by Violet Noir
I felt something nudge against me down there. I stung because he’d already hurt me with his fingers. “You’ll always remember you first time, little one,” he said in that sickeningly sweet voice.
And then there was nothing but searing pain and the sound of my own screaming. He pushed my face into the mattress to shut me up, and then it all went black.
Hands were gripping my shoulders, and someone was screaming. As Gabriella’s face came into focus, I realized it was me.
“Elise.” She said and shook me harder. “Snap out of it.”
She was so close, and for a second, I caught a whiff of something familiar over the scent of the food she’d brought down to me. It was the scent of tobacco smoke. Gabriella was sneaking cigarettes.
I had one chance. The idea formed in my head in between sobs. It was as if it were the Muse come down from above to whisper inspiration in my ear. Before she stopped shaking me, I slid my hand into her apron pocket and felt my fingers curl around my prize.
Who knows what would happen to her when Kade found out how I’d gotten the lighter, but I didn’t care. It was a chance, and I had to take it.
“I’m okay.” I said as I slid the lighter under the covers. “I’m alright. I’m sorry. I must’ve dozed off and had a nightmare.”
“Well, you need to stop all that screaming before he comes back. I’ve brought you food,” she said and pointed to a tray on the table.
“And my pill?”
“Boss say you can have that when you eat,” she said and walked over to the table to sit down. “You eat. I give pill.”
I had no choice. I got the feeling Gabriella didn’t like to upset Kade, so she appeared to have every intention of sitting there with me until I ate the food.
Oh, well.
The food would only help me with my plan, and everything would be easier once I got a fix. When my skin stopped crawling and my muscles stopped throbbing, I’d be able to put my plan in motion. Plus, I couldn’t set the house on fire with Gabriella there. She’d probably hit me over the head and take the lighter back, and at the very least, she’d put the fire out.
“Okay,” I said. “It smells delicious.”
It did. Kade was right about her cooking. I didn’t even have to taste it to know she was talented.
I sat down across from her and dug into the empanadas and meat stew. It’s what she made the night before, but the food was so fresh. It didn’t taste reheated at all, and I wondered if she’d made it new for me.
“Thank you,” I said when I’d polished it off. “It was very good.”
“You want more? Sir said to give you as much to eat as you want.”
“No, I’m good,” I said and patted my full belly. “But, I would like my medicine. If I go too long, I’ll start to feel sick and all that food will be wasted.”
She pulled the one pill out of her apron and handed it to me. Either she or Kade was too smart to bring the whole bottle down. That was unfortunate, but the lighter had been good luck. I needed to remember that. Even better was that she didn’t notice the lighter was gone when she got the pill out of the apron pocket.
I took the pill quickly and finished off the glass of milk she’d brought down with the food. Gabriella took the tray and left.
Who knew how long I had before she realized I’d pick pocketed her lighter? I raced into action. I stripped the bed of the linens and pilled them into the middle of the bathroom floor with all of the towels I could find.
For one brief moment I wondered if what I was doing was a good idea. But surely if there was a fire, someone would have to come open the door and I’d be able to escape in the chaos. A fire would bring the fire department, and he couldn’t keep me then.
I had to do it. It was my only way out. With food in my belly and the pill beginning to take effect, I felt strong. I felt like fighting.
So, I knelt down next to the pile and used the lighter to set it on fire. It was harder to do than I thought it would be, but I managed to get a blaze going.
As the bathroom began to fill with smoke, I backed out of the room and waited by the basement door for my freedom.
Chapter Thirteen
Kade
I was finishing up my beer when my phone rang. It was the ring tone I had set for Gabriella, and my blood ran cold. She knew not to bother me when I was out unless it was something serious. I knew then that I shouldn’t have left the house. It was too soon in my relationship with Elise for me to leave her alone.
“What is it?” I asked as I got off the barstool and started for the door.
“Sir, the house is filled with smoke. I think there is a fire.”
“You think there is a fire? You don’t know?” How was that possible. Either the house was on fire or it wasn’t. That’s when it hit me, but how would she have started a fire? I’d left nothing in the bedroom or bathroom she could use. I knew that for a fact. I’d checked and rechecked it multiple times.
“I call you first,” Gabriella said. “I didn’t call fire department, but I hear sirens coming.”
Damn.
Just as I was about to head out the front door, Bruno and two of his goons walked in. I couldn’t believe they had the balls to walk into the clubhouse, but I guessed he was pissed about the loss of one of his girls. There could be only one reason why he was there, and that reason had to be me.
The timing was awful. I normally wouldn’t run from him, especially when he was on my turf, but I had to get home. I’d have to deal with him later. Hopefully, the brothers would toss him out on his ass when he started talking shit about me. I just had to trust that the prospect would keep his mouth shut.
Bruno hadn’t seen me, so I whipped around and headed toward the back of the club house. Once I was outside, I made my way around to the front parking lot, and fortunately, Bruno hadn’t left a guard outside. My ride was just a hundred feet away, and there wasn’t a soul in sight in the parking lot.
