Saving Each Other (BWWM Romance) (2 page)

I stood there, naked, confused…helpless. Why is this happening to me?

“Ah!” I screamed when the cold water hit my back. I pressed my hands to my chest covering myself as he gave me instructions to turn around.

“We had to make sure you weren’t wearing a wire,” The first man explained to me.

“You needed all that just to make sure I wasn’t wearing a wire?” I was shaking, freezing from the cold wash down.

“Dry yourself off.” The bigger man shoved a towel at me, I was surprised when it smelled like laundry detergent, and I was expecting a wet, moldy smell. I wrapped the towel around myself, covering my body.

“Justin, go get her some clothes.” He nodded and left immediately. He had such a normal name, I was expecting something else.

I looked up at the first man, starting to wonder what his name was. He looked back at me, like he wanted to say something but didn’t before Justin came back. He gave me the clothes, but didn’t throw them like he did the towel.

“We’ll be back.” They left me in the dark room alone to change. There was fresh underwear in new packaging, cloth shorts and a shirt that was way too big.

My hair was now a nappy mess, hair like mine doesn’t work unless its blow dried out and pressed. I was immediately regretting not eating breakfast, I was already hungry and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be eating like I did. Did…it sounded so ominous.

I looked around the room, trying to find something I could use as a weapon against them, but the walls were sheetrock so it’s not like I could pull a stone from them, and there were no windows. I was glad the big man had untied me, maybe even forgotten to retie me, either way my wrists were a lot happier this way.

I had no idea how I was going to count time now, I didn’t know how long it was until the first man came back.

“Hello, Tamara.” He was carrying a tray, my nostrils immediately recognized that it was food. He sat down in front of me, looking at me like he was waiting for me to say something.

“I need to clean up that gash, so you don’t die from an infection while we still need you.” His words were harsh, it was almost like I was a puppet to them…hell, I was a puppet to them. He grabbed a few cotton balls and dabbed some rubbing alcohol on them.

“Ow,” I pulled away when he rubbed it on my cut.

“Sit still.” I couldn’t stop moving my head though, it hurt. He gave up and grabbed my face in his hand, forcing my head to stay still. In a few seconds, I was recognizing the feeling of his hand against my cheek, it wasn’t hard like before but…stop.

“There, I’m done. Here’s your dinner, your next meal is breakfast so make it last.” I looked down at the ramen noodles sadly, somehow remembering my college days…I’d rather be anywhere but here.

“Wait,” I said as he got up to leave.

“What?”

“Can’t you at least tell me your name? You know mine.” I tried to negotiate.

“You’re quite the lobbyist, but no...I’m not your prisoner, you’re mine. You’ll find that negotiating is the source of all your current problems.” He turned on his heel and left before I could say anything. The source of all my current problems? What does that even mean?

I finished up the noodles but I swear it only made me hungrier. There was also a 32 oz. bottle of water, which I only took a few sips of because I was trying to conserve. Not knowing how long I was going to be here was the worst, or if I was ever even going to leave.

After what seemed like hours, I couldn’t bear it anymore. It was starting to get really cold, and the ground was so hard. I noticed the long chain and shackle, wondering what it was for. An image of it strapped to my leg like I was some kind of animal ran through my mind. I really hoped they wouldn’t use it on me.

I was already losing my mind and it wasn’t even nightfall yet, there was a small sliver in the top of the room, way too high for me to climb and way too small for me to even fit through. I just had to hope that I could somehow overpower them, but Justin was way too big and I felt like the other one was too smart for me.

I think I cried all night, the sun came up and I was still crying, but by then I started banging on the door, saying anything to get one of them to come. I thought that if I could just know why I was here, what they were doing this for. If I had some closure and understanding, that part of my brain could rest.

“Hello! Is anybody out there? Hello!” I was like a broken record, banging and screaming over and over again.

“Hey!” I fell backwards when the first man came barging through the door. He barged through angrily, his hair was disheveled and he had changed his clothes. Before he had on jeans and a dark hoodie, now he was wearing sweats and a white t-shirt. He looked almost normal this way, part of me thought if we met under different circumstances, I wouldn’t be so disgusted by him.

“Will you stop screaming?” He slammed the door behind him. I looked up at him from the floor I was now perched on.

“No! I demand to know why I am here! Why did you kidnap me?” I screamed. He looked down at me with no emotion, like I was so amusing that he couldn’t even laugh.

“What makes this easier is that you are so oblivious to what you are doing, how much pain you are causing,” he said calmly.

“What?” I sneered. “What are you talking about?” I cried, I was so confused and only got more and more confused as time went on. He chuckled darkly with no humor.

“How long are you going to keep me here?” I asked, not even sure that I wanted to know the answer. I was afraid he would say I was never leaving.

“Until all is well.” What the hell? Why is he so mysterious and ominous, can’t he just say things straight up?

“Okay…why can’t you just tell me what the problem is, and I can try and fix it. Then you can let me go, and I won’t even tell the police. Please.” I pleaded with him, the tears surfaced again.

“You can’t fix this problem…well not directly at least,” he said. There he goes again with the ominous behavior.

“Can I at least have something to eat?” He opened his mouth to speak.

