are you happy?” Brains asks, in a snarky tone. “You’re finally getting fresh air.”
Glaring back at him, I roll my eyes. “Who damaged you?”
“Excuse me?” He leans in, his eyebrows furrowed, focusing on my lips.
“You heard me. Who. Damaged. You?” I draw every word out, accentuating it fully for effect.
He scoffs, but then grabs my arm roughly, pulling me into him. “Listen to me and listen to me very closely – questions about me and my life are prohibited. Got it?”
When he releases me, I can still feel the imprint of his fingers on my skin.
We spend the next chunk of time simply walking amongst the tall grass, alongside one another. Not really speaking, until the temperatures drop even further.
“It’s time to go back in now. That means it’s bandana time.”
Sighing, I oblige by tying it back around my face, obscuring my vision. “Do you think we might be able to come back tomorrow?”
A few moments pass making me think he’s purposely not answering me and then I feel his warm breath on my ear. “Don’t press your luck.” He leads me back the way we came, back inside and up the stairs until we are right where we started. “Have a good night, Mikhaela.”
And as fucked up as it may sound, even after everything, there is still a part of me that can’t fault him for any of it.
When the knock comes the following day, I’m ecstatic. He acted like there wouldn’t be a chance in hell that he would come back, but he must have been playing me. Rushing to the door, I’m surprised by what is on the other side.
Standing in the doorway is a tall, dark-haired figure. He takes a step in and the light shines on his face. He has bright green eyes and long, brown hair that is slicked back. This is not my normal captor. “It’s Mikhaela, right?” he asks, eyeing my frazzled appearance. I nod, mute.
“Well, come on then,” he says, spinning around and motioning for me to follow.
“I’m sorry…” I stammer, tripping over my feet to stand. “Who are you?”
“I’m Money, he tosses over his shoulder, walking out the door and down the stairs. When we get to the bottom of the staircase, there is a woman. She has a pink mohawk and nose ring. She kisses the man as he passes by and then winks at me.
My heart is pounding out of my chest. “Where are we going?” My voice comes out shaky and fearful.
The eclectic looking woman stares back at me, grinning. “You’re getting out of here, Toots!”
My eyes widen and tears sting the back of them. They’re letting me go? For a moment, a wave of euphoria washes over me. I’m getting out.
A loud bang startles all of us. “What the fuck is going on here?”
The guy, who told me his name is Money, scoffs. “Come on, Ammo. You and I both know that if we don’t get rid of the problem, we are all going to be dead. We are doing what we can to keep us all safe.”
Money, Ammo…are these their aliases so I won’t be able to turn them in?
I’m placed in a chair next to a dining table and the guy called Ammo approaches. He has dirty blond hair and brown eyes. He stares at me deeply as if he’s sizing me up. “What’s your plan?” He’s staring directly at me, but the question is posed to his counterpart.
“We called Tito and told him the situation and he seemed relieved. He said he is coming to get her, and he will deal with how to hand her back over to Eduardo. Point is, we are taking this responsibility off our hands.” Money responds, knocking his fist on the table, “He should be here any minute.”
Tito is coming to get me? This can’t be good. Although he was a huge help in trying to coordinate my escape, at the end of the day his loyalty is with my father. “No, no, please. Please, I’ll do anything. Please don’t let him take me back.”
All three heads swivel in my direction with puzzled expressions plastered across their faces. If they only knew what they were sending me back to…
A knock at that door causes us all to freeze in place. My heart is in my throat as my three captors exchange questioning glances. “What do we do?” Pink Mohawk asks under her breath.
“Please, I’m begging you. Don’t let him take me. You don’t understand what will happen.” My pleas continue as everyone is frozen in place, conflicted.
A second knock pierces the air, and my legs take over. Without much thought, they’ve carried me halfway across the room and up the first few stairs before I’m tackled roughly by Ammo. My nose collides with the stair and blood begins gushing down my face. “Shhh.” He places his finger across his lips. Quickly helping me stand, he grabs me by the arm and begins pulling me up the stairs two at a time. Unsure of what is happening, my body follows him blindly. If this means Eduardo won’t be able to get to me, then I’ll do anything. Within moments, he’s hidden me away in the darkest corner of the attic, along with the spiderwebs and insects. “Don’t make a sound.”
He doesn’t wait for my response, but is hurriedly back down the ladder and placing it back up within seconds. There are faint footsteps as he makes his way back downstairs. Who knows what changed their minds, but I’m thankful they’ve given me the shot they have, at a new life. They have no idea what they have done yet, but they will.
The suspense is killing me as time slowly passes. Eventually, gravel sounds from the wheels of a car coming into the driveway catches my attention. Slowly rising and peeking out the window, my eyes get a glimpse of Eduardo’s car. Sure enough, he steps out of the vehicle with an overwhelming presence. He could make the toughest man cower. He reeks of money from his penny loafers to his suit jacket and pants. His black hair and brown eyes fit him well and he oozes intimidation. He straightens his jacket the same way he has been doing for the last ten years and takes a few prominent steps toward the front door. Tito must have been the first one to arrive. Even from my hidden spot in the attic, his loud knock resonates through all the layers. It makes my blood run cold.
