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.”