by L. A. Fiore
“Hungry?” the guard asked while rubbing himself, grinning over what I imagined he thought was clever word play. “Dessert comes later.” He dropped my tray of food on the table. Outside I looked disgusted, inside I was barely holding it together because there was no doubt he fully intended to rape me when the chance presented itself.
“Eat up, you’ll need your energy.” And on that threat, he walked out, locking the door behind him. As if I could eat anything under the constant threat of being raped. It was tempting to break down, to go into a fit of hysteria, but I refused to give these monsters that kind of power over me. I thought about my dad and how he had likely been in the same situation. He would have fought; he would have never given in to the fear. I was his daughter; I wouldn’t give in to it either. “Help me Daddy, be strong like you.”
I waited to hear the guard’s heavy footsteps on the stairs, didn’t want him returning to see what I was doing, before I moved to the window, drew the curtains aside and continued in my efforts to pull the boards from it. I’d rather break my neck on a fall out the window than let that man touch me.
I didn’t know why pale-hair had taken me, he had mentioned questioning me, but that hadn’t happened yet. I’d spent the first hour roaming the room and attached bath looking for a way out, but the door was surprisingly sturdy and all the windows were boarded up. Cole had been right; I had no idea what I was stepping into. And it was thinking of him that had the tears I wanted so badly not to shed, burning my eyes. He’d been through this with my dad and the thought that he was going to be forced to go through it again, gutted. His whole life, nothing had been easy, most of it was hard and cruel and still he moved on, found his place and remained the most beautiful soul despite all of it. And I loved him and never told him, never shared those three little words.
Dying terrified me, but leaving this world without telling Cole how lucky and blessed Daddy and I were to have him in our lives, how he made our lives so much fuller for having known him and how he was so far superior to Prince Charming because he was real and flawed and perfect. I’d find a way out; I’d find it for him.
I woke on a scream. My hair yanked so hard as I was dragged from the bed, hitting the floor in a jarring heap. Lights flickered on but it took a second for my eyes to adjust and when they did, I wished they hadn’t. It was pale-hair and his expression was disturbing.
“I believe your father took some incriminating pictures of my boss, pictures that I want. Where are they?”
His boss? My mouth opened before I could stop it. “Stein?”
“Yes.”
Was it possible there were other files of photos in Dad’s possessions? I wasn’t sharing that information with this man because if Dad had photos, they were important or I wouldn’t be here. I answered with mostly the truth, “I honestly don’t know.”
He took another step toward me, my hands rising in both defense and a weak attempt to stop him from coming any closer. “You talked to Kevin and you heard our conversation in his kitchen. You know how little I know about this.”
“Did your dad have a security box?”
“I don’t know.”
I wasn’t fast enough this time; he hauled me to my feet and slammed me so hard against the wall I saw stars. “You were going to be his office manager. Stop fucking around.”
“But I never was, he died before I started. I was in college for Christ-sake.”
“What bank did he use?”
I knew exactly what bank my dad used, but I had no intention of telling this man and then he added, “You tell me what I want to know or I’ll pay a visit to your aunt and I won’t be as patient with her. What fucking bank?”
“Citizens Bank on the corner of W Oregon and South 17th Street.”
“Was that so hard?”
“Even if he had a box, they won’t let you see it.”
“You’d be surprised what people are willing to do with the proper incentive. Take you for instance; a threat against your family and you didn’t hesitate to give me what I wanted. That’s good to know, I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
And with those ominous parting words, he strolled from the room. Sinking back to the floor, my body started to shake. I had to get out of here.
I welcomed sleep, an escape from my reality, but it only came in fretful pockets since this nightmare started. How long ago was that? Last night, the night before? Considering my circumstances, I felt rather calm, but I knew it was shock—dulling reality so my brain could deal with the magnitude of what was happening. I’d worked the boards free from the window only to see that I was high enough that I’d likely seriously injure myself if I jumped. And as much as I’d like to say I’d rather jump than have that man touch me, I knew I never could.
