by A. L Long
Feeling a gap between the wall and what I assumed was the door, I tried to find a handle. There wasn’t one that I could feel, at least not where I would expect one to be. “What kind of fucking door is this,” I thought to myself as I continued to try to find anything that would tell whether or not this was even a door. Feeling the gap again, I lowered my body and began running my fingers in the crack, hoping to find some sort of latch. It was only when I got to the other side of the door that I felt something that could have been a way to open. It was no wonder I had missed it before. About half way down the door were two small holes in the metal that were large enough to get a finger inside.
Placing my index finger and my middle finger in the holes, I began tugging at the door. When that didn’t work, I shifted my weight and tried to slide the door open. There was a little resistance, but the door finally slid open. It wasn’t my strength that opened the door, but the burly man standing on the other side. I had never seen him before, so it made me wonder who the hell he was.
“Looks like the little lady has decided to wake up and honor us with her presence,” he said sarcastically.
I was in no mood for his humor. “Who the fuck are you, asshole?” I asked, inching slowly away from his large frame.
“Now, now, is that any way to talk to me, princess?” he said with a cocky grin.
I didn’t realize that as I inched away from him, he inched closer. My movements caused me to back right into the cement wall, trapping me in a corner. He was so close to me now that I could smell the sweat and stench of his soiled clothing. He stunk so bad, I was certain that he hadn’t showered in a month. When he brushed his grimy hand along my cheek, it took everything I had not to spew all over him. I tried to turn my head away, but he stopped my movements by pinching my cheeks between his fingers.
“If you want to stay alive, you better be a good little girl,” he whispered as his face was now inches from mine.
I knew he was going to plant his lips on mine. Closing my eyes as tight as I could to shut him out, my head began spinning with memories of the last time someone had forced themselves on me. Just when I thought another panic attack was going to enter, I heard a familiar voice. “Leave her alone, Ben,” Sean said from behind him.
Looking down to his side, he stepped back and allowed Sean to come into full view. It was only then that I realized that it was the gun he was holding in his hand that persuaded the burly guy to step back. Putting his hands up in surrender, the man said, “Just wanted to scare her a little, boss. Didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Scare, my ass,” I thought to myself. If Sean hadn’t come in, he would have taken what he wanted without asking. Just like all the other scumbags from my past. As I got the room, I needed to breathe, Ben left the room, leaving me alone with Sean. I wasn’t sure what was worse, being mauled by Ben or being alone with Sean. Gaining my confidence, I looked him in the eye and said, “You can’t hold me like this, Sean. You need to let me go.”
“I can’t do that, Brie,” he said, pacing the floor as his hand raked through his hair. “Listen, I need to keep you here.”
“Why, so you can get your kicks by beating the shit out of me?” I replied coldly.
“You needed to learn respect, Brie. If you would do as I ask instead of misbehaving, I wouldn’t need to keep punishing you.”
“Punishing me. Are you fucking kidding? You’re a psycho!” I yelled, just before he walked over to me to backhand me across the cheek. I guess the truth hurt.
“Shut up, Brie. Unless you want me to do it for you. If you would have just listened to me and stayed away from that security guy, we could have been miles away by now sipping Tootie-fruity drinks on a beach somewhere.”
“Are you even listening to yourself? I would never go anywhere with you.”
“You’re mine, Brie. Always have been and always will be. We are in this together. I may have made mistakes in the past that have put me in this position, but the one thing I’m sure of, I’m never going to let anyone hurt you. We’re done talking. You can either come with me or stay in this room.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, thinking of a way I might be able to escape this deranged man.
“Upstairs, where you will be more comfortable.”
I wasn’t sure where we were going, but we got into an elevator with a pull-down door. As we ascended, I kept thinking of a way to escape. If I could just catch him off guard, I would be able to use some of the maneuvers that Cop taught me. The only problem was that I couldn’t get to the gun he had stuffed in the back of his pants. My chance to escape came and went as the elevator stopped and Sean lifted the heavy door. Looking around from the inside of the elevator, it was like I had stepped into a different dimension. The room was fully decorated with state-of-the-art furniture that looked like something that would have come out of a James Bond movie.
Stepping off the elevator, I took a better look at my surroundings. Even though there were no windows that I could see, the room was very well lit. The fake windows, that I had to take a second look at, were decorated with scenic views of beaches and mountains. When the scenes began moving, I knew there must have been a projection of the pictures shining from somewhere in the room.
“Follow me and I’ll take to where you can freshen up,” Sean said, looking over his shoulder.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“Because this is the only way that I can keep you safe. When you have finished showering, I will explain everything.”
