Illeanna (8 page)

* * * *

“So am I staying the night or was I just a cover story to get them to give you some space?” Mikayla asked as they cleaned up the ice cream bowls. Illeanna looked at the clock and saw that it was midnight.

“I’m fine to be here alone. I need the breather. They have been all over me, demanding to carry me around, to wait on me hand and foot. I can’t even walk across the room without one of them intervening.”

Mikayla shook her head and made a pouty face. “Oh you poor thing. It must be terrible having five sexy heartthrobs fussing over little ole’ you,” Mikayla teased. Illeanna threw a pillow at her sister, and they laughed.

“So did you sleep with any of them yet?”

“Mikayla, you asked this the moment they left, and I told you no.”

“Well damn, woman, they looked so hungry when I walked in and it was like I walked into something. What was going on exactly?”

Illeanna explained about what she did with Julien and Louis and then Julien and then Johnny and of course what Johnny said to her.

Mikayla whistled.

“They want you, honey. They all want a piece of you and have for years. Why not go for it?”

“Oh God, Mikayla, you’re not supposed to tell your sister to go have an orgy with five men.”

“First of all haven’t you heard anything Angelique has told us about ménage relationships? I mean damn, girl, our sister is living the life. She is so incredibly happy I’m green with envy. Now here you are in a similar situation with five great men who obviously adore you, and you’re all like what should I do? Explore it with them. You know that you’re attracted to them. You even said that you haven’t had sex since Louis. That tells me a lot right there. Plus, it’s not like ménage relationships aren’t common where we live. Look around town, honey, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t know, Mikayla. You don’t understand what it’s like when they kiss me or when one of them touches me. I lose all focus, all self-control, and feel like I’m in a haze.”

“You feel that way from their touch and kisses alone?”

Illeanna nodded.

“Then just imagine how the sex is going to be. You like them. You care for each of them individually?”

“Yes, but they come as a package. How can I care for them individually but also as one?”

“That’s something you all are going to have to learn to do by doing. Maybe you should call Angelique? See if she has some useful insight into your questions. Better yet, try talking things out with the Boudoux. Maybe they have a better understanding or way of explaining what exactly they expect and want with this relationship.”

Illeanna thought about that a moment.

“You’re right. I’ve fought them tooth and nail on this because of my fears and haven’t given them time to explain exactly what they expect from me. It’s so damn different. ”

“Talk to them tomorrow. See what they have to say. Just give them the chance that Johnny had asked for.”

Illeanna hugged her sister.

“I’ll stay anyway. I really don’t feel like driving now. It’s late.”

“Yeah and one of the Boudoux is probably watching the house. The second you leave someone will come in.”

Mikayla laughed as she rose from the couch and began locking the doors.

* * * *

Illeanna showered, dried her hair, and changed into a thigh-length cotton V-neck T-shirt and a pair of cotton panties. She searched in the dark for her shorts, coming up empty and feeling too tired. She got right into bed instead. Pulling the covers up, she closed her eyes and thought about the guys. She tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, the silence telling her that she had been such a fool. She was practically in love with the men already. They had shown nothing but concern, protection, and compassion to her, so why was she determined to fight it? The answer came to her mind immediately. She was scared. Scared to share her life, her emotions, and to show weakness.

She didn’t need to speak to a counselor that the fear stemmed from her upbringing or rather lack of. Her father had destroyed any hopes of a bright future, leaving their mother to tend to five girls. Her mom had begged their father to return and help to raise them. Their father came back and their parents seemed as if they would work out the problems in their relationship. The night they’d ventured out together in their car was the last night any of the Aubert sisters would see their parents. The car accident killed them both. They were forced to raise themselves. They faced hard times, debt, and bitterness that could have destroyed any hope of a future. Cherise Laveau had steered them straight whenever they began to wander toward danger. Others in the community helped as well, but mostly they worked together. She thought about her sisters. They were getting older. The time to begin their separate lives was beginning to happen. It didn’t mean that they would lose one another. In fact if she had it her way, getting involved with a man, or in her case men, would mean an expansion of the family. It was their time and their turn to find love and to succeed.

She smiled as the revelation brought her a new understanding and sort of acceptance of the men. They wanted her. Johnny and Julien told her so, and the others looked on in agreement. They wanted her, she repeated to herself as she snuggled lower under the sheets. Before long she was sound asleep.

* * * *

It was too late when she realized that she was no longer dreaming but actually being restrained for real. Her eyes popped open just as her attacker taped her mouth closed and began to tie rope tightly around her wrists. It was painful and burned as she squirmed for release and tried to scream.

“Make a sound and your sister dies, too,” the masked man whispered, and immediately Illeanna thought about Mikayla. She wouldn’t let anything happen to her sister. The fear gripped her insides, and she began to shake. What the hell was happening? Who was this guy and what did he want?

He yanked on the ropes to ensure that she was indeed bound, and she felt the circulation stop flowing. He was large and thick, a bit on the heavy side, and had dark eyes. She could see them through the slits in the mask he wore but it was too dark to make out the color of them.

She shook her head and wiggled her legs trying to get free. He slammed an elbow down against her stomach, causing her to lose her breath and cry against the tape in pain. Tears streamed down her face, and fear like nothing she ever felt before filled her body.

“You got a nice body, Illeanna. I may have to fuck you before I slit your throat,” he whispered as he ran his hands along her thigh then over her breast, grabbing it roughly.

