Chapter Eight
The car drove up to a large house in the middle of nowhere. It looked like a mansion that could put the ones in Hollywood to shame. The car drove down a long pathway with recently trimmed hedges on both sides. Dawn looked in amazement as the car drove up to the front of the house. Several servants came outside and stood information waiting for the Michael to step out of the car. He turned in his seat looking at Dawn. “This will be your new home now. Tim will take you inside to wait for me. Don't give him any trouble,” he said running his finger over her cheek. She looked at him in disgust. His smile sickened her and out of anger, she spat in his face before Tim removed her from the car. Michael uses his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face.
Dawn was taken into the house and hurried into a small den where Tim stood keeping his attention fully on her. The room was tastefully decorated. Bookcases lined up against one side of the brightly painted wall. The other side had cases filled with antiques and a small desk sat by a large window. A colorful carpet covered the floors and a couple of chandeliers hung from the high ceiling. Dawn sat down on the couch by the fire place and nervously waited. She knew that would answer for spitting on him, but she didn't know to what degree. The door to the den opened and Michael walked in. The expression on his face couldn't tell her what kind of punishment he had in mind and wasn't sure if she wanted to know. “Stand up!” Dawn slowly stood to her feet as he walked over. He stared into her soft brown eyes and saw her defiance. Breaking her would be difficult, but Michael knew that in time he could. He didn't know much about her, but he learned some things. He didn't have to because he wanted to mold her into his type of woman. Quiet and obedient only to him. “In time you will learn to love me, but first...” Dawn gasped in pain at being slapped across her face. “...you will learn to give me respect!”
Dawn watched hi walk over to Tim and whisper something into his ear, then he left the room. Tim smiled at her, then walked over to her and grabbed her by the arm. “You better behave. You don't want anything happening to your parents,” he threatened. Dawn gasped and wondered how he knew about them. She didn't want anything to happen to them. She would rather die before allowing them to get hurt. She now considered suicide. It would release her from his tyranny and keep her parents safe. Tim pulled her out of the den and led her up the red carpeted steps and down a mahogany walled hall. At the end of the hall was a door which Tim opened. The bedroom was large and beautiful. Dawn could tell that a woman had decorated it. Her arm was released and she voluntarily walked in looking around. The furniture looked very expensive and the large windows were covered with red velvet drapes with a white silk backing. The queen sized bed was made with mahogany wood and a silk canopy hung over top of it as a decoration. Tim handed her a glass of water and informed her when she should be ready for dinner. After drinking all of her water, Tim took the glass and left the room. Dawn walked around the room then walked over to the window looking down at the ground below. This was her time. She wanted nothing more than to be with Chris. If she couldn't be with him in life, then she could join him in death. Suddenly, she felt as though as she had jumped out of the window. It seemed the ground was coming up to meet her. Moving from the window, the room spun around and Dawn stumbled backwards and fell onto the shag carpeting. Tim walked back into the room and looked at Dawn laying there. He knew that Michael wanted her dressed for dinner, but he would just remove her clothes and get her into bed, and have someone pick out something that would be pleasing to both of them.
#
After a few hours, Dawn opened her eyes. Her head was groggy, but she felt the soft comfort of the bed and the silkiness of the satin sheets covering her. She sat up slowly and looked around the room. She realized that Tim had drugged her, but wondered if he knew of her intentions to kill herself. Her wrists still hurt, but not as bad as earlier. Dawn pulled the covers off her and realized that she was naked. She wondered if Tim had sex with her, but dismissed the thought knowing that Michael wanted her for himself. Easing out of the bed, she looked around the room for something to put on. There was a door behind the bed and she thought it was the a closet, but to her surprise it was the master bedroom. With a deep and heavy sigh, she decided to take a shower. Dawn wondered why Michael wanted her. Why did he think that she would ever love him. Her heart belonged to Chris and it always would.
The shower was hot and steamy when Dawn stepped in. She let the water wash over her relieving some of her tension and stress. She had a major choice in front of her. Either she could kill herself or give into Michael, but it wasn't a decision she would make at the moment. She washed thoroughly and shut the water off. Stepping out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, she saw a young woman wearing a maids uniform making the bed. “Who are you?,” Dawn asked surprised to see her. The young woman glanced up at her a second, but did not reply. She walked over to the armorer as Dawn asked again, “Excuse me, but who are you?”
“She's your personal maid,” she heard a man's voice say.
Turning around, Dawn saw Michael standing by the window. He smiled at her standing there in the towel. She was so familiar, yet so strange, but he wanted her to love him and he wanted to love her.
“Why did you take me. I wouldn't have said anything, or testified against you.”
