“What would you have done if it was Carmella on the floor and Tommy was between you and saving her?” I took a deep breath as I realized the ramifications of what I had done.
“Shit, the police are coming.” I heard one of the guys at the door yell and then they started to scatter.
“Tell them I had nothing to do with this.” Miguel pushed the barrel hard against my skull. “Me and you in the cage—to the fucking death.”
“Miguel…” I sighed and then he pushed the metal against my skull again.
“Give me your word, Ruckus. Give me your word and we’ll settle it there. These guns aren’t who we are. We settle our differences inside the cage with our fists.” The metal pulled back from my skull.
“You have my word.” I sighed and put down the shotgun.
“Ruck…” I heard a sputter from Tommy.
“Tommy!” I ran back over and he started trying to sit up.
“Ruck, Carlos has been f-filming you.” Blood ran out of Tommy’s mouth.
“Don’t say anything, bro. Help is almost here.” I cradled his head as I waited for the police to arrive.
The police swarmed the room. We were all put in handcuffs, except for Tommy—and of course, Carmella. Carlos was handcuffed to a stretcher. I tried to explain that Madison needed help, but there was too much chaos. It was Carlos’ room and he was the one on the floor, so we were naturally assumed guilty. I would keep my word to Miguel. I would tell the police he was a victim, just like we were. The fact his sister was dead on the floor would sell the story. I had never felt so much guilt before in my life. I acted out of instinct. My only thought was saving Madison and I didn’t care who I had to sacrifice to do it. Deep down, I knew there was no other way. If I hadn’t fed Carmella to Miguel’s blast, I would have been dead on the floor instead. If I would have walked away, Tommy would be dead. Madison’s fate seemed unchanged. There was no sign of her at all. If Carlos’ men had called to retrieve her, the ones who took her never brought her back.
16
Madison
I was scared and my wits were going haywire when Ruckus ran out of the room. I decided that I was going home, but I couldn’t leave the suite smelling like I had just been dipped in cum. I decided a quick shower was the only answer. I feverishly washed my hair, ran the water over my body, and practically stabbed my pussy to wash Ruckus out of me. I was pretty sure the smell of the vodka and Red Bull would be off my breath by the time I got home, but I literally smelled like a brothel.
“What the fuck?” The shower door opened and I felt hands grabbing me.
“Shut up, bitch.” Something slammed into my head and I felt the tile floor rising up to meet my face before my world was engulfed in darkness.
“We can’t move her, man. The cops are fucking everywhere. Carlos left on a stretcher and he was handcuffed to it.” I heard a loud voice talking when I finally came to. “That psycho Ruckus, man. I don’t know how the fuck he did it, but he was the only one that left that room without being dead, dying, or fucking sobbing.”
Ruckus?
“All I know, Braden, is that this is some fucked up shit. We just need to leave this girl and go. We came to Carlos because we wanted to be fighters. I didn’t sign up to kidnap people out of their fucking hotel room.” I could hear a second voice speaking.
“You didn’t seem to mind it when he promised us a million dollars each.” The first voice spoke again.
“Well if Carlos is in jail, we ain’t getting our million dollars, are we?” The second voice, the one identified as Braden, spoke.
A million dollars each? What the hell is going on?
“Let’s just leave her in here and bail.” The first guy sounded panicked as he spoke.
“Yeah, I’m good with that. I’d like to see my little girl grow up without staring at her through a window at the penitentiary.” Braden spoke, agreeing with the suggestion.
I was surrounded by darkness, but it felt like I was moving. My hands and feet were tied to whatever they were transporting me on, and my mouth had been gagged. They had wrapped me in a sheet, by the feel of it. It was tangled around my body, making it difficult to even move at all. I heard a door open and then I was pushed inside some sort of room. The door slammed shut and I was left alone in silence. I started trying to pull my hands free, but they were too tight. I tried the same with my feet, and while I could make the thing I was bound to move, I couldn’t get free.
I just need to calm down and relax. It doesn’t sound like they’re coming back, and someone will find me—I hope.
Everything was silent for at least an hour and then another hour passed. I struggled against my bindings, but it was no use. I was just wasting energy. I lay there in the darkness and as more time passed, I started to realize that there was something I missed more than my freedom. I missed Ruckus. The ugly old oaf, even if the nickname didn’t fit, was what I missed most of all. I had no idea how he tied into any of the stuff that happened, but I was sure I was the last thing on his mind if his brother was in trouble. What I heard from the guys that kidnapped me didn’t match what the woman that burst into Ruckus’ suite said. She said Tommy killed Carlos. They said he left on a stretcher in handcuffs. They also said Ruckus was the only one that left the room without being in pretty bad shape.
Even if I never see you again, I hope you are okay.
I closed my eyes and felt tears welling up. He had treated me like shit most of the time, but there were moments I would cherish forever. He had done dark and depraved things to me that would stay with me for the rest of my life. He had changed my core. If I saw daylight again, I wouldn’t be a timid virgin. I had connected with a part of myself that I didn’t even know existed. It was Ruckus’ dark and depraved nature that brought it to life. If I never spent the weekend with him, I would have probably spent the rest of my life never knowing that I could like the things he did to me. That couldn’t be put back in the bottle. It was as real as the streaks across my ass.
