Hotel Key

Chapter 40

RickyJo sat on the top edge of the half deflated air mattress. She sipped the water that was left there for her, trying not to drink too much since she was afraid to get up and pee. Her stomach was at a low steady grumble. And she was starting to feel light headed. The last thing she had to eat was the steak tacos she made for her, Daryl, and Sophia the night before. And that felt like it happened years ago and to someone else.

RickyJo didn't have access to a clock. But from the amount of sun streaming in through the boarded over window she could tell it was at least mid-afternoon. In theory, she could get up and knock on the door to the room she was being held in. She could ask these people for something to eat before she passed out. But after what happened in front of her earlier, she was terrified to draw any attention to herself. So she just hugged the ragged sleeping bag around her body and stayed where she was. She wanted to cry. But she held all that inside, reminding herself that she promised Merle she would be strong. Even though strong was the last word she would use to describe the way she was feeling at the moment.

A soft rap on the door caught her attention. And RickyJo cringed back, wishing she could sink into the wall. The man that entered was someone she hadn't seen yet. Though they all had masks on, this man was shorter than the tall man and thinner than the man with the wolf tattoo. There was also something familiar about him and the way he moved across the small space. He knelt down in front of her, holding out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a small bag of chips.

"I thought you might be hungry," he said. RickyJo nodded, hesitating for a moment before she snaked her hand out from under the sleeping bag and took the food from him.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice barely above a whimper. The man had a ski mask on. But his eyes were visible. They were so dark brown they were almost black. And even with the mask on, she could tell he had a substantial beakish nose.

"Mitch?," she whispered. The man cringed back and cursed under his breath. Which could only mean one thing. She was right about who he was. He was the sex felon she hired to work in Daryl's auto shop downtown. RickyJo racked her brain for a reason that Mitch would want to hurt her. She'd never even exchanged a harsh word with him. And she'd hired him when no other shop would because of his criminal record. And then she'd given him a substantial raise without even waiting for him to ask. Because he got almost twice the work done in a day compared to the other two mechanics. She even invited him to her wedding.

"What did I ever do to you?," she asked, her voice full of pain and hurt.

"Fuck," he grumbled. Since there was obviously no point in keeping it on, Mitch peeled back the ski mask on his face. His expression was full of regret. "I'm sorry. My ex won't let me see my kids. She divorced me and got full custody while I was in jail. I've gotta hire a lawyer and take her back to court. And before I can do that, I've gotta pay all the back child support I owe. I just wanna see my kids." His eyes drifted towards the metal chain around her ankle and the red marks and bruises it was leaving on her flesh. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt," he lamented.

"I would have loaned ya the money," RickyJo said. "Why didn't ya just ask me or Daryl if you were this hard up fer cash?" Mitch shook his head and scrubbed his face with his hand. RickyJo guessed he was too far in to back out of his part in this plan now. But she figured it wouldn't hurt to try and convince him otherwise. "I don't know how much they're paying ya," RickyJo whispered. "...But I'll double it if ya get me the fuck outta here right now. And I won't tell anyone that ya had any part in this. You can be the hero that rescued me."

Mitch raised his brow, clearly considering her offer. And for the first time since she arrived in this wretched place, RickyJo felt a little sliver of hope well up inside her. Maybe she didn't need Daryl and Merle to show up and save her. Maybe she could save herself. Mitch's eyes traveled down to the metal cuff around her slender ankle.

"I don't have the keys," he whispered. "The governor keeps them in his pocket."

Before their exchange could go any further, loud footsteps could be heard approaching the doorway to the room. Mitch yanked his mask back down in a hurry. He got the knitted fabric in place just in time. The door swung open and the girl that had been violated on the floor of the room earlier poked her head inside.

"Yer not supposedta be messin' with 'er," the girl warned. "You were only supposta give her the food." Mitch nodded and rose to his feet, following the girl out of the room. But instead of locking the door, he left it open a crack. Not that it would do her any good since she was chained to the wall. But at least she could hear what was going on outside the small dungeon of a room she was stuck in.

