by Claire Adams
“What are you doing!?” I screamed as the two masked men attacked Brian. “Leave him alone!”
The tall one rushed Brian, but quickly found himself on the ground as Brian swept his feet out from under him. The fat one regained his footing and tried to punch Brian in the face, but Brian ducked and the man missed, throwing him off balance and giving Brian a chance to land a brutal punch to the man’s kidney area and making him cry out in pain. The tall man pulled himself off the floor and landed a punch to Brian’s crotch, causing him to crumple to the floor, and giving the tall one a chance to reach under Brian’s hoodie and grab his gun. Before Brian could fight back, the tall one held the gun to his partner and said, “Put him out of his misery.”
“Stop it! Stop it!” I screamed hysterically as I ran toward them and began hitting the tall man who’d taken Brian’s gun. He turned and shoved me hard against the wall before spinning around and whipping Brian in the head with the pistol.
I watched as Brian slumped to the ground and the fat masked man kicked him in the ribs.
“Don’t hurt him!” I yelled.
Then the tall one looked down at the frightened room server on the floor and threatened, “Stay down there and be quiet or you’re next. Got it?” The boy nodded and lay still.
When I realized that they hadn’t come after me yet, I turned and ran toward the bedroom, but before I could reach the door, the second man quickly covered the distance between me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and grabbed a fistful of my hair before he slapped his hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming.
“Shut the hell up,” he growled in my ear as he pulled my hair so hard I thought he was trying to yank it out of my scalp. “I don’t want to hear your useless whining, got it?”
Wide-eyed, I nodded as best as I could without causing myself any more pain. Who are these guys and what do they want? I thought as I watched the first one quickly flip Brian over onto his stomach, pull his arms behind him, then wrap what looked like a length of rope around his wrists to secure them. There was something familiar about the way he moved, but I couldn’t place it.
“Blindfold the kid,” the one tugging on my hair said to the other one as he dragged me over to the dining table and shoved me onto a chair before letting go of my hair, roughly yanking my arms behind me and securing my wrists with a length of rope. “Stupid bitch, you think you can get away from me?”
I inhaled sharply as I recognized Dominic’s voice, then exhaled slowly, hoping that he didn’t know that I’d recognized him.
“You know it’s me,” he laughed as he pulled off the mask and stepped in front of me. “Don’t try to hide it, Ava. I know you better than you think.”
I let out a terrified scream and began to cry.
*****
Dominic watched me through narrowed eyes, as if trying to decide what to do with me next.
“Shut up,” he ordered as he grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked down hard. I sat stock still as he pulled back on my hair, forcing me to look up at him. He threw the mask aside and then leaned down so that his lips were inches from my ear and whispered, “Did you miss me, baby?”
I swallowed the bile that rose in the back of my throat and tried to nod without speaking.
“No, tell me you missed me,” he demanded quietly. My stomach rolled as he spoke. “Tell me, beautiful Ava. Tell me how much you love me and how much you’ve missed me.”
“I…I…love you, Dominic,” I sputtered. The words felt like poison in my mouth, and for a moment I was glad that Brian was unconscious so he wouldn’t have to hear me lie. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I don’t believe you,” he snapped as he let go of my hair and slapped me across the face. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, and when I didn’t look back up at him quickly enough, he reached under my chin and forced my head up to look at him. His eyes were cold and angry as he ordered, “Tell me you love me, and mean it.”
“I love you! I love you! I love you, Dominic,” I tearfully chanted. “I’ve missed you so much. I made a mistake and I want to come back. Please?”
“That’s better,” he smiled cruelly as he slowly scanned my body from top to bottom. I swallowed and fought to hide my true feelings so that I wouldn’t vomit. But when he ran his fingers down my cheek, I shrank from his touch. He ignored my response and murmured, “See? Isn’t it better when you admit the truth and tell me how you feel?”
“Mmm hmm,” I nodded as I felt the nausea rising again. I fought to keep myself from looking away as I held his gaze. In my peripheral vision I could see Dominic’s accomplice removing his mask, and my stomach sank when I realized that it was Cheese. The two of them together were my worst nightmare.
