Best Man

by Christine Zolendz

  I looked at Ava, who was teetering drunkenly on dangerously high heels. “I don’t know anything. I talked to her this afternoon and was waiting on a sitter for Chloe, so I was an hour late. She hasn’t answered any of my calls either. I thought she might have snuck off to be with you.”

  “I haven’t seen her since eleven this morning,” I snapped.

  Travis laughed. “Sorry, Luke. But that is how Maddie is.”

  CHAPTER 14

  MADELINE

  I kept going over what he said in my head. Luke’s words from last night haunted me, making me stay up until the early hours of the morning wondering and analyzing, hoping even. I’ll take you up against walls. I’ll take you into my bed. But first, I’m taking back your heart.

  He wanted to take back my heart. My insides flip-flopped around. Then, there was the kiss from this morning. It was terrifyingly the most exquisite kiss I’d ever had in my life. Was there really a chance for us to have something real? My skin tightened and bristled heat all over my body just thinking about seeing him again. I knew Casey wanted to surprise Travis at the strip club tonight. Maybe it was more of her making sure he wasn’t going to be doing anything stupid, but still, whatever it was for them, I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting to see Luke again.

  I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake—letting myself think that maybe, maybe we could be something—something beautiful.

  I touched the flatiron to my hair and slid it down slowly, going over everything Luke said to me since he’d been back. The biggest thing that kept repeating in my head was when he said he was staying. My insides flipped again.

  I pulled out the top drawer and searched for a clip to hold back my hair when a sudden door slamming made me jump. It didn’t sound like a car door. It sounded like the front door. Placing the flatiron quietly down on the edge of the sink, I stood still and listened.

  I peeked my head out into the hallway to take a look. The front door was still closed, and I could hear no other noises.

  I took a deep, slow breath; I’m turning into a paranoid freak for no reason at all.

  Shaking my head, I went right back to straightening my hair. Then, I heard a small creak in the floorboards.

  I froze, suddenly terrified. The nape of my neck tingled with an eerie frightening sensation.

  Another creak.

  They had to be footsteps.

  Someone was walking around in the cabin.

  I pressed myself against the bathroom wall and continued to listen, my heart thumping so fast and loud I was sure anyone could hear it.

  Another step, another low groan from the floorboards.

  I backed up a step and softly shut the door, quickly turning the lock. My pulse beat faster, thrumming wildly in my ears and catching in my throat.

  It’s got to be a joke right? It’s Travis or Luke. Or Ava.

  The lights went out with a small, distant pop. Someone just did something to my electrical box. I slapped my hand over my mouth, because whoever cut the lights expected me to scream—that’s how they’d find me quickly. Fuck that, they’ll have to search for me.

  Something fell from inside the kitchen and crashed against the floor. A low laugh rumbled through the house, and the floorboards squeaked faster.

  The footsteps stopped just outside the bathroom door, and someone scratched their fingernails down the surface of it.

  If this is a joke, it’s not funny.

  I waited for someone to call my name. One of my friends, who somehow got into my house and was playing a really shitty joke on me. I stepped into the bathtub quietly and lay down. I had no idea why, but I felt safer. My phone was somewhere in the house, plugged into an outlet charging for a night out. There was only a small window in here that would be impossible to slip my big butt through.

  A hard, fast pounding at the door bolted me up out of the tub.

  Fear licked over my skin like fire.

  The pounding got harder and faster. Shadows moved over the window, blocking out the light, and someone was banging their fists against the glass outside too. My hands started to tremble, and my feet went numb as an explosion of heat ballooned across my chest. I grabbed onto the flatiron with one hand and searched in the open drawer for another weapon. Whoever it was would be able to hear me inside now shifting through shit. Shaky fingers found a metal nail file, and I slid it in the side of my panties. Oh God, why the hell didn’t I get dressed?

  The pounding on the door turned into kicking ,and the glass of the window shattered behind me. I swung open the door, flatiron out in front of me, and a strange man growled at me in mid-kick.