RickyJo ate the sandwich and the chips, listening quietly for any activity that might be happening outside her room. But for a while, there was nothing. It seemed like only Mitch and the girl were there. And they weren't making much conversation. About an hour later, RickyJo finally heard something.

The door of the cabin opened and slammed shut. Then she could hear the sound of another voice. It was clearly a woman's. And not the same woman that peeked into her room earlier. Because this one was lower pitched. RickyJo couldn't make out everything that was being said. But she heard her name mentioned a few times. The new woman's voice gave her a weird feeling. Like a puzzle she couldn't put together. It felt familiar. Like she was sure she ought to know who's voice it was. But she just couldn't place it.

About fifteen minutes later, RickyJo heard more people enter the cabin. And from their voices, she could tell they were excited. They were also yelling about money, which made her hopeful. If they got the ransom money they were demanding from Daryl, that meant she ought to be released soon. And this nightmare would finally be over. With so many people talking at once, the voices all melted together. It wasn't until she heard a few of the voices rising in anger that she started to get worried.

We've got the money! Now she's supposta be dropped off outside the hospital in Atlanta! That was the plan! If y'all try to keep her here and demand more money, those fuckers will go straight to the cops! I'm not goin' back ta jail!

RickyJo shuddered as she heard the door slam as the man that was yelling, who she assumed was probably Mitch, stormed out of the cabin and left. This wasn't good for her. She pulled the sleeping bag tighter around her body when she heard footsteps approaching her room. When the woman stepped inside, it took RickyJo a moment to register what she was seeing.

"Laney?," she asked. "What in hell is goin' on?"

Laney moved across the small space, taking up a casual position with her back leaning against the wall. There was a large hunting rifle on her back, hanging from a strap that was stretched across her chest. She appeared like she was trying to fake pity and concern. But RickyJo knew her well enough that she could tell the other woman was enjoying her plight.

"This is really your own fault, you know," Laney observed. "If you just helped me out with my restaurant when I asked, none of this would have happened."

"Your restaurant?," RickyJo said, almost unable to believe how ridiculously petty Laney was being. "You're gonna be lucky if you don't end up in jail for this and yer worried about a restaurant?" RickyJo tossed the sleeping bag off her shoulders and rose to her feet. That way Laney would have to look up at her instead of the other way around. "Laney, have ya lost yer fuckin' mind?," she asked.

"This was for your own good!," Laney spit back. "Daryl's manipulative and controlling! He got you pregnant so you'd feel like you had to stay with him. I just needed to get you away from him long enough for you to see the truth!" RickyJo knew she ought to play it cool. She knew she should play along and pretend she wanted to get back together with Laney. That would be the best way to get out of this situation. But her anger was welling up inside her. She reached down and grabbed the long plastic coated chain that was attached to her ankle.

"Controlling?," she hissed. "Yer saying Daryl's controlling? DARYL DIDN'T CHAIN ME TO A FUCKIN' WALL!" Whipping the chain like a jump rope, RickyJo snapped it at the other woman. And Laney was quick to skitter out of range to keep from being hit again. "You think you know so much!," RickyJo added. Deep down she knew she ought to shut her trap. But thinking about what had been done to her because Laney was jealous and wanted to extort her for money just had her boiling with rage inside. "Ya don't know shit! This isn't even Daryl's baby! Merle got me pregnant!" There was only one person that Laney hated more than she hated Daryl. And that was his foul mouth brother.

"RickyJo, you didn't!," she hollered. "You're disgusting! How could you sleep with that pig?"

"WHO I SLEEP WITH IS NONE OR YER DAMN BUSINESS!," RickyJo screamed. Daryl's controlling and manipulative and Merle's a pig? They didn't chain her up and rape a teenage girl in front of her. Laney had no business speaking bad about either one of them.