“You know my friend Christopher, don’t you, darling?” Dominic said as he watched me. “I believe the two of you became acquainted during an unfortunate incident at the Fiji house, didn’t you?”
I closed my eyes and tried to simply breathe, but Dominic was having none of it, and he yanked my hair so hard that I cried out.
“Do not fucking ignore me, Ava!” he yelled. “I will not have you ignoring me when I ask you a question!”
“Yes, we met,” I replied. My scalp burned and I wondered if he’d actually pulled out my hair.
“Good girl,” he murmured. “When you answer me, I don’t have to resort to hurting you to get a response. Now, you wanted to talk with me about getting back together, did you? Tell me about what you want to do with me.”
“I want…want us to…to get back together,” I stammered as I tried to respond quickly. My head hurt from the tight grip he had on my hair, and I was afraid that if I said the wrong thing, he’d order his henchman to hurt Brian.
“Really?” he said in a skeptical tone that let me know he wasn’t buying what I was desperately trying to sell. “Somehow I don’t believe you, Ava. Why is that?”
“Because I’m…I’m scared?” I whispered.
“It could be,” he said. “But it could also be because you’re lying to me. Are you lying to me, Ava?”
“No! No, Dominic I’m not lying! I love you and I want to get back together with you,” I cried. “I want us to be a family again!”
“Really? Now that’s quite a change of tune, Ava,” he said in a slimy tone that made my skin crawl. “A week ago, you were telling me that you never wanted to see me again. What’s changed in the seven short days between that conversation and now? Hmmm?”
“I realized my mistake,” I said as I lowered my eyes to try and show him my shame. “I was wrong. I’ve spent the week with the bodyguard my father hired, and I realized how wrong I was, Dominic.”
“You hear that, Cheese?” he laughed. “She’s telling me she’s sorry and that she wants to come back. What do you think about that?”
“I think is total bullshit,” Cheese replied dryly. “She’s a cock tease and she has no idea what she wants.”
“I think you might be right, my friend,” Dominic replied as he turned to me with a cold look in his eyes. “But first, I want to hear what the little lady has to say for herself. So, speak, Ava.”
I felt the panic rising as I sat looking up at him. I knew him well enough to know that he was fighting to maintain his impassive expression and casual tone. Underneath it all beat the heart of a true sadist, and questioning me was simply giving him time to coil up inside himself and prepare to strike. If I could figure out how he would strike, I might be able to avert disaster, but that would require me to lie like I’d never lied before, and I wasn’t sure I could do it.
“What’s wrong, Ava?” Dominic whispered as he bent down in front of me, his face only inches away from mine. “Cat got your tongue? Perhaps I should do something to loosen it up.”
“No, I was just remembering our summer trip to New York,” I said as I smiled softly. “Remember how we found that little park that had the lights embedded in the concrete and danced to the street music after dark?”
A look of confusion flitted across Domi
nic’s face before he returned to his marble mask. I smiled sweetly up at him as I continued, “You gave me that pretty silver necklace that I love so much. The one with the diamond perched on the edge of the half-moon because you always said you loved me to the moon and back, Dom,” I spoke softly and smiled again.
“I…I…yeah, I remember,” he stammered a bit before regaining control. I was getting to him, and I knew that if I was going to take control of the situation, I was going to have to spin a memory powerful enough to turn me back into his ally. I searched my peripheral vision for Brian, but I couldn’t see what Cheese was doing with him, so I focused my full attention on Dominic and hoped that when Brian regained consciousness, he’d understand what I was doing and look for an opening. Given how upset he’d been with me before this, I wasn’t sure he would, and that scared me more than telling all the lies.
“You loved me so much, Dom,” I whispered. “That trip was a dream trip, and I really thought you were going to propose when we had dinner at Tavern on the Green. I was so disappointed that you didn’t. Why didn’t you?”