  He was an enormous man packed with muscles and had chiseled features with dark, deep-set eyes. “Well, hello there,” he growled in a raspy voice that made the hair on my arms stand up straight. “It sure is a pleasure to meet you.”

  I held the flatiron up like an idiot. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Name’s Cardarrio. Anthony Cardarrio. I’m a friend of Luke’s.”

  CHAPTER 15

  LUKE

  A sour taste flooded my mouth. “No one has heard from her at all?”

  Casey blinked up at me, trying to focus on my face, but was looking way above my head. “Mad-a-lin-she-shhhtooood-me-up,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth in a rush. She then added some undistinguishable words I couldn’t for the life of me understand.

  I yanked my phone out of my pocket and pulled up her contact, pressing the call button. It rang once and then went to voicemail. I covered my ear with my hand and listened to the message. “Maddie?” I said, after the beep sounded, “Maddie, nobody has heard from you since this afternoon. Where are you? Call me the minute you get this message. Please.” I shoved my phone back into the pocket of my pants, leaving it on vibrate so I’d feel it the minute she called back.

  “You don’t look so good,” Travis slurred, jabbing me in the shoulder with his finger.

  “No one has heard from her and you all just think she’s…what? Out with some random guy?” I said as my throat burned, and my skin tightened. “What if she got hurt? Do you fuckers really believe she’d just not show up?” I snapped, grabbing my jacket off a chair. “You people are un-fucking-believable.” And if she was out with some other random guy, I was going to kill him.

  “Where you going?” Travis asked, jumping up and stumbling back down onto the couch. “Holy shit, how much did I drink? I can’t find my feet,” he yelled, waving his arms around. “I can’t find my feet and my sister.”

  I shook my head as I stormed past him. “You’re too drunk to do anything. Stay here and just…have fun.”

  Ava grabbed my arms as I passed her and leaned up to talk into my ear. I could smell bitter wine on her breath, and her teeth were stained with a slight tinge of purple. “She wanted to see you tonight. Doesn’t make sense.”

  Of course, it didn’t make any sense. Maddie wouldn’t do something like that. Not to her brother, not to Casey, and she sure as fuck better not do shit like that to me. She’d have a reason. Her cab was in a ditch somewhere or something else…she wouldn’t just go to meet someone else. She couldn’t.

  My phone buzzed around in my pocket and relief swept through me. I let my head fall back as I dug my phone out and hit the screen.

  A blurry picture of Maddie flashed across the screen. My knees buckled and my deep growl swept through the crowded bar, stilling everyone near me into silence.

  CHAPTER 16

  MADELINE

  T he lights were back on, and a window was wide open right above my head, but outside, there was no one who heard me scream. A breeze moved the curtains, and I shivered uncontrollably. My head hurt—it throbbed mercilessly from one temple to the other. Panging and panging with only a brief second of relief in between. The pain was so sharp and real that it made my stomach twist and roll with nausea.

  Anthony Cardarrio was sprawled out on my couch, sipping on a glass of apple juice he’d found in my refrigerator. His eyes were attenti
vely focused on me, snapping pictures every few minutes and chuckling to himself. A freshly opened bag of honey twisted pretzels leaned against his leg.

  “How much do you think you’ll be worth to him?” he asked me, crunching on a pretzel.

  I shifted my position on the floor. It was too hard and cold, and my movements were limited since he’d so sweetly wire-tied my wrists to the radiator pipe. “I wouldn’t count on much,” I whispered. I didn’t offer anything else; every time I’d opened my mouth before, he’d struck me across the face with the back of his hand. The pain was just bearable right now. Another hit and I’d probably be unconscious. I knew it was stupid, but I wanted to keep my wits about me in case I really needed to fight the sick bastard off me.

  Another shiver racked my body as cold air blew in. A little more decrease in the temperature, and the heat would automatically kick on. I was waiting patiently for it, hoping the plastic wire tires would get hot enough to melt.

