Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (134 page)

Ten
minutes later, Carlos unlocked the weathered wooden door, and Morgan
stirred for the first time in hours. The first thing she noticed
wasn't the pain. The first thing she noticed was the bright gleam
from a flashlight and the rancid smell that took over the small
building. When she tried to lift herself up with her hands, that's
when the horrific pain surged through her body. She screamed out in
agony, and the light grew closer. Morgan tried again to move, but it
was too late.

“No,
no, no...it's not time for you to be up.” Carlos only wanted to
vent his frustrations before going to bed. “I just came down to
bid you a good night.”

She
couldn't see a figure, the light blocked it out. But the voice,
Morgan knew it.
It's...it's....
another kick to her side, and
Morgan passed out again. “See you in the morning, darling.”
Carlos dropped to his one good knee, and kissed the side of Morgan's
head. Before standing, his arm drew back and his fist connected to
her temple with a loud fleshy thud. The sound made him smile, and he
used her hair to wipe her blood from his knuckles.

Chapter
Thirteen

Anthony
and Elena had spent the entire night looking for Morgan. They drove
down every street in the shopping district and were still searching
when the street vendors began to set up. There was no sign of Morgan,
nor did anyone they had spoken to see her the day prior. “Let's
go back to the house. I think it's time we consider getting the
authorities involved.” It was a thought that Anthony had
struggled with. Morgan could have simply decided to stay in town
somewhere, and lacked the manners or simple courtesy to tell anyone.
He doubted that was the case, but if it was, the authorities could
find her and arrest her.

Elena
knew that he was struggling with his decision, as was she, but
something needed to be done. “Maybe Rudy has heard something.”
Anthony nodded, not believing her words, and turned the car back in
the direction of his home.

Morgan
woke to the sound of pounding from a distance. Across the street from
the small shed where she was held captive, an old man was repairing
the door. Early mornings in that part of town typically sounded the
same with quick repairs being made to the damage inflicted from the
night prior.

She
tried to open her eyes, but one was too swollen and far too painful.
“Oh my god.” Morgan brought her hand up to touch her
face, but her arm would barely move as well. Pain shot through her
body and she took a deep breath to prepare for rolling over. It took
several moments, and tears, to get to her back. Morgan stared at the
ceiling, barely making out the wooden slats that offered thin shards
of light from the rising sun. She was badly hurt, that much she
knew, but she couldn't sit up to check the damage to her body right
then.

Her
last memory was of Carlos in the middle of the night. Then the foul
smell before she walked into the jewelry store. The evil had
returned, and Morgan cried as the feeling complete helplessness
engulfed her entirely. Not one week prior, she was standing her
ground, telling everyone that she could take care of herself. “I'm
sorry. I'm so...sorry.” Her throat was dry and so painful that
she couldn't even swallow without crying out. Her words ceased as
tears rolled from her eyes. She knew, in that dark moment, that she
had been wrong to treat her friends as she did. Wrong to assume that
she could handle anything.
So wrong. I'm so sorry.

Her hands moved to her chest, down her stomach, and to her panties.
Feeling that her underclothes were still on her body brought a wave
of sobbing that she couldn't control. There was a good chance that
she hadn't been raped, and for that, she was grateful.

Morgan
coughed from the stench around her, and cried loudly as she held her
sides. Her ribs were broken, and her breath continued to catch with
each intake of air. The pain was almost unbearable. She reached up to
her face again, with her left arm that didn't seem as damaged, and
moved the hair from her eyes. Blood had matted much of her bangs to
her face, and it tore at the dried lacerations on her cheeks as she
moved it all. Finally, with more vision and a bit more light, she
could see her surroundings. She was in a wooden prison, and it was
time to fight the pain and get out.

“I'll... fucking cry later.” She spoke to her fears, and
put one hand on the floor. “Fuck!” The pain ripped
through her side, and her throat as she pushed herself to a sitting
position. “Please...,” her body was stiff and she brought
her legs up quickly and stood with all the strength she had. Finally,
she was on her feet.

She
began to cry again, but held her breath and stopped the tears. Her
body, however, never stopped shaking. She limped to the side, just a
few inches, and grabbed the wall. She instantly leaned, and the foul
wood kept her on her feet as she fought to stay upright.

Once
stabilized, Morgan's hand went again to her chest. She was cold, and
with one arm, she hugged herself for warmth. “What...?”
Her hand moved over her bra, and over the small hard object within.

Anthony
and Elena walked into the house. There was no need to rush as they
both already assumed that nothing had changed. They were met on the
front porch by a young man, with perfect curls, that was speaking far
too quickly to comprehend.

“Where's
my Boo? What the fuck did you do with her? I'll fuckin' kill all you
bitches right now if you don't speak words to me. Where! Is! She!”
Angel was frantic, and the old man that had let him into the house a
few moments prior had left him alone to scream to himself. Rudy
wasn't going to try to understand his crazy talk.

Elena
figured out who he was and went directly to him. “We're
looking, Angel. I promise, we won't stop until we find her.”
Angel's eyes filled with tears at hearing that his Stick was still
missing. Then, a faint smile was forced from his lips as he tried to
show confidence in his next words.

“Someone
will be here soon. He's flying in from Canada...he'll find her. He
won't stop until he finds her, you'll see.” Angel nodded at his
own words, hoping to convince even himself that Morgan would be safe
and sound soon.

