One - Blooms
After a long day on my feet, doing what I do best, I was beat. Ready to slide out of my heels and kick back with an ice cold beer in my hand. Preferably cuddled up on the couch, next to my man. When I reached the stairway leading up to our apartment, I cast a disgruntled look to the still broken elevator, cursing our landlord under my breath. I slid out of my heels and hooked my fingers in them before beginning my journey up to the fifth floor.
Yes.
The fifth fucking floor.
I grumbled the whole way up, making a note to call the landlord in the morning and complain again about the elevator - for all the good it would do. Even though I wasn't in terrible shape, I could take cardio more seriously. Once I made it to my floor, I paused for a minute taking a couple of deep breaths so I didn't sound like an out of shape chain smoker when I greeted Tony.
At the top of the stairs, I slipped my shoes back on before walking the rest of the way. In front of our apartment door, I slid my hand into my purse and pulled out my keys. They jingled as I slid them into the lock and opened the door.
"I'm home," I called out before my brain processed the scene before me.
Three heads snapped up in my direction and I hesitated for a second as I tried to understand what was happening. Tony sat in the middle of the living room - which was in shambles - tied to one of our kitchen chairs. He looked at me, his face bloodied and bruised, teeth missing from his once perfect smile. He mouthed the word 'run' at me. At least that's what I think he was trying to say.
The largest man of the group held Tony by the hair, he pointed in my direction before lifting his head and delivering another blow. Tony grunted and the goon closest to me started moving in my direction.
It took a moment for my brain to catch up and then I turned to run, teetering on my heels for a second and then took off. A loud grunt sounded behind me and a tug on my shirt pulled me to the ground. My purse made a clattering sound as it fell to the ground and slid across the floor.
I screamed, flipping onto my back, trying to pull my feet towards my chest to help defend myself. The weight of this man on top of me made me scream louder and start to thrash.
"Shut up, bitch." The goon backhanded me, pinning me to the ground as a copper taste filled my mouth.
His greasy blond hair and unkempt beard made my stomach roll. With dirty, rough hands, the thought of them touching me in any way made me want to vomit. The way he looked at me, crazed and hungry made me think that he was either psychotic or a criminal - or both.
What the hell did Tony get himself into?
Sure, I knew my boyfriend wasn't a saint. He liked to drink too much and start bar fights or smoke up with his friends and cause a little mischief here and there. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that he was clearly involved in something more than just a little bar fighting or minor thrills.
"Stop fucking around and secure her," a gravelly voice called out from the middle of the living room.
I grunted and bucked, continuing to yell out until his hand clamped over my mouth. Despite my best efforts, I wasn't able to bite his hand and he squeezed my cheeks, a squeak of pain leaving me.
"I'm going to have so much fun with you." The guy leered down at me, his yellow crooked teeth making bile rise up in the back of my throat.
When he reached behind his back for something, I saw my opening. His grip loosened on me just enough and I was able to sit up enough to sink my teeth into his side, just under his ribs.
He growled and leaned to the side allowing me to slide out from underneath him and scramble to my feet. Just as I started running, sans the one heel that had left my foot at some point during the struggle, a hand wrapped around my ankle, dragging me back down to the ground.
My breath left me as I hit the ground and I struggled to catch it. Not wasting another moment, I flipped onto my back and pulled back my legs. Delivering a blow with both feet, one with the heel and one without, Blood streamed down his face and I jumped up. I left the other heel behind and raced barefoot from the apartment, taking the stairs two and three at a time, I didn't dare to look back.
A thundering of footsteps behind me, spurred me to move faster and when I reached the front door, I pushed through it and ran directly into the small crowd of people still left on the street. I moved through them quickly, working to get lost in the crowd. After I ran for about a block, I risked a look behind me. Not seeing anyone suspicious, I slowed down, working to blend in.
At the next bus stop, I took a risk and hopped on, pulling cash from my pocket and took a seat. No one else entered the bus after me and when they closed the doors, driving away from the curb, I breathed a sigh of relief.
What the hell?
What did I do now?
I rode the bus longer than I needed to, but I wasn't paying attention and missed my stop. I kept replaying the scene from the apartment in my head. Tony tied up in the chair. Oh God! Tony! I needed to call for help for him. Too focused on getting myself to safety, I hadn't thought about calling the police. But wait, did I want my name on record? I had no idea who these guys were or who they were affiliated with.
When the bus arrived at my stop, I exited, still barefoot which earned me a few looks and made my way to the shop. Once at the back of my salon, I entered the code and the door clicked, signaling it was unlocked. Pulling it open, I slipped inside, making sure the door was shut tight behind me. Entering the code to shut off the alarm quickly, I rearmed the system before flipping on the lights.
Now inside my sanctuary, Blooming Beauty Salon, I leaned against the door and heaved a sigh of relief. Everything felt surreal. None of what I'd seen in the apartment was real. I'd imagined it or fell asleep on the bus and had a nightmare.
Right?
Though I tried to convince myself, I knew that it was very much real and that I needed to overcome the denial fast because my life was at risk now. Thanks, Tony. I rolled my eyes at that thought and then I pushed away from the door.
The rational side of me screamed to go to the police. My boyfriend was being held captive and being beaten in our living room and the thugs had come after me, too. My instincts told me not to. Without knowing what or who the hell Tony was involved in, I was better off not talking to anyone about this. For all I knew, those were corrupt police officers coming to collect some debt or something. But, I knew that wasn’t true. No way the disgusting fucker that attacked me was a cop. Though he could be hired help for the corrupt cops. Or the mafia.
Fuck!
Could Tony really be mixed up with the mafia. If I was smart, I'd buy a plane or bus ticket and get the fuck out of town. As soon as possible. I grabbed the flip flops that I kept at the store to wear when I wasn't working with a client. Because wearing heels for ten hours straight killed my feet and my back.
Using the bathroom in my salon, I cleaned myself up. Once I'd washed away the blood from my face, I used some foundation to cover up the area on my cheek that was already reddening and I was sure would be bruised by tomorrow.
I ran a brush through my black hair with red balayage highlights that fell a couple of inches below my shoulders. Normally, I loved to show off whatever new color or style I was rocking, but not now. I needed to blend in and not stand out, so I pulled my hair up into a bun and secured it with a clip.
Since I appeared to be as presentable and unnoticeable as possible, I swiped some cash from the cash register and left the shop. First, I stopped by the nearby convenience store and purchased two disposable cell phones. I activated one of them immediately and made an anonymous call to the police, asking for a welfare check for Tony at our apartment. With the same phone, I tried to call Tony, but unsurprisingly, it went straight to voicemail.
Next, I disposed of the phone and activated the new one. I wasn't taking a chance of that 9-1-1 call being traced back to me. Since my own cell phone was in my purse which...
Shit!
Why didn't I think of this before? They had my purse which had my ID and cellphone in it. By now, they knew exactly who I was. Which meant it wasn't long until they figured out that I owned the salon. Surely they wouldn't come for me at the salon. I had security cameras and an alarm system. It was the only thing I had for now. I couldn't go home and I didn't dare crash with any of my friends for fear of putting them in danger.
Paranoia flanking me, I jumped at every shadow as I made my way back to the salon. Once there, I shut the door, rearmed my security system and set up the cot in my office. I shut and locked the office door. For the first couple of hours, every little noise had me jumping up, searching the darkness. Finally, I fell into a deep sleep, no nightmares or dreams plaguing me.
