chapter EIGHTEEN
Jenny
I was left in an even smaller room with small, steel-meshed windows. The sunlight flickered through them making diamond shapes on the little brown folding card table directly in front of me. I desperately wanted to go to the window and look out into the real world to see where I was, but there was a small camera in the corner and I knew that they were watching me. I didn’t want to do anything that could make my situation even worse than it already was. This was a strange little room at best. The ceiling was curved with cracks and black streaks running all along the wall. On the far wall stood some kind of white metal table that had leather restraints fastened to it. The scariest thing though was the thin jockey’s whip that dangled from a hook on the wall. I once overspent by five thousand dollars and Wilson spanked me with his belt. I couldn’t sit for a week and the welts on my ass turned to bruises. Clumps of dirt and dust covered the floor like drifts in the desert.
The door opened and a giant heavy man strolled into the room with Johnny following close behind him, dragging a frightened teenage girl behind him. A loud boom echoed through the whole room as the one they called the King dropped a hardcover book flat on the top of the card table. He was a big bulky man wearing a finally-tailored Italian suit with a bright red, striped tie.
"I need you answer some questions," he said. For someone his size he looked like he had fast reflexes,and for a common mobster he seemed overly sophisticated. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to." A grin filled his face as he pointed to the fish-faced Handsome Johnny. "My little brother there seems to think that your guardian Renaud has some kind of supernatural powers, or something like that." With each step he took, little clouds of dust flew up making the air feel like sand paper in my lungs. A fan swirled, making a clicking noise as it oscillated. The King kept pacing as he tried to stay in front of it. Sweat dripped off ofhis forehead as he waved his hands in the air. "So Mrs. Bailey, do you believe in monsters?"
Johnny was shaking and tapping the wall with his foot as he leaned against the wall. He was staring at me with fear-filled eyes and it made me nervous. He was trying to coax my response by silently opening his mouth and saying the best responses.
“Mrs. Bailey, if you can’t answer the simple questions how can I expect the truth when it comes to the hard ones?” He kept walking back and forth and each time he stared at me there was this feeling that I was being choked from the inside. Tapping the tabletop, he stared like he could see right through me. “Now Johnny there told me that you would co-operate and answer my questions honestly.”
My heart was racing so fast that I began to feel lightheaded, and my head started to pound as if there was a drummer playing a double encore inside it.
“I will tell you whatever you want to know. Do I believe in monsters? Up until yesterday no, but now yes. I married one and it appears that I was kidnapped by them.”
The self-proclaimed King burst out laughing, though it was more of a howl than something any human could make. Slapping the table so hard that it shook, a wide grin filled his face.
“I think it’s best that I motivate you to tell me the truth.” The way he pronounced “truth” was intimidating as hell. He stood up and slowly took off his jacket, folding it carefully before he placed it on the table. “You see, normally I would I would just beat you until you told me what I wanted to know and begged for death, but Johnny there seems to think that your friend Renaud would take that as a personal insult and I’d like to know the measure of a man before I go to war with him.”
Pointing to the girl standing in the corner he snarled, “This is Maria. Now Maria has recently been a big disappointment.” The girl in the corner was trembling as streams of tears ran down her cheeks. Her mouth opened to talk and the King lifted a finger and silenced her without saying a word. “Now Maria came to us as nothing more than a homeless little rat. No home, no food and certainly no future. Isn’t that right Maria?”
Still trembling, the woman dropped her head and whimpered, “Yes sir.”
“What’s that, I can’t hear you?”
Looking up she clamped her hands together and cried, “Yes sir. I was just a homeless rat. Unloved and unwanted.” If it weren’t for the streaks of mascara running down her cheeks, she would look like any other woman you’d see at the classiest hotels and or shopping centers. Red high heels, black fishnet stockings, a short red skirt and almost see-through blouse that was just a little too tight. It reminded me of the early 1990’s when I wore short skirts and no panties.
Stepping towards her, he ran a finger along her chin and she seemed to be torn between passion and fear.
“Now you must realize, Mrs. Bailey that Maria is one my favorites. I helped train her personally. I took an interest in this baby girl and gave her life skills.” He ran his fingers along the back of her neck and whispered, “And what do I get in return for all my generosity?” He was looking at the girl like he expected an answer and the young woman’s whole body shook. “Well?”