I’m not sure I can trust my captors, but at least they gave me a sliver of hope.
“Where have you been?” His voice carries from the other side of the large living room. It’s dark with only the side lamp illuminating the area.
My mother looks at me and then back towards the sound of the voice. “It’s okay, honey, I just took Mikhaela out for a little fun on her birthday.”
It’s no surprise that my father isn’t happy. My entire life he has made it a point to not allow me to have any kind of freedom. He says it’s for my own good and safety, but sometimes it feels more dangerous inside the walls of our large home.
“Eduardo, she’s fifteen, we can’t keep her locked away forever.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard her stick up for me in this way, but she’s never defied his orders before. No one does.
He rises from the shadows slowly, his intimidation growing with his stature. “I warned you.”
Her eyes shift between his and mine. “Come on, Eduardo. It’s her birthday. It’s just one day.” His fist comes out of nowhere, striking her across the face, loudly. I wince knowing that she is taking the punishment for giving me a day of freedom. The best day of my entire life.
“Stop!” The scream is piercing, that falls from my lips. “Please, stop, she didn’t mean to break any rules.”
My father obliges, his hand still in the air in strike position. He looks shocked that I’ve stood up to him. That we both have. “Miguel!” he calls for one of the main guys who works for him.
When Miguel appears a few moments later, he points to my mother. “Show her to my bedroom. We have a few things to discuss here.”
Miguel nods and then grabs Maria by her arm. She looks upset, f
rustrated, but most of all, scared.
“I know the way to my own bedroom, thank you very much,” she says, snidely, as Miguel pulls on her to move forward. “Don’t you touch her,” she warns Eduardo in passing, as she is pulled away.
This angers him even more. Grabbing Maria off Miguel’s arm, he pulls back his fist and punches her again. She goes down to the ground roughly, but this time she isn’t moving.
“No!” I scream, trying to rush to her side. Miguel blocks my path, his arms crossed and his nose in the air. “Mom! Mom!”
She continues not moving, scaring the shit out of me. “No! No!”
Eduardo motions for Miguel to get her. He pulls her lifeless body off the ground. Now that he isn’t blocking my eyesight, I can see that she is still breathing.
My father’s favorite thing is to elicit power, so by having Miguel escort my mother to the bedroom, it lets her know that things are on his terms and not hers. That her doing things like this isn’t going to fly.
When they are gone and it’s only the two of us left, he begins undoing his belt.
“No,” the words barely get out as my legs carry me all the way to the corner of the room. “Please, Dad.” Of course I wanted to get my ears pierced; I’m a girl for Christ’s sake. But my mother said our secret excursion out would be okay. That she would take care of it.
He scoffs, taking large strides toward me. “You should have thought about that before disobeying me.”
He hasn’t even struck me with the belt yet, but it’s as if my subconscious can feel the sting of the leather slicing my skin.
“Don’t do this. If you do, you’re only damaging me more…and then what?” I’ve never made this argument before. It’s been one for Tito to address with my father, but it’s the truth. The only world he’s left open to me is the world of a peon. The idea sends goosebumps all over my legs, arms, and torso. That isn’t any life for me.
“Take off your pants,” my father orders, smacking the belt across the palm of his hand.
“What?” I stammer. He’s used this belt on me before, but after the last time, Tito tried everything in his power to convince him not to use it ever again. I couldn’t walk straight for days after that. I could barely sit. My eyes dart around the room anxiously, wondering where my uncle is.
Miguel owes me nothing. In fact, my father took him in after he dropped out of high school and he’s been hanging around ever since. He’s rough around the edges, with tattoos littering his face and hands, but I’ve also seen his sensitive side. He’s a total mama’s boy. If his mother even had an inkling of where he was though, she’d never allow it.
It’s humiliating enough to have to be punished like this, let alone in front of anyone. Miguel hasn’t returned yet, but there is no telling when he will. My father gets what he wants as my bare butt is exposed. Squeezing my eyes shut, I anticipate what is to come — the sting that will immediately follow each lashing. How badly it will hurt for water to touch these areas, for quite some time after. He’s subjecting me to pain on so many different levels, it’s inhumane. He bends me over further making the view almost pornographic. It makes my stomach do sickening flips. And then the belt comes down, again and again.
Bo
The large, black SUV with no plates parked out front, should have been a clear indication that things are not going to plan. Hurriedly making my way inside, I’m met with an uncomfortable scene of Eduardo and Tito who have their guns drawn in a face-off with my crew. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Coming through the door, my arms remain raised as the tension continues to grow. “Tito, what is going on here?”
He looks at me, then back at Eduardo, battling something inside himself. “Trinity called and told us everything.” Son of a bitch. He’s throwing us under the bus and leaving out the fact that he called this hit. He’s the reason we are in this mess.
Glancing at Trinity, I can barely look at her. Snitch. How could she? She avoids my contact, keeping her head low.
“Where is she?” Eduardo asks, his voice booming. “And more importantly, where the hell is my money?” My heart is in my throat.
