Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (16 page)

I
need to call Julianne.
After
three rings, a voice she recognized answered, but it wasn't Julianne.
“Cade? Where's Julianne?”

“Jules
is sick babe. She's got some super flu or some shit. Listen...”
Cade held the phone out and Morgan could hear her her boss coughing.

“Oh
no! Is she alright?”

“Yeah,
I think she'll be fine, won't ya Jules? She's been puking and has a
fever of a hundred and four. You know her, it's hard to get her to
sit still, but Dennis and I are keeping her inside,” Cade
laughed, but Morgan knew it must be serious if they were taking care
of her.

“Anyway,
what's up?”

“Uhm..”
Shit.
She's sick, I can't burden her with my little drama. I'm fine...why
am I even calling her?
“I
just wanted to check in with her, let her know I arrived alright.”
She heard Cade relay the message and Julianne's reply came through
with a coughing reply saying that she was glad. “Take care of
her, alright. I have to go. Bye, Cade!” Morgan hung up without
waiting for a reply. She didn't want to risk anymore questions that
might lead to her boss worrying in her condition.

Morgan
held her phone in her lap, thinking of who she might call next, when
a mass of male laughter invaded the small lounge. She turned her
head toward the front door and saw her client, as well as three other
men, walking through.

“There
she is! You've saved me the trouble of going upstairs to bring you
down for a drink!” Carlos was smiling as he approached her,
and she was grateful for the better mood that he apparently was in.
She smiled in return and stood to meet him in the middle of the room.
“No, sit! We'll join you in just a moment.” He put his
hand out in her direction, indicating that she should stay at the
small table and wait for him. She nodded and took a small sip as
she watched them approach the bar and yell for Nadia.

Morgan's
new friend behind the bar rushed out and poured drinks for the four
men, not even asking what they wanted. It was pretty clear that the
little pack were regulars, and after talking to Nadia, it was also
pretty clear to Morgan what they were regulars at the shabby hotel.
She watched as they drank, and drank, and after an hour, Morgan was
too restless and bored to stay seated in the hard wooden chair any
longer.

“Can
I get a soda?” She slid into the farthest bar stool away from
the loud group, and mouthed her request to the girl. With a quick
nod, she brought Morgan's drink and leaned against the bar a few feet
away. Nadia held a small white towel close to her mouth as she gave
Morgan some parting advice.

“Leave.
They're drinking way too much, get out of here as soon as you can.”
She put the towel down and starting wiping the counter as she
nervously looked over toward the chattering men. The way she said
it, and the fear that she could see in her eyes, struck a nerve in
Morgan that shot fear through her entire body.

Shit!
Morgan
scanned the room and saw that the only way to the stairs was to walk
right behind Carlos and his friends. If the elevator had been
working, she might have been able to sneak on without them seeing
her, but she knew that it was still out of order.
I
need to get my shit out of the room....my passport....my clothes..

“Come
here!” Carlos looked in her direction and yelled across the
room, his cheerful tone was replaced by something else, something
much more demanding. She stayed seated on the small bar stool, not
knowing what move she should make. “Did you not hear me? Come
here!” His smile had completely vanished as he motioned
quickly with his hand for her to join them.

“Uh,
sure.” She stood slowly then walked across the room, looking
back at Nadia on occasion for support. Nadia looked back, the look
of fear was still on her face, but put her attention back to cleaning
the bar. By the time she reached the group, Carlos wasn't pleased
with how long the short journey across the bar had taken.

He
put his hand on her ass and pulled her toward him, the smell of
alcohol was so strong that she had to fight the need to move her face
away from his direction. “I've never paid so much for a whore
before, I hope she's better than the sluts around here.” His
buddies laughed as he pressed his lips hard against hers. When he
pulled away, he also announced that he had a taste of her the night
before, and so far, she hadn't lived up to the price tag that it took
to get her there.

“That's
enough!” Morgan pulled away and pushed at his chest at the
same time, breaking free from Carlos. “I'm leaving!”
She spun on her heels but got no further than a few steps when the
shortest guy in the group grabbed her around the waist. His round
stomach rubbed against her back as he pulled her back to the center
of the now circle of men.

“Ah,
a fighter! That's exactly what we were looking for, Morgan.”
Carlos ran his finger along her face, laughing as she struggled
against the strength of the squat man that held her captive. “The
more you resist, the more we'll enjoy you.” His
tender
touch repulsed her and she jerked her head away from his hand. She
hadn't even had a chance to look back in his direction when his open
hand came down across her pink cheek in a hit that literally shook
the teeth in her mouth.

“Fuck
you!” She took only a second to register the searing pain from
her face before sending one frantic kick after another in every
direction. “Let...me....go!” She fought with all of her
might, and with the last bit of her effort, she broke free from the
fat man's arms and fell to the floor in the middle of the small
group. Morgan crawled as quickly as she could through Carlos' legs
and just missed his hands grabbing her foot as she moved behind the
bar. She looked up at Nadia who had been frozen in fear, and
mouthed, “please, get my things.” A slight nod from the
girl, so slight that Morgan wasn't even sure if she saw it, was
exchanged before Nadia ran from behind the bar and out through the
back.

When
Morgan found her footing, she stood and grabbed the first bottle that
she found behind that rickety counter, and held it up as she faced
Carlos again. He was still on the other side, as well as the other
men, and he smiled at her as if she were a child with a toy guy.
With ease, he jumped the bar and took the bottle from her hand.

