Sausalito Nights (Montgomery Beauty Book 1)

by Stephanie Salvatore

  We walked for an unmeasured amount of time, but the distance was far. We stopped after entering a cold room, and I landed roughly into a chair where they tied my wrists and ankles to the arms and legs to a chair. This was it, I thought. I would leave here a dead man; they were going to wrap me up, tape my mouth shut and tie bricks to my ankles. I would sink to the bottom of the bay of Fog City, never to be seen again. If this was for pursuing my relationship with Lorelai, I wouldn’t have one regret.

  A pinching needle pierced into my bicep, a low groan left my throat as I slowly fell back into the chair. My eyelids became heavy. Did they sedate me? I felt myself slipping into an unconscious state and realized that I did have one regret; I shouldn’t have allowed Lorelai to leave on her own earlier that morning. Now I would disappear into thin air, and I couldn’t make the call on whether I would see her again or not. My heart broke, not just over Lorelai but for her. If I made it out of this, there would be no questions. I would protect her at all costs.

  I heard footsteps disappearing off into the distance. Was I alone? Would I live to see the woman I’d fallen head over heels with that could be carrying my child? I couldn’t be certain of anything at this point.

  ***

  “Mr. Castillo, we did as you asked. How would you like to proceed?” I heard a voice say sometime later.

  I couldn’t be sure how much time had passed by, but the ropes felt like they were cutting off circulation to my blood supply in my wrists and ankles.

  Footsteps came closer and I felt eyes zooming in on me. The material over my head slid off and I was met with eyes of no one other than Mr. Castillo. He leaned down to eye level and narrowed his beady dark eyes. “I’m not certain yet. Maybe if we keep him here, he’ll get it embedded into his head to stay away from my daughter. What do you think, Mr. Montgomery?” His voice was as smooth as it was cunning. He stood back up and circled around me. When I didn’t answer, he proceeded to walk to a red toolbox and pulled out a knife. “Maybe you need a proper lesson on what it means to stay away from my daughter.”

  It was a risk to talk, let alone speak my truth; but if he wanted me dead, there was not a damn thing I could do or say to change his mind. “With all due respect, sir. I would never hurt your daughter. I...I love her and all I want is to take care of her.”

  He stayed silent and looked toward the doorway. “Santino, give us a moment. Would you?”

  The young man disappeared and Mr. Castillo circled around the chair he sat me in, placed the blade under my chin tipping my head back. He wore a pristine suit, his arms covered. Closing my eyes, my mind flashed back to the bandages around Lorelai’s forearms. Thinking back on what was under them, the vision of the flocking birds came to mind. I spent so many mornings watching her sleep, studying how peaceful she looked. What were the birds a sign of?

  Come on, Chris. Think. The marks looked like fresh scars on her arm, but they were in the same exact spot on the opposite arm. She fled her father’s flock. She was a free bird. This was why she was isolated. This is why she needed me. She wanted more in life than what her family could offer.

  “You were warned, Montgomery.” His tone came out in a harsh whisper before he drew the blade down the front of my cheek. The sharpest point of the knife sliced through the skin causing a warm drip of liquid to trickle down like a teardrop.

  Squeezing my eyes shut, a dull pain from my fingernails dug into the bottom of the wooden arm rests. Inhaling a sharp breath, I squeezed my eyes shut doing my best not to scream through the excruciating pain. Screaming would show weakness, and that was the last thing I needed.

  “Do you know why you’re here?” he asked a moment later, flipping the knife in the air, catching the weapon by the handle before he looked in my direction.

  Looking away, I stared off and took in my surroundings. This looked like the bottom of an industrial vessel. The temperature as cold as a refrigerator… perhaps this is where he kept his victims that were no longer breathing. The walls were painted white, and the only visible pass through to leave was up a ladder and through a circular hole in the ceiling.