“I couldn't take that chance. You understand,” he said. “Why did you have Chris killed? I loved him!”
“I didn't have him killed, Dawn. In time you will forget him. Your love for him will fade.”
“Oh, I suppose I'm just going to fall in love with you,” she said sarcastically.
“You may not want to believe it, but you will,” he said.
“I don't think so. I just want to go home. Thank you anyway,” she told him.
“You're so beautiful,” he laughed. “Juanita will take care of all your needs. Dinner will be served in a few hours, so get some rest.” he too her hand and gently kissed it before leaving the room.
Dawn turned around to the maid, who had pulled out a red dress and laid it over the big soft cushioned chair. “Juanita, do you speak English?”
“Yes, Ma'am,” she said. Her voice made her sound younger than she looked. “What are you doing?,” Dawn angrily asked.
“Laying out your clothes for tonight,” she said softly. “And after dinner, I will run your bath water.”
Dawn felt defiant and wanted to protest her captivity, but it wouldn't do any good. The young maid was almost her height and she had lovely dark hair and an olive complexion. Her figure was slim and shapely, actually she looked very beautiful. “Juanita, could you get me some night clothes?”
“Yes, Ma'am,” she said with a smile.
Dawn watched as the maid retrieved her pajamas and handed them to her. Dawn took them and put them on, then sat on the bed looking at her. “So, what are you suppose to do for for me?”
“Anything you need,” she said, but looking at the floor. “Really? Anything?”
“Yes, Ma'am.”
“You can look at me when you talk to me, Juanita.”
“I'm not suppose to,” she said. She stood there, hands held together in front of her. “Juanita, when it's just us two, you can look at me and you can call me Dawn.”
“Yes, Ma... Dawn,” she said raising her head and looking at Dawn.
Slipping under the covers, Dawn patted the bed indicating to Juanita to sit. “How long have you been here?,” she asked.
Silence.
“You can talk to me,” Dawn told her.
“Mr. Rodriguez has not given me permission to talk to you,” she said trying to get comfortable.
“I don't want to get you into trouble, so just sit with me.”
#
The sun began to fade into darkness. Chris had flown most of the day to reach his destination, but that seemed to be out of reach as the fuel gauge neared empty. He now had to find a place to land. Looking around, Chris only saw trees and knew that the engines would cut on him. Without a choice, he continued to fly, hoping to find some place. His heart raced and sweat poured down his face as he looked around to find at least a parachute without luck. After ten minutes, Chris heard the sputter of the engines before the propellers slowed and stopped.
Everything became quiet except for the wind. Looking around again, Chris finally saw an opening in the trees. It was a small strip of land, not nearly long enough for a runway, but it was all he had and all that he was going to get. Turning left, he lined up the plane and took it down. Chris knew that he had to be exact, to be able to walk away from this landing. As he came in, he knew that it would be close. He had to land the plane quickly or else he would hit the line of trees ahead. The sun was almost gone and soon he wouldn't be able to see much of anything. The plane bounced and rocked from hitting the tree tops. Chris held on tight, forcing the plane down. He had already lowered the landing gear. The plane hit the ground with a hard thud, then bounced back up. Maintaining control, Chris landed the plane quickly, immediately pressing on the breaks with both feet, using all of his strength. Just before he crashed into the tree line, he shut his eyes knowing that it would be painful. The plane was violently knocked around, the cockpit glass shattered sending pieces of glass everywhere. Finally the plane laid still on its side, broken with pieces scattered everywhere with small fires. After taking in a couple of deep breaths, Chris opened his eyes. The crash had reopened his wound and he could feel the wetness of his blood. He unhooked himself from the seat and picked up the gun that he took from Brian. Kicking open the hatch, he left the plane and began walking. Chris figured that someone either saw the plane or heard the crash. Either way, he had to leave the area before anyone showed up to investigate.
#
Dawn opened her eyes to see Juanita closing the drapes, keeping anyone from looking in on her. “What time is it?,” her groggy voice asked.
“It's six thirty. Dinner will be served at seven thirty,” she softly said. “I have the rest of your clothes ready for you and Mr. Rodriguez will be waiting.”
“Well, you tell Mr. Rodriguez that I don't care for dinner. Now, or ever!,” Dawn said sharply. “I'll be staying in my room.”
Juanita wanted to warn her of his temper, but she didn't know if he was listening. Dawn rolled onto her side, facing away from the window and closed her eyes. “Mr. Rodriguez will be upset if you don't join him,” she said.
“Alright,” Dawn said giving in. “Give me a few minutes.” She would have found him attractive, but the thought of being his prisoner revolted her.