I couldn’t find a way out and as hard as I tried to keep hope alive, deep down I knew I wasn’t going to be living through this. I think I knew that the moment pale-hair stepped into Kevin’s kitchen. He had made a deal with Kevin and in the next breath, killed him. I knew too much—I was a loose end—so despite his words to the contrary, I wasn’t leaving here alive. I really hoped there was an ever after because if so, I’d be seeing my dad again, would feel his strong arms around me, hear his voice. But thinking about Aunt Dee learning that I was gone, losing me so close to losing Dad. Janie…and Cole. I dreamt of him last night, dreamt of life where Daddy was still alive, where Cole and I were married. He smiled a lot in my dream, his eyes bright with it, and knowing how much suffering he had had in his life, it had been a really great dream. But if I was taken from him, his eyes wouldn’t sparkle; he’d likely not smile again. He’d lose himself to his grief; he’d finally give in to the shadows that have dogged him his whole life. And the thought of Cole surviving so much only to lose it all anyway, I wanted to rage, wanted to tear this fucking house down, wanted to kill the ones who kept me from him. And as much as I wanted to fight to find my way back to him, to not accept my fate, I wasn’t so much accepting as understanding there was little I could do. I was trapped and at the mercy of a killer.
It had been almost 48-hours since Mia disappeared and we knew Donny had her. Kevin’s secretary confirmed that Donny had visited Kevin’s office a few times during the past month, had called a few times too. The last visit from Donny was the morning of Mia’s disappearance. We got lucky that Kevin had cameras on his house, so we caught a glimpse of the plate as well as the back corner of the van seen pulling away from his house. Timing was right. The blood at Kevin's had only been Kevin’s, which meant Mia was still alive, or had been. Bruce searched for the van, while I paced in front of Terence’s desk as he went through the file on the places Donny favored for his persuasive conversations. I had to be here, even being useless; I had to know what was going on. Needed to be ready to move with or without the PPD’s permission.
Bruce appeared. “We got a hit on the van from traffic cameras, South 3rd Street Camden.”
“Son of a bitch, one of his places is near Lanning Square.” Terence said; I was halfway across the bullpen when Terence added, “We need to gather a team.”
“Fuck that.”
“Cole, we can’t go in there with guns blazing.”
“Not planning to.”
“Meaning?”
There wasn’t time for this, Mia had been in the company of a monster for two fucking days, two days longer than she should have been, but this wasn’t just Bruce, who’d probably let me slide; Terence headed up the investigation and the man played it by the book. “I’m going in and getting her.”
“Alone. That’s your plan?”
“I’ve spent the past five years being a fucking shadow. Hell, there have been times that I’ve caught you and your boys unaware. I’m not waiting for you to get a team ready. I’m going for her. I’ll be in and out and this way you aren’t tipping your hand to Donny.”
“He has her because he wants something from her, taking her away before he gets it will set him off.”
“Yeah, so you better see to
it that Aunt Dee, Dylan and Janie are covered.”
“Easier said than done. There isn’t funding for this, hell this entire investigation is supposed to be closed.”
“Not my problem. I’m going for her, not going to make her wait a second longer than necessary. And I’m not bringing her back, going to hide her away until this is done.”
Terence’s stare was hard and direct, but he surprised me when he said, “All right, I’m going to give you some leeway on this. I'll text you the address, but I want to know when she’s out and where you’re going.”
“No, I’ll tell you when she’s out, but I’m not telling anyone where we’re going.”
“Do you even know?”
I answered that when I turned and walked out of the station.
The house was disturbingly quiet; I’d heard a car a while ago, but couldn’t tell how far away it was. Had pale-hair left? Was I alone with that man? I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin, knowing what was coming but not when. I’d tried working on the door, but for a house in disrepair, the door and lock were surprisingly solid. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs froze me where I stood. It was between meals, which meant the guard wasn’t coming with food. Frantically I searched the room again for a weapon—thought briefly about using the wood I had pried from the window, but it wasn’t big enough to cause damage and I’d have to get close just to use it. Running to the bathroom, I slammed and locked the door.
