Madeleine Abducted (5 page)

Madeleine had heard bits and pieces of the men arguing
behind those large doors. The angry tone of Aaron’s words was terrifying, only
punctuated by the high-pitched splinter of crashing glass, the heavy sound of
the larger objects hitting the floor. Her muscles quivered and rippled in
revolt of their constant constriction from fear.

Her mind was tired, flooded with chemicals, drowning in
panic and dread. However, even as terrifying as the heated argument had been,
it compared little to the moment he passed her by. Each step echoing, brushing
against her senses, warning her of his approach. Adrenaline coursing through
her veins, screaming for her to run even though she knew there was nowhere for
her to go. Her mind, racing with ideas and images of what he would do next. She’d
tightened into herself, pushing past the exhaustion of her body; but he’d kept
walking … without a touch or a sound. When he’d walked through the opposite set
of doors, she forced back a sob, finding that the waiting, the not knowing, was
the most terrifying part of all.

“You’ll need to stand and get dressed, Cricket. There is no
tolerance for disobedience where you are concerned.”

Cricket
….

That name he kept calling her, a false semblance of
affection. It was the type of name you were given as a child: from a man to a
girl; from a father to a daughter; from an uncle to a niece. It sickened her to
hear the pet name, knowing full well this man held no affection for her at all.

Xander’s
hand came down to brush
against her face. Moving aside the clumped and knotted strands of her hair, he
removed her from the only hiding place she had. He brought her back to the
present, to the undeniable truth of the nightmare from which she couldn’t wake:
staring squarely into the beautiful faces of the monsters that held her. Growing
up, her uncle always warned her that evil hid
itself
within the most enticing of forms, drawing its victims in with a false sense of
wonder … of hope. Madeleine now understood his warnings, wishing she’d never
ventured out of their small, warm home, into the night that would grab her and
never let her go.

“Stand, Cricket. NOW!” His voice shook her small frame. If
not for her fear of being struck, she would have remained wrapped within the
cocoon of her body. Forcing herself into an upright position, tears leaked from
her eyes, small bits of heat sliding along her cheeks, turning cold before
running along the crease of her lips. The salty taste seeped into her mouth;
another reminder of her pain. Her muscles screamed in objection as she
stretched out her small frame. Her arms instantly moved to cover her breasts,
shame once again enveloping her thoughts.
Xander
remained quiet, allowing her the time to adjust, to come into compliance with
his request.

Shakily, her legs held her as she stood at full height. Much
shorter than the man who stood before her, she could only see his chest, his
pants, his shoes; not daring to look up into his watchful eyes. He extended the
clothes to her, holding them low so that they would be within her line of
sight. “Put these on and then I’ll escort you to the restroom. Are you hungry?”

Maddy
shook her head, the movement
barely visible, but
Xander
still noted her refusal to
eat. “Very well. Take the clothes.” His hands pushed them forward, causing to
her to jump back when they came in contact with her skin. She forced out a
breath before reaching out to accept his offering. Her modesty got the better
of her as she turned herself to get dressed.

“No.” His hands came up to gently grab her shoulders,
turning her back to face him. “You must learn to accept your nudity. Outside of
these walls, it will be the only thing you know. Your Master is being kind by
providing you these clothes, but do not expect that same level of kindness from
anyone else within The Estate. You should appreciate him. He risks himself by
allowing you this small comfort.”
Xander’s
words were
spoken in a soothing voice, but still the words cut like a razor.

Anyone
else
… so she was to be passed around to multiple people; a plaything and
nothing more.

Another rush of air, her breath quickly left her as she
accepted her fate. She placed the clothes on the table beside her, choosing to
pull on the large t-shirt first, effectively covering herself as quickly as
possible. The t-shirt could have been a dress. Hanging down to her knees, it
swallowed the majority of her small frame.
Xander
chuckled softly. “With as small as you are, I see no need for the pants, but
I’m sure you would like as much covering as possible.”

