Black Butterfly

by Tiffany Patterson

  “Got it!” Andre’s head popped up as Lorenzo held out his cell phone which was on speaker.

  “Matt, what do you have?” Raul asked into the phone.

  “An address for Michael Hayes. He’s got a little house in one of the area suburbs. It’s a pretty run down area. I saw it and thought, why would anyone own property out there and then I—

  “Matt!” Raul drawled, familiar with how the man could quickly get sidetracked with the minute details of an issue.

  “Right. Sorry. He owns it under one of his aliases. I’m thinking that’s where he’s keeping Stacey. I’m texting the address now.”

  Within seconds, they had the address of a neighborhood on the outskirts of Atlanta. Raul pulled up satellite images of the house and neighborhood. Though the images weren’t live, it gave a pretty good sense of the best ways to make an entry into the house and escape routes.

  Andre felt his fingers twitch as he grew more and more anxious to go get his woman. He headed to his room to change into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and grab the semi-automatic weapon he kept locked in his nightstand.

  “I’m coming, baby,” he whispered, thinking of Stacey. “Just hold on.”

  ****

  Stacey looked over at the woman in the corner. From what she saw, Maria was banged up pretty badly, but it was mostly the woman’s fear that kept her huddled in the corner. Stacey looked around the room and noticed a protruding piece of metal from the bed spring. Thinking quickly, Stacey scooted over to the bed and began sawing the electrical tape around her wrist on the sharp metal.

  “Ahh,” she cried, but quickly covered her mouth when she cut her wrist on the metal.

  Shit.

  She looked towards the door and held her breath, hoping no one heard her. After a few heartbeats when no one came to the door, she resumed sawing at the tape, even with the sharp pain in her wrist and blood dripping from the cut.

  “Maria,” she whispered. “Maria, do you think you can walk?” she asked when the other woman looked up from the floor.

  “I-I think so,” Maria said, tentatively.

  “Try. Try to stand up. But be as quiet as possible. Can you do that?”

  Maria nodded. She placed her hands on one side and scooted out from the corner a little bit.

  “Quietly,” Stacey reminded her as Maria attempted to use the wall for leverage to help her stand fully. While Maria tried to stand, Stacey was able to finally free herself from the bindings around her wrist. She checked the door again to ensure no one heard them before standing. Checking the bleeding on her wrist, she winced at how deep the gash was.

  “You’re b-bleeding.” Maria’s voice was filled with horror as Stacey rushed over to her by the door.

  “Shh, I’m okay. I’m okay.” Stacey took a piece of the tape that had once bound her hands and wound it around her wrist to stave off the bleeding.

  “Listen, we’re going to get the hell out of here. We need to create a diversion. I want you to stand behind the door. I’m going to sit back down by the bed where I was and yell for the guy to come back—”

  “Noo, it’s too dangerous,” Maria’s terror stricken voice sounded.

  Stacey knew she had to calm the woman down. “Maria, listen to me,” she whispered fiercely. “We need to get out of here. This man and the one you said who beat you, they’re not good people. God knows what they plan to do to us. It’s going to be okay.” Stacey tried to assuage the fear in the trembling woman, as well as in herself. “We can do this. Okay?” She waited until Maria nodded. “I’m going to call for him. To tell him I need to go to the bathroom or something. As soon as he opens that door, I want you to slam it on him as hard as possible. I’ll take care of the rest. When I tell you to run I want you to run as fast as possible until you see a door or something to get out of here, okay?”

  “O-okay. I can do it.”

  Stacey felt a slight relief at hearing a little more confidence in Maria’s voice.

  “Okay, let’s do it.”

  Stacey backed away from the door a few feet and sat by the bed. She positioned herself so she could easily get up and run when necessary. She waited for Maria to stand fully behind the door and take a few calming deep breaths. When Maria looked at her and nodded, Stacey set her plan into action.

  “Excuse me!” she shouted as loud as she could. “Hello!”

  Within a matter of seconds, she heard footsteps heading in their direction. She was proud when Maria braced herself, hands positioned in front of her, ready to catch the door.