Only seconds passed when the bathroom door splintered open. Terror, numb from it, my heart pounded painfully. There was absolutely no mistaking his intentions; his pants tenting in the front. I turned to move, but not fast enough. His hand darted out, wrapping painfully around my wrist as he yanked me back to him, pressing his front to my back, his erection grinding against my ass.
“Alone at last.” He growled. His hands were rough, nearly bruising when he squeezed my breasts. Tears sprang to my eyes but I rallied and jerked my head back, connecting with his jaw. His hold loosened enough for me to get away, but he moved so fast, grabbing my arm before his fist connected with my cheek. Stars exploded in my vision, my body swayed, bile rose up my throat and he used my disorientation to rip my blouse, his hand immediately curling around the bra-covered breast he’d exposed, squeezing so hard pain shot straight through me. Fight or flight, the instinct to survive, turned me into a wild person. I started thrashing and kicking, but being stronger he jerked me around and pressed me hard into the sink. The edge digging into my stomach as he began to rub himself against me again. In a small part of my brain not mad with the effort to get away, crippling fear took root, because I couldn’t get away from him, would only have the strength to fight for so long and yet feeling his dick hard against my back caused another surge of adrenaline as I fought against his restraints; my efforts no more successful.
His lips brushed my cheek; his voice whisper soft, “Fight me and I’ll make it hurt when I fuck you.”
And on those words, he tore at my pants, ripping the back open to gain access; the mind-numbing fear spread as my body trembled with the knowledge of what was coming. His fingers dug into my panties, touching me through the silk. Twisting my hair in his fingers, he yanked my head back so I could see his face as he raped me with his fingers, pushing them in so hard I cried out from the pain of his nails digging into the tender flesh.
Impatient now, he undid his pants and pulled his cock free, his fingers still laced painfully in my hair, which he used to hold me steady against the sink. And then he shifted so he could tear at my panties. Without his hand in my hair, I attacked; spinning around, fist raised, I nailed him in the throat, but not hard enough because instead of disabling him, I only enraged him. He threw me against the wall so hard the air was forced from my lungs. He came at me and desperate for anything to use in defense, my eyes landed on the toilet. Without thought, I lifted the toilet tank lid, shifting my hands as I whipped it around like a baseball bat, and with him charging me, the impact when it connected to his skull had pain shooting from my shoulders down my arms. He didn’t immediately collapse, though his eyes glassed over, before he dropped in a heap; but it was the sight of his cock, freed from his pants, engorged and purple that ignited a rage in me—one so primal that I didn’t think as I reached for the gun in the holster at his side. Flipping off the safety, I aimed it at his cock and fired. His body jerked, pulling him from unconsciousness, but only for a second before he went limp again.
Staggering backwards, I hit the bathroom wall. The calm and fight left me, my body started to shake, his gun dropping out of my numb hand to clatter on the tile floor that was rapidly turning red. Sinking down the wall, my eyes on the pool of blood, I retched until it was only dry heaves twisting me inside out.
The house that Donny was holding Mia in looked condemned, as did some of the other houses in the neighborhood. I’d driven around the block a few times looking to see if the house was being watched, but it appeared Donny didn’t feel the need for that added security, probably because it was a woman he had; wrong fucking assumption when it came to Mia Donati. A pizza delivery car pulled up a bit ago, one man answered. Not careful, having deliveries made to a house appearing abandoned. My guess, if Donny didn’t put anyone on the street, he’d probably only left one man guarding her. I could slip in, take him out and have Mia out of there in less than ten minutes.
Parking down the street, I moved through the backyards, keeping to the shadows. There was a window at the back of the house, a light on, the man stood silhouetted in it. Dumb, fucking bastard, being that visible. Anyone looking out their windows would get a good view of him and if something went down here, there’d be countless people who could describe him. Clearly Donny hadn’t even used his A team for this assignment.
