Equity (Balance Sheet #3) (3 page)

All my worst nightmares were coming true. My other captor came out of the bathroom bare chested, wearing a similar black mask sans the cat ears. His pants appeared to be black leather, but that didn’t matter so much. It was his words that chilled me.

“For all you cost me, I will pay you back and reap the rewards.” He tapped the camera. “Do you know how many outlets will pay for fetish videos of bondage and pain? … Coupled with sex of course.”

“No,” I growled out. It didn’t matter that my words wouldn’t stop them. They had to be said.

“Great. I love the abject horror on your face. This plays into our storyline. Go ahead, scream, cry and call us names. Your fans will think you the greatest porn actress to ever live.”

His words sank into me. He was right. If he set it up like some B movie, or in this case porn, I would just look more convincing. There was no way, however, I could say nothing. My cries and pleas could be used as evidence against these two later.

Somewhere deep inside me, the idea of being raped and unable to fight it in any way, broke me. Tears welled in my eyes like overflowing drains. I didn’t cry out with sound but let my tears speak my fear and frustration.

I yanked futilely at my binds, ignoring the pain in my limbs. Maybe, just maybe, if I tugged hard enough, one would come free and give me something to fight back with.

“You may play, Kitty,” the
Master
commanded.

She landed on the bed much like a cat might, light on her feet. When she pushed the dress from my ankles to slide up my calves, I jerked at my bonds.

“Anyone watching this, I didn’t agree to this. This isn’t faked. I’m being held captive,” I blustered. The cat-like woman leaped up to straddle my chest. Her strike was hard and sure. I registered a moment of pain before the lights left my eyes.

When I came to, it didn’t take me long to remember where I was. My head throbbed. On instinct, I tried to reach up and touch my face only to be reminded that I was unable to. It was too late to stop my movement. I hadn’t wanted my captors to know I was awake in case I could get any more information.

I turned my head but found no one. The camera was still perched at the corner of the bed. Had they left me to die? Not hearing any movement for a minute or two, I began in earnest to try and free myself. The rope was not the conventional kind. It was more like twine, white and plastic that didn’t tear. The only thing that tore was my skin. The more I pulled, the more it bit in my skin. But I didn’t give up.

By the time the hotel door opened, I’d used up all my energy on a losing battle. That had been a mistake. It felt like I had nothing left to give if I somehow found my way free.

“I need to pee,” I blurted before they’d made it all the way in the room.

Not masked, they wore oversized sunglasses and hats. The blonde was still a blonde. And the guy’s hair was totally covered by a hoodie with the brim of a baseball cap jutting out.

“Free her. And be careful. Instruct her in what to do with this.” He held out a bag to his companion.

She set the bag down and I thought about my next move. I could kick or punch her with my freed limbs at a certain point after I was unbound. I just needed to play nice until a moment presented itself.

Those thoughts were squashed when the guy pulled a gun from his back and pointed it at me.

“No funny business or we end this now.”

I thought for a moment. Wouldn’t I rather be dead than raped and the video leaked to the public? But dead was dead. And until that time, there was a possibility that I could figure something out, or possibly that I could be found.

Kitty, as I started to think of her in my head, freed me. She took the bag and emptied the contents in my hand. “While you’re in there, take care of your face.”

My hand was full of makeup. It was such déjà vu. If I’d just listened to Kalen and gone with him when he asked, I wouldn’t be in this mess. I stared in the mirror at the shiner I had. Maybe I could have been honest with Turner despite the pain I might have caused him and taken a chance with Kalen.

Shoulders slumped and head hung, I knew what was done was done. I took care of business first because I did have to pee. The bathroom looked run down but clean. The rusted out drain didn’t bode well for the tap, but my mouth was dry. I cupped water and drank deep, not having a clue how long I’d been tied up.

“Hurry up in there,” the cagey voice of Kitty rattled through the walls.

