David woke up thinking about Deborah. Dreams of her naked body in the moonlight, that hungry look in her eyes. He smiled broadly. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling where fingers of sunlight peeked through the blinds.
Turning to his side, he looked at Deborah's daughter, Olivia, and the dreams faded from his consciousness. The teenage girl slumbered next to him. She laid on her stomach with her ass sticking out of the sheets. The streaks of sunlight lit up her ass, highlighting the tiny hairs on the curve. He reached over and tugged up her sheet, revealing the small of her back and even the curve of her shoulders. He peeled back the fabric to see the metal collar wrapped around her neck.
It looked beautiful to him, a harsh and poignant. Though, as he looked at it, he thought she would look better in a leather collar with a ring. In the States, he promised, he would find a better symbol of his ownership.
His manhood responded to his thought and he enjoyed the happy ache of his body. Hours of sex, both in the pool and later on the bed, helped the poor girl relax. As they drifted to sleep the night before, she called him master before closing her eyes.
David smiled.
Nature called and he rolled over to his side to get up. He spotted a flashing light on his computer. A waiting message. Surprised, he reached out and snatched it from the side table, flipping it on and bringing up the message.
Someone found Deborah.
David sat up sharply. Olivia moaned and curled up, pulling the sheet over her shoulders and drawing further away from the tight ass. David ignored it as he peered at the screen, browsing through the reports and maps.
“La Mina Jail? Why is she there?”
Gaping, he flipped back through the email, looking through the attached police reports. He had to translate it using a program before he could read it. It detailed Deborah's attack against a Zorro Salazar where his former teacher caused “grievous injuries” against the local mayor. He found a request from Salazar himself to push back Deb's trial by six months, to “gather evidence and witnesses” for her crime.
David didn't like it. He didn't know what happened, but something felt wrong. The name caught his attention, Salazar seemed like a familiar name, but he couldn't quite picture it. Cautiously, he ran an Internet search on the name.
It came up after a few seconds. The first few were simple, he was the mayor of La Mina. But, the fourth link told him everything. It was the hunting report where he bought Lauren and killed her boyfriend.
Many things fell into place. Deborah went after her daughter.
“Crap,” he whispered.
Getting up, he hurried into the bathroom. Dressing quickly, he yanked on his clothes and brushed his teeth. Coming out of the bathroom, he called up a familiar number.
“Carlos?”
On the other end, the older man sounded tired. “Good morning, señor.”
“This is David, can I hire you for a few days?”
“Of course, señor.” Carlos woke up, his voice growing more interested, “Is something wrong?”
“No, yes. I need to go to La Mina. Can you take me there?”
“I know the area,” responded the older man.
“Good. Can you meet me downstairs in ten minutes?”
“I'll be there in fifteen. Sorry, but I need to drive across Tijuana.”
“Thank you, Carlos, I'll owe you.”
He flipped the phone shut. Grabbing his bag, he jumped when Olivia spoke up.
“What's going on?”
“I found your mother.”
Olivia lurched from the bed, stumbling on the sheets before regaining her feet. She dropped to her knees in front of David.
“Where is she?” She gulped, “Master?”
“In prison. I'm going to see if I can do something.”
“Prison!?”
David winced and shoved his computer into his pocket. “Yes, I don't know how long, but I need you to wait here.”
Olivia gasped, “No, please don't leave me.”
“I don't know what's going on, Olivia. It may not be safe.”
Tears ran down her cheeks, “No, when mommy asked me to stay, you know what happened.”
“My credit is good.”
“I know, master, but please, whatever you do, please don't leave me here. Please?”
David worried his lip. Looking down at the begging girl, he felt his heart lurching.
She pleaded with him. “Please, I'll be the best slave. I'll do anything you want, I won't ask questions, I'll let you fuck me anywhere and anyhow. Please, just don't leave me.”
David sighed. “Come on, we're leaving now.”
Olivia stood up, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, master!”
Downstairs, David burst out of the front door of the hotel just as Carlos slammed to a halt. Hurrying over, he yanked open the door and held it open for Olivia. She crawled inside, giving everyone a view of her naked pussy and ass. David looked around to see disgusted looks directed at him and he hated that everyone saw him as a blooded individual.
He shut the door behind her and slipped into the passenger side. Carlos didn't wait for David to put on the seat belt before diving back into traffic.
“And, may I ask, señor, what is in La Mina?”
David pointed to the back. “That girl's mother. She's in prison there.”
Carlos hissed and shook his head. “That is a bad place to be in prison. They do not forgive easily down there. And the men who work there are very brutal.”
“Deborah, that's her mother, was arrested for hurting someone. They are holding her for trial… in six months.”
Carlos looked over in surprise. “Six months? Who did she hurt?”
“Someone called Zorro Salazar.”