Her hand stilled over the pants while she waited for him to
finish his remark. As soon as the last syllable had left his tongue, her hand
grasped the fabric, pulling it to her. Putting the pants on one shaky leg at a
time, she pulled the full length of the material over her body.
Xander
chuckled again when he noticed how the waistband met
with her chest. “It appears I need to go shopping. It’ll be interesting trying
to smuggle clothes in unnoticed.”

Maddy
jumped again when his hands
gripped the waistband of the pants, his knuckles brushing across the tips of
her breasts through the thin material of her shirt. Arching away from his
touch, her eyes peeked up into his. Her breath caught at the sight of his blue
eyes; the color reminiscent of a stormy sea. Perfectly white teeth appeared as
he grinned. His hands moved the waistband of the pants to the widest part of
her hips; his fingers pulled the drawstring tight before tying it in place.

“Those should do for now. Follow me.”
Xander’s
lean frame moved with feline grace as he led her down the corridor of a long
hallway. The flexion and contraction of his muscular form clearly visible
beneath the black shirt that he wore. Like Aaron,
Xander
exuded a quiescent danger, the same as that of a sleeping tiger. She broke her
gaze from him, her eyes moving to take in the expensive wallpaper and chair
rails that lined the halls. Stopping suddenly,
Xander
turned, extending his hand to direct her to a room on her right. “The restroom
is in there.”

Maddy
began to brush past him to
enter the room when his hand came up to grip around her bicep. His lips tickled
against her ear as he spoke. “There is no way for you to escape that room. The
window is sealed and I will wait outside this door. Use the bathroom, wash your
face, and brush your teeth, then return to the hallway.”
Maddy
nodded her head in understanding before
Xander
would
let her go. Without a word, she entered the bathroom and closed the door behind
her; her continued silence the only escape she had from the hell in which she’d
found herself.

Like the other rooms, the bathroom was large and
magnificent.
Maddy
briefly wondered what amount of
money it took to maintain a home like this. The floors of the bathroom were the
same dark slate grey stone as the hallway leading into Aaron’s apartment. Black
granite was used for the counters, bathtub and shower. Glass brick walls were
used to separate the different spaces. Scattered throughout the large room were
plush carpets that felt soft against
Maddy’s
bare
feet. The walls were a muted grey but the darkness of the room was broken apart
by the dancing light reflected off the polished silver fixtures and crystal
soap dishes. Even this bathroom hadn’t been spared the fine works of art that
had adorned the walls of each room she’d seen within the estate.

She moved quickly across the room, having needed to relieve
herself for several hours. The sensation of such a simple thing as emptying her
bladder was a welcome gift, a thing she’d never considered would one day be something
of a courtesy bestowed upon her by another individual. She grimaced to realize
that even the most basic human needs could be denied upon the whim of her
captors. Two taps on the door alerted her to the fact that she’d apparently
taken too long. Hurriedly, she moved to the sink, splashed warm water on her
face before unwrapping one of the guest toothbrushes and cleaning her mouth. The
feeling of clean teeth was suddenly a luxury that she had, up until her
capture, always taken for granted.

After placing the toothbrush on the counter,
Maddy
returned to the hallway as instructed. Silently,
Xander
led her deeper down the corridor to another room. He
opened the door and motioned for her to enter.
Maddy’s
steps failed her, causing her to stumble at the sight of the large bed in the
center of the room. Her head spun to look at
Xander
,
a silent question of his intent. His eyes looked deep within hers; his lips, a
pinched line across his face.

“Tonight, it is for sleeping only, per your Master’s
instructions.”

A relieved sigh racked her body, a shiver snaking along her
spine. However, still not quite trusting
Xander’s
words,
Maddy
moved to the opposite corner of the
room, as far from the bed as possible. She watched as his shoulders shook with
silent laughter. “If I wanted to take you, Cricket, the distance you put
between the bed and yourself wouldn’t prevent me from doing so.” Flashing her a
quick grin, he turned and sauntered out of the room, closing and locking the
door behind him as he left.

