Nowhere to Run - Chapter 10

Evie stumbled as they pushed her up the porch steps and into the house.  The man released her hair for a moment then strong hands grabbed her from behind, locking around her elbows and pinning her arms down. She kicked out, missing the man behind her and extracting a laugh from him.

“Let me go!” She screeched, hoping a neighbor would hear and call the police, “Help!”

"Easy now," Bart’s grip tightened as he roughly pulled her back up against his body and clamped a sweaty hand over her mouth. He brought his mouth down to whisper in her ear. "I wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself any sooner than necessary."

She tried to pull away, but it only made him tighten his grip, digging his fingers into the soft flesh of her arms. His wet lips skimmed down her neck to her shoulder, nudging her shirt aside to give him access to the sensitive skin just under her collarbone. Her skin crawled.

Evie was sure they had brought her here to kill her and now she realized that might not be the only thing on their minds. She cringed as she felt his tongue touch the pulse in her neck and a small strangled cry immerged from her throat.

     "Bart!" the voice came from someone at the end of the hall. His face was shadowed and she couldn't make out his features, but the way the man holding her pulled back when he yelled, she knew he had to be someone important.

"Bring her in here." The man ordered.

The hall was beige, dirty handprints streaked their way down to the kitchen. Bart pulled back now, easing his grip on her arms and she used the opportunity to pull away from him.  She took a few steps and scrubbed the feel of his lips off her body.

“Let's move.” He ordered, giving her a disgusted glare as he watched her rub her neck. “The sooner we get this over with the sooner you and I can get to know each other. Intimately.”

All the warnings Michael had given her about how dangerous these men were came back to haunt her as rough hands propelled her forward.  They entered the kitchen where a small card table was set up in the corner with two folding chairs.  Boxes of fast food and paper cups littered the counter.  The room smelled of stale garbage from the trash bin that over flowed in one corner.  A man in a rumpled black suit stood leaning against the counter.  His shoulders were stooped and his hair was dull brown, streaked with gray, she placed him in his mid forties. Bloodshot eyes swept from her head to her toe and she felt a shiver run down her spine.  Evil radiated off these men like some rank overpowering perfume. As the man watched her, a sinister grin twisted its way across his face. He looked to Bart and winked.

“Lovely, Bart. Thank you so much for your efforts.”

Bart ran his hands up and down Evie’s arms, “Later, we’ll play.”

Evie batted at his hands and Bart laughed.

"Evelyn, I’m so pleased to finally meet you." The man reached out a hand and Evie shrank away.

"That’s alright Evelyn," The man assured her, "You don't have to like me. That’s not what you’re here for. I’m Ned Janerone and we’re going to be very good friends as soon as you tell me where Dimitri is."

“I don’t know anyone named Dimitri.” Evie answered in a broken whisper.

     “Sure you do.”

Janerone walked over to her. Touching his finger to her chin, he ran it down the length of her neck, and over her shirt, resting at the top of her bra before tracing a line to her belly. Evie slapped at his hand and Janerone laughed.

“I think you know him very well. Only now he calls himself Michael Connors.”

     Evie bit her lip. Dimitri was Michael?

     Janerone watched the indecision flicker across her face and made it easy for her.  “It doesn’t matter. For now you are only bait.”

He looked at the man behind her. "Bart, I knew we could count on you. Lock her up until we're ready for her. But don’t touch her!"

Bart began to protest until Janerone added, “Yet.”

Evie glanced up at Bart and cringed when he mouthed a kiss to her. Her stomach rolled in revulsion at the thought of this man’s hands on her.

Bart reached around her to open the door on her right and grabbed her arm.

“Down we go, my delectable little morsel.”

Roughly, he took her down the stairs, into the gloom below.  Once at the bottom of the stairs he dragged her to the left and down a short hallway.  It was dimly lit. The only light came from a row of tiny blue lights that edged both sides of the floor. They turned another corner and Evie saw four doors, all with heavy deadbolts on this side of the doors. 

Then Bart stopped and turned her around to face him. “You are a beautiful woman, Evelyn. He reached one hand out to cup the side of her face and she pulled away.

“No, don’t…” Evie tried to show courage she didn’t feel, but all it did was make him laugh. He was amused by her revulsion and for a minute she thought that he was going to stop. Then without a word he shot out a hand around the back of her neck and hauled her up against him.

     “Go ahead and fight me, Evelyn. Your fire makes me want you more.” His big fleshy lips were only inches from her face and before she could do anything he planted a big, wet kiss over her mouth, his tongue thrusting inside. Try as she might, his grip was too powerful and she couldn’t push him away. Then she clamped her teeth down and dug them into the thick muscle of his tongue.

     Bart let out a scream that would put a six year old girl to shame. He pulled back and slapped Evie so hard she saw stars.

“You bitch!” He shoved her against the wall as he brought a hand to his mouth. In the dim light she saw blood streaked his fingers. As his face darkened with anger she pushed off the wall to race down the hall. But Bart was faster. With one hand he snagged her hair and slammed her into the wall again. Her head bounced off the hard plaster and before she could react he was on her again, pressing his body up against hers, pinning her to the wall.

     “No!” Evie shrieked, “Leave me alone!”

     Bart’s rough hand grabbed and fondled her breast through her shirt as his clammy lips roamed over her neck once more. As hard as she fought him it did no good, he was just too strong.

“I’ll teach you how to behave, bitch! Just wait!”

Bart yanked her off the wall and pushed her hard, propelling her into a room on the right.  She stumbled and then fell. Landing hard on a thin mattress in the middle of the floor. Before she could turn around the door slammed and the lock slid shut with a loud click. Then there was silence, she couldn’t even hear if he walked away.

     Darkness consumed the room. Not even a sliver of light broke the crack under the door. Evie trembled and scrubbed the feel of the man’s hands and mouth off her face and neck as she willed her eyes to adjust to the blackness.  Trying to find a light source to focus on anywhere in the room, but there was none.  No dim glow from the blue lights that had lined the hall or a leak of light from around a window.  She knew it was around noon, the brightest part of the day, yet no light found this dark, scary, basement room. 

Taking a deep breath, Evie gathered her courage, “Are you there?”

     No answer. Was she alone? Bart had shoved her in so fast she didn’t get a look around before the door slammed. She held her breath and listened for a sign that someone else was in the room with her, but none came.

     “Is anyone there?”

     Nothing.

“Hello?” Evie grimaced at how loud her voice sounded. She knew she had to be calm if she was going to get out of here. And she was going to get out! She wasn’t going to let them win.  They had killed Mrs. Rodriguez and she wouldn’t let them take her, too. Another deep breath and she tried to quell the hysteria rising within her. It wasn’t easy. She wiped at her lips again, unable to get the taste of that evil man out of her mouth.

Evie attempted to use her other senses. She had heard that people who lost their sight had other senses that compensated for it. She tried to focus on that.  The room smelled antiseptically clean, like it had been scrubbed down with a pine cleanser. Even the mattress beneath her reeked of that strong pine scent.

She listened.  Not one sound reached this room and Evie’s own breathing sounded unnaturally loud.  Then she screamed.