"That's it!," Laney huffed with a smug little smile. "You're gonna have to stay in here until you come to your senses."

"You can keep me chained up until the end of time," RickyJo countered. "I'll never be with you again!" Laney's pretty face contorted in anger. She swung the gun down off her back and pointed it at RickyJo, making her threat obvious.

"I'll kill you before I let you go back to those perverts," she said.

Mitch slammed the cabin door and stomped down the stairs. He was hesitant to get involved with this mess from the start. But he was so desperate for money. And the woman that approached him made the whole thing sound so easy. He would make more in two days than he made in two years. But now that RickyJo knew he was involved, he was probably going to spend the rest of his life in jail. He was never going to see his kids again. Let alone get any type of custody.

When Mitch's boot made contact with the ground below the bottom step, he looked up. His eyes widened in shock. There were fucking cops everywhere. And all of them had their guns drawn. He turned, ready to flee back inside the apartment. But there was a man with a handgun on the porch behind him.

"Don't make a fuckin' peep," the man warned, gesturing with his gun for Mitch to keep moving down and away from the steps. "Where is she?," the man asked. The man looked familiar to Mitch. But since he'd only seen him a few times, it took him a moment to recognize Daryl's older brother. Merle. The one that technically worked at the shop but rarely showed up.

"She's in a bedroom in the back side of the cabin," Mitch said. Merle nodded.
"How many of you fuckers are in there?"

"Uh…," Mitch stammered. "Two women. And the guys that just came back." Merle nodded, reaching forward and snatching the knit ski mask off Mitch's head. Pulling it down to cover his own face, he turned and headed for the door. Mitch could hear the hissing whispers of the men outside, telling Merle not to go in there. But only one of them rushed in his direction. Daryl stopped at the bottom of the steps and cocked his fist back. He slammed it into Mitch's face, breaking his nose and sending blood streaming down over his face before he followed his brother up the steps.

"Hey!." Merle said as he stepped through the doorway and into the dilapidated cabin. "Y'all hear that bird outside?" When the three men turned towards the direction he indicated, he popped his gun off three times, blowing each of their brains out in rapid succession. This left only a young girl standing in the cabin's kitchen area. She took one look at the spreading pool of blood and ran for the door. Merle let her go, knowing the cops outside would nab her. Then he headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms. He could hear the loud raised voices of two women. And the relief washed over his body when he recognized one of them as RickyJo's. If she was screaming, then clearly she was alive. They were so into whatever they were hollering at each other that the three gunshots he fired off didn't even phase them. When he reached the door, he cursed under his breath. Laney. They should have known that sneaky little bitch was behind this.

Merle felt his blood run cold when Laney raised her gun and pointed it at RickyJo, announcing that she would kill her before she let her go back to 'those perverts'. Merle assumed she meant himself and Daryl.

"Laney," he drawled, keeping his voice low. He didn't want to startle the bitch while she had her gun pointed at RickyJo. "Ya know yer not really gonna hurt her, so why don't ya just put the gun down?"

Laney turned towards his voice, her face going pale. If Merle was here, then Daryl was here. Which meant her companions were probably already dead. She would be next.

"I won't hurt RickyJo," Laney said, lowering her gun slightly and aiming it at RickyJo's swollen stomach. "But I'd be happy to rid her of the disgusting spawn you planted inside her."

Merle moved out of instinct, placing himself between RickyJo and the woman that was threatening his unborn child. He wrapped his larger body around her smaller one, using himself as a human shield. Merle heard the gunshot before he felt it. The pain was like fire snaking up through his body from his thigh. He hit his head on the floor before he realized he had collapsed. Two more gunshots rang out and he could hear himself screaming for RickyJo to get down. He could already feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness. Being pulled down into a black hole where only the pain would be there to comfort him. The last thing he saw before everything went black was his brother's face as the man leaned over him.

"It's okay," Daryl assured him. "She didn't get hit. She's okay."