  “Hello!” she yelled out again to make sure the man kept coming.

  “Wha—” their captor’s words were cut off when Maria threw her entire body weight into the door, causing it to crash into the man’s solid frame. Caught off guard, he was thrown into the door frame.

  Stacey wasted no time springing into action. As soon as she heard the loud grunt of pain from the man, she pounced, sending a knee to his groin and then an elbow to his abdomen.

  “Run!” Stacey shouted to Maria when he crumbled to his knees in pain. Maria was out the door in a millisecond with Stacey hot on her heels. The two women ran down a short hallway towards what they hoped would be a living room or something that would lead to an exit.

  “Jennings!” Stacey heard a man’s voice yell from behind her.

  “Left! Left!” Stacey shouted for Maria to turn the corner up ahead. When they did, both women sped up as the door they saw beckoned them to freedom from their captors. Maria reached the door just as Stacey heard a booming down the steps, and footsteps from the hallway they’d just come from.

  “Hurry!” she urged Maria, who struggled with the deadbolt.

  “Got it!” Maria yelled in triumph when the deadbolt finally released. Moving quickly she unlocked the door, causing a loud screech as the rusty metal scraped together when she pushed through it, and made her way outside to the open air…and darkness.

  “Ahhh!” Stacey shrilled in pain and fear as a tug of her hair at the back of her head, halted her from following Maria, who was now fully outside.

  “Nooooo!” she yelled, realizing she’d come just short of escaping.

  “You stupid bitch! You’re going to ruin everything!”

  “Owwww!” Stacey howled in pain at being kicked in her side after being thrown to the floor. She was flipped onto her back and when she looked up she saw the fiery, angry eyes of a man she did not recognize.

  “Jennings! The other one got away!” Stacey heard the voice of her first captor.

  “Go find her!” Jennings yelled at the man as he pulled Stacey by her hair back down the hall. She struggled and fought the entire way, but he was too strong. Stacey’s heart sank when they reentered the same room she’d just escaped from, and Jennings slammed it closed behind them.

  “Maybe it’s time to teach you the same lesson I had to teach Maria.” The crazed look in his eye made Stacey shiver in fear, but she wasn’t about to back down. Scrambling to the other side of the room, she stood in a defensive stance.

  “Bring it on.” She looked him directly in the eye. While she was the picture of a fighter on the outside, inside she was praying that Maria has escaped and was able to call someone for help.

  ****

  “She’s a fighter, man,” Jabari’s voice sounded in the quiet of the sport utility vehicle. “She’s a survivor. We’re going to get there in time,” he tried to reassure the rest of the men in the vehicle as they made a left onto the street they’d been waiting to reach. Jabari’s foot pressed on the gas, speeding the vehicle up.

  Andre simply grunted to acknowledge Jabari’s words. He knew Stacey was a survivor; she’d overcome a lot in her life and was not only surviving, but thriving. The loss of her mother, an abusive father, working hard for and then the tragic ending of her ballet career, and then struggling with an eating disorder. Yet, she survived it all, had gone back to school, and was now working towards helping others. She didn’t deserve this.

  Andre’s heart cracked w
ith the pain and anguish of guilt. He couldn’t help but blame himself for this. If it wasn’t for him and his business, Stacey wouldn’t have been taken. Used as a pawn in Jennings’ maniacal plan to get his company back. Andre tightened his fist and clenched his jaw to the point of pain when he thought about what he’d do to Jennings as soon as he saw him.

  Staring out the window, Andre read each number on the houses, carefully searching for the right one.

  “Who’s that?” Jabari yelled, staring straight ahead out the windshield.

  Andre squinted his eye to try and get a better view of the figure running, frantically down the street.

  “Help! Help!” he could make out the words. He knew it wasn’t Stacey, but knew the voice sounded familiar.

  “Stop the car!” he roared to Jabari. As soon a Jabari slammed on the brakes, Andre jumped out of the car. “Who are—Maria!?” he shrieked when her face came into view. His heart squeezed for the woman when he saw the bruising on her face.