“Please, I’m starving…you don’t want me to die of starvation do you?” I tried to reason with him. He looked back at me, not saying anything for a while. Then, he turned on his heel and left. I slumped down onto the ground and curled up like a ball, I felt better…and my stomach didn’t hurt when it grumbled in this position.

I didn’t notice when I had drifted to sleep, but it didn’t last long before the door opened again.

“Here, eat.” He was back, and he set down a tray in front of me. It had a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice on it…I love orange juice.

“Thank you,” I said softly. He sat against the wall next to the door and I slid to the other corner so I could lean against the wall and eat. It was a big bowl, I could barely finish it but I forced myself, knowing I wouldn’t get any favors again.

“Can you at least tell me your name? I know the other man’s name, Justin. And I know you are a lot nicer than him…you seem like the kind of guy who does the right thing.”

“Guilt tripping me won’t work, I’m smarter than the government idiots you ‘lobby’ every day.” He made fake quotes around lobby. So he knows what I do for a living. Could it have something to do with that? I shook my head trying to find the story.

“Okay…well what is your name then?” I pressed, I wish I could match a name to his face. It would make it easier to mark his name on the wall and cross it out with anger. He looked at me and sighed heavily.

“I’m not going to stop asking you,” I said softly.

“My name is Dan.”

“Is that your real name?” I asked. Dan was such a simple name…like one you make up and tell the person you kidnapped.

“Well my birth certificate says Daniel if that’s what you’re asking me,” he replied simply. The more I talked to him the less afraid I was of him. I was just afraid of the situation, I had been taken and I didn’t know when I could go home, or if anyone even knew I was gone yet. Surely Mallory would know, but then again it had only been one day and she might just assume that I’m with a guy. I’ve been having a lot of unnecessary one night stands, well not a lot…just the past three weekends. The day I was taken had to be Friday…

“Oh…okay then.”  I had so many questions but didn’t know where to start. “Is this your house?” I wondered if he lived in this old, ratty place.

“No, why would I live somewhere like this?” he answered simply.

“Is this where you take all your victims then?”

“No, you’re my first. Victim, I mean,” he clarified awkwardly. What was that about?

“So why me?” I asked again, but in a different way why I was here.

“I told you, you are a means to an end.”

“Whose end?” I pressed.

“That’s enough.” He stood up to leave, suddenly I didn’t want him to go, and not just because I had more questions.

“Wait, you can’t leave me in here all alone. Please, I’ll go crazy,” I begged him. “Listen, you’ve made it very clear that I am going to be here until you deem it okay for me to leave, can’t you…loosen my leash a little bit?”

“I haven’t even put you in it yet.” He pointed to the cuffed chain, my heart immediately fluttered and stopped.

“No!” I jumped up. “I mean, what if I was a…” come on Tamara, think…think of something. “What if I was like a live-in…prisoner?” I had to force the word out, I was going to try anything just to get out of this room.

“What is that supposed to mean?” He moved his hands at his sides, making an open palmed motion.

“I mean I... I could like live here, and not go anywhere until you say I can…until your little project is done.”

“Project?” He laughed aloud, it seemed like a real laugh, not like the one before. “You think this is just some play?”

“Well you won’t tell me why you’ve taken me.”

“I’m pretty sure you don’t even get to ask me questions at all.”

“I’m pretty sure you don’t even know how to pull off a real kidnapping,” I said sternly. His face went hard and his eyes dark then he stepped towards me slowly, until he was right up on me. I could feel his breath against my face…it smelled like cinnamon.

“And I’m pretty sure, you’re still here, under my control.”

“Do you always have to be in control?” I whispered, my eyes were wandering all over his face, studying him, trying to find a point of attack. Psychology major, work your magic.

“Yes.”

“So what about my suggestion?” I don’t know what I was thinking, this wouldn’t change anything. At least I won’t smell like wet rags. This way I could get some sense of normalcy back, so that it wouldn’t be a shock when I returned home.

“What about it?” He was still standing so close to me, it was almost hard to breathe. It was like I could feel his power wash over me, consume me. I felt smothered by it, I wished I could be that powerful just by standing in a room. It would have made career climbing a lot easier.

“I’m begging you…if you have any humanity, don’t make me stay here in this room.” I used my big brown eyes to look into his own, hoping it would have the same effect on him that it does on everybody else. After a long staring contest, he smiled smugly then turned on his heel and left, slamming the door behind him.

I didn’t stop my mouth from dropping in surprise then the tears came shortly after.

“Please! Please don’t do this!” I banged on the door helplessly, but I had exhausted myself. It was no use, I quickly tired out and slumped to the ground next to the door, letting the sobs consume my whole body.

I felt like my heart was giving out and there was nothing I could do. I just wanted to go home.

Chapter Two: Dan

I woke up before the alarm went off; by the time I had showered and dressed, it was just going off. I turned it off happily, excited that the day had already come. I flipped on the television, listening to the news while I made breakfast. I opened up my stainless steel refrigerator to grab eggs and other omelet fixings.

While the pan got hot, I made myself a cup of coffee. While the egg cooked a bit, I prepared the filling ingredients before putting them in and flipping the omelet closed. I took that and a glass of orange juice to the large leather couch, where I stretched out and finished the news.

It was the same old stuff until the coverage on the Rory Corporation meeting came on.