I went to work with the makeup. I did a half ass job. I hoped with the dim light they wouldn’t notice I left some of the bruising exposed. Again, the camera might pick it up and give a clear explanation of what went on here. Before I left the bathroom, I took one more gulp of water. My stomach rumbled, wanting food. I had no intentions of asking for any, knowing that was a lost cause.

Into the darkened room I stepped and was immediately accosted by the woman. She was fairly strong and taller than me. I could put up a fight, but the other tormentor was there with a gun aimed at my chest. I wasn’t sure I was fast enough to beat a speeding bullet.

My indecision over life or death in the face of rape was enough to get me tied back down onto the bed. I would endure the shame and pain. I would put up a fight with words. And maybe get more time for them to make a mistake.

With Kitty between my legs, she began to shove my dress up to my knees. I opened my mouth to begin another verbal assault. Frankly, I was surprised they hadn’t gagged me. But then the
Master
of this plan held out pointy scissors to Kitty, which she took.

“If she says the wrong thing again, impale her pretty parts with this.”

It didn’t take a genius to know what he was implying. I clamped my mouth shut. I’d missed my opportunity. Death by gunshot was far better than sadistic words from my captor.

When Kitty began to cut my dress off me straight down the center, I let my tears spill in earnest. This was really going to happen, and I’d lost my opportunity to stop it.

My car, probably the only one of its kind for miles, stood out like an albatross in the parking lot across the street from the shit motel in Virginia we’d tracked Bailey to. Nerves shot, I hoped like hell she was here and this wasn’t a wild goose chase.

Turner sat in my passenger seat and appeared just as frayed around the edges as I felt. We hadn’t spoken much during the three-hour drive. I was grateful I’d made the choice to drive my own car from New York to Pennsylvania giving me access to make the drive to Virginia. With the threat against her, I wanted to be able to get her out without being easily tracked. I didn’t think I could be stuck in the security company’s truck the way I was currently feeling.

Matt opted to ride with the team in case he could help further. He’d glanced between us when he announced his decision. It was like he wanted to create an intervention between us. I had nothing against Turner. Rationally, I knew he hadn’t known about Bailey and me. And I couldn’t blame him for wanting her.

“Do you think she’s in there?” Turner asked after clearing his throat.

I shifted in my seat to look at him while he stared ahead. “A part of me hopes not. The things the bastard could do to her in a hotel room…” I trailed off not wanting to think about it.

“Motel, you mean.”

I waved off his correction and got out of the car. It was a stupid comment. But he was as scared shitless as I was at what could be happening to her.

I reconnoitered at the back of the truck, sure Turner would follow. When I heard the car door close, I lifted up my key fob and hit the lock button. The area we were in held several boarded up one-story buildings, a liquor store closed for the night and this ramshackle motel. I could afford another car if mine got stolen, but I didn’t have the time to bother with those details.

We entered the back of the truck with people continuing to work at computer stations. Matt was huddled with my top security guy around a girl with head phones on. She gave a thumbs up and then James, my team lead, looked up. “We have confirmation. She’s in there.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad considering the look on the woman’s face as she continued to listen in to whatever was going on in there.

“Time to move,” James said.

Turner shifted around and asked, “How can they hear what’s going on inside there?”

Once we stepped outside, I pointed to what looked like a satellite dish on the roof of the truck. “Top-of-the-line equipment,” I said by way of explanation.

Then I took off across the street, not bothering to wait for anyone to follow. When I got closer to the lone car in the lot, I heard screams. Not sure of my next move, I looked back to see five guys flagging me down. That’s when I heard
her
pleas. I couldn’t wait for whatever plan they had. I followed the noise to a door marked eight.

With proper positioning and force of will, my well-placed kick at the sweet spot of the door made the wood around the lock splinter. It wasn’t my first time kicking a door down to get at someone I cared about inside. I ignored the memory that wanted to swallow me.