The older man's heads snapped over. David saw a look of surprise and fear in his face. He cocked his head at Carlos' expression.
“What?”
“I know Zorro. He's my grandson from my third daughter.”
Olivia gasped from the back seat. “Y-Your grandson?”
“Si, señorita, but this is not good. My grandson is a bitter man and filled with snake's venom. He owns the town, not just ruling it, but he used blood money to own its very soul.”
David's lips tightened, “Damn it.”
“You will not have friends there, señor. If you intend to rescue the girl's mother, it will not be easy, or cheap.”
David glanced over his shoulder at Olivia, who sat in the back seat and looked sick. He turned back to the old man.
“I have to.”
The old man's eyes twinkled. “You are a good man, señor.”
David sighed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
It took a few hours before Carlos pulled in front of the prison. It was a dusty old building with a hand-painted sign. Two men sat outside, playing a game of checkers and smoking cigars. David looked inside with trepidation, then leaned over the front seat.
“Olivia?”
The teenage girl laid on the back seat, her breasts sticking to the heated leather and her legs pressed tightly together. She opened her red-rimmed eyes but said nothing.
David spoke curtly. “I need to find your mother and you will stay here.”
“Please, take me?”
“No. Stay here,” he commanded.
Olivia looked like she would resist, then she slumped down. “Yes, master.”
“Good girl.”
David crawled out of the car and stretched. Carlos put the car in park and got out himself. David circled around the car to talk to the older man.
“Thank you for the help, Carlos, but you don't have to do this.”
Carlos smiled and patted David on the shoulder.
“You are running across Mexico to save a woman who thinks you want to enslave and kill her and her daughters. You are a very strange blooded individual, señor, and I feel the need to help you as much as i can.”
“Thank you again.”
Together, the old man and Carlos entered the prison. Inside, the dingy front room possessed two desks flanking a steel door leading into the back. A middle-aged man with a short, black beard sat behind one of the desks, wearing a uniform and cleaning an AK-47. He looked up at the two men and his eyes widened with surprise.
“Carlos Ruiz, I thought you said you would never come back.”
Carlos shrugged and jammed his hands in his pockets.
“I'm just helping this young man find what is his.”
The man cleared his throat and casually jammed a magazine into the weapon.
“And what is his?”
David pointed to the back. “A woman called Deborah Timber? She was arrested a few days ago.”
The sheriff barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I know her. She's in the back for injuring Zorro.”
“I doubt that. Zorro would never let a woman near him.”
The other man smirked. “Injured might not be the right word, but I needed something to put into the computer. I see ‘Assault’ and it felt right, so I put it in and the computer accepted it. Now, she is our guest until Andres can get back from his… trip and we can try her.”
Carlos glared. “How is Andres still the judge? He was arrested last year?”
“It might be a while, grandfather, before he gets to her then.”
David walked toward the door and the officer waved his gun toward him. “Don't go anywhere, gringo.”
“Can I see her?”
“It will cost you.”
David's eyes narrowed. “How much?”
“Fifty thousand sounds good.”
“Just to see her?”
He smiled, “Si, señor. I need to pay my bills.”
“Fine, fifty thousand.”
A computer beeped for the transaction. David rolled his eyes. The sheriff set down his gun and reached underneath the desk. A deadbolt unlocked. David hurried through the door and it closed loudly behind him.
The concrete and steel hallway stretched out fifty feet with cells in both directions. David looked into each cell as he walked past, finding Deborah in the back one. At the first sight of her, he stopped with a groan.
The entire cell smelled of urine and blood. Bruises covered her face as she hung from the ceiling, her wrists bound with steel handcuffs and blood trickling down her arms from where the metal cut into her skin. More chains held her down to the ground, the short lengths of chain links binding her to two eye-bolts buried in the concrete. Between her legs, a rusted drain saw a lot of use judging from the stains that surrounded it.
“Miss Timber!”
He yanked open the cell door and ran over to her. Deborah looked up with despair burning in her eyes. Up close, David could see where cum and urine dried on her face. Her lips looked bruise from where men raped her mouth and he could smell drying cum rising up from her violated pussy and ass.
“Damn you, Deb, you should have asked for help.”
She groaned and tried to open her eyes. David used his thumbs to clear the tears and grime from her eyes, helping her look at him. It took a moment for her gaze to focus on him.
“D-David, is that you?”
He smiled and ran his hand along her slimy cheek. “Yes, it's me.”
“W-Why are you here?” She spoke with a broken voice. She choked back a sob, “I just wanted to find Lauren.”
David squatted down to bring his eyes to her level. He looked over his former teacher, hating to see how they abused her. “I heard you found her.”
“Yes, a bastard killed that man she was with. And then kidnapped her. I tried to stop him, but they arrested me.” She let out a disgusted sigh, “Damn it, I just wanted to save my daughter.”