Anthony
and Elena didn't know anyone from Canada, and they weren't going to
ask right then. Trying to get Angel calm was all they could focus on
at the moment. “Okay, that's good.” Anthony put his hand
on Angel's thin shoulder. “Let's get you some coffee. Then
we'll decide our next move, okay?” Angel looked out to
Anthony's car, tempted to jump in and drive all over Costa Rica
himself, but waiting another few minutes for back up that was
arriving, kept him there to take Anthony up on his offer instead.

Morgan
allowed her body to lean completely against the wall as she dug in
her bra for Elena's phone. Her legs nearly collasped beneath her
weight, but she continued to fight to stand. “Please,”
she begged through grit teeth, hoping the phone still had enough
battery to make a call. It had just enough, but Morgan knew she had
to move quickly. Her breath of relief sent shocks of pain through her
ribs, and tears filled Morgan's eyes once again and poured down her
swollen face.

“Sh...shit!”
She grasped at her side as she tried to catch her breath, and lost
balance. Morgan's body fell to the filthy floor. “I...”
She pushed herself upright with her left arm, and grabbed a hold of
the wall to lift herself back off the ground. Another round of
coughing from the dust her fall kicked up, sent more surges of pain
through her body. “Fuck! I...can...” She was standing
upright, and still holding the wall, she limped toward a crack in the
boards where light was shining through. “I can do this!”

She
leaned her shoulder against the wall and peered through the small
opening. “Oh my god.” Morgan saw the deep purple
building, with bright neon lights, and knew immediately where she
was. She brought the phone up to her face, wincing through the pain
that each tiny movement of her body created. Her vision was blurred
with tears, but she navigated to Elena's contacts quickly. Her first
thought was to call her own phone, but the last she knew, it was
still in Anthony's bedroom and didn't know if it would be heard.

Morgan
tried to find Anthony, but it appeared as if all of Elena's contacts
were a nickname, and she couldn't tell who any of them were. Only one
person's name was correct, and that's who she would call.

“Please,
please answer!” By the third ring, Morgan was starting to
panic. Elena's phone was nearly dead, and she knew, that was probably
her only chance for help.

“Hola!”

“Rudy!
Rudy listen to me!” Morgan shut her eyes tightly as she spoke.
“I am behind the Purple Peacock, in...” she looked around
quickly, “I think a barn of some type. I need hel...” The
phone died before she could get her words out, and Morgan prayed it
was enough.

Rudy held the phone out to see who the call was from, as nothing made
much sense to him at that point. “Elena?” He started to
walk from the back of the house to the front. He turned the corner to
see a taxi stopped in the driveway. His perfectly manicured yard was
being trampled that morning, and he was none too happy about it.

Rudy
watched the new arrival's long legs protrude from the back of the
car, and quickly stand. He had no idea who the man was, but he
watched as he walked to Anthony's side, and shake hands.

“Elena! Why did you call me?” He held the phone up and
Anthony ran quickly to Rudy's side, with everyone else on his heels.

“What
did she say? Rudy! What did she say?” Rudy shook his head and
stared back at the phone. In all the confusion, he was never told
that Morgan had Elena's phone. He shook his head, trying to make
sense of the call still. “That was Morgan! What did she say?!”
Rudy finally understood. The pretty American had called him, yet it
still didn't make complete sense. Angel stepped forward and grabbed
Rudy by his colllar.

“What
the fuck did she say?!” His eyes warned Rudy that Angel's small
size no longer mattered. The little guy was on the edge of insanity.
A large hand from behind calmed Angel.

“Pumping
pincock. Such language from a pretty girl.” Rudy shook his head
and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He'd had enough of the drama
for one morning.

Anthony
and Elena looked at one another, then Angel and the new comer stared
at them. “The Purple Peacock. By the airport.” The four
of them were running back to Anthony's car without speaking, and the
tension mixed with fear was enough to keep them all silent as they
piled in.

Rudy
watched as the car disappeared from the driveway, still confused as
to what was going on, and why there were so many people at the house.
He had been preparing to trim the hedges when Angel showed up and all
hell broke loose.

He
scratched his chin as he tried to make sense of it all, and was
brought back to reality when a faint, yet obnoxious, sound caught his
attention. It was coming from the ground, right where Elena had
stepped into the car. Morgan's phone vibrated and sang the tune of a
horrible ringtone until Rudy picked it up and answered it.

“Hola!”

“Hello?”
Julianne's usual calm tone was instantly replaced by one of
confusion. Assuming Anthony had answered Morgan's phone, she
immediately asked to speak to Morgan.

“She
is not here,” Rudy answered casually as he walked back toward
the hedges. He knew Morgan was
gone
but he didn't understand
the severity of the situation. “They are finding her now.”

“Finding
her? What do you mean finding her? Who am I speaking with?”
Panic immediately coursed through Julianne's body. To
find
someone
means they are lost.

“What?”
Rudy couldn't understand all of Julianne's words. “This is
Rudy.”

“Where
is Morgan, Rudy?”

Rudy
shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know. Pumping pincocks? She is
there. Anthony and Elena and some angry and loud, curly-haired man
and another man...they all went to go find her. She was lost, and now
she is found.” His hearing, nor his English were the best, and
it made his tone sound uncaring, rather than simply unaware.

Loud,
curly-haired man. Julianne knew immediately who that was, and if
Angel was in Costa Rica looking for Morgan, things were very bad. She
knew she had to call Anthony, and find out what was really going on.
She thanked Rudy quickly for his help, and ended the call.
You
need to come home, Morgan.