Directly in front of me was a guy not wearing a shirt who held a camera positioned towards the bed. In my periphery, Bailey appeared tied down. My concern for her speared my rage at that man who dared to steal something more precious than money from me.

I couldn’t see the man’s face for the fetish-type mask that covered it. What I did see was red. And through that haze in my vision, I could tell the man was stunned by his posture. He stood there as I made my quick approach to him.

He still hadn’t moved by the time I grabbed the back of his neck and made him eat that camera. Maybe I was moving faster than the slow motion of the events in my vision suggested. I heard teeth breaking as I tried to shove the video device down his throat. I let go of his neck and let his head clatter to the ground. I turned to go help Bailey, which probably should have been my first move. The team, however, had made it through in those few precious seconds. Matt had the other person flat on their stomach, hands bound in zip ties in between the bed and the wall leading to what I assumed was the bathroom.

One of my team slowly walked over to me towards the guy on the ground. He met my eye, probably nervous I would take my fury out on him if he took over to secure the prisoner. I got up and looked away. Another team member was cutting Bailey’s bonds. Turner sat next to her, caressing her face. His lips moved, but I heard nothing but the rush of adrenaline in my blood. She didn’t need me.

Out into the night, a swell of emotions in my chest threatened to show. As soon as I took in a deep breath of the cool air, I was able to tamp them down. With nothing left to do, I headed back across the street towards the truck and my car. It was late enough that not many cars had passed by.

Inside the truck, I let my remaining team give me a report. One of the key things I was told was that they’d checked to make sure there weren’t any nearby security cameras that would have caught our rescue mission.

When Matt came into the truck nearly an hour later, I understood the importance of that statement.

“This goes against everything I stand for,” Matt began. I didn’t like his tone and how he started this conversation. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say. “But if we call the cops and they investigate how we found Bailey, it could be used against us. All the evidence we’ve found could be dismissed. Those two could get off on a technicality.”

“No…” I barked.

Matt held up a hand. “I know. It’s bullshit. That’s why I’m going to stay out of this and let your team handle it.”

“What is the plan?” Even though Matt wanted to keep his hands as clean as possible, I was sure they ran it by him before it was approved. They hadn’t called me about it. I’d talk to James once this was over.

“They’ve tranquilized the two with whatever stuff they used on Bailey.” My fist balled. “From what Bailey said they let her up to use the restroom. Her story of events will change from there. She will claim there was a struggle where she and the camera guy went down. She landed on the camera, which happened to be perfectly positioned at his mouth.” He quirked a grin at me before his serious cop face came back. He continued to tell me what Bailey would tell the cops. The part I didn’t like was that we had to leave her there with those two and move away in order to make it look like she saved herself, tranquilizing her captors before contacting the police.

“Is she okay with this? Is she okay?” I asked in a rush.

Tongue in cheek, Matt shrugged. “As well as can be expected. She’s shaking, and Turner has kept her calm.”

My fist ached and wanted to hit something. In order to hide the emotions that were on my face, I turned my attention to one of the monitors that showed real time what was happening inside. Comforting her should have been my job. I felt helpless hiding there in the truck.
She didn’t need me
, I told myself.

Matt put a hand on my shoulder before patting me like a child. He walked away and I didn’t curse him for the gesture. He understood. And he didn’t gloat that I’d lost her to Turner like he had to me a couple of months back. That only made me like the guy more. Fuck, I’d hated him for kissing Bailey; now I respected him.

The upside was morning would be here soon and it would be all over. I’d forgotten to ask Matt if they made the identity of the culprits. Before I could, the team and Turner came back. “It’s a go.”

Not wanting Bailey to be alone with the pair any longer than necessary, I held off. We had to move the truck and my car before the cops showed up. Response time would be short and we didn’t want to pass them on their way in. So I shuffled out with Turner at my heels. I’d hoped the guy would remain in the truck. It was good I guess. I had questions for him.