by Paula Cox
My bed is empty, the bedding thrown to the ground. I pick it up and pull the sheets over my head as I melt into the old mattress. I shut my eyes as I do something I haven’t done in years – I pray. Just let me have them back. Both of them. I can’t have a life without either Maddie or Michelle. If it means sacrificing myself, so be it. I’m ready to meet my maker and pay for all the shit and pain I’ve caused. If it means saving them, I’ll gladly give myself in their places. Please, God. Please.
Darkness overtakes me as I find myself far away from prayer. But I’m not alone. Michelle’s there beside me. She lies next to me in my bed, holding my hand lightly. Her mouth is moving, the corners of her lips upturned as she points up towards the empty, dark sky. She is laughing. Whatever she is telling me is funny, if that’s even possible. And I find myself smiling right back at her, the stars in my own eyes dancing with hers to the rhythm of her voice.
She reaches over to smooth out a piece of my hair and I grab her hand in place. The softness of her palm is warm up against my rough, prickly skin. Her thumb traces against my jaw and to my lips where I plant a small kiss on the pad of her finger. She lingers a moment, hesitating slightly, before scooting herself closer to me for a long, deep kiss. Our tongues meet, twisting around the other. Our heads and lips turn as we wrestle with one another’s passions, neither one letting go.
I place my hand around her waist, pulling her body closer to me. She’s wrapped up in this long, thin white dress. The fabric allows me to feel the curves of her body, the line of her panties. As I lower my head towards her neck, my hands pull up the hem of her dress, scrunching the material in my hand. She gasps as she cocks her head back, my name seeps out of her mouth in an exhausted, but thrilled breath, “Cal, Cal, Cal.”
I hitch the dress up over her chest and then head, her hair flying free from the movement. I straddle above her as she covers herself demurely, the hair just touching the tips of her nipples and her hands over her sex. From this angle, I can finally see her, the peachy fresh skin, the freckles that dot her legs and arms, the lines of her body that heave and ho with each deep, desiring inhale and exhale.
I kiss the top of her head at the crown where her hair frizzes just slightly and then move to the spot between her lovely eyes, the tip of her nose, the heart shape of her top lip, and the slight dimple in her chin. I follow the line down her long, graceful neck and throat to the space between her breasts and the dip of her belly button.
I stop as I find the scent of her at the top of her pubic bone. It’s as strong and as a real as ever. It smells so much of summer and what I imagine heaven to be like. Nothing has ever smelled so ripe and fresh to me as her pussy. I spread her legs apart underneath me and land a kiss on the opening of her folds. She coos as I go for more, this time not missing an inch of her skin. My tongue dashes out, slipping through the slit, getting a hint of that smell on my taste buds. It’s as good as it smells.
My fingers pull her gentle skin farther apart, giving me a wide look at the inside of her universe. My thumb presses down on the top, finding her beady clit and massaging at the sensitive tip around it. Her hips rise to meet my mouth as I continue to kiss and suck at her. I watch as one hand wraps around the sheet while the other finds my head and guides it deeper into her flesh. I dive in with a fury, not wanting to relent.
I feel her body shake from under my lips as she gives in. Her hips thrust upwards once more before her entire body comes crashing down. I hold on, tasting her sweet, juicy orgasm in my mouth. It’s a treat well worth the effort.
It’s my turn now as I get back to my knees, pulling her closer to me by her hips. But something has changed. I can feel it. The room, which was once lit by an almost heavenly sunlight, has transformed into something darker, more sinister. I look at the sheet tangled around my hips that has turned into a blood red. Everything feels as if it is spinning, crashing, flying. I can’t orient myself anymore.
She lets out a shriek, a horrible, blood-curdling yell, causing me to whip my head back in her direction. But she’s gone. All that remains is her imprint on the pillows and the white dress I had pulled over her head mere minutes ago. I call out her name, “Michelle!” my voice shrieking over and over again into the pitch-black darkness surrounding me.
My bed crashes to the ground, causing my body to go flying into the air. When I land, I throw my eyes open. Ace is at my side, calling my name frantically. His face is morphed with concern and terror. “Cal! Cal!”
I scurry up to my elbows and pull myself to the side of the bed. By the looks of the darkened sky, I’ve been fast asleep for at least a few hours. Downstairs, I can hear the commotion of men filing into the basement. Something’s happened. I turn to Ace who is waiting for me to come back to life.
He looks me dead in the eye as he says cautiously, “Red Dog found Addison Bell’s number. We know where the Coyotes are keeping Maddie.”
Chapter 28: The Call
MICHELLE
“Michelle,” Maddie tugs on me in the dark, grasping to my arm, “What’s that noise?” I’m surprised she can hear it. After the past few dings and chimes, I had thought I was going crazy imagining it. I let out a sigh of relief knowing I’m not insane just yet.
“It’s someone’s phone, Maddie. It’s probably one of the guards.” I pat her hair again and hold her a bit tighter. Any little thing can make you jump in a position like this. Not knowing what was going on in the dark corners was deceptive, haunting even. But I know we shouldn’t be wasting our time getting upset over a phone call. “Go back to sleep. I promise to wake you up if something happens or if I need you. Just try to shut your eyes and count to one hundred. That always works with me.”
