by Bloom, Nikki
“Come on now. What are the chances you’d ever meet a guy like me, let alone have him decide he wanted you as his wife.”
“Wife? My gosh, Dante. You don’t even know my middle name,” I gasped.
“Like that matters. I’m looking for a real woman.” He grabbed onto my thigh tightly. “I’ve been with Florence for so long I can’t take it anymore.”
“Let go of me! Get one of your other secretaries to shack up with!”
“Right. Because you’re too good for this. You’re too good to bed down a millionaire. But you’ll let an ex-con like my stepson take you in a garage. See, call me crazy but that sort of turns me on. And the fact you so quickly and willingly went off with him is just confirmation that you are an opportunist.”
“How do you know I went off with him?” It was scaring me how much he knew.
“I’ve had you followed for quite some time. You actually lead a rather boring life. That’s another reason why I’ve decided to break you in.” His choice of words made my skin crawl. “I’ve found it’s the quiet ones who are most open to suggestions.”
“I don’t believe you. If you’re just trying to scare me, fine. I’m scared. I want to go home. I’ll leave RIT and never say a word to anyone,” I pleaded.
“Don’t, hush, honey.” He let go of my thigh only to stroke my hair and let his hand fall down my shoulder and brush across my breast.
Instinctively I slapped his hand away. Wrong move. He backhanded me so hard across the face that my teeth chattered together. I saw stars for several seconds before the shock wore off and the pain set in. I held my cheek and tried to think of a way to escape. What was he going to do to me?
“You don’t really want to marry me or anyone else, do you?” I croaked.
“No.”
“Then what do you want me for?”
“I want you to do something for me. Something that will help my wife and also get rid of her son.”
“And if I say no?”
“Well, I’ve got a couple of rich friends who are always looking for fresh faces to present to their clients. You’ll go to a nice tropical island, probably get a simple room all to yourself. That will be your permanent residence. The word will spread you are there and men will come from all walks of life visit you. Naturally blonde American women fetch the highest bid. You have no idea how much you are worth.”
When we pulled up to this monstrous mansion, I swear my heart stopped beating. I could disappear in this place alone and no one would ever find me.
“Dante, I’ll do whatever you say,” I blubbered. I felt like a traitor to Alex and myself. What was I saying? Was I really so willing to make a deal with the devil? “You’re right. I don’t have any family. No one would miss me except maybe…” I stopped short but Dante finished my sentence.
“Maybe Alex?” He scowled. “Maybe my pathetic stepson is worrying about you? The man who will be back in jail before the night is over? You think he’s even thinking about you? Not hardly.”
Playing the good girl wasn’t going to work. Playing the bad girl would be a ruse I didn’t think I could pull off. But maybe, if I just tried to escape I’d be able to make it. Wait for an opening and then jump at it. Isn’t that what they do in all the movies?
“Now. You are going to come inside the house with me. You aren’t going to try anything because I have security cameras, guards, and dogs at my disposal. I’d hate to have any of your body scarred up before I’ve had a chance to taste it for myself.”
I tried to swallow but I had no spit.
“Get out of the car nice and slow. And don’t force me to use this.” He held up a stun gun.
I sighed in defeat and again did as I was told. When he came up behind me, he took hold of my arm and squeezed it so hard my knees wobbled.
“Come on. There are a few people you need to meet.” He dragged me up to the front door. I was terrified. My heart pounded as I stared at the big wooden doors. I expected to see the sign, ‘forsake all hope ye who enter here’ stamped into the brick above the door.
The door was open and we walked right in.
“You trust your neighbors that much to leave your door open?” I tried to sound tough but came out sounding like a little girl trying to distract the neighborhood bully by making myself seem more like a person and not just an object for their amusement.
“No. But they trust me.” The door slammed shut with a loud thud before Dante slipped the deadbolt into place. That was when my situation went from bad to worse. “Come! You need to meet my wife.”
He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me through the house to a winding flight of stairs. Had I not been kidnapped and threatened with rape and being sold into slavery, I might have looked around at the house and seen something beautiful in it. But as it was, everything reminded me of a cold mortuary.
“No! No!” I tried to pull away, but Dante was stronger and as we reached the top of the stairs, he threw me into the wall. I hit my head and spots floated in front of my eyes. Before I could try and get away, he took hold of my hair and yanked my head backwards. He pressed his lips against mine, his other hand feeling over my chest and between my legs.
I bit his lip. It was the only thing I could think of, but I quickly realized it was a bad idea. He cried out, pulled back and slapped me again. I fell to the floor in a daze. My mind tried to find the ends of this dream. Like somewhere was the edge of this veil and once I grabbed hold of it, I’d wake up in my bed. None of this was really happening. None of it could be real. This just didn’t happen to people.
Not to rich people, my inner voice said cruelly. But you aren’t rich. You are disposable. People at work will think you quit or better yet, got fired. No one will look for you. No one will miss you. Dante’s got that right.
I bit my tongue to try and keep from crying but it was no use.