The guns are still drawn in all directions, but the beating of my heart is so loud, making it hard to focus on anything else.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” If I can stall him, maybe just maybe we can figure a way out of this mess.
“Wrong answer,” he says, so coolly, chills run down my arms. It’s as if the air has been sucked out of the room. It happens so fast; my body barely reacts in time. The bullet grazes my arm, stinging it. Shots begin pouring from every direction and I can’t find shelter fast enough. Being weaponless in a time like this is not doing me any favors. Dropping low and army crawling, I hide behind the kitchen table.
The commotion is overbearing and lasts for a good while until eventually dying down. Glancing around quickly, I’m thankful to only have one bullet wound to deal with. Peering up over the edge of the table, I notice Trinity squirming in a pool of her own blood. Without hesitation, my legs carry me quickly to her. It’s tough to say where she was hit, the blood is so red and there’s so much of it.
“Why did you do this? We could have been scot free…” Putting pressure on the wound I can clearly see, my head swivels around. Tito is dead on the floor adjacent to me. His eyes are open. Eduardo on the other hand is mysteriously MIA. “Ammo? Money?”
A noise comes from the other corner of the room and a disheveled Stefano pops his head out. “Trinity!” He quickly jumps up from his hiding spot and rushes to her. He takes over the pressure on her wound, as we try to keep her conscious.
“Trinity, I need you to stay awake. Can you do that?” She nods her head weakly, but her eyes are already rolling backwards.
“Baby!” Stefano cries. “Come on, baby. I need you to stay with me.”
I want nothing more than to get Trinity help so that we may be able to save her, but without knowing where Eduardo is, there is no time to waste. Standing up, there is only one thing on my mind.
“Where are you going?” Stefano hisses at me, his eyes wild.
“Ammo is still missing, and Eduardo disappeared. I need to find them.”
He doesn’t pay me any more attention, just goes back to rocking Trinity’s lifeless body, back and forth in his arms. Fucking Tito, man.
Hurriedly making my way through the house, my first stop is the kitchen to grab the largest knife I can find. Ammo is mysteriously missing, but he is the one who took out Eduardo’s men, hands down. He has to be the one who killed Tito. No one else had heat on them.
There is a faint noise coming from upstairs that catches my attention. Gripping the knife tightly, I ascend the stairs two at a time. A scream pierces the air, making my legs move double speed. The sound comes from the attic and the ladder is conveniently down. Cautiously climbing up, my knife is raised in front of my body for protection.
Ammo’s dirty blond hair comes into view along with Mikhaela’s curvy body. They are standing together, staring back at me. “What is going on here?”
They exchange glances before Ammo opens his mouth to speak. “Trinity called Tito and told him that we had Eduardo’s daughter, but we wanted to give her back. She thought if we came clean, he would be more likely to let us live.”
“Fucking hell.” Rubbing the back of my hand against my forehead, I clear away droplets of sweat. “Where is he?”
Ammo shrugs. “I came to make sure he wasn’t going to find her.”
My head cocks to the side. “She’s the reason we are all going to be killed and you want to protect her?”
Ammo scoffs. “You forget that you’re the one who got us in this mess. She wasn’t part of the equation. She was never supposed to be.”
“The longer you two stand here arguing, the longer my father has to find the money you stole, and kill you both,” Mikhaela chimes in.
Glancing out the window, it’s clear to see that the vehicle Eduardo arrived in has moved. It is no longer on the property. He
got away. “Trinity is really hurt, man. This was a fucking shit show.”
Ammo’s face falls. “Is she going to be okay? I don’t know what she was thinking,” he says, sadly, rubbing his face.
“It’s simple. She wasn’t…and we are all going to die for it.”
“I know this probably isn’t my place, but should we really be standing here any longer? We need to get the hell out of here before he comes back.” Mikhaela’s eyes are as wide as saucers.
“Fuck that shit. We aren’t going anywhere. This is where we go our separate ways,” I say sternly. “I can assume you won’t be turning us in anytime soon.”
Mikhaela looks even more frightened than before. “You can’t let me go right now. Please.”
The girl is downright insane. It’s almost as if she has a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome. Why else would she be begging to remain a prisoner?
Ammo looks at her as if she has two heads. “Dude, that’s your deal.” He throws his arms in the air, walking away. “Let’s get what we need and bounce in twenty.”
Mikhaela turns her attention solely on me. “Please, don’t. I won’t be a problem. I won’t turn you in.”
She’s pleading with me to bring her with us and it’s confusing as fuck. “You don’t make any sense. Keeping you with us will only put us in more danger. Tito is dead…who knows if Trinity made it.”
“If you let me go, my father will lock me away forever, or worse, sell me to the highest bidder to make his money back. I’ll never see the light of day. If there is any ounce of compassion inside of you, please don’t do that. I promise to be quiet and stay out of your way. I won’t run. When it feels safe to go separate ways, we can do so. But please, just not today.”
It’s difficult to argue with her. She never asked to be a part of this mess, but now that she is, it’s hard to remove her from it all. She’s in too deep, now. Groaning, my body gives in. “Fine, but if you make me regret this – we are dumping you at the nearest rest area and never looking back.”