An explanation was something I really didn’t care about. I only cared about finding a way out of this place. I wasn’t even sure what this place was, or where. Following close behind, Sean escorted me into a large bedroom that had an attached bathroom. I only assumed it was his since the colors chosen for the décor were more masculine than feminine. The bathroom was also very masculine. Even though there was a large jetted tub, which reminded me of the one at Cop’s place, I choose to take a quick shower instead. The faster I could clean up the quicker I would be able to get out of here. Stripping off my clothes, I reached over and turned the faucet to turn the shower on. As I waited for the water to get hot, I took a look at myself in the mirror. The reflection that I saw was much too familiar. There was bruising on my right cheek and my lower lip had been split. “Why do I keep letting men get the best of me?” I said to myself as I placed my index finger on the cut. It was a wonder I still had my looks, considering the amount of times my face had taken a beating.
The water felt good on my sore body as I stood in the large shower that could easily facilitate four people. Looking over to the shelf, I picked up a bottle of my favorite brand of shampoo. Things began running through my mind, like how much planning went into my kidnapping and how long Sean had been planning this. Another thing was, whose place was this? And where was I?
Finishing with my shower and drying off, I headed back to the bedroom to find a clean change of clothing lying on the bed. Removing my towel, I took the lacy bra and panty set and put them on. If it hadn’t been my only choice in essentials I would have never picked anything so sexy. I wasn’t sure what Sean had in mind, but just thinking about it made my skin crawl. I was sure he would have preferred to see me naked and forgo the sexy lingerie. I was happy to see that at least he choose a simple sundress to cover my lacy under garments.
Once I was dressed, I began searching for anything that would assist me in finding out where it was that I was being held. Opening the dresser drawers, the only thing I saw were more lacy under-things, women’s clothing all in my size. This was beginning to make me very uncomfortable. Sean not only kidnapped me, he intended to keep me here for a long time. My chest began to tighten. Walking over to the closet, I reached around the corner to find a switch. Turning on the light, the feeling in my chest got even tighter as I saw the closet filled with women’s clothing on one side and men’s clothing on the other.
Pushing the clothing aside, I looked for anything that I could use as
a weapon. There was nothing, unless I used the ridiculously high stilettos perched on the shelving between the hanging clothes. Stepping out of the closet, there before me with an unsettling grin was Sean.
“I hope you like the things that I purchased for you,” he stated.
“I don’t know what you are planning, Sean, but you need to let me go,” I said knowing I was wasting my breath.
“Come sit on the bed with me. We need to talk.”
I was hesitant to even listen to him, but there was really no where else for me to go. Taking my place at the end of the bed, I watched as Sean settled beside me. “Whatever you have to say or explain isn’t going to change the fact that you have broken the law in so many ways, and when they find me, you are going to spend the rest of your days behind bars.”
“If I had my choice, I would rather be found by the police than being found by the people looking for me any day. But unfortunately for you, that is never going to happen, because I won’t let it.” Sean began, “I’ve made a big mistake, Brie, that I’m never going to be able to fix.”
“What are you talking about, Sean?” I asked.
“The men that are after me are ruthless bastards. Killing me and you would only be target practice for them.”
“What did you do, Sean?”
Rising to his feet, he began pacing the floor. I knew whatever it was had to be bad. Very, very bad by the way he was pacing. “Just spill, Sean.”
Looking down on me, he began explaining. “I took money, Brie. Money that I shouldn’t have kept. Now they are after me.”
“Who?”
“Drug people,” he confessed.
“Just give them their money back,” I said.
“It’s not that simple. For one, I don’t have it anymore. Secondly, even if I did, they aren’t the kind of people that will just take it back and forget it even happened.
“What did you do with the money?”
“You’re looking at it,” he said, lifting his hand. “This place.”
I wasn’t sure what to think. Not only was he in danger, he also put me in danger as well. This was not going to happen. I needed to find a way out of here, and fast. It was then that I noticed the flower vase on the small table by the door. Standing up, I walked over to the flower arrangement and did something I thought I would never do. I began playing my part as the caring girlfriend.
“Sean, did you get these for me?” I said, pulling a rose from the vase. When I looked over to him, he pushed from the bed and began walking towards me. When he was in my personal space. I clenched my teeth in disgust and placed my hand on his cheek. “We will work together to fix this.”
As he lowered his lips to mine, I reached behind me, took hold of the vase, and smashed it against the side of his head before his lips touched mine. The look on his face said it all as his body crumbled to the floor. When he didn’t move, I grabbed the door knob and hurried back to the living area where the elevator was.