I mounted my bike and walked it to the edge of the road. Once I knew I could get out before he had time to react, I lit up the motor and tore down the road.
Wasting time sneaking around was bullshit, but if he’d tried to stop me or shot me, it would have cost me even more time. Or, I never would have made it home. I had a bad feeling about what was going down. There was no part of me that thought the fire was a coincidence. Elise was a fighter for sure, and she still believed she was better off without me. I knew that wasn’t true, but I hadn’t had time to convince her yet.
It felt like the road stretched out indefinitely before me. The club house was a short ride from my house, but knowing it might be on fire made ever second feel like an eternity. I gunned it on the long stretches, but as soon as I hit any traffic, that had to stop.
Every light was red, but I couldn’t risk running them. I’d made it past Bruno and his men, and I didn’t need the cops pulling me over. Who knew if I’d end up in the back of a squad car because the cop was more loyal to Bruno. Or worse yet, a do-gooder who refused to come under our umbrella.
When I turned onto my street, I could see the police cars and fire trucks in front of my house. There were no sirens, but red and blue lights lit up the overcast day. Gabriella was in front of the house waving her arms and yelling something at a few of the firemen. They were ignoring her, but she persisted.
I didn’t see Elise anywhere, and my stomach dropped. Gabriella had kept my secret, but it could have cost Elise her life. If my girl had started a fire and was locked in her room with it, she didn’t have much time left. But, I had to be careful or they’d take her from me. I had to save her from the flames and from those who would steal her away.
The firemen tried to stop me, but I shoulder checked one of them and pushed past the rest. The house was full of smoke, and I had to get low to move through the living room and the kitchen to the back hallway where the basement stairs were located. I’d hoped that maybe they hadn’t found the door that led to that part of the basement. The location wasn’t obvious.
The smoke had led them to it, though. It was coming from the basement.
I descended the stairs and found two firemen were trying to break down the door with an ax. I grabbed one of them and yanked him back just as a loud whirring sound started. My houses ventilation system had kicked in, and it was sucking the smoke out. I could even feel a cool breeze wafting down the stairs. It should have kicked on sooner. I’d have to get the contractor in there to make the needed repairs, but that was an issue for later. Right then, I needed to get the firemen the fuck out of there and get to Elise.
“You’re dismissed,” I said.
“What?”
“You are dismissed. I don’t want you here. Get off my property or I’ll have your arrested for trespassing.”
“But, sir, the fire.,,”
“I’ll handle it,” I said and punched a code into the keypad. There was a sprinkler system throughout the house that was temperature triggered in event of fire, but the sprinklers in that portion of the basement had been disabled for years. I hadn’t turned them back on when I put Elise in her room because I never dreamed she’d start a fire. I’d been careless. I still hadn’t figured out how she’d done it, but that didn’t matter Two clicks on the security pad, and I enabled the sprinklers again.
“Sir,” the other one said in a warning tone.
“If you knew who I was, you’d back away and get the fuck off my property.”
“Let’s go, boys.” A voice came from the top of the stairs. It was a police officer I vaguely recognized, but obviously he knew me. “The man wants you off his property.”
As soon as they started up the stairs, I opened the door. Smoke poured out and chocked me, but I could hear the sprinklers working and feel their spray. Still, I had no way of knowing if she’d survived all the smoke.
Chapter Fourteen
Elise
Smoke filled the little bathroom quickly, and as it began to snake across the ceiling and out into the bedroom, I began to realize what a huge mistake I’d made. I tried to go back into the bathroom and put the fire out using water from the sink and shower, but it got so hot in there so fast. I began to choke and fled the bathroom. I closed the door behind me in the hopes that it would keep the fire and smoke out of the bedroom until help came.
It slowed the smoke down for a while, but eventually the bedroom began to fill again. I didn’t hear any kind of alarms going off, but I figured that in a big fancy house it might have been something wired right to the fire department.
I clung to the hope that Gabriella would come let me out of the bedroom, but she didn’t. She was loyal to Kade to a fault, and once she figured out that I’d stolen her lighter, my guess was she didn’t care if I died. I’d probably cost her a good job.
Why was I such a miserable bitch? No one was coming to rescue me. I’d die down here, and I’d ruined Gabriella’s life to boot.
No one ever saves me, I thought as my lungs burned and my eyes stung.
I laid down on the floor close to the door to get away from the smoke. The air seemed a little better down low. I still felt as if I were suffocating, but I might have bought myself a few minutes.
I couldn’t control a sudden fit of hysterical laughter. A couple days before I’d wanted nothing more than to die, but there I was clinging to the floor and a few more minutes of life.
Darkness closed around me. I was seconds away from passing out because of the lack of air, and I wondered if I should just give in and let go. I could almost see the woman in the purple t-shirt waiting for me on the other side of the smoke. It was as if her soft, loving arms were wrapped around me again. She was ready to carry me to our little home in heaven. I smiled at the thought. After all those years of wondering, it finally occurred to me who she was. She must have been my grandmother. Someone in the world had loved me.