  A firm hand grabbed my chin and pulled it up. I looked into the black beady eyes. His hair gray, a shaven-down beard on his face, and black suit sat fitted to his form. He looked like a professional business man, working in an organized crime syndicate. Thinking back to the freedom I had before I landed here, I remembered the mysterious men and women walking through the club in suits. They were a part of his cult. A homicidal smirk fell over his face; and while I should have been scared of this man, I rolled my eyes. Nothing or no one would steer me away from the love I had for Lorelai, not even the fear of death.

  “Answer me, dammit!” he growled.

  I snapped out of my thoughts. “Yeah, I do and you’re not going to like what I have to say. You want me to stay away from Lorelai, and I’m not afraid to let you know that it’s never going to happen.”

  The grip on my chin tightened as he clicked his tongue. “Do you realize how easy it would be for me to snap your neck and make you disappear before the sun comes up?”

  “With all due respect, sir? I do, but you wouldn’t do that.”

  He leaned down and narrowed his beady eyes on me. “How can you be so sure?” he spat.

  “Because, Lorelai is your little girl. You would never do anything to hurt her.” I paused. “We have that in common,” I said in a dark husky tone.

  The grip of his hand tightened once more as he chuckled darkly. “You think you have it all figured out, kid? Let me tell you something. You don’t! You have no idea what I’m capable of, but I’m not going to go there. I’m going to give you an offer, whether you take it or not determines how this ends.” He narrowed his eyes down at me before he continued. “Ten thousand dollars, cold hard cash can be yours if you agree to never see my daughter again.”

  I shook my head in disbelief, the anger building up inside of me. Perhaps I had no idea who or what I was dealing with; and that was why Lorelai kept me, erh, us a secret from her family.

  Gritting my teeth together, I rose my brow and subtly began playing with the knots in the ropes. “Sorry. That’s not going to work for me.”

  “I see...then I’m afraid you’ve left me without another choice.” Taking a towel from the shelf, he wiped the small streak of blood away from the blade, towering over me the blade sliced through the skin under the first slice he made a few minutes prior.

  I stared off gripping the arms of the chair, attempting to turn my damn emotions off.

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I desperately tried to escape the physical place I was in.

  I pictured Lorelai’s stature standing in front of me, placing her hands on my face like the way she had right before she kissed me. Slow and then all at once like a rain shower turning into a torrential pour down. She stood smiling from ear to ear, walking backwards through the downpour, soaked and said, “You have to catch me if you want more… Come on, Montgomery. Come get me.”

  A warm substance dripping against the thin material of the v-neck t-shirt I wore intercepted my thoughts. I opened my eyes back to the reality of Mr. Castillo’s fun chamber.

  “Santino! You’re just on time. I need you to sit with Mr. Know-it-all Montgomery here while I run a quick errand.”

  A crooked smirk rose on the young man’s lips. “No problem, Armani. I’m sure I could paint him a clearer picture on what Lorelai’s future looks like.”

  “Ah…don’t take it that far. I’m not sure that’s a done deal quite yet. Just… keep him in line.”

  “You got it, boss.” He took the knife from Armani before they walked out of sight. I heard beeps that sounded like buttons on a keypad, narrowing my eyes. So there was another entrance and exit? Or was the one in plain sight just an illusion?

  I stared down at the floor feeling the blood trickle down my neck and onto my chest as Santino walked back in and paced back and forth in front of me. He grunted, inhaling and exhaling heavily. “Did you really think you wo
uld get away with Lorelai wrapped around your fingers and not pay a price, Montgomery?”

  I sighed quietly. “She made her choice, Santino,” I spoke quietly.

  He jumped at me, gripping his hand around my neck and hovered over me. “Shut…your…fucking mouth. No one asked you to speak!” he yelled through gritted teeth.

  I rolled my eyes, and eased my head to look away from him. There was nothing more to say, but Santino should be counting the blessings on all ten of his fingers and toes; because if I wasn’t locked down, he would be the next guy that came up missing. I’d kill him with my damn bare hands and throw him into the bay and being tied to this chair wouldn’t stop me.

  He stepped off slowly, and before I knew it his hand gripped a tight hold against my chin. “You will only speak when you’re asked to.” He spoke into my ear before he stepped away and began pacing slowly back and forth.

