the whipped cream on top is a consultant’s fee. You name it. A hundred? Two hundred each. Cash for your time. One hour only. Please?”
Carly said, “Okay, Tony. Sounds like fun,” and her two friends acquiesced. The three of them got into the back seat of the big blue Caddy. Marko leaned over the back seat and served the women cold champagne in crystal flutes.
Susan fell asleep, and when she woke up, she was in a strange room. It took forever to stretch out her hand, to shift her eyes. It was as if she were swimming underwater.
She noticed that the bed was so soft, it seemed to embrace her. But this room was a dark and windowless cell. Her things were gone, her clothes, her phone. She was a prisoner. She was dressed in a transparent nightgown, and from the soreness between her legs, she realized she had been used for sex.
That first night in captivity, Susan crawled to the foot of the bed, where she could reach the doorknob, but the door was locked. She started to scream.
Tony opened the door, pushed her back onto the bed, and told her that she belonged to him now. And he laid down the rules—all of them cruel, arbitrary, cast in stone—with one promise. Follow the rules and she’d be fine. If not, they would kill her. And not quickly.
He slapped, pinched, and punched her to make his point, and then he took her with force. When he was done, he slapped her bottom, kissed her forehead, and said, “Good night, sweetheart. See you in the morning.”
He left, locking the door behind him.
Susan looked at her friend now. “Adele.”
Adele looked at her, reflecting her fear.
“I’m sorry. So sorry that you’re here. And sorry for me.”
CHAPTER 69
Susan sat with Adele in front of the makeup mirror, thinking back on all that had happened to them, knowing in her heart that Carly had been completely taken in by Tony.
The morning after their abduction, when they were dragged from their beds and brought to the lounge, Carly went wild and fought for her life. She called Tony vile names, threw things at him, and ran to the door. Anyone could see that her attempt to escape was not only hopeless but infuriating the men.
Tony grabbed Carly by the shoulder and punched her in the belly. She crumpled and he dropped her. She gagged and threw up on the rug.
Susan tried to help her, but Tony flung her against the wall. Her head hit the plaster, and she slid down to the floor. She watched as Tony began choking Carly with his large hands, letting her breathe, then choking her again. He let up and Carly gasped and breathed out a long, terrible wheeze.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking at Susan.
Tony pulled Carly to her feet, dragged her up over his shoulder, and carried her out of the apartment.
Days later Tony showed them the pictures of Carly’s lifeless body, pale and stiff, wearing one of his shirts. She looked like a wax exhibit in a house of horrors.
Tony had meant for Susan and Adele to be so terrified, they’d obey and wouldn’t try to escape. But they knew more now than they had known during those first days.
Susan had played the piano for the beasts several times after the evening meal, and the music relaxed them. It gave her the idea for a fantastic plan. When the time was right, she and Adele would escape.
Sometime soon, maybe tonight while she was playing, Adele would pour the liquor and keep the glasses full. When the beasts were drowsy on food and alcohol, Adele could smuggle the fireplace pokers into the bedrooms and hide them under the mattresses while Susan played on.
Now, in the dressing room, getting ready for breakfast, Susan brushed color onto Adele’s cheeks and painted her mouth with lipstick.
Then she said, “Tell me, Adele. Tell me our plan.”
Adele said, “We’ll get them drunk. When they’re asleep in our beds, we will use the pokers to bash in their heads.”
Susan kissed her friend’s cheek.
“You got it.”
Susan had never even killed a mouse before, but she could picture raising the poker high and bringing it down on Tony’s head.
Could Adele do the same with Marko? She heard footsteps coming toward the dressing room.
The door opened.
Marko said, “Breakfast is served in the lounge, ladies. Now.”
Susan said, “Give us a minute, would you, Marko? We’re not quite ready.”
“I said now. Tony is in the house and he wants you.