Behind them, Johnny was still leaning against the door anxiously looking from side to side like he was desperately searching for a way to escape. Every word that the Kingsaid caught his attention and his eyes watered like the young woman was his lover. Staring at her and then to his brother, he clenched his hands together and dropped his head. The scariest part was the idea that if Johnny wouldn’t defend or save the woman he loved, he certainly wouldn’t do a damn thing to save me.
Grabbing her by the neck he raised his voice, “And what did you do to repay my generosity?”
Covering her face with her hands she dropped the floor trembling and crying. “This bitch stole from her Daddy!”
Lowering her head to the floor she wailed, “I am so sorry Daddy, I won’t do it again. I promise, Daddy I’ll be a good bitch.” Watching her, I couldn’t bring myself to pity her. I am not a heartless bitch, but whether we want to admit it or not we all sell a little piece of ass. Some it’s for a wedding ring and we justify it by saying that we are in love. For others, it was just for the money and yet there are those like me who traded it so that we could have money and still be somebody. This girl chose the wrong kind of Daddy to have and I couldn’t force myself to feel sorry for her.
Pointing in my direction he smiled and said, "Now girly, I want you to watch what's about to happen very carefully." Stepping closer to me he leaned over and whispered, “This is for your benefit, Mrs. Bailey. Unlike some, I think that punishments are a private affair but for your benefit I am making it public."
I jumped back, "For my benefit?" I asked, surprised. At first I thought that this was just an intimidation tactic meant to scare me. It was working as on the inside I was terrified.
He was rolling up his sleeves and walking towards the wall where the jockey's whip hung. "Oh yes, Mrs. Bailey. This is for your benefit. I need some questions answered about your old flame, Renaud. He's been quite the pain in my side since he returned home and I think you can provide them."
"You don't need to do this. I will tell you whatever you want to know about him and anything else."
Taking the whip, he snapped it through the air forcing everybody in the room to cower back each time it snapped.
"Oh no Mrs. Bailey, this is for your benefit. You’ll see, soon enough I think you’ll be working for me and this is a lesson. I want you to see it and remember. When you join my family and right now, with Wilson in the hospital and your former lover taking hold of his family’s kingdom, I think you’ll be a valued member of my family very soon."
He kicked the table and it swiveled in a circular motion and hit the card table. It was one of those 1950s-looking tables with drawers that always felt too stiff and was cold on the ass. The blonde girl with the big floppy breasts shrieked and jumped backwards, trying to keep out of its way.
"Now Maria, you have been on this side of the punishment before so I assume you know exactly what you need to do."
I am not sure what I e
xpected, but what was about to happen wasn't it. I guess I had watched too many gangster movies with Wilson and adult videos on my own. The young woman nodded and sat down on the table, slowly taking off her shoes. She set the high-heeled shoes on the table. These weren't the usual knockoffs that you see a lot these days, but the real deal. Black and red with a six inch heal that most woman would die for. There is something about shiny, expensive shoes that makes every situation seem a little less frightening. I expected her to continue stripping off the layers, but she didn't. She sat on the table with hands on her lap, waiting like an obedient child.
Pointing with the whip he ordered, "Take position." The young girl immediately crawled on her stomach and laid there with her feet stretched out. As he paced around he asked, "Do I need to restrain you or at you going to take your punishment like a good girl."
"I will take my punishment like a good girl, there is no reason to restrain me," She said meekly as she gripped the restraints closest to her head. The King had so much control over these women that I truly wondered what Wilson had gotten me into. I had heard of such men taking a broken girl and breaking her even more until pleasing him means more than their own happiness or self-respect. Where was that fine line when one went from owned sugar baby to just plain whore? I had no intentions of ending up as just a plain whore.
"Do you see the bottoms of her feet?" he asked as he pointed towards her feet. There were two fine lines etched into the flesh of each foot. "Like allmy girls, she carries these scars as a mark of shame." Stepping away he opened his arms, "Now I don't like doing this type of thing, but like all business men I need to run a profitable business and Maria isn't very profitable now. Nobody likes a thief in their family."