She nods softly into my arm, her tears trickling down the side of on my bare arm, and I hear her exhale deeply. After a few minutes, her chest grows tired as her light weight presses into me once more. But unlike Maddie, I can’t sleep. I know I should try. After all, I’ll need all the energy and brainpower I can get to think of a plan to get us out of here. But that damn phone won’t stop ringing, and I can’t seem to get my mind off of it as it replays over and over again.
I have never been one to sit around wait for something to happen. And I am not about to change down in this dungeon. When Maddie is softly snoring, I place her down against the cement block wall and attempt to stand to my feet. The room is short, so short I smack my head on a post. I groan a bit as I put my head to the bruise that was sure to pop up in that spot. We must be in a crawlspace or an unfinished basement with a wooden plank ceiling set so low. Everything is dusty and dank as the tiny window in the corner illuminates small clouds of gray.
I check on Erin, using my hands to feel for her pulse. Still there. Still strong but fading. I feel along her face, noting how chapped her lips are. She’s going to need water fast and something to stop the wound on her head from bleeding. I reach down towards my pants and rip a small swath of fabric. I press it tightly against her forehead. It soaks through almost instantly, turning my hand from white to red. It’s going to have to do for now until I can find something else that will work.
I press my hands against the floor and search to see if there’s something else, maybe a scrap of fabric, an old towel, something. I make it to the back wall, near the window when I find something hard and cold. It’s a large metal pipe, probably a piece of old, discarded plumbing still connected to the walls. I push on it as it makes a loud clamber. I back away almost instantly. The last thing I want is for the guards outside the room to take notice of us.
But it’s too late. Before I have time to move away from the window, the door opens up and I see the black boots and gray pants of one of the guards come running down the stairs. In his hand is a black cellphone lighting up and vibrating against his skin. At least I know where that sound is coming from now.
The man uses the phone as a flashlight as he points it at Erin first and then over to my corner where I have crouched low, pulling my knees to my chest. His light beam lingers on
me for a second as I attempt to make myself even smaller and less conspicuous. He turns quickly and finds Maddie in the dark. She’s still sleeping, her head tilted back against the wall, her mouth slightly open.
He walks down the rest of the stairs towards her as I scream out, “Where are you taking her! You can’t take her!” My voice is hoarse and dry. I doubt he can even make out what I say through my cracked lips.
Maddie wakes up with my cries, just in time to try to fight him off. She screams as she kicks and punches at him. She must have nailed him as I see him recoil back towards the ground on his hands and knees. But she’s too small as he rebounds and overtakes her. The burly man picks her up and tosses her over her shoulder. I try to stand, but I hit my head against the ceiling again and fall back down next to the pipe. It collapses under my weight with a loud crash.
The man turns back around to face me as I lay on my stomach in a heap, not daring to move or even breathe. As much as I want to help Maddie, playing dead in a situation like this is probably the best thing I can do. He looks at me for a long while before he mutters under his breath, “That’s right, bitch. You stay down.”
I watch as he turns and runs up the stairs, Maddie calling out for me under his strong hold. Her voice fades, but I chase after it, standing low and running through the dark towards the stairwell. I climb on my hands and knees towards the door, still being able to hear her voice. It’s faint through the metal, but I can still make it out as she sobs and wails my name.
The cold stings my ears as I press it to the doorframe, struggling to hear what is coming next. But instead of shouts and yells, Maddie has suddenly calmed down. Whatever they are saying or doing to her is actually making her happy. I hear her let out a squeal as someone shouts commanded her, “Take this, kid. And be quick. It’s on speakerphone, so don’t try anything funny.”
“Yes,” she says nervously, but I can hear the excitement. Her voice shakes as she talks into the phone loudly enough for everyone, including me, to hear, “Hello? Dad?”
“Maddie!” His voice is as gruff as ever, but there’s something else there. Something like urgency, happiness, and excitement all wrapped into one. “Maddie, where are you at? What are you doing?”
There’s a long pause as I can sense Maddie is getting prompted not to say where she is or details on any information that can give our location away. “I’m, um, I’m okay, Dad. I’m just in a room. I was in a car, but I couldn’t see anything. I don’t know where I am. There’s only a window and everything’s really smoky.”
“What about Michelle and her roommate? Are they with you? Are they safe?” I’m stunned as I listen to his voice shake as he asks about me. I would think with this situation and me getting Maddie taken from him that I would be the last person he would want to talk to. But here he is, making a point to check in on me as if I still matter to him. Maybe I do. Maybe hope isn’t lost for the two of us to find some peace.
“Michelle’s okay. She’s watching over me and making sure I’m okay. I think I hurt my leg and she tied it up for me with part of her clothes.” Her voice drops lower as she slowly whispers solemnly, “But Erin, Michelle’s roommate, isn’t so good. She’s breathing, but I don’t know how long she has, Dad. I’m scared. I don’t want her to die.” She quickly breaks down into tears, muffled sobs bursting out from her throat. That big, bad girl veneer is breaking down bit by bit at the thought of losing her friend.
