I lie perfectly still on the floor next to the body of the large man who only moments ago was choking me to death and now lays in a pool of his own blood with a bullet hole through his heart.
"No!" Ty says, entering the house to find his friend lying face down on the floor.
"Do I not say for you to walk away?" The older dark-haired man says with a thick accent. He's wearing an expensive-looking three piece black suit and dark sunglasses.
"Why did you kill him?" Ty says backing toward the door.
"We need someone to take the fall for the kidnapping, do we not?"
"He was my best friend..."
"And for that I am sorry." The man says with no hint of remorse. "Since you decided to stick around be of some use, take her to the bedroom and tie her up."
"But..."
"Do as I say unless you want to end up like your friend over there." The old man says snapping his fingers and the tall, thin man standing beside him with the gun points it at Ty's head. He walks slowly towards me reaching his hand out to me. I attempt to stand but stumble forward into his arms in excruciating pain as my leg buckles under my weight.
"What's wrong?"
"My ankle." I say through pain-filled sobs, grabbing at my leg that is already beginning to
swell.
"Her ankle is broken." Ty says, kneeling down to look at my leg. He looks at the man for permission and then lifts me up into his arms, carrying me into the bedroom.
"Who is that man? What's going on?" I say as he sets me down gently on the bed. I am nearing hysterics as panic wells up inside me.
"Calm down." He says, sitting down on the bed beside me after shutting the bedroom door.
"Calm down? Are you fucking serious, right now? How am I supposed to calm down when I don't know what the hell is going on and that guy...that guy out there is dead!" I say, pushing him away.
"I know, I get it. I just need you to be quiet for a minute while I try to figure this shit out." He says, standing up and running his hand through his hair.
"Figure what shit out?"
"Just shut the hell up for one minute, can you do that?" He says in frustration, nervously pacing back and forth.
"Shit, shit, shit." He mumbles to himself as he sits down on the foot of the bed with his head in his hands. "They fuckin' killed Nate."
I slump down into the bed curling myself into a ball and sobbing inconsolably.
"Listen, I want to apologize for...what I did to you...before. I would say I'm sorry but that just doesn't seem like enough, you know? I work for these people, bad people, and I'm in way over my head. I shouldn't be telling you any of this..."
"I'm scared." I say on the verge of a meltdown.
"I'm sorry. I just need you to know that I'm not a monster,well at least, I never used to be. I know this is hard to understand. Believe me when I say that I wish I could take all of this back. I was none of this ever would have happened. I don't blame you for being angry, I don't blame you for hating me..." He says with a genuine look of fear in his eyes.
"I don't hate you."
"You should." He says with eyes full of anguish.
He pulls the sheets over my naked body and gently kisses the top of my head. I reach out and grab his hand and hold onto it, feeling him trembling as much as me.
"Just tell me one thing, is your name Ty?"
"Why? Where'd you hear that?" He says, trying to cover the uneasiness in his voice.
"That guy, the one that was shot, he called you Ty."
"Oh, yeah." He says, looking away for a moment, pain evident on his face. "That's just a nickname I got growing up because I like to fight. My friends called me Tyson and it just kinda stuck. How's your ankle?"
"It hurts but I'll be alright."
The bedroom door opens and the man in charge asks if I'm properly tied up.
"She's got a broken ankle I don't think she's going anywhere." Ty says.
"I do not pay you to think." The man with the accent says snapping his fingers at his minion before walking out of the room. The man slams Ty in the head with the butt of his rifle knocking him to the ground.
"Tie her up." The man says tossing Ty a roll of duct tape with which to complete the task. "Make sure to cover her mouth."
"I'm so sorry." Ty says, gently wrapping my wrists with the duct tape and securing me to the headboard like the man instructed, covering my mouth with the tape as well.
"Now let's go." The man motions for Ty to exit the room when he finishes.
"I'd rather stay with her."
"I'd rather be in Cabo with a stiff drink in my hand and a tight pussy on my dick; do you think I give a shit what you want?" The man says again motioning for Ty to leave the room.
"I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." He says, bending over to whisper in my ear.
"Aww, isn't that cute, you actually think you can protect her." The man says before grabbing his collar and hurling him into the living room, slamming the door shut behind him. I hear the sound of someone being punched repeatedly and a loud thud that I can only imagine is Ty falling to the ground. The sounds of the brutal beating stops and is replaced by a terrifying silence. After several minutes pass, the silence is broken by people talking.
"What are we doing here?" A distorted female voice says. Though I can't hear the voice clearly, it sounds eerily familiar. "Oh my god, what happened to these men? You know I can't be a part of anything like this, Viktor."
"Oh, this is quite different. I brought you here, my dear Elise, to broker a deal."
'Mom!' I struggle against my restraints. What the hell is my mother doing here? And why does she seem so familiar with this man who is clearly a part of my kidnapping and assault.
"What kind of a deal, Viktor?"
"I need you to drop a couple of cases you have against some of my...associates." The man with a thick accent says.
"But why here?"
"Why not here?" It's quiet, out of the way, far from all the prying eyes in the city." He says, in a tone that I can't quite pinpoint.
"Which cases? How many are we talking?"
"Five."
"No way. I can't just drop five cases...are you crazy? That would bring way too much unwanted attention and suspicion to my office!"
"Are you sure, my Love?"
"Stop it, Viktor." My mother says.
"Elise..." He says and I could swear I hear them kissing but I'm confident that I am mistaken. "I really hope we can see eye to eye on this matter, my dear. I would really hate for certain information to get out about the secret life of the County Prosecutor and the truth about her husband's death. That could be very bad for you, bringing a lot of unwanted attention and suspicion."