David sighed and brushed a crusty strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “I'm sorry.”
She stared at him. “Is Lauren hurt?”
“I don't know, Miss Timber, I wasn't talking about her.”
“Oh my god, Olivia?”
“The computer canceled your credit when you got arrested. The hotel tried to get Olivia to pay the amount owed when they couldn't find you.”
Deborah's body slumped and she let out a sob. “I can't win. I tried so hard to keep them safe, always away from the hunters and people like you, and what happens? I lose them both. Eighteen years and I lose everything.”
She sobbed and looked up with tears rolling down her cheeks, leaving trails through the grime on her face. “Just kill me, please? I can't live without them and I can't take this anymore. Please, just end it.”
“Deborah. No, that isn't it—”
She gestured to a table in the corner. “There is a knife, just kill me. Please, I can't live with my daughters in thrall of some monster.”
“It would cost me blood money,” said David softly.
She choked on her words, “It's the least you can do for me.”
“I'm not that bad of a person, Miss Timber.”
She closed her eyes and looked away. “Damn it, you would help your sisters this way if you could.”
He shook his head. “That is a terrible thing to say. But, don't worry, I'll do the right thing.”
David left her in the cell. As he closed the door behind her, he heard the pitiful sobs of a broken mother. It tore his heart in half to hear her cries. When the second door, the steel door leading into the front office, slammed shut behind him, it was a relief.
Carlos sat on the opposite desk from the sheriff. He had a glass of tequila in his hand, half empties. When David stopped, the older man stood up.
“Is she okay, señor?”
David glared at the sheriff.
“How much?”
“For what?” said the man with a feigned innocence.
Carlos interrupted David. He stood between the sheriff and David, speaking softly.
“Is she okay?”
“They hurt her and raped her. She is chained up in the back and begged me to kill her. I-I can't leave her here.”
Carlos leaned against David, whispering in his ear. “Can you afford the blood money for her? To buy her from the prison?”
“Yes, in a heartbeat.”
“You will need more. Maybe… fifty million, but it would have to be discrete.”
“Why?”
“To move his family, he has two daughters himself. Zorro hasn't bought them, but he will as soon as they turn legal age. They are both adorable little girls. It might make it easier to convince him to sign the paperwork. Otherwise, he will stall and Zorro will never let you take her from this building.”
“Doesn't he work for Zorro?”
“There is a thin line between loyalty and love of one's child, señor. Trust me. You need both to get this woman who killed your sisters.”
David snapped, “She didn't kill them.”
“But you want to save her?”
Sighing, David nodded. “Yes.”
“Good,” Carlos patted him on the shoulder, “you are a good man.”
David watch the old man walk away. The sheriff waited with a smirk on his face. “If you thinking of buying her, señor, you will have to wait. With her crimes, it will take a judge to release her.”
David leaned back on the desk. “Really?”
“Si, señor.”
“Do you mean the judge or Zorro?”
The sheriff grinned. “That would be Zorro, señor, since he owns the judge. But, I don't see Señor Salazar letting her go. Not when he has her pretty daughter.”
David paused, then stared at the man. “Salazar likes his girl.”
“Si, señor, very much.”
“What about yours?”
The smile on the man's face dropped. His fingers clutched the gun tighter. “Carlos tells you a lot.”
“Yes, but I also listen. I want her, because I need to keep her away from Zorro.”
“He will never let her go.”
“Does he have to know…?” David let the answer hang in the air. It seemed to beat like a butterfly, then silence filled the room. “I just want to take her away. She will never be back, ever.”
The sheriff's fingers inched toward the trigger. David felt his heart beating faster, but he held his ground. Then, the sheriff glanced to the front door, then to the door leading to the cells.
“You make it sound easy.”
“No, I just hate to see people hurt.”
“Easy to say, when you have the money. Carlos says you don't really know her. Why help this woman?”
“I want to help her. She needs me.”
The sheriff struggled with his words. “What about others who need help.”
David smiled bitterly. “I might have a few dollars for those people.”
“How many?”
“Fifty million?” David asked cautiously.
The man looked surprised. “You can get very far on fifty.”
“Yes. Yes, you can.”
“Do you have it? Are you really that generous?”
“Yes.”
The man leaned back. “If you do, maybe I can find some paperwork.”
“Thank you.”
David turned to Carlos. “Where can I get a certified bundle?”
“I have some blanks in my car.”
Carlos left and returned with a bundle. It looked like a block of clear acrylic with serial numbers embedded in the surface and designed for anonymous transactions. David took it and brought it to the desk. He set it down on his computer and keyed in the pad, entering authorization codes and transfer amounts. With a second thought, he increased it to sixty-five million dollars before initializing the bundle. The device glowed as it became valid currency. A moment later, the lights died down and David picked up both the computer and the block. He dropped it on the desk in front of the sheriff.