Maria closed her eyes and whimpered, "Whatever punishment Daddy seems fit to give me I deserve," as she gripped the leather restraints preparing for the pain that would obviously follow. I was stunned by the way this woman was so anxious to please this fat bastard that she was going to just lay there and take it.
"You don't have to do this. Ask me what you want to ask and I will tell you what I know."
He rotated the table with Maria on it around so that she was facing me.
"Oh I think I do. I think that this will serve as a lesson for both of you." There was a spark of cruelty in his eyes and he seemed to be thriving on the power of it all. He kept tapping the arch of her foot with the whip and each time she'd shiver and squeeze her face expecting the next one to dig right into her flesh. The King was a control freak and I can only assume that the idea of what was coming was much worse then what was coming.
A loud snap echoed from the whip hitting the tabletop forcing Maria to shriek and I jumped back so fast that I almost tipped the chair I was tied to. He was taking too much pleasure from it. The idea that he had this much power over me not only amused him, but excited him too.
Gasping for breath after the shock I responded, "You don't need to beat this poor girl or terrorize me for me to tell you what you want to know."
He smiled playfully.
"Ok, Mrs. Bailey. This girl’s pain is in your hands. If I believe what you say then she won't be punished, but if I doubt your honesty the pain will be much more severe." He ran his finger through her hair like she was a show dog instead of a woman. "Does that sound fair to you, Maria?" Pointing at me he added, "Mrs. Bailey controls your punishment. If she lies, you get her punishment as well as what's owed to you. If she tells me what I want to know then you won't be punished at all."
She looked at me with pleading eyes as she replied, "If that is what Daddy wants."
"No dear, I think it's what Mrs. Bailey wants." If he was trying to intimidate me it worked because I was ready to tell him whatever he wanted and bend over the table and do whatever he wanted, but unlike this broken child I would never call him Daddy.
Opening a book, he asked, "Is this Renaud?"
I slowly pulled the book over and saw the picture of the Renaud Barthélémy. It was the one I knew. The one that believed in love and the only thing he wanted was to be loved so desperately by me. This wasn't just a book though; it was the copy that he sent to me to win back my love. The one that Wilson told me he destroyed.
"Yes, that is him." I ran my finger across the picture, feeling the smooth paper as it touched my skin. Once his touch felt like that and there was no sadness in his eyes. This picture was staged of course, but that sad look was real.
Pacing around he added, "Now my understanding is that he left some time ago and just happened to return as we were about to finalize the takeover of his brother’s company. Why do you think that is? Coincidence? I think not."
I had no real idea where he vanished to or what he did and I certainly had no idea why he returned, but I knew how to spin a tale to my advantage. To add to the value of leaving me unharmed.
Leaning forward I said shyly, "He isn't here for the company. He came here to ruin Wilson and take me." He was too gullible even if he was a criminal genius. "And to find whoever killed his brother."
"Yes, the late Nathanial B."
"I can't say for sure, but it seems that he thinks it was you."
A loud snap filled the room and Maria howled, "I don't want to know what you think, just what you know."
Maria was still wailing in pain as he pointed the whip at me and said, "See what you made me do?"
The door opened and Johnny leaned over, listening intently. Staring at Maria and then to me, a smile filled his face. He immediately walked over to The King and whispered something in his ear which seemed to bring more joy to his face then beating that poor stupid girl.
"Now Mrs. Bailey, it appears that all our stresses have been solved and once the rumor has been verified you will be returned to your husband." With that, he set the whip on the table and walked away. He stopped and looked at Maria who was beginning to climb off the table.
"I didn't say you could move, Maria. Take this time to think about what you did." Like an obedient little puppy, she laid back down on the table and just stared blankly off into space.
He looked at Johnny's arm and turning, he asked "And what is the woman's name? The one that shattered Johnny’s arm like it was a piece of rotten wood?"
"That would be Murlin, I think."
"Good. I think I would very much like to meet this creature Murlin." The door closed with a click and then the lights were turned off, leaving me sitting in the dark pondering what the future was going to bring. He said I would be returned to my husband, but I think he meant lying next to him in some unmarked grave. Renaud was my only hope and good news for them was terrible news for me..