  Anthony’s gaze flicked up to the man in the kitchen he called Paulie. “Hey, she got anythin’ in there that’s good?”

  “Yeah,” Paulie called back, “I’m makin’ sandwiches.” Their accents were thick and sounded like they’d either come straight from Brooklyn or off the set of some stereotypical mafia movie from the 90s.

  Anthony’s eyes lowered back down to the phone in his hands as he blindly reached for another pretzel. He crunched it loudly in half and flicked the leftover piece in my direction. It hit me in the chest and fell to the floor.

  “You got a nice pair of tits,” he mumbled while chewing. “That fag didn’t say thank you when you sent this to him?”

  I stared at him, watching the movement of his jaw as he chewed.

  “You’re not gonna answer me?”

  I lifted my shoulders to shrug and licked at my dry lips. Anthony’s eyes zoned in on my mouth. Interesting. “He was here when I took the picture this morning.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Yet, I find you alone.”

  I licked at my lips again. “I guess he didn’t like the picture.”

  “This is the best I could do. She don’t have much food in there,” Paulie said as he walked back into the room and handed a plate of food to Anthony. “You should eat more,” Paulie said, pointing a finger at me, “healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables.”

  “Are you fucking serious right now?” I said under my breath. It had been hours since they broke into my house and tied me up. Hours. My head was throbbing; my body was cramping from my position. I had to pee, and the nut job was standing across the room lecturing me about my eating habits.

  A loud click and hiss ,and the heat finally turned on. I prayed the pipes got hot enough to melt plastic. I’d never prayed so hard in my life. I pulled the plastic ties hard against the pipe to try to get more of the heat. My wrists were already rubbed raw from trying to find a comfortable position. If this didn’t work, I was doomed. I think their plan was to leave me here to die.

  “You always need a fridge stocked with carrots an’ lettuce and don’t get me started on fucking apples and mangos,” Paulie said as Cardarrio took a giant bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly. With his attention on me the entire time, he demolished the food in four enormous bites. It was animalistic and primal. I wondered if he fucked like he ate and then wondered how I could use me sitting there almost naked with his eyes locked on my body to my advantage.

  “Berries. Like blue…berries. Razz…berries. Straw…berries. Those are good for anti-ox-i-dents,” Paulie said in between chews.

  I twisted my body under my arms and leaned back against the cold wall. My shoulders trembled as my back pressed into it and the plastic wire ties pulled taunt and flat against the pipe. I felt the heat rising off the radiator and hung my head back to keep my eyes on Cardarrio, making sure he didn’t realize what I was hoping would happen with the wire ties. I pulled my knees together and slowly slid my feet apart along the floor. His gaze dropped to under my knees, between my legs, just like I was hoping it would. It was hard to act sexy and innocent about it with my head pounding so hard, but I needed him to get closer to me. I wanted him to put his hands on me. The thought made my stomach muscles clench tight and acid burn the back of my throat, but I needed him close to me to try to do anything.

  Would I really be able to hurt someone?

  Would I be strong enough?

  There was only one answer—I’d have to be. There was no other choice.

  Cardarrio tossed his plate on the seat next to him and leaned forward, trying to get himself a better view. I opened my feet wider and pulled the plastic harder against the pipe. I could feel something happening to the ties—there was a bit of a stretch to them—a little give. Thank God for whatever cheap, shitty plastic they were made out of. He must have bought them at one of those dollar stores.

  He wiped his palm over his mouth, sliding his fingers along a perfectly sculpted goatee as if he was figuring something complex out in his head. His index finger tapped and rubbed at the bottom of his lip.

  I shivered again from another cold breeze and goose bumps puckered out all over my skin. Cardarrio cleared his throat in a low rumble, and I slid my legs forward in front of me. He watched them move. Then, he lifted his eyes to my chest and looked back and forth between both breasts. He rubbed his hands out in front of him and slid them over his knees. I knew instantly he wanted to touch me, and I didn’t have much time left before he would.