“I…well…that’s none of your business, young lady,” he snapped. There was something underneath his anger, and I didn’t know what it was.
“No, it’s all my business, baby,” I cooed. “Just tell me, it’s okay if you were scared and weren’t ready. I totally understand. Look at me? I got cold feet.”
“It was…well…it was just not the right time,” he muttered as he looked over at Cheese. I followed his gaze and saw that Brian was laying facedown on the carpet with a river of red slowly snaking down the side of his face, forming a growing stain on the carpet. I was distressed, but I knew that I couldn’t show any interest in what was happening or Dominic would turn his focus on Brian. What might happen then was anyone’s guess, but I didn’t dare risk it.
“I know you had your reasons,” I reassured him. “I just wanted to know if it was something I’d done. Was I good enough for a proposal?”
“You were fine, Ava,” Dominic said quietly. “In fact, you were more than fine. You were stunning that night. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
I watched him slowly sink into his memory of the night he should have proposed. The reality of that night was that we’d fought at the hotel before dinner, and I’d said I didn’t want to go out to eat, but he’d gripped my arm so tightly that I couldn’t get away and then dragged me down to the hotel lobby, where he’d ordered the bellman to get us a cab. Once inside the cab, he’d turned and let loose with a torrent of abuse that had the cab driver giving me worried looks in the rearview mirror. I’d waved him off once we reached the restaurant, and we’d gone in and had a delicious, but tense, meal. It was nothing like the romantic fantasy I was weaving, but the only advantage I had over Dominic was that he lived in a fantasy world rather than in reality.
“We were happy, weren’t we?” he mused.
“Oh, it was such a lovely night,” I fed the memory. “We had champagne on the dance floor and you whirled me around like I was Ginger Rogers to your Fred Astaire, Dom. It was magical.”
“Yeah, I did a good job, didn’t I?” he asked.
“The best,” I replied in a dreamy voice. “I felt like a princess.”
“You are my princess, Ava,” he said softly. “I don’t understand why you would want to run away from all of the wonderful things I have given you.”
“I don’t know, Dom,” I said sadly. “I think I just got confused. I got scared. It’s all such a big deal with my family, you know?”
When I mentioned my family, Dominic’s face went blank and I knew I’d hit the wrong note. Dammit!
“Yes, I know all too well how big a deal things are with your family,” he replied coldly.
“They’re not me!” I cried. I had to turn this conversation back around and quickly. “I’m not my parents! I love you! I want to be with you! I don’t care what they say or think, we’re meant to be together, Dom. You know that, don’t you?”
He looked back down at me as if seeing me with fresh eyes, and smiled as he said, “Yes, I know you’re not them.”
He walked over to where Brian lay, looked down at his unmoving body for a moment before he turned and faced me again. “But I also know that they raised you, and there’s no way for you to escape that fact, Ava. You are your parents’ daughter whether you like it or not, and you’re smart and resourceful.”
“What do you mean?” I was absolutely confused.
“What I mean is that you are adept at deception, my dear,” he chuckled. “Your father is the king of lies and deceit and you are the queen of the empire!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I cried. “I’ve never lied to you. Not once.”
“Listen to her, Cheese!” he roared. “She lies to me about lying to me! What a piece of work!”
“Huh?” said Cheese looking back and forth between us, obviously confused. “She sounds sincere to me, dude.”
“Good lord, Cheese, you’re such a sucker,” Dominic scolded. “No wonder no frat house wants you as a member. You’re an idiot.”
“Hey!” Cheese protested. “I’m not an idiot!”
Dominic rolled his eyes and turned his attention back toward me, and suddenly a glimmer of hope peeked through the curtain of darkness. I knew what I could do to turn the situation in my favor and get Brian and I out of there, but first I had to get Brian to regain consciousness, and then somehow get him to play along with my little game.
“Dom, tell me how we’re going to get out of here, please?” I flirted and smiled at him. “I haven’t been alone with you in so long.”
“No, you haven’t, have you?” he smiled as he reached out and ran his fingers lightly down my cheek. “You must be so very lonely.”