  A smug smirk tugged at his lips. “You know, I had plans for Lorelai. She just had to go and mess them all up, but she could’ve had the life. She wouldn’t have to work and when Armani finally gets rid of you, I have a new plan for her.”

  My eyes followed his every footstep, fury building within me with every word he spoke. Had I not been tied down with the ropes, I would’ve taken him down to the ground and beat the ever loving shit out of this man without thinking twice.

  “What’s this plan? Oh, I’m glad you asked.” A crooked smile crossed his lips. “You see, my family works very closely with the Castillos. The Castillos saved our casinos by buying them out and turning them into the Black Diamond brand name in Sin City. I’ll whisk Lorelai back to the city that made me a man. We’ll get married by one of those Elvis impersonators and I’ll give her a lush honeymoon in Italy, and then we return. She can go to work managing an escort business. The broad running it now clearly has no idea what she’s doing.” He paused, pressing his lips together firmly. The more he talked, the angrier I grew. Being as subtle as possible, I started pulling at the knots in the rope once more. Fuck, they were tight.

  To my demise, he continued. “I know that Lorelai could manage matching these little sluts that work for us with the wealthy men that desire them with the cash to pay properly. She has it all between the beauty and the brains.”

  That did it. I pulled, tugged and struggled on the ropes trying to break myself free. “You are so god damn lucky I can’t move or you’d be a dead man!” I gritted the words through my teeth.

  His head fell back in laughter. “Real funny, Montgomery. The only way you’re leaving here will be under a white sheet.”

  I continued to pull on the ropes, I became determined to free myself. How dare he belittle the love of my life down to the leader of those prostitutes! She deserved so much better. Closing my eyes, I inhaled a deep breath, making a silent vow that I would stop at nothing to make sure she didn’t end up in that situation and went back to working on the knots while Santino was too distracted silently plotting my death.

  Getting lost in my thoughts, the fist coming into contact with the side of my face caught me off-guard. That brought my attempt to free myself to a halt for a moment before I struggled and used every muscle to break through the ropes. Standing up, I pulled my fist back and swung hitting the target of Santino’s face with one strong hit, watching as he fell to the ground in slow motion. When I tried to make a run for it, I was pulled back with a strong hand, and felt a piece of cold metal against my head.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” The cold voice came from Mr. Castillo.

  I stilled, and decided not to respond. I needed to be smart about my next move.

  A low chuckle left his lips. “Have a seat, Montgomery! We’re going to talk about the stunt you just pulled.”

  I fell back into the wooden chair at full force as he tied me back up twice as tight. A sharp pain traveled up my spine and into my neck. Inhaling a sharp breath, I tried to calm myself with the gun pointed at my head. I would do as he said or die at his hand and Lorelai would be left with Santino. I dug my nails into the palm of my hand as I shook with anger from head to toe thinking about that scenario.

  “Sir? With all due respect, I did defend your daughter’s honor.”

  He walked around slowly, pulling the barrel of the gun away from my head slowly. “I can see how you might think that Mr. Montgomery, but I’m not here to listen to reason. In fact, I’m ready to double what I was offering. Twenty thousand dollars, you take yourself and your parents away from here and don’t look back.”

  I shook my head without a second thought. “Your money won’t drive me away, Mr. Castillo.”

  He was silent as he paced back and forth slowly. Placing the safety on the gun, he sighed and disappeared for a moment.

  I stared off, and swallowed silently as he came back into view with the knife in his hand once more, hovering over me from the side. The prickled pain from the knife being drawn across my cheeks hit once more.

  “Do you know what happens when I get to your carotid artery?” he barked. “You bleed out. You have one hour before I make the next cut. I’ll be marking twice an hour, the decision is yours, Montgomery.” With that, he was gone and I was left to feel the blood trickle down my face staring at a passed out Santino at my feet, hoping he would not wake up.

  The Time for Self-Preservation is Now!

  Lorelai

  “Lorelai?”

