Chapter 15
Hot breath grazed the back of Dina’s neck. The bastard hadn’t left like she thought.
A finger grazed her cheek, slithered lower, and he unbuttoned the first few buttons of her coat.
She swallowed, washing away the bitterness rising in the back of her throat for what he intended to do, and dug deep to stay in control of her emotions.
Clutching her shoulder, he forcibly rolled her onto her back, and lifted her arms above her head.
“Look at me,” he growled and sat on the mattress beside her.
Her heart pounded in her chest to the point she thought it would break free. She did what he asked and immediately regretted it.
An unidentified bald mask with lines etched around the eyes and mouth stared at her. For several long, agonizing seconds, he glared.
Though the voice sounded familiar, she couldn’t tell if this was the same man who kidnapped her. If it was him, why would he wear a mask now? Did he have it on when he kidnapped her? If so, how did people not notice?
Dina nibbled on her bottom lip. No one had paid attention to her assault on the street, so why would she expect anyone to notice the mask?
The intensity in his brown eyes grew, not callous, but sexually turned on.
She pressed her lips into a flat line, hoping he hadn’t thought her biting her lip was an invitation for him to make advances toward her.
He unbuttoned the rest of her coat, his fingers and hands bold in where they touched, skimming over her skin. He pushed the material away, and stared at the sweater covering her breasts. Two pieces of material separated them from his view. By the way he scrutinized her, the material was nonexistent.
The Caffeine Junkie lowered, slid the material away from her neck, and pressed the silicone mask against it.
Heart banging against her ribcage and her pulse beating overtime, she clasped her hands, and thrust her arms downward, striking the side of his head.
“Bitch!”
A fist slammed against her face, her head jerking to the side.
The sting of her hands from hitting him didn’t compare to the fire around her eye from the blow to her face. The aftereffects of the drug played havoc with her muscles, slowing her movements and preventing her from hitting him again.
The Caffeine Junkie gripped her arms, no gentleness in his manner, or kindness in his gaze this time as he tied a piece of rope around her wrists.
She had to find a way to defend herself. Earlier when she hit the Caffeine Junkie, he’d stopped briefly. He was strong, too muscular for her to overpower physically. She had to think of another way, or she’d end up dead despite what the woman had said.
And there was her plan. She’d use her wits to outsmart the Caffeine Junkie and pit him and the woman, who by her bossiness ran the operation, against each other. “Don’t forget what your boss said.”
Now that she spoke the words, terror escalated that she’d earn another strike across the face. On his hesitation, she forged ahead. “The woman, your boss, she’ll be mad about the marks on my face.”
He stiffened, his body slanting as if he was ready to beat her. She couldn’t see the expression on his face to know if what she said had any impact, but judging from the doubtful look in his eyes, she had him thinking.
“What happens if she’s pissed? Like the ole saying goes, if the woman isn’t happy, ain’t nobody happy?” Her comment was lame, but it was all she could come up with.
His hands balled into fists.
She braced herself for impact and squeezed her eyes shut. Chicken of her, she knew, but she didn’t want to watch something she couldn’t stop from happening.
A long moment later, the door slammed.
She opened her eyes, found the room empty, and rose from the god-awful-bed. The intense moment depleted her adrenal glands. She was tired, shaky, yet still keyed up enough that she couldn’t relax. The anxiety plus the achiness from the leftovers of the drugs made her a mess. She needed to get her stuff together before the Caffeine Junkie returned.
Dina sucked in a deep breath, released it, and looked for some sort of solace through the small-barred window. The blackish-green sky did nothing to give her peace. The clouds were heavy, ominous, and looked like they were ready to kick some ass. She knew the feeling, but could she fight and win?
Lying in Cole’s arms, watching movies with her friends, and eating chili topped her list of activities for this afternoon. Not outwitting a serial killer, a human trafficking ring, or whatever the hell the Caffeine Junkie and that woman did.