Fuck, I really do have to get out of here.
Adrenaline started to course through my veins as I kicked and yanked on my bindings. After several hard kicks, I heard a popping sound that was like something had broken. I got renewed energy, more anger, and I kept kicking. The sound appeared again and after several more attempts, to the point that heel was almost bruised, I felt whatever my foot was bound to give away. As it was pushed away, I saw light. I looked up and around me. I was tied to one of the room service trays. I had kicked the legs hard enough that the part where it connected to the top broke and that caused the tablecloth to get pulled off.
Okay, I can do this. Now I know what I’m working with.
I lashed out with all of my fury and determination. I thought about what I had done to get there. I thought about what my father did to put me in that situation. It fueled me. It brought rage to life. I got my foot across the top bar, and was able to roll to my knees. The table toppled over, but it was against my back. I pressed my feet to the floor and stood up, falling back against the door. Metal and pieces of plastic scraped my back, but I didn’t care. I repeated the motion and I felt the bar holding my hand snap from the plastic top. I staggered away and started to twist the bindings off my wrists. The bar had been between them, so there was a lot more give with it gone. It took a little effort, but I got it off. My feet were even easier with my hands free. The last thing was the gag, which I ripped out of my mouth.
“Now where the fuck am I?” I looked around the dimly lit room.
It appeared to be some sort of closet. There were clothes hanging on a rack and cleaning supplies on shelves. The light seemed to be coming from under the door, so I fumbled around until I found the light switch. With the light switch on, I was able to unravel the sheet that was wrapped around me and move the broken table from the door. I grabbed a maid’s uniform and slid it on. It was too big for me, but it was better than running through the halls of the Ussery naked. I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, searchi
ng for the elevators.
Home free. Finally!
The Ussery appeared to be in chaos. When I got down to the main floor, there were police officers near the entrance and several patrolling the casino floor. My cell phone had never been returned. The people at Sin City Auction said the driver would arrive on Sunday to give me my stuff, along with a flash drive with the account information, once they confirmed I had complied with what Ruckus asked of me. Since I didn’t know where he was, and it was Saturday night, I didn’t feel comfortable just hanging out in the lobby to wait and see if he came back. I approached one of the police officers.
“Hi, excuse me.” I cleared my throat. “My name is Madison. I’m not actually a maid here, I…” I didn’t get to finish my words because he immediately grabbed his radio.
“We got her! I found Madison!” He grabbed me by the arm. “Come on, we need to take you downtown.”
Technically I found you…
“What do you mean by take me downtown?” I wasn’t really given much choice; the officer just started walking towards the door.
“We need a statement and then we’ll get that animal locked up for all the awful things he did to you. We saw the video. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He pushed open the doors and I was quickly escorted to a squad car.
The video? What video?
“I’m sorry if what I’m saying doesn’t make sense to you, Detective.” I sighed and stared down at the table.
“You’re telling me you agreed to all of the shit that Rick Washington did to you over the last two days?” He used what I learned was Ruckus’ full name.
“I did.” I nodded. “I mean, you heard what I said on the video.”
In the time that I had been in the interrogation room, I had learned that Ruckus was the one that hurt Carlos. I had learned that Tommy was in the hospital. I had learned that Carmella was dead. It seemed that Ruckus and one of his brother’s fighters were in custody. Then, I got to live out all of the dark and depraved things Ruckus did to me in fast forward on grainy security cameras with terrible audio. They didn’t pick up everything, but they picked up enough to make me blush and wish I wasn’t watching them in front of someone I didn’t know. In fact, I wanted to just crawl under the table and die as soon as I cleared Ruckus of what they thought he did to me against my will.
“Fucking hell…” The detective closed the folder and turned off the television. “You need a therapist.”
“My parents know about this?” My throat closed off and I thought I was going to suffocate or vomit—I wasn’t sure which would come first.
“Once we figured out who you were, we called them. We haven’t showed them this video, but we did tell them that we thought you had been kidnapped, tortured, and sexually assaulted. I’m not sure how we turn that into you being into it the whole time.” He stood up and held the folder in his hand. “But that is between you, your parents, and Jesus Christ. They’re waiting in the lobby. T
he detective opened the door and when I stepped out of the interrogation room, I felt like I was doing the walk of utter shame. Eyes were on me and I had to assume some of them had seen the video. It felt like the walls were caving in. My breathing got shallow and it felt like my throat was going to close off like it had when he told me that my parents knew where I had been. Suddenly, at the end of the hallway, a familiar face appeared. It was the only face I needed to see. I found my strength. My legs started moving and I ran towards him.
“Ruckus!” I squealed and as I got to him, I leapt into his arms.
“Oh fuck, thank god you’re safe.” He hugged me, holding me off the floor for what felt like an eternity.
“Never let go of me.” I started to cry. “Please…”
“I really like it when you beg.” He chuckled and squeezed me tighter.