  “Andre! Oh, god, Andre! She told me to run. I-I think she’ still in there!” she panted, her voice a mix of fear, worry. and relief.

  “Who? Is it Stacey?” Andre asked. He had no idea what Maria was doing out here, but he didn’t have time to question it right now.

  “Yes! We tried to escape, but Jennings caught her just as we got to the door. You’ve got to help her. He’s crazy!” Maria cried and yelled.

  “Which house is it?” Andre demanded, grasping Maria by her shoulders just enough to get her full attention.

  “Down that way,” she pointed. “It’s the fourth house on the left. The light blue one with the paint chipping.” She gave details to help guide them to where Stacey was undoubtedly trapped.

  “Let’s go. Raul can one of your men stay with Maria?” he questioned over his shoulder, already starting the trek towards the house.

  “Done,” Raul answered.

  Andre heard Raul barking out orders to his men behind him, and he heard the heavy panting of Jabari and Quincy who were right on his heels, following him as they sprinted down the street. Andre gritted his teeth and prayed they’d make it in time to reach Stacey before anything happened to her. He feared her trying to escape might have set Jennings off. Even as he feared for her safety, Andre couldn’t help the small sense of pride he felt knowing his woman fought back. She was no pushover.

  Andre pushed forward, urging his feet to move even faster, his lungs working to their full capacity to provide him with the oxygen needed to get to Stacey.

  “This is the house!” he yelled to the men at his side. Wasting no time, he sprinted the short distance to the front door. Finding it locked, he grasped the doorknob and pushed with everything he had in him against the door. The rickety door never stood a chance against his strength and Andre found himself bursting through the door into a small, empty living room with moldy grey carpeting.

  “I’ll check upstairs!” he heard Quincy yell, followed by hard footsteps running up the stairs.

  “Stacey!” Andre called out at the same time he heard a muffled shout. “Stacey!” he called again, turning towards what looked to be a hallway. Rushing down the hall, he found another closed door at the end. Hearing more shouts coming from that room, Andre lunged for the door with Raul and Jabari right on his heels.

  “Stacey!” he yelled one final time as they burst through the door. Andre saw red at the image that appeared before him as soon as the door opened. On the floor, Jennings was sprawled on top of a fighting Stacey. Andre didn’t feel his feet touch the ground as he rushed to pry Jennings off Stacey. He began to pummel the man with all the pent up fear and emotion he’d experienced over the last few hours.

  “You son of a bitch!” he yelled as he slammed his fist into Jennings’ face, sending the man crumbling to the ground. But Andre was far from finished with him. All Andre saw was the image of Jennings on top of Stacey trying to beat her or worse, and he was determined to make the man pay. Pinning Jennings’ arms down with his knees, Andre beat him mercilessly.

  “I will fucking kill you!” he screamed, unable to recognize his own voice.

  “Andre!” he heard a male voice yell in the background, but didn’t bother to identify it.

  “Andre, please!” a feminine voice sounded. That sparked a different emotion in Andre. Stacey, he remembered at the same time he felt her hands wrap around his bicep.

  “Andre, please! I’m okay. Please, you’re going to kill him.” She sounded on the verge of hysteria, and Andre knew he couldn’t be the cause of that type of fear and anguish in his woman. Giving Jennings one last kick to his ribs as he rose, Andre turned to look at Stacey.

  “A-are you...did he…” he couldn’t fully get the words out as he ran his hands and eyes all over her body, checking for injuries. He stopped at makeshift bandaging she’d had on her wrist.

  “I cut it trying to escape. I ju—”

  “We need a doctor! Now!” Andre roared, cutting Stacey off and swooping her up in his arms.

  “Already called. EMT is outside waiting,” Raul informed Andre.

  “You’ll take care of him.” Andre motioned to the bloody and bruised pile he’d left on the floor.

  “I got it. You’ll probably need to have them check on those knuckles of yours too,” Raul commented, noting the swelling that already began in Andre’s hands.