A few minutes later, he disappeared and I used the opportunity to get closer. Checking the knob on the back door, it was locked. Pulling the kit from my pocket, I got to work on the lock. A few minutes later, I was slipping into the kitchen. A beat after that a gunshot echoed through the house. Even as my heart plunged into my stomach, I ran up the stairs. The door at the end of the hall sat ajar and pushing into the room, nothing could have prepared me for the sight that greeted me. The man lay in a pool of his own blood; the red bloodstain soaking his crotch was almost black in color. But it was the sight of Mia that had the beast in me demanding release. Her clothes were torn; she was bruised everywhere and clearly in shock because her eyes were open but not seeing. He had touched her, had he raped her? I didn’t know if the fucker was dead, suspected so, but I wanted to put a bullet in his skull. I almost lifted the gun off the floor, but I didn’t know what that would do to Mia. Kneeling next to her, I touched her cheek and found it ice cold. Quickly retrieving the tattered blanket from the bed, I wrapped her in it and lifted her into my arms. She never moved, didn’t respond to me in any way as we made the trip back to my car. Rage burned through me, the need for vengeance so powerful. I wanted to bathe in the blood of Stein and every one of his fucking minions. Attacked, beaten and so fucking scared she had buried herself deep in her own head. I settled her in the back of my car, my fingers touching her cheek.
“Mia, baby.”
My heart twisted painfully looking into her eyes and not seeing Mia looking back. Mia who ate fluff like it was a goddamn delicacy; Mia who had demanded the happily-ever-after every time we had played her princess game as kids; Mia who saw the good in everything, including me. My beautiful, feisty Mia, broken…the thought nearly brought me to my knees. “You’re safe now, sweetheart.”
Shaking with fury, I folded myself behind the wheel and called Terence. “Change of plans. I need a doctor at my house.”
“What happened?”
“Fucker tried to rape her, maybe he did, but she shot his dick off.”
“Jesus. I’ll send a team to secure the scene and a doc and a uniform to take her statement.”
“Do you have to do that now? She’s been through fucking hell.”
“I should
be demanding that she go to the hospital for the exam. I’m sending them to you, that’s as far as I’ll budge on this.”
“You might not get anything out of her, she’s completely in shock.”
“The exam is the important thing, we need the evidence. If need be we’ll hold off on the questioning.”
That was fair. “All right.”
Dropping my phone on the seat, I battled every instinct in me to go back and carve that motherfucker up into little pieces.
For two days Mia slept, hadn’t even stirred when the doctor examined her. There was bruising but no semen; he’d raped her. Pacing just outside her room, bloodlust consumed me. Kevin had set her up and even though he had been a dickhead, he had cared for her so Donny had obviously been very persuasive to get Kevin to do so. But what had my blood boiling was the coincidence that like Mace, the one occasion I didn’t have her back and the shit hit the fan. Too fucking convenient and something I intended to get to the bottom of. Her attacker was dead, bled out, and he was lucky because I would have killed him in the most painful way imaginable, but first I would have tortured him. And even feeling the rage, I felt so fucking helpless too. She's been through hell and I'd been too late to save her. She'd hate knowing I was thinking that, that she needed saving, but she had been dropped into a fucking nightmare. Knowing the terror and pain she had been forced to endure and I had been too late. There was nothing I could do now to ease her pain, and the feeling of uselessness only served to stoke my rage.
Donny likely knew his guy was out and Mia was in the wind. Terence and Bruce were doing what they could to contain it. And though I was glad that fuck was dead, I wish it had been me to kill him because it was going to hang heavily over Mia. Taking a life, even justified, was a heavy burden. If only I’d moved faster, minutes, we were talking fucking minutes, and I could have spared her all that horror. Would she bounce back? Would she be Mia again? Or would this change her? I’d understand if it did, but the thought of losing who she’d been was like taking a wicked kick to the gut. I had failed her and I had failed her dad and that too was a heavy fucking burden.