Her posture relaxed at his absence and, suddenly, her
eyelids felt heavy. As exhaustion consumed every muscle in her body,
Maddy’s
eyes set upon the soft blankets of the bed. Sleep. She
needed sleep, but she knew that the fear of what she would awaken to in the
morning would keep her from ever crossing that blessed edge between wakefulness
and slumber. Still, lying down would bring her some peace, another small
courtesy extended by Aaron. She wondered about his intentions. Was he being
kind now, only to gain her trust so that his eventual violation of her would be
easier to accomplish?

The plush carpeting rubbed against her feet, forcing itself
up between her toes as she slowly crept toward the bed. Reaching out, she ran
her hand along the soft fabrics, the quiet only amplifying the sound of skin
sliding against silk. She was hesitant as she climbed up onto the mattress, not
sure if Aaron’s kindness would be rescinded. The exhaustion finally taking
over, Madeleine curled up with the velvety throw blanket that had been spread
along the base of the bed. The thick material instantly warmed her.

As her eyes drifted closed and she hovered between
consciousness and dreamless sleep, she heard the door to her room open, a
familiar rattling soon followed. She was pulled violently from her lethargic
state, her heart skipping slightly due to its sudden return to a fast pace. She
pushed up on the mattress with both arms, instinctively forcing her body
backwards off the bed, and moving to crouch in a corner at the farthest wall.

A dark laugh,
Xander
was amused at
her behavior. “
Ahhh
, my little Cricket, whatever will
I do with you?” The loud clatter of chains hitting the floor. “I thought I’d
bring you something else to wear. You do remember the shackles, don’t you? Unfortunately,
little one, you’ll be wearing these tonight as well. We can’t take the risk of
your escape.”

All hint of affection gone,
Xander
bent down, retrieving one end of the chain before moving to secure it to the
heavy foot of the bed. The threat of tears burned
Maddy’s
eyes as she put her hands out and shook her head; silently begging for him to
leave her unchained. A sympathetic mask fell over his face, but was quickly
replaced with an expression of disinterest.

He moved quickly across the room, catching her as easily as
if she hadn’t moved at all. His speed was disorienting, catching her off guard
before she could even react. She screamed, the volume of her cry scratching
painfully against her already raw throat.

“Cricket, calm down!” With a quickness akin to that of a
snake,
Xander
pushed
Maddy
face down across the bed. Pressing one large hand against the center of her
back, he used his other to restrain her legs. His chest heaved against her
shoulder as he leaned over her.
Maddy
screamed again,
unable to simply accept what was being done.

The bedroom door burst open again. “What in the hell is
going on in here
?!
” Aaron came marching through the
open door, stopping suddenly when he saw
Xander
pressed down against
Maddy’s
back. “
Xander
. Explain, NOW!”

A tiny, metallic click as
Xander
finished locking the shackle around Madeleine’s ankle. Pushing himself up, he
smoothed down the front of his shirt and pants, his already messy hair made even
more so by the struggle. “I was attaching a chain to the woman, ensuring that
you and I sleep well tonight, not worrying about whether she would attempt
escape.” Seeing the rage behind Aaron’s eyes,
Xander
quickly realized what it must have looked like when Aaron walked in. “I promise
you, Aaron, that is all that was happening in here. You can ask the little cricket
yourself … if she’ll speak, that is.”

Aaron’s eyes narrowed; rage, a smoldering ember building
within him. “And who instructed you to chain the girl?” The tone of his words
sent chills over
Maddy’s
skin; dark and lethal,
Aaron’s voice betrayed the menace within his thoughts.

Xander
stood speechless for
several seconds, finally brushing off Aaron’s veiled question and the implied
threat. “No one, Aaron. I assumed … ”