  Andre merely grunted as he carried Stacey out of the room towards the exit of the house.

  “I can walk,” Stacey protested, struggling to break out of his tight hold.

  Andre wasn’t letting go. He didn’t even respond. Just simply tightened his hold on her until Stacey finally acquiesced and let herself be carried to the awaiting EMTs.

  ****

  “I’m so sorry,” Andre said just above a whisper, a few hours later in the hospital room.

  Stacey’s injuries weren’t severe at all. The cut on her wrist needed a couple of stitches, and she did have some bruising on her ribs and scratches on her neck from where Jennings had kicked and attacked her, but Andre insisted she remain in the hospital overnight for observation. He’d requested a private room, and all of Stacey’s family and friends came to visit, including her cousins, uncles and aunt, Mercedes, and Devyn, who’d returned from her trip with Nikola upon learning of the kidnapping. She’d hugged and thanked Mistress Coco when she found out how she’d helped to track down Stacey’s kidnappers.

  Maria’s parents had arrived from Boston and she rested a few rooms down the hall. Her injuries were more severe than Stacey’s but thankfully, not life threatening. She apologized over and over to Andre and Stacey.

  Raul’s men were still searching for Michael Hayes, who’d gotten away.

  Now, it was just Stacey and Andre in the hospital room.

  Stacey looked at Andre and saw the guilt and agony in his eyes. She knew he was blaming himself for what had happened to her. She wouldn’t have been kidnapped if it hadn’t been for his business.

  “Shhh. It’s not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself,” she tried soothe his guilt.

  “But if I—”

  “Andre, listen to me. You can’t blame yourself for the actions of someone who was obviously not mentally stable. I’m okay. I’m fine. And you know what I thought the whole time I’d been taken?”

  “What?” Andre looked at her curiously.

  “I knew you wouldn’t rest until you found me. I just knew it.” She shrugged. “I knew you’d call Quincy and Jabari and...Coral,” she said her sister’s name with a hint of worry and sadness, “and I knew you all would come for me.” She smiled down at him next to her bed through watery eyes.

  Stacey watched as Andre’s eyes lightened up a few shades as if the guilt he felt was lifting. He stood from his chair and sat on the edge of her bed. He took her injured wrist in his hand and kissed the stitches before turning her hand over and placing a sweet kiss in the middle of her palm.

  “I wouldn’t have, you know, rested until you were back with me.”

  Stac
ey nodded.

  “Because, I love you that much.” His grip tightened around her hand. “I wanted to tell you that last night before...I was planning to leave work early today to talk to you. I wanted you to know how much I love you.” He paused, blew out a harsh breath, and let his thumb rub tiny circles around outside of Stacey’s palm.

  Stacey’s eyes fluttered and tingles of ecstasy flowed through her at his admission and his touch. Andre stared blankly at the turned off heart monitor that rested a few feet away.

  “The whole time you were gone, I feared that I’d never see you again. Seeing my mom there, at my place, I wondered if what I felt was similar to what she felt when my father…” he blinked away unshed tears. “I wanted to tell you why I had a fear of marriage…”

  For the next thirty minutes, Andre opened up about being there the night his mother learned his father was killed in a car accident. Home for a visit while in graduate school, he was awakened by his mother’s bloodcurdling scream after the two officers told her he was dead. He remembered having to peel his mother off the floor, and practically had to dress her as the officers told them they needed to go to the coroner's to identify the body. Iris hadn’t been strong enough and Andre hadn’t wanted her to see his father that way. Nikola had been out of the country on business. It was left to him to make the identification.

  “I’ll never forget that. Seeing my father, who was so full of life, lying on a slab of metal, lifeless. I could hear the cries from my mother in the hallway. She begged me to tell her they were wrong when I came out. I had to tell her it wasn’t a mistake. He was really gone. She fell apart after that for a while. For months, she barely left the house. Hardly ate. It’s why I took cooking classes. I wanted to be able to make meals for her. She refused to let cooks or any staff in the house. Nik had been busy taking over as CEO, so I split my time between work and tending to mama.”