  I sighed silently at the sound of my sister’s voice, but didn’t respond. I sat against the back of the bathroom door staring at the sink and the porcelain throne that I had met several times since I made it home a few hours ago.

  “Lor…” She stood at the back of the door this time. “Please let me in?”

  She had been crying, I could hear it in her voice and feel it deep within my soul. I sniffled softly, the bathroom vanity and other surroundings blurred in my vision. I couldn’t talk about this. I didn’t want nor need to talk about the fact that I was a second or third party reason for my brother’s unforeseeable death.

  I laid my head against my lap as I felt a warm streak of moisture trickling down my cheek and a soft sob fell through my lips. Trembles shook through my body limb by limb as the emotions became too damn much to hold inside. My heart had been ripped out of my chest and crushed with a sledgehammer. I swore I’d seen the blood splattered on the walls through a blurred peripheral vision.

  I was cold. Freezing, actually. I looked up and saw Luci standing across from me, her curls in perfect shape, make-up smeared from the tears she cried, her red lipstick still perfected. Her face was paler than usual and she looked down at me before she crossed the room and sat on the floor next to me.

  I felt her arms swaddle around me in a tight embrace. “Lorelai…” She barely spoke above a whisper. “You…you have to know that th-this is not your fault.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t say that,” I snapped quietly.

  “No…Lorelai. Look at me, dammit.” She pulled out of her hold on me and placed both hands on each side of my face. “You didn’t force Armani to step into territories he didn’t belong in. He went in on his own risk.” She paused.

  I nodded. “I’ll try, but I have another problem on my hands.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “Uh-oh. Why do I feel sick about this?”

  I inhaled a deep breath. “I’ve been throwing up off and on all morning… but, this isn’t the first time it’s happened, Luci.”

  Her face hardened as she narrowed her eyes at me. “You’ve been sneaking around to see that Montgomery kid, haven’t you?”

  I swallowed the lump that had developed in my throat. “Kind of?”

  “Lorelai…”

  “Luci. I… I need you to do me a big sister favor.” I sounded desperate, because I was.

  She was silent for a moment. “Okay. What is it?”

  I knew Marie had my back, but my parents would expect me to stay closer to home after my brother was brutally murdered. What a fucking mess all of this was! I wanted to scream in frustrat
ion.

  “I need you to cover for me. I can’t stay here. I know Mom and Dad. The family will be flying in from everywhere, and I can’t be around people right now. I need to find Chris. I need time away.”

  She eyed me carefully. I knew she didn’t agree with this plan, I could hear her inner thoughts screaming silently through the furrowed eyebrows. How could I be thinking of Christopher when our brother was just murdered? The long silence present in the room filled with tension could be cut with a butter knife and it would still explode.

  She took my hand holding it with both of hers. “I will cover for you under two conditions.”

  I straightened up my posture sitting on my knees. “Name them.”

  “You have to show up at Armani’s funeral; and you have to promise me wherever you plan to go, that you’ll stay safe.”

  I gave her a gentle smile and nodded. “That I can promise,” I spoke above a whisper.

  Her lips pressed to my temple before she looked at me. “Are you feeling okay? Your face is flushed.”

  I bit my lower lip. “Not really, but I’ll survive.” I could see the concern in her eyes, but I couldn’t tell her I was pregnant or it would get back to my parents; and then my father would kill Christopher and lock me up, and I’d never see the light of day again.

  She nodded and stood up. “I should go check in with Mom and Dad.”

  I stared off, quietly taking in the reality of life and death that surrounded me on this daunting late fall day. I knew what I had to do, and that my family would not approve of it; but it wasn’t just about my parent's values and opinions anymore. This was my life, and I’d be damned if it ended like my brother’s had.

  Standing to my feet, I went to my room and started packing as many clothes as I could possibly fit into my suitcase. Going back into the closet, I stood in front of the safe, turning the combination numbers in until the door popped open and grabbed the stacks of cash sitting in paper band holds. I didn’t need the family business, nor to wait around here until I graduated. Hell would freeze over before I allowed them to dictate who I could love.