Controlling Vulnerable

Chapter 27

The next morning Lara was fighting a low level of nausea. Morning sickness with both Charlotte and Grace had been much worse than with this pregnancy. As she got out of the car in the parking garage she was preoccupied, musing on whether this was because she hadn't known she was pregnant in those early weeks, so hadn't focused on noticing any symptoms. She didn't register a shabby car parking behind hers, and as she walked towards the exit, a man jumped out and grabbed her roughly, shoving her forcefully into the back seat. The car took off with a squeal of the wheels, almost before the door was closed. Lara was terrified as the man next to her pushed her down on the seat and out of view. She managed to gasp, "Who are you? What do you want from me?" He didn't answer but grabbed her phone from her hand and turned it off before shoving it into the pocket of his grimy jeans. When she spoke again to ask what was going on, he grabbed her mouth with one of his large, tanned hands and hissed, "Shut the fuck up." The car eventually pulled up at a run-down, abandoned motel in an area Lara thought must be somewhere off the one nine two. The man holding her head down on the back seat looked up and down and said, "I'm going to get you out. You'd better not shout out or you'll regret it. You move quick. You hear me?" Lara nodded and he opened the door nearest the pavement and dragged her behind him. Lara looked around, desperate to spot if anyone could see her, but the area looked deserted and she was dragged inside one of the ground floor units, followed by the driver of the car whose face she hadn't seen until now. The room was dim courtesy of the drawn curtains, and Lara trembled with pure fear as she was forcibly pushed into a battered wooden, partially upholstered chair. The driver's face came into view as he pulled a length of what looked like plaited leather from his pocket and pulled her hands back roughly to tie them behind her. Lara cried out as her muscles protested and said, "Please, just let me go." The other man had made a brief phone call and he crouched down to say, "My boss is coming to talk to you. He says if you start yelling I can hit you to shut you up, so don't get any ideas." Lara gasped and finally let a tear roll down her face. With nothing to do but wait she looked around. Despite clearly having been disused for some time, the motel room was surprisingly intact. Apart from the chair, there were two double beds with stained mattresses, a small, chipped coffee table, and a dressing table fixed to the wall. It smelt musty, and she presumed a door behind her led to the bathroom.

A noise outside caused Lara to feel a fresh wave of terror and an older man entered. The slightly overweight but clearly powerful man was wearing a grimy vest, and he looked at Lara and laughed hard. "Fuck me Carlos, Scotty's punchin' no?" Coming close he said, "Don't be scared mi corazón. Unfortunately, your boyfriend Scotty owes me a lotta money, and I warned him if he didn't pay me back I was going to use something important to him as motivation." Lara's voice shook as she looked confused and said, "I'm not his girlfriend. I know him because we used to work together." Griggs wheezed with laughter, "It's fucking Princess Kate!" Turning back to Lara and crouching he said, "My guys have seen you two together, holding hands in the restaurant." Lara shook her head, "He grabbed me for coffee the other day, but I swear, he's not my boyfriend." Griggs seemed to lose interest and Lara had a sudden thought, "Check the camera roll on my phone. You'll see pictures of my actual boyfriend, and absolutely none of Scott. Griggs looked at her with renewed interest and nodded assent to the guy who'd been with her in the back seat. The phone took a while to come to life and when it did he turned the screen 'round and Lara said, "The security pattern's an L." They flicked through the gallery and Carlos said, "I know that guy. I've seen him with Scotty. It's his boss, the rich guy Joe." Griggs looked surprised then narrowed his eyes, "Then I guess Joe's going to settle his employee's debt. I should have known that little shit would never have such a cute little morra."

Lara tried not to shake as Griggs crouched again and put his face close to her, "Listen princess. You're going to help me make a little film for your boyfriend, and then we're going to send it to him. Unfortunately, I can't afford a make-up artist, so we're going to have to get you involved in a little method acting." He stood back and turned to the other two men, "I'll be back in ten. Don't go overboard and leave me with a fucking body to deal with." Lara wailed, "Please, please just let me go. Don't hurt me, I've got two little girls." The door closed and Carlos pulled a hand back. Lara braced herself as it knocked her face sideways and she came off the chair, hitting the coffee table with the back of her head. Dazed she squirmed on the floor as a foot rammed into her ribs winding her. A hand lifted her by her hair and she felt her lip splitting before she was dropped back to the floor and blacked out.