“Morgan,
save your fight for the room.” He picked her up by the waist
and began hoisting her over the bar to his friend. She kicked again,
that time, making direct contact to one of their faces. Blood poured
from his nose as he cursed her and grabbed for her foot with no
success. “That's it! Fight!” Carlos laughed and then
literally threw her across the bar and into a wooden table on the
other side. She fell to the floor after hitting the table top, and
grabbed her side as a horrific sharp pain filled the area.

The
man with the bloody face picked her up and held her in front of him
by her sweater. “Fucking bitch!” His backhand landed
square on her nose, then his follow up slap hit its target of her
mouth which was open at the time in mid scream. Her tooth cut into
her lower lip on contact, and her nose poured blood just as her
assailant's had earlier. “Ya like that? Do ya?” He
shook her hard and her head flew frontwards and back as he laughed at
the tears that were flowing from her terrified eyes.

“Let
go of her!” All eyes turned to the small voice to their right,
and saw a very serious Nadia who was pointing a gun at the men.
“I'll kill you all. Let. Her. Go.” The men looked
toward one another, then Carlos nodded for them to let her go and
step back. “Morgan, let's go.” She kept her eyes on the
men as she waited for Morgan to get to her side. When she was close
enough, Nadia put one arm around her and helped her walk out of the
hotel, backwards, never taking her gaze from the men. “Get
in.” Morgan's hero pushed her into the awaiting cab, then
quickly climbed in next to her. “Go!” She yelled at the
driver and they sped from the hotel, and away from the nightmare that
Morgan still couldn't comprehend.

Neither
girl turned around when they heard Carlos screaming from the front
door of the hotel. “I'll find you! And I'll fucking kill you!
You belong to me!”

Chapter
Four

“Oh
my God!” Morgan clasped her hands over her chest to stop her
heart from breaking through. “Nadia, I'm..I'm so sorry, thank
y...”

“No,
don't thank me. You would have been dead by morning, or at least
wished you were. I've only seen him bring in the whole group like
that once and the girl...never mind...are you okay?” Nadia put
her hand on Morgan's back, and the emotions and adrenaline finally
caught up with the young girl.

Morgan
nodded, then the tears fell harder than ever. She was in shock, she
was in pain, she was angry, but most of all, she blamed herself. “I
shouldn't have been so stupid. I shouldn't have thought that I could
do it. I...I didn't mean to put you in that situation. I'm sorry,”
she said again. The blood was still streaming from Morgan's nose and
it had run all the way to her shirt, leaving crimson stains it its
wake. When she looked down at the mess, she actually laughed. “This
was my favorite fucking sweater!” Her hysterics of crying and
laughter brought attention to the white hot pain at her side. Her
ribs didn't feel broken, but she knew they were probably badly
bruised. “Dammit! Why was I so stupid!?”
“Morgan,
no! Don't you dare blame yourself. They're sick men! Like my mother
said to me, let the good things define you, learn from the bad.
They're bad, Morgan...just sick...bad...bastards!” Nadia pulled
a bandana out of her purse and handed it to Morgan. For the tears,
for the blood, it didn't matter. Morgan was shaking so badly, she
couldn't address either. Instead, her head fell to her lap and she
silently cried. “Do you want to go to the hospital?”
Nadia had already told the cab driver to head to the airport, at
Morgan's request, but she looked as if she needed checked out.

It
was then that Morgan sat up, and shook her head in a frantic motion.
“No, no....I can't...I'm fine, Nadia, really. I have to go, I
need to go to the airport. I have to get out of here.” Neither
of them said another word until they arrived at the Lisbon airport.
Morgan grabbed her bags, Nadia grabbed her one small bag and purse,
and the two of them headed inside.

“What
the fuck are you looking at!?” Nadia yelled as they entered the
front doors. Everyone in the lobby was staring at Morgan. Blood had
streamed from both nostrils, down her chin and all the way to her
bellybutton. Her eyes had already began to blacken and there was
still a defined, dark red, imprint of a hand to the side of her face.
Her side hurt more than anything, but she tried to walk as straight
as possible. The gawkers turned around and went back to their
business and Nadia directed Morgan to the restroom. “Let's get
you cleaned up...”

“Where
are you going to go?” Morgan whispered as Nadia let warm water
stream over the bandana. The girl brought the cloth up to Morgan's
face and began dabbing away the evidence before she answered.

“Well,
I can't go back,” she actually smiled. It had felt good for the
young woman to finally have given the worthless fucks a deal at their
own game. “Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.”

“No,
you can't stay here,” Morgan took the red handkerchief away
from Nadia and turned to face the mirror to clean off the rest. When
she saw herself in the mirror, the tears began again. She poked her
swollen lip, then winced when it throbbed in response. The inside had
been cut pretty bad, but that part she could hide. It was the
bruising on her face that was another story.

“I
don't have the mon...I...I'll go stay with my aunt.” Nadia
smiled again, a weak smile that was filled with sadness.

Morgan
gathered her composure and finished cleaning the last bit of blood
from in between her cleavage. “That would be fine if you had an
aunt. Do you have a passport?”

Nadia's
face lit up with hope for a moment, but the sadness returned. Morgan
knew that the girl didn't have the means to travel, but she at least
needed to know whether she was booking a room in a local hotel or if
she were going to get the girl as far as she could from Portugal.
Nadia nodded slowly, but then she admitted it wouldn't do any good.
“I have a passport...I...I used to go see my grandmother in the
states, but my dad hasn't allowed me to see her for years. And..well,
I don't have the money except for a night or two in a hotel.”