She sucked in a deep breath, released it, and dragged in another, savoring the feeling of being able to have the full movement and full use of her bodily functions. While she could breathe when drugged, even take in gulps of air, she couldn’t draw in enough air to fill her lungs.
Dina plopped down on to the bed and dropped her bound hands to her lap.
The door flew open, banging against the wall.
“No!” Tingles of fright ran rampant over her nerve-endings. A lump lodged in her throat. She jolted backwards, digging the heels of her booted feet into the mattress for traction until she hit the wall. She hated the pleading in her voice and her immediate defenseless action.
“You don’t want me to come to you,” the Caffeine Junkie said, his eyes blazing. “Come here!”
The lump in her throat grew unbearable. She could barely breathe. Moving close was like giving permission for him to do whatever he wanted. She shook her head.
“I will cut you and deal with my boss later. Get the fuck over here!” The gleam in his eyes turned fiercer and his body went so rigid, she thought he’d explode.
Her gaze dropped to his fisted hands, one held a roll of duct tape. The material he used to cover her mouth last time.
She pinched her lips together and inched forward, terrified of what he had planned to do.
Tape ripped and a hand slapped across her mouth.
“Say another word and you’re dead,” he hissed. The menacing tone scorched her insides. Again he left, and the door thumped shut behind him.
Her lungs gasped for air, eyes watered, and stomach twisted. Any moment, she’d throw up. She slid backwards, like she had moments ago. This time instead of forcing her body to blend with the wall, she sought out the coolness of the hard surface and dreamed of a different place, anywhere but here, to rid the rising nausea. Cole on the street…in her bed, his caring eyes comforting and tender hands caressing.
The urge to throw up passed. She focused on the small cinderblock chamber that housed the bed, a small table, and a trash can, a place to hold people, not to live.
She shifted off the mattress and moved to the window, hoping to see life outside her prison.
Trees scattered across the yard. A daisy flag attached to a pole buried in a flower bed in the yard across the street. She was in a neighborhood. From the size of the yards and the vans parked in the driveways, families lived there. But the houses were so far away, she doubted anyone could hear her yell through the duct tape or see her bound hands wave, at least not before the Caffeine Junkie stormed back in and beat the shit out of her.
Dina closed her eyes. By now, movie day had started. Vince, Monique, and Cole would have gathered in her living room, waiting for her return.
Thunder rolled, snapping her back to the unfortunate present. Trees blew in the wind and clouds churned, reflecting the turbulence in her life. The vile woman’s words of a tornado worried her. New York City seldom had funnel clouds hit the area, but when they did, the evil twisters left a wake of misery.
She rotated and scanned the off-white walls trapping her. The vulnerability and anguish of those captured before her was evident by the nicks marring the walls.
The sense of doom flooded her. She would end up like the women before her. Tied up, sold, or worse…murdered, leaving her loved ones empty and angry. Tears streaked her cheeks, and a chill ran down her spine.
Finally attaining closure to issues that had haunted her to have fate turn so dire and unpredictable was cruel and unjust. The same feelings she was sure the other women had before her.
Did the women held captive before her have the possible love of their fantasy man? Did they have a man who was a natural born genius on their side? Some of the heaviness eased off Dina’s chest. Cole could track her. When she didn’t come home, he’d look for her. Ever protective Vince would, too. And Monique, her trusted friend would fight everything that stood in her way to find Dina.
She slid down the wall, and sat on the floor. Her wrists fell to her knees, and her chin hit her chest. No one would find her, not this far from the city. Soon, the kidnappers would sell her to the highest bidder, like an animal for butcher.
The words from the self-defense magazine she read at the police station came to mind: Stay strong; don’t let them see your weakness.
The temperature dropped and an odd peace settled over her, one that she couldn’t describe, yet she knew she’d be okay. The calm gave her strength and confidence. She dried her eyes on her shoulder, slid up the wall and gazed at the approaching storm through the window.
The door crashed open against the wall.
This time, she straightened without shaking.
