Stealing Candy Page 3

  Bullet relaxed his facial muscles. His eyes brightened. He liked hearing that she loved him.

  “I really love you,” she repeated. Her survival depended on him believing her.

  Then his eyes suddenly went cold. “If you love me so much, why you run off without even considering the amount of time I could get on some bogus kidnapping charges.”

  “I wasn’t trying to get you in trouble. I was scared, Bullet. You kept hitting me. I was afraid for my life