  I leaned further from the warm pipes, straining the plastic ties even more over the increasing heat.

  “Paulie,” Cardarrio grumbled low, never taking his dark eyes off me.

  “Yeah?” Paulie asked, before shoving the last bit of sandwich in his mouth and wiping his face with a handkerchief he kept in the front pocket of his shirt. It smeared a line of mustard across his chin.

  “Go make yourself busy,” Cardarrio said, still staring at me through narrowed eyes.

  “Doin’ what?” he asked, tucking the small mustard stained handkerchief back into his shirt and fumbling with his collar.

  “Go through her shit in the back rooms. S-l-o-w-l-y.” Cardarrio pronounced the word loudly, annunciating each syllable carefully.

  Paulie grimaced and flicked a quick glance between Cardarrio and me. “Go through her shit?” He let the end of the question trail off into whisper. “Yeah, sure. No problem,” he said, standing up and adjusting his pants and shirt. “I’ll just go through her shit.” He pronounced through as true and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” Cardarrio asked as Paulie quickly busied himself somewhere in the back of the cabin.

  “The accent,” I replied, shrugging.

  “You think it’s funny, huh?”

  “No,” I said a little breathy, “I like it.”

  Cardarrio’s fingers fidgeted in between his knees again.

  It was hard as fuck to act sexy when you’re scared as shit.

  His elbows pressed down on his knees and he slowly leaned forward before he stood tall. Fingers pulled at his goatee again and moved back to rub at the back of his neck. “How well do you know that piece of shit mother fucker?”

  Oh, God, I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t actually ready for him to come closer; the plastic was still holding me against the pipes. I felt it loosening and melting, but it was too slow to do me any good.

  “You mean Luke?”

  He blinked his eyes really slow and took a step closer to me, nodding.

  “He’s the best man in my brother’s wedding,” I said hoarsely.

  “Best man?” he laughed. “He’s gonna be a dead man.” He covered the rest of the distance between us with quick steps and crouched down in front of me.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  Piercing spikes of adrenaline stabbed across my chest and sizzled like electric down my arms. My heart raced wildly just under my rib cage and a small whimper slipped past my lips.

  One of his hands instantly fisted my hair and yanked my head to the side, pulli
ng my wrists hard against the hot pole. All I thought was good; I hope it melted through the plastic faster. The smell of it started to burn my nostrils. He pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of what must have been a frantic expression on my face. I pulled at the wires, but they still didn’t give.

  With him that close to me, Cardarrio’s face was beet red, and he was breathing hard. He jerked my head back further, and his eyes dropped down to my chest. The hand holding the phone reached for my tank top and pulled it down over both my breasts. He brought the phone up, aimed it again at me, and snapped another picture.

  And another.

  And another.

  He tossed the phone down, leaned back on his heals, and looked at me.

  That’s when I felt the plastic that bound my hands to the pipe slip free.

  Cold sweat burst out above my eyebrows. I needed him closer. I couldn’t let him see my hands moving. “That’s all you want? Is pictures of me?” I said in a low shaky voice. Hesitantly, I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth then slowly wet my lips—a soft innocent move that his eyes followed hungrily. “Do you…like the pictures?” I breathed.

  “You’re a firecracker, ain’t you?” His smile widened as he dragged his eyes all over me. “You’re fucking beautiful too,” he said under his breath. “You shouldn’t be wasting your time with that asshole.”

  I made a small breathy sigh as he shifted closer.

  “Finding him with another girl here was a surprise,” he smirked.

  I didn’t have time to decipher the meaning of what he said—I needed him near me, closer to me, almost on me. “Make me forget him,” I whispered.

  He glanced back over his shoulder into the hallway. Paulie was inside my bedroom with the door closed. I could hear him going through my drawers and throwing my things around.

  Slowly, Cardarrio lifted a finger and laid it gently against the skin at my collarbone before sliding it down between my breasts, over my trembling belly, and stopping at the edge of my panties.