“Maddie, listen to me.” She coughs a few times before composing herself to listen to what Cal has to say, “Erin is going to be okay. Michelle is going to be fine. And you are going to make it out of there. I just need you to remain calm, stay strong, and do what the people who are watching tells you to do.”
“But – but – I’m scared. Like, I’m really, really scared.”
My heart breaks as I listen to her. I want to kick down this door and run to her. I can’t imagine how Cal feels as he listens to his own daughter fall apart. And, unlike me, he isn’t here to hold her, to bring her close, to give her the feeling that someone is watching over her.
And it’s my fault. It’s all my fault. Listening to him talk to her, I realize just how wrong I was. No, Maddie shouldn’t have been made to live in such a dangerous, horrible place, but she had Cal and Cal had her. And I should have trusted that Cal was making the best decisions he could have for his daughter. He was protecting her and me this entire time until I cut him off. Now, we’re paying for it.
I wipe the tears from my eyes as I listen to him continue to soothe her, “You can be scared. I’m scared, too.” He takes a deep, audible breath as he starts, “When your mom died all those years ago, I came home that night and your grandmother handed you to me. And I looked down at you in my arms, sleeping. And I had never been so scared in my life. I couldn’t believe I would have to take care of you, let alone keep you safe, for the rest of your life. But even though I was scared out of my damn mind, I still made a promise that I was going to be brave and strong for you every single day. Do you think you could make that promise? Do you think you can be brave and strong for me? Just this once?”
“Yeah, Dad. I can.” Her voice just squeaks it out. It’s so low I can barely hear it.
“Say it louder. Say it like you mean it. Like a Mustang would!”
She is resolute as she shouts back, “I can! I’m going to be brave! I’m a Mus—”
Maddie cuts off and I hear something drop to the ground with a small crash. A booming voice takes over, “What the fuck is going on in here? Who disobeyed my orders and gave her that phone?”
No one dares answer or even moves. I am also too fearful to even breathe. Whatever is going on right now isn’t exactly as planned. The voice repeats itself, “Who the fuck gave her that cellphone?”
There’s a click. I know it all too well – the sound of a gun’s safety being turned off. I hold my hands over my head, not wanting to hear what comes next. There’s a loud bang and then a thud followed by the sound of Maddie screaming. I hear bodies being thrown around the room as I have no time to think about what just happened. I stand up and run down the stairs, going back to my spot by the window.
I have just enough time to sit myself down and pointed towards the door before I hear loud footsteps and the pound of the metal door hitting the wood frame. “Stay down there, you little asshole. And don’t you think of saying another word or I’ll really give you something to scream about!”
I get one quick glimpse of her as a man tosses her to the ground. In the light, I see a flash of sparkle in Maddie’s hair – something I didn’t notice on her when I was comforting her earlier. I pull myself up higher with the support of the broken pole to get a better look at her. And suddenly, just like that, I have an idea that just might save her, Erin, and me. I just need the perfect opportunity to make it happen.
Chapter 29: Mission Mustang
CAL
“Maddie! Maddie!” I turn my head towards the group of men sitting at the table next to me, “What the hell just happened! Someone tell me what happened to my daughter!”
“We don’t know, Cal. Sit down, and we’ll figure it out.” Ace stands up, grabbing on to my shoulders and forcing me back in my chair. The group of five Mustang loyalists stares at me with pity in their dark eyes. I want to rip each of their heads off, but I can’t. These men have been sitting with me for hours since Red Dog came back with the phone number to one of Addison Bell’s main henchmen.
“You have to be crazy if you think I’m going to just sit here and wait for the next sign to go. Did you hear that noise? That was a fucking gunshot. And my daughter! She was screaming. Did you not fucking hear that?” I was losing all sense of cool I may have had just a few minutes ago. But could you blame me? I didn’t know if my daughter, who I just spent nearly ten minutes reassuring she’d be safe, was alive or dead and if my phone call was the cause of it.
“Just focus, Cal. I get what you’re saying, but we need to figure this out first.” Red Dog turns back to the man
across the table still sitting with his large headphones over his ears. He’s our techie nerd. We’d never let a guy like him into a motorcycle club, but his skills at hacking and tracking have come in handy. “Walton, was that long enough? Were you able to track their location?”
He’s typing away furiously on a silver keypad, his tongue sticking slightly out as he concentrates. He holds up a finger towards Red Dog, but I stand, instantly grabbing it to twist his entire hand back to the table. “Don’t you dare tell me to wait. I’m the second in command here!”
“And I’m the first.” A loud, edgy voice startles me back into my chair. Jager walks slowly towards us from the door in the living to our spot at the kitchen table. I watch as his boots skid on the dirty tile before he scuffs them up against one of the empty chair legs, swinging it around for him to take a seat. He looks at me, concerned and slightly annoyed, “I know you want to find Maddie, but you’re not starting any infighting in this club. Do you hear me, Cal?”