17
Ruckus
I was proud of Madison when we walked into the police station lobby. Her parents were angry, and I guess it isn’t easy to convince them that the guy you’re leaving with didn’t kidnap, torture, and do horrible things to you after the police had just told them he did. I shook her father’s hand, kissed her mother’s like Tommy would have done, and did my best to convince them that I wasn’t the evil incarnation of everything they had been told. I was more impressed that they managed to put themselves together and show up at the police station to do anything as a united front considering what Madison had told me about them. In the end, I held her hand tight while she stood up for herself and we left together.
“I want to swing by the hospital and check on Tommy.” I was still holding her hand when we walked out of the police station.
“Yeah, of course.” She nodded. “Do you have your phone on you?”
“I do.” I reached into my pocket and pulled it out.
“Awesome, get us an Uber.” She stopped near the curb.
“How do you do that?” I raised my eyebrows and stared at my screen.
“Here, I’ll download the app.” She smiled and took the phone from me.
“He’s stable.” The doctor held my brother’s chart in his hand as he spoke. “I wish I could say he’s out of the woods, but it was a fairly serious injury.”
“Is he able to talk?” I felt Madison squeeze my hand for support.
“Yeah, he’s okay as long as he doesn’t get out of bed.” The doctor nodded. “Honestly, if he wasn’t so hopped up on cocaine, the shock would have probably killed him. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it probably saved his life because he didn’t really feel near as much pain as he should have.”
“That figures…” I chuckled and shook my head.
“Anyway, he’s down the hall if you want to see him.” The doctor pointed and we started walking in the direction of Tommy’s room.
“Ruck, bro.” Tommy’s lips formed the best version of a smile he could muster when I walked into the room. “And—you brought the girl.”
“You remember Madison.” I motioned to her.
“I’ve seen enough that I’ll never forget her, but I’ll never mention it again.” He turned towards Madison and grimaced. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Madison sighed. “I’m just trying to figure out how to move past it.”
“Move past it?” Tommy coughed and shook his head. “Don’t move past shit, you hold onto this guy with every bit of strength you have. He was ready to die for you.”
“What?” Madison’s eyes opened wide and she turned to look at me.
“I’ll explain later.” I grunted and squeezed her hand.
“I’m going to have to deal with Miguel.” I walked closer to Tommy.
“Yeah.” Tommy nodded and coughed again. “I was delirious during most of it, but I still heard everything that happened.”
“On the plus side, you’ll finally get to book a fight to the death.” I tried to smile.
“Wait, what?” Madison pushed on my arm. “You told me you didn’t do that.”
“Like I said—I’ll explain later.” I sighed and shook my head. “It’s not something I want to talk about here.”
I told Madison everything when we got back to the Ussery. I told her about Carmella, Miguel, and everything that happened in the room with Carlos. The armbar made her smile, but it was a sad conversation that neither of us really wanted to embrace. She had some of the pieces already, after talking with the police. She filled me in on her epic escape after she was dumped in a closet following the attempted kidnapping. By the end of the conversation, we had pieced both sides of it together and just kind of sat across the table from each other in shock.
“I didn’t have a choice.” I finally broke the silence. “There was no way I could get to Carlos before Miguel fired if I didn’t sacrifice Carmella.”
“I’m not upset, Ruckus. I promise, I’m not. I’m just trying to process everything.” She sighed and blinked away a tear. “If I never auctioned myself off, she would still be alive right now. I mean, I didn’t even know here. It just see
ms like such a waste of life.”
“You can’t focus on that.” I reached across the table and took her hand. “A million things could have changed the outcome of what happened this weekend.”
“That’s profound coming from someone who has taken so many shots to the head.” She smiled slightly.
“The important thing is that Carlos is in jail and I guess there won’t be anymore Sin City Auctions.” She blinked and her eyes widened. “Shit, I might not even get paid.”
“I thought about that, and I’m not going to let that happen. I’ve still got some money. I’ll make sure you get every penny that you’re owed.” I squeezed her hand again. “You will go to college.”
“That’s very nice of you, but I’m not going to take your money. If I don’t get paid, then I’ll find another way.” Her face was troubled, even as she tried to be brave.
“Look at it like this, if this fight with Miguel doesn’t end up in my favor, I won’t need it. You might as well get an opportunity to go to college.” I leaned back in my chair.
“Please don’t fight him.” She blinked away tears again. “I know you told him you would, but you don’t have to actually go through with it. Come with me to Florida. We can start over.”
“Madison, you don’t even know me.” I shook my head back and forth. “God, I’m not going to lie and say that it doesn’t sound awesome, but we can’t just run away together because we had a fun weekend together. Besides, I gave Miguel my word. That means something to me.”
“Oh, yeah.” She nodded. “I guess it was just fun.”
“Don’t say it like that.” I instantly regretted my words.
“I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted.” She stood and walked towards the bedroom, but she paused when she got to the entrance. “You still have me until tomorrow. I’d hate to go to bed alone.”
Sin City Auction: Bad Boy & Virgin Romance (Nevada Bad Boys Book 4) Page 9