“Get away from there.” The kidnapper dropped a tray of food on a small table. “Eat.” The mask bobbed with his moving mouth.
He ripped the adhesive from her mouth, inflicting pain.
She screamed.
He crashed into her, knocking her backwards onto the bed. A hand covered her mouth. His hips rested between her legs.
Fear and disgust festered inside her. She twisted one way, then the other.
He gripped a shoulder and pinned her to the mattress. “Stop!” Spit flew from the opening in the mask and dotted her face. Dark, menacing orbs drilled into her.
She froze.
“Don’t. You. Dare. Scream.” He released her mouth and grabbed her throat. “I won’t warn you again.”
Her brain worked overtime. Staying alive mandated she listen. No idea of how to escape, she had no choice but to avoid making him mad. The idea gnawed on her nerves. She’d have to remain detached, keep her emotions in check, until she had an opportunity to act, knowing she could win her freedom.
His hand tightened around her neck. Black dots formed in her vision. Her instinct refused to sit docile. She had to act now. Her knee thrust upward, hitting his fleshy belly.
He grunted and his heavy weight flattened against her. Silicone from the mask stuck to her face.
Oh, shit!
In an unnatural way, he straightened in a fluid motion.
Her pulse pounded behind her ears and a shiver of terror raced across her skin. Why had she reacted?
His arm connected with the side of her face like the sensation of a jackhammer. Pain pierced her cheek. She sailed across the bed, hit the wall, and fell to the floor. Her back ached, and her lungs burned.
She coughed and gasped for air. Her vision sharpened a second too late. A hand swung toward her. The force from his fist jarred her head, sending god-awful pain slicing through her lip and a metallic taste to her mouth.
“Lesson time.” His dialect mixed with the sensual overtones reinforced the awful, gut-wrenching horror more was in store.
His tongue popped out through the mask’s half-cocked smile. Foul-smelling breath choked her. His tongue’s slimy, coarse surface swiped across her lips.
Tremors of disgust and dread bulldozed her strength until her will to fight bolted resilience through her system.
If the tongue touched her again, she’d bite it in two.
The beating she’d receive for what she planned to do would hurt, but it wouldn’t compare to the scar she’d carry for the rest of her life if he forced himself on her. She’d rather die than be violated.
“Get out here!” a woman’s voice demanded from behind the closed door, saving Dina from what she believed an untimely death.
He grunted and slid his tongue back out the hole.
Scared out of her mind, Dina snarled at him and waited.
“Now!” the woman demanded.
“Son of a bitch!” The Caffeine Junkie barked, rising off her. He grabbed the roll of duct tape she hadn’t seen him put on the table, tore off a piece, and smacked it on her mouth.
The door clicking shut after him was music to her ears.
Every inch of her throbbed in unison with her pulse. She rose to a sitting position, sucked in a rough breath through gritted teeth, and released it on a long drawn-out sob.
Round one was over, but how many more times would she have to fight him off? This time, the Caffeine Junkie listened to the woman, yet he hadn’t obeyed her command about not touching Dina, so what gives? What would happen next time?
A thunderous racket exploded outside. The bed vibrated. She peered out the window. A twig smacked the windowpane. A garbage can sailed by. Bolting off the bed, she felt every bit of the pain the Caffeine Junkie inflicted on her. An odd-shaped cloud swirled toward her.
The hair on the back of her neck rose. Trapped inside the room, she had nowhere to run. Beneath the bed offered the only shelter. She dropped on her knees and lay on the cold, hard floor. With her hands bound, she slithered under. Dirt and bugs scraped against her face. The raincoat stuck to her body.
She focused on the back wall and ignored the insects. The storm’s thunder intensified.
The room shook. So did she. Any minute, she expected to die. She closed her eyes and went to safety, picturing Cole. His gentle smile…
A deafening boom vibrated the building. She recoiled. Trees snapped and boards broke, detonating distress marching over her shaken soul. Her trembling hands covered her head. Glass shattered and spilled to the floor.
“Cole!”