“You’re being a very bad guest. I really don’t think the lady of the house would appreciate you acting the way you are. I think you should meet her.” Dante’s smile had turned from sinister to evil. This was no longer just a guy with a hard on. There was something more diabolical about him.
Once again he reached down and wrenched me up by the arm. I cried out in pain, making him smile even more. He led me down the hallway to a room with a closed door. He knocked.
“Honey? Are you decent?” he called. There was no answer. The blood was racing through my veins as I froze, not wanting to see the horror behind the door. What had he done to Florence Ramsey? I didn’t want to know. But when he pushed open the door, I felt my heart break in my chest.
I’d seen all the pictures of Florence Ramsey over the years. She was a handsome woman with striking features that may not have been the stereotypical signs of a beauty but made her distinguished and unique. I admired the way she’d looked with her late husband. They’d looked as if they’d had a secret between them and swore to guard it, but every once in a while they’d hint at it with a smirk or sly grin.
What I saw wasn’t Florence Ramsey. It was the shell of her. She was too young and too thin to be in a wheelchair.
“My God! What have you done?” I cried.
“You see, my beloved wife has chosen drugs over me. It’s only a matter of time before an overdose claims her life.”
Again I thought of that journal entry I’d seen set for two days from now.
“You monster! How can you do that to her!”
Dante rambled of a string of insults at me. I barely heard them as I stared at Florence Ramsey. She was wafer thin and her eyes drooped heavily as she looked at me. But I had no idea if she could even see me. If she knew anything was going on she didn’t acknowledge it.
I tried to fight. I struggled and scratched and slapped at Dante but I was no match. Then someone came up from behind me.
“Is there a problem, sir?”
“Hold her down.”
I tried to scream but a thick hand clamped over my mouth. My purse, which had been slung over my shoulder, got caught
and the leather strap dug deeply into my shoulder before snapping and falling to the floor. My phone fell out and to my shock it was still on.
“What is that?” Dante screamed. “You called him?”
I looked at Dante and for the first time saw fear in his eyes. It made me brave. At least as brave as I could be with two men the size of linebackers in front of me.
“Donald, go check all the doors and make sure they are secure.” He looked at me with such hatred I was afraid. The reality of the situation suddenly sunk in. If I didn’t try to do something, I was going to die in this place. But not now. Not while Dante was here, holding me in a grip so tight my arms were going to be left bruised and sore.
Donald left the room and Dante whirled me around so my back was against his chest. He slipped on arm around my waist pulling me painfully into him. With the other he ripped my blouse open and yanked up my skirt.
I started to cry as I looked to Florence Ramsey. Regardless of what Dante thought, she could see what was happening but likely couldn’t do anything about it.
“You can’t do this in front of her.” I wept.
“Yes I can,” he growled. I felt his other hand fumbling with his belt and pants but before he could finish a shadow fell across the window.
It was Alex!
13
Alex
I thought I’d braced myself for the worst. But I hadn’t. That devil had Nova’s clothes ripped, and the puffiness around her face told me he’d hit her and doing so in the presence of his heavily sedated wife, my mother. I lost all control.
“Let go of her!” I said through clenched teeth.
Dante’s face contorted into a grimace. He used Nova as a barrier between us. I saw her try and dig her fingers into the arm that was squeezing her around the waist. She looked at me with eyes wild with fear. All I could do was take one step after another, closing the gap between us little by little. But Dante was inching his way toward the door.
“You want her? Take her!” He practically lifted Nova off her feet and threw her at me. I tried to break her fall but she collided with the dresser, hitting her head. Blood began to run from the gash.
“Nova.” I held her face.
“Get him.” She put her hand to her head. “Get him or we’ll never be rid of him.” She kissed me and promised to lock the door behind me and stay with my mother.
As I ran out of the room and to the top of the staircase, a bullet whizzed past my head. Donald was at the bottom of the stairs like some cowboy making a last stand on his land. He had the gun in his right hand and stared up waiting for me to poke my head out.
The longer I waited upstairs, the further Dante was getting from receiving justice.
“Donald, I don’t know what Dante has promised you but you aren’t going to get it!” I shouted and peeked around the wall. Another bullet flew by, causing me to wince as the pieces of plaster flew around me. Donald didn’t reply.
“You know you are protecting a rapist, an embezzler, and now he’s got you attempting murder. Where do you think you can go?” I hoped that maybe a few bits of common sense might prompt Donald to run away. But I was wrong.
“He hasn’t promised me anything, Alex! I’ve already got it all. And once I’ve killed you, I’ll be calmly driving to the airport for a long vacation,” Donald said, and I heard the bottom stair creak. He was going to come up the stairs? Was he crazy?
I looked around and saw a small Ming vase my mother had sitting on a pedestal. It had occupied that corner of the hallways since I was a kid. It was just out of the way enough that a boy running to and from his room would miss it.
Without thinking I grabbed the vase and waited. I knew the creaks of the steps. He was in the middle of the staircase and slowly working his way up.
“Donald, if you help me, I’ll make sure the authorities know. I’ll make sure they don’t sentence you to a lifetime of hard labor for drugging an old woman in order to abuse her financially.”