“You have no idea,” I said. “It’s been the longest time since anyone has even touched me.”
“You mean you and the bodyguard didn’t get your groove on?” he asked with a surprised.
“Who? Me and him?” I said incredulously. “What on earth are you thinking?”
“Well, I figured that close quarters with a handsome, yet simple hunk might wear you down,” Dominic mused.
“Um, have you forgotten that he was hired by my father?” I asked as I rolled my eyes as far back in my head as I could. I had to channel my inner teenager to get this one right. I’d been a child in an adult’s world my entire life and I wasn’t sure I had it in me, but for Brian’s sake and mine, I had to try.
“True,” Dominic replied. “Daddy dearest would not like you mingling with the help one bit.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Brian’s fingers moving. The other two hadn’t seen it, and I was determined to make sure they didn’t notice him regaining consciousness. I shifted my focus and said, “Dom, let the room server go. He’s nothing. We don’t need him, do we?”
Dominic looked over at the teenager lying facedown on the carpet with a blindfold covering his eyes as if he’d forgotten he was even there. “Hmmm,” he murmured. “You might be right, but I’m not taking any chances, my dear. I’ve got a plan, and I’m sticking to it.”
“What kind of plan, Dom?” I asked eagerly. “Are we going somewhere?”
“Oh, we most definitely are,” he smiled. “You and me, that is, after we take care of the problem.”
“What problem?” I asked as my heart sunk into my stomach. I’d been lulled into a sense of false security because Dominic was calm, but the reality was that he was more dangerous when he wasn’t actively angry.
“Well, you see, my dear,” he smiled. “We can’t have the nosy bodyguard reporting back to your father and screwing everything up, now can we?”
“No, we most definitely cannot have that happen,” I said as I forced a smile and stole a peek at Brian. He was still out cold, and I was starting to sweat. Wake up, wake up, wake up.
“Good, I’m glad we agree.” Dominic smiled in a reptilian way as he moved across the room to Cheese and sai
d, “Get him up off the floor and into that chair.”
“How, dude?” Cheese asked genuinely confused.
“I don’t care how you do it, just do it,” Dominic intoned. “And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me dude?”
“Sorry, du—Dom,” Cheese replied as he bent down and slid his arms under Brian’s armpits and hoisted him up off the floor. As he lifted, Brian’s head dropped forward. I kept hoping for a miracle; that Brian would wake up and take on our captors and free us from this nightmare. But he only groaned a little as Cheese propped him up in the chair and secured him to the back of it using another length of rope. I watched him as he tied it and realized that he had no idea how to tie knots. If I could get Brian conscious, there was still hope.
“What are you going to do, baby?” I asked sweetly.
Dominic walked around behind Brian, rested his hands on his shoulders, and said with a smile, “He will no longer be an issue, pretty girl. You will be mine and he will cease to be.”
My stomach turned as I heard Dominic discuss his horrible plan to ensure that we would have a beautiful future. He would make sure he got what he wanted even if he had to kill Brian in the process, and my brain spun as I tried to figure out a way to talk him out of his disgusting plan.
“Dom, do you think that’s the best idea?” I asked sweetly. “I mean, he’s really kind of a nobody, and if you off him then he becomes somebody, right?”
“Ava, Ava, Ava, you’re so very naive. Sweet, but naive,” he chuckled. “You see, if I off this jarhead, then I will also make sure that no one knows I’ve done it. He will simply disappear into nothingness and no one will know what happened to him, so he will still be a nobody. Do you see, my darling? I’ve got it all planned out.”
“Oh, okay!” I said as brightly as I could and smiled a big, fake smile. “Well, if you’ve got it all planned out then I guess it’s done, right?”
“Yes, except for one thing,” Dominic smiled. I didn’t like that smile, it was the one he always used on me when he was about to punish me for some imagined infraction and then blame me for the pain he was forced to cause me. “I need him to be conscious so that he understands that I’m making the choice to end him. I need him to look me in the eye as I lead him out of this world and into the next one.”