“Oh yeah, you got the goods. I can see why those cops are always sniffing around. You fucking them all, slut?” he growled at her then roughly released her breast to grab her neck. She struggled against the bindings for release, but it was no use. The tears poured from her eyes, and she pleaded with her eyes for him to stop. His hold on her throat was so tight she could hardly breathe. He was going to strangle her and kill her. She thought of Mikayla and feared for her sister’s life. Just as she felt like she couldn’t breathe any longer he released his hold.

With the tape muffling normal intakes of breath she breathed rapidly through her nose. The sound echoed through the room.

He stared at her, seemingly amused by her inability to breathe properly. Then he looked her body over, and the fear increased. Her body tightened, knowing that she was half naked and now bound by a masked man prepared to kill her.

“I changed my mind. Instead of killing you like they want me to, I’m taking you with me.”

He pulled her up and against him and began dragging her through her bedroom. She let her legs hang, and he threw her to the rug. He grabbed a fistful of her shirt, ripping it in the death grip he held as he shook her. “You move or I will kill you right here and then your sister.”

She struggled to get up, and he struck her in the cheek. She raised her tied wrists to stop the second blow, and he kicked her in the ribs and then her thighs.

She wished for Johnny, Louis, Gustave, Julien, or Franco to come, and she prayed that Mikayla wouldn’t get hurt because of her.

She felt defeated and in pain. She was so scared that every inch of her shook, but she couldn’t let him get to Mikayla.

“Get up, bitch,” he growled low, spittle hitting her face. She complied, feeling her muscles against her thighs spasm from the strikes they took. Her ribs ached, but she was determined to keep this guy away from Mikayla.

* * * *

Mikayla awoke with a start. She thought she heard a noise, and then there was silence. She couldn’t go back to sleep, so she got up and thought she would check on Illeanna. That’s when she heard a scuffle and someone talking. At first she thought it was one of the Boudoux. That maybe they snuck in to fool around with Illeanna. They also gave Illeanna time to think about what they wanted. Her gut clenched with fear. Something was wrong.

She looked around for some kind of weapon, hoping that Illeanna still kept her guns hidden in all the same places. There were five that she knew of, and one was in the kitchen.

She flipped open her cell phone and called the police. She informed them that she wasn’t sure if something was wrong or not but she heard noises and she was loading a gun. She disconnected the call, checked the gun for bullets, and took off the safety. If this was a false alarm, she was going to need a long stiff drink when it was over.

Slowly she walked toward Illeanna’s bedroom.

* * * *

He pulled her out the back patio doors and down the hill near the side of the house. There was a long stretch of wooded area before the side road. Apparently that’s where his vehicle was. She had trouble breathing with the tape tight against her mouth. Her nose was running and tears were streaming down her face. She was terrified.

Illeanna felt the rocks and branches crack under her bare feet, eliciting cries of pain as her ankle ached. She wasn’t that far from the back of the house when he turned her around to face him.

“You and me gonna party first and then you die,” he whispered as he held the blade against the V of the T-shirt and the cleavage of her chest. He cut the material, revealing more of her breasts.

“Fuck, woman, you got a set on you. I may have to pull over and fuck you before we’re out of this shit town.” He grabbed her around the waist and hurried her along the way until he reached a car. In a flash he opened the trunk, and she panicked as she tried to fight him from tossing her inside. He struck her again and again, making her keel over in pain before he shoved her against the edge of the bumper. She tried to fight him off, but he was much stronger. He lifted her, tossing her inside as if she were a sack of potatoes, then closed the trunk.

She was going to die. She cried out repeatedly, feeling herself lose her breath as the fear overtook her. It was pitch dark. Her wrists were tied to the point where she couldn’t feel her fingers. Then she heard noises.

* * * *

As soon as the call came in, Johnny and his brothers rushed to Illeanna’s. They hoped that Mikayla and Illeanna weren’t in danger. They were in police mode as they quickly approached the house on foot and spread out. Johnny took the front door, gun raised and prepared to kill the son of a bitch that entered the house to hurt his woman. Franco took the side door as Louis and Julien split up, taking either side of the house, and Gustave expanded out a little further toward the side dirt road that led toward the water and boat launch.

He caught sight of Mikayla just as she began to exit through the slider doors in Illeanna’s bedroom.

“Mikayla!” He called out in a strong whisper, not too loud but enough for her to halt and turn toward him. She had her gun by her side, then nodded her head quietly toward the open doorway indicating to go that way. Before he made it through the doors and onto the patio and staircase, he heard the gunshot.

* * * *

It felt as if minutes had passed and time stood still, yet the car never started and it never moved. She heard a gunshot and stilled inside the trunk. She kicked at the trunk with the last bit of energy she had left when suddenly she heard yelling, and then the trunk yanked open.

Flashlights illuminated her face, and she couldn’t see who was there. She kicked and screamed against her restraints as strong arms scooped her up, and familiar voices echoed around her.

“I got you, sugar. Oh God, we got you and you’re safe,” Gustave stated, and she cried out hysterically as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She didn’t care about the pain anymore. She was alive. She was safe and in Gustave’s arms.

* * * *

Gustave held her tight, relieved that she was alive and that they weren’t too late. Louis softly removed the tape from her mouth, and the second it was off Illeanna cried harder, taking deep breaths. His brothers gathered around them, and Mikayla passed a blanket to them to place over Illeanna.

“Is she okay? Oh God, is she all right?” Mikayla cried, and Louis pulled her next to him and held her.

“We should get her inside so we can check her over for injuries,” Franco stated as he placed his hand on Illeanna’s shoulder. She jumped and clung tighter to Gustave.

Franco pulled his hand away and looked at his brothers.

“She’s scared and probably in shock,” Julien offered as they followed Gustave and Illeanna into the house.