“It wasn’t just financially,” Donald chuckled. I’d never un-hear those words. There would never be anything that would pierce my heart as badly as what he’d just said. I stepped out from the corner of the hallway to see the smile immediately fall from his lips. Before he had a chance to raise his gun, I hurled the vase at him. He tried to shoot at it but missed, the vase smashing against his chest, ceramic chunks flying everywhere. Donald shook his head, confused, and before he had a chance to recover, I dove for him.
We tumbled down the stairs and I landed on top of him. His gun went off into the air one more time hitting the crystal chandelier overhead and causing the crystals to clink together.
I grabbed hold of his wrist and pounded his hand into the marble floor until he let the gun fall. Once he was unarmed I pummeled him. Over and over I crashed my fist into his face. I straddled him and let the fury of several years come out with each blow until he was nothing more than a panting, pleading bloody mess with no nose to speak of and a couple teeth missing. He’d never grin again.
I grabbed the gun. It had two bullets left. Leaving Donald, who was helpless and maybe even dying, I took off in search of Dante. But he was nowhere on the premises. His car was still in the driveway. If he’d hoofed off on foot, he’d still have his wallet and cell phone.
Just then I heard sirens. They were getting closer and closer. It was obvious they were coming to my house. Dante must’ve called the police and reported me as an intruder. My record would have me back in cuffs and behind bars before I could blink. I had to see Nova before they took me away.
“Nova?” I knocked on the door. She opened and quickly threw her arms around my neck, sobbing. “Nova, the police are coming and…”
“I know. I called them. I told them what was happening and they’re bringing an ambulance for your mother,” she cried in my ear.
“They are going to blame me,” I said, and held her tight. The memory of making love to her flashed in front of my eyes and I felt the sting of tears.
“No, they won’t. I’ll make sure of it.” She sounded so confident. That all the facts would fall into place, that justice would be served, and love would prevail. But it didn’t happen like that. Never.
“It’s not that easy. Remember, I’m the one with the police record.”
She pulled back from me and took the gun from my hand. “Where are those papers you said would exonerate you?”
“They are in my mother’s office in the lining of her wedding picture hanging on the wall,” I stated matter-of-factly.
“Do you think Dante is headed there to try and get them?” she asked.
“Maybe?” I thought. “More than likely.”
“Then I don’t have a lot of time. Give me your keys. You’ll have to do what the police tell you. Your mom will go to the hospital. I’ll get to you as soon as I am able.” She kissed me again. “Stay with your mom. She can see you.”
I looked at the woman in the chair and it felt like I was a boy again. As Nova left to greet the police, I rushed to Mother’s side and took both her hands in mine. On my knees, I cried.
“I’m sorry.” It was all I could say. “I’m so sorry.” Tears fell onto the blanket over her lap as I repeated myself. She wasn’t an old lady. I kissed her hands and promised to make sure she got better. Although deep inside my heart I was terrified she’d never be the same again.
Before I could say anything else, the police and EMTs rushed into the room. I stepped back, told them the drugs were in the bathroom and that I didn’t know what doctor was prescribing them.
“Mr. Ramsey, I’m afraid you are going to have to come with us,” a uniformed police officer said after I’d given him my version of the events.
“I understand.” I looked at the uniformed officer and felt the hot humiliation of tears filling my eyes. “Do you have to use the cuffs? The last time she saw me I was in handcuffs. If this is really the last time she’s going to see me, can you let me walk out like a man?”
“Come with me, Mr. Ramsey.”
He extended his arm toward the door. I saw him nod to the other officer that it was okay. I looked at my mother who seemed to have slumped over even more in her chair. Then I walked out.
I wondered if Nova was able to get to the office. If Donald had an escape plan like he’d said, Dante was already likely aboard the private jet heading out of the country.
Once again, justice would slip away. I had to hope Nova would have better luck.
14
Nova
I sped back downtown to the office. I looked like I’d gotten run over by a train. My face still stung from Dante’s love taps and half the buttons on my blouse were missing. But I wasn’t going to change. I wasn’t going to risk not getting back in time to get whatever these papers were that would help Alex.
When I pulled up in front of the building there was no parking. There was a fire hydrant and an emergency lane and an alley. I didn’t care. I squeezed into an illegal space, left the keys in it, and dashed through the revolving doors. What was an impound fee to a free man? Not a big price to pay.
Everyone was looking at me and the security guards tried to stop me, all asking if I was all right. I held my blouse shut and paid no attention to how much thigh I was showing from my ripped skirt. I’d survive.
When I reached the floor and the doors opened up, both receptionists looked at me. The younger one started to giggle. The older woman whose name I never could remember came bustling over to me.
“Nova, I’m not supposed to let you back there. Is Mr. Ramsey with you?” She looked nervously at the elevator doors.
“What? No. And you aren’t stopping me,” I said, adjusting my purse over my shoulder.
“I have strict orders from Mr. Ross that you and Mr. Ramsey are not to be allowed back. You’ve been fired and...”
“I’ve been fired? Then I’m going to collect my things from my office.” I started to head into the maze of cubicles when the older receptionist put her hands on me to prevent me from going.