Knowing that gave me a boost of strength. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but my survival instincts kicked in. I pushed myself up as best I could on weakened arms, and instantly felt someone lift me up.
It wasn’t the soft touch of my grandmother, though. The door had opened and water rained down on me.
It was Kade. He was there, and he had scooped me up into his arms. “Is this a dream?” I asked as my head lolled against his shoulder.
“No, baby doll. I’ve got you,” he said and carried me out of the room.
His arms tightened around me, and the burning in my lungs turned into a warmth radiating out to my finger tips and down to my toes. The air outside of the room was much fresher, and I drew in a deep, cool breath.
We only stopped for a moment while he retrieved a sheet and wrapped me in it. Kade carried me outside and a paramedic rushed to us. He placed an oxygen mask over my face and tried to take me from Kade.
There were a few firemen standing around watching us, but none of them were doing anything. One of them approached despite Kade shooting him a warning glance.
“You should let us check the house, sir,” he said plainly.
“I have more faith in my fire suppression system than I do in you. I told you to leave.”
“You need to let us take the woman.”
“I have a private physician that will see to her.”
“You should let us take her to the hospital,” the paramedic said cautiously.
“Is she in immediate danger?” Kade growled protectively.
“No. Her vitals are stable enough, but you’ll want to have her evaluated for smoke inhalation.” He said as he checked my pulse and oxygen saturation with a small finger device.
“And, I will. But, I will do it with my private doctor. If she should need hospitalization, I will arrange that.”
“Sir,” the paramedic said as he removed the oxygen mask from my face. “What do you want to do?” He asked me, but Kade cut him off.
“You. Are. Dismissed.”
I hadn’t realized how hard I’d been clinging to Kade. I didn’t want him to let them take me away, and he hadn’t let me go.
He was the first man who had ever tried to help me, and I didn’t want to go with complete strangers.
“Please don’t send me away,” I begged him.
“I’m not,” he said and planted a kiss on my head. I couldn’t believe I’d said it, but the terror and adrenaline were wearing off, and I felt woozy and out of it.
Kade looked concerned, but there was an edge in his eye. There was going to be hell to pay for what I’d done. I just wondered how badly he would make me regret staying.
Kadetook me back into the house. We had to stay on the other side while a cleaning crew came in to assess the damage. The house had a ventilation system that cleared the smoke out quickly.
He put me in a bedroom and cuffed one of my hands to the bed frame. He then called the doctor in to look me over.
“Let her rest for a day,” the doctor told Kade. “She’ll be fine by tomorrow. If she starts coughing uncontrollably or has trouble breathing, give her two puffs of this and call me right away.” He handed Kade a little plastic inhaler.
“Thank you, doctor,” Kade said and showed him out of the room. He then turned his attention back to me. “You can have your day to rest if you behave. Tomorrow we’re going to deal with this.”
I dozed on and off the rest of the day. Gabriella brought me food and my pill a couple of times. The look she gave me could have bored holes in my head, but she didn’t mention the lighter. I felt awful for the position I’d put her in, but I was too tired and weak. So, I just ate the food and slept. I knew I’d need my strength for whatever Kade had in store for me the next day.
Chapter Fifteen
Kade
The fire hadn’t done any structural damage, and thanks to knowing some of the best forensic cleaners in the area, my house was almost as good as new within a day. They thought it was a bit strange that I’d called them in for a smoke cleanup, but the nice thing about my line of work is that trusted contractors don’t ask too many questions.
With the damage dealt
with, I had a bigger issue. Elise had started the fire, and I had to figure out how she’d done it.
I couldn’t put her back in her room because while the rest of the house was fine, the cleaning crew still needed some more time in her room and bathroom.
There was one other place that I could keep her, but she wasn’t going to like it. My house’s basement had two halves. One side had been what I’d turned into her bedroom. The other side was just a plain concrete storage area. It wouldn’t be at all comfortable, but she’d done it to herself. If I let her get away with shit like setting my house on fire, I’d never have her properly trained.
The doc came back that morning, and while he did, I carried a spare mattress down to the other side of the basement. One part had things stored in it, but it was closed in by a separate security door. The other portion was a small concrete room with toilet and sink. It was intended to be a bathroom for staff working in my secure storage. For the time being, it would be Elise’s new home.
“She’s just fine,” Doc said when I met him in the hallway. “Keep her on the medical detox and I don’t foresee her having any more issues unless something else happens.”
“Thank you, doc.” When he was gone, it was time to pull my sleeping beauty from her cozy bedroom and toss her back into reality.
I walked in the room and she stretched sleepily before smiling at me. It was the first time I’d ever seen her smile, and it almost made me reconsider what I had to do.
Almost.
“Kade,” she practically purred as I unlocked her cuffed hand. I wondered if it was still all an act.
I didn’t speak. Instead, I grabbed her by the hair and jerked her off the bed. “It’s time for a reckoning, baby doll.”