“Your money.”
The sheriff snatched it up and tapped the buttons on its surface. After a moment, he looked up. “Sixty-five?”
David shrugged, “Call it an expedition fee.”
The man seemed surprise and he smiled. “Si, señor.”
David watched as the sheriff worked through the paperwork. It only took a dozen forms and twice as many signatures. Then, he asked for weregild from David who authorized the transfer. For the second time in just as many days, his precious funds decreased by one.
He felt dizzy as the transaction went through. A moment later, the sheriff mutely handed him a key. David bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
“My daughters thank you.” The sheriff looked over to Carlos. “Mucho gracias.”
Carlos nodded. David hefted the key in his hand, then walked back through the steel doors to the cells. When he opened Deborah's cell, she looked up. Seeing him standing there, she let out a sob.
“You really did it?”
“Yes, this life is about to end, Miss Timber.”
She closed her eyes tightly. “Just make it fast, if you can.”
David shook his head.
“What would it take to make you believe I'm not a monster?”
“Just kill me.”
He sighed and hefted the key again.
“Very well. I will be quick.”
He looked around the cell. He spotted a stack of metal collars on the table next to the knife she referred to. He walked over to it and picked one up. The metal scraped against metal and he saw Deborah jerking with anticipation. He walked back to her.
“Deborah…”
“Just kill me, David.”
He stood in front of her. Her breasts heaved as she tried not to think about him stabbing her. He hated seeing the fear in her posture and the pain her eyes. Mutely, he cracked open the collar and reached around her neck.
As the heavy metal hung down over her neck, Deborah's eyes snapped open. She twisted and the collar settled over her shoulders.
“Oh god, no. Damn you, David. I won't ever be your slave. Do you hear me!?”
David reached up and unlocked her chains. “Wouldn't you rather be with your daughters, Miss Timber?”
She glared at him, trembling as more tears ran down her cheeks. She choked on her words, then cleared her throat.
“They'll join me soon enough. Be a man, damn it, David just fucking kill me. I will never be your god-damned slave!”
“Pity, Olivia would be quite upset if I killed her mother.”
She froze, staring at him. “Y-You have Olivia?”
David nodded and released the last of the chains.
“Yes, I had to buy her at the auction.”
Deb slumped to the ground, staring at him in shock. “W-Why?”
David held out his hand.
“Because I'm not a monster, Miss Timber. And I will keep saying it until you finally believe me.”
She grunted as he pulled her to her feet. She swayed and he slipped his arm around her waist. As soon as she steadied herself, she stepped back to stare at him.
“Y-You really have her?”
“Yes, in the taxi out front.”
She toyed with the collar around her neck. “I'm a slave now, aren't I? That is how you got me out?”
“Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't know a better way.”
Deborah glared at him, “You are a monster, David.”
“I know, Miss Timber.”
She grabbed him tightly, hugging him as she cried. “But, one I might like.”
“Good, because I have plans for you.”
He led her outside of the cells. He offered her a hand out, but she walked in front of him, proudly as she could while naked and collared. The door opened as she strode past the sheriff and Carlos and out the front door.
Carlos whistled. “She had pride, señor.”
David chuckled and followed her outside. As soon as Deborah saw her daughter in the back seat, she ran forward. Fingers clawed at the door as they both stumbled with the door. It cracked open as Deb threw herself into the car, hugging her daughter as they started to cry together. David watched the two naked women in the car, happy to see them together.
Carlos stood next to him.
“You proved yourself in her eyes.”
“Maybe, but I have a question. Is Lauren still alive?”
“Zorro will enjoy her for many months before he kills her.”
“Can I buy her?”
“No, señor. Zorro has much money and he owns many lives. He takes great joy in having the lives of everyone in this town in his fingers. And knowing he could crush you and her mother by keeping her will just give him even more joy.”
“Damn. I wish Victor was here, he could help me.”
Carlos shrugged. “One cannot always depend on others.”
David smiled and turned to him. “Are you sure? I depend on you.”
“I'm only helping a good man, señor, nothing more.”
He sighed. “Damn it. I need to finish this.”
Carlos spoke softly and curiously.
“You are going to rescue the other girl?”
David smiled. “What do you think?”
“I think you will succeed, but I wish I knew how to help you.”
Patting the old man on the shoulder, David chuckled bitterly, “You helped me so much, but I feel by the end of the day, you'll be very important to me.”
“Anything, señor.”
“Get me a meeting with Zorro?”
“That would not be wise.”
“Okay, a safe meeting with Zorro.”
Carlos shook his head. “You would need an army to be safe with him. He is very well armed and owns a small army of slaves. Armed slaves.”
David stared at Carlos. “A meeting, please?”
The older man nodded.
“I will.”