As I got inside and pulled down the heavy door, I was glad that I didn’t run into Brutus Ben. Pushing the top floor since I knew what was below, I prayed that it would take me where I would find my escape. When the elevator finally stopped, I lifted the door only to find a set of stairs leading up. Taking them two steps at a time, there was another metal door at the very top. Pushing it open, daylight hit my face, giving me a taste of freedom. The only problem was, I had no idea where I was. Scanning the area, it looked like I was being kept in some sort of shelter. The shelter, or whatever it was, was surrounded by a chain-link fence. Running to the gate, it was locked with a chain and a padlock. My heart sank, knowing I came this far only to be trapped once again. Looking for another escape, I could see that there was a small area down the fence line where the fence had pulled away from the steel post.
I pulled the fencing back as far as I could, which allowed only a small space that I could crawl through. I managed to get the front of my body through before the sharp edge snagged the hem of my dress. Careful not to rip it, I worked the fabric free and got to my feet and began running down the road that led to who knows where.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sabrina
I wasn’t sure how long I had been running, but my legs could no longer move. Slowing my pace, I stopped for a second to catch my breath and to take in my surroundings. It seemed that I was in the middle of nowhere. I knew that if I kept going, eventually Sean would catch up to me and take me back to the shelter. Picking up my pace to add more distance, I spotted another road. Jogging to the intersection, there was a sign about a hundred feet ahead. It looked to be a location sign. As I got closer, I could see that it read “Manhattan, 270 miles.”
There was no way that I would ever make it. My only hope was that someone would be coming along on this road that I would be able to catch a ride with. It felt like I had been walking for hours. My feet were beginning to hurt and my throat was dry. What I wouldn’t give for a glass of water. “Maybe I could rest for just a bit,” I said to myself. Looking for a place to rest my feet, I spied a rock on the side of the road. Sitting my tired body down, I began rubbing the soreness out of my feet. As I sat there, I heard the faint sound of an engine. Standing, I looked down the road to see that a dark-colored vehicle was heading towards me. As I waved my hands like a crazy person, the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road just in front of where I was standing. While I was running up to the passenger side of the SUV, the door opened.
“Thank you so much for stopping,” I said gratefully. Only I shouldn’t have been so grateful.
“Get in, Sabrina,” an older gentleman in his late fifties said, pointing a gun straight at me.
As I climbed in the back seat, I noticed that there was something about this man that seemed familiar. I just didn’t know what.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart to have to do this to you,” he said, holding a pair of handcuffs in the other hand. “Place your hands behind your back.”
I did as he asked, not ready to lose my life just yet. As soon as the cuffs clicked on, I turned to face him and said, “What do you want? If it’s Sean, I left him at that shelter,” I confessed.
“Mr. Bishop is being dealt with. It’s you I’m interested in,” he said.
“What could you possibly want with me?”
“You really don’t know who I am. I’ve been searching for you for a long time,” he replied.
“How would I know who you are? I’ve never seen you before today.”
“I’m your father, that’s how.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said confused.
“On the contrary. This is something that I would never kid about. Now that I found you, I’m never letting you out of my sight.”
I didn’t know what else to say. I was in total shock that he was claiming to be my father. The more I took in his features, the more I could see that we did share some traits. For one thing, his eyes were the same color as mine. His hair was also the same color, aside from the graying at his temples. Growing up, my mother told me my father took off when he found out she was pregnant. She refused to talk about him whenever I asked about him. She told me it was a sin to even think about him. The only father figure in my life was my mom’s pimp, at least that’s what she told me. That was why it was so important for me to listen to him when he sold my soul to all those men.
Taking a chance, I asked, “Why did you leave us?”
I could tell by the way he looked at me that he didn’t know what I was talking about. “I never left you. Your mother took you from me, by leaving. I wanted to get married and have a family. She wanted no part of it, so she just took off.”
Being raised by my mom, I could see how he might be telling the truth. I just couldn’t understand why she would have chosen the life she did instead of having a family. Wanting to know more, I asked, “Did you know about her lifestyle, the one she chose instead of marrying you?”
“At the time I never knew what her choice was. All I knew was, one day she was
there willing to work things out, and the next she was gone, nowhere to be found, selling herself and you.”
I wasn’t sure if I trusted him enough to tell him exactly what she did to me. Leaning back against the seat, I kept my secret to myself as I watched the pine trees pass by.
~****~
I must have fallen asleep during the drive because when I woke up, we were stopped in front of a jet parked on the tarmac of what I could only assume was Teterburo. As the driver exited the SUV and rounded the car to open my door, I looked over to the man that claimed to be my father and asked. “Where are you taking me?”
“A piece of paradise, sweetheart,” he said.
“And where might that be?” I asked, irritated by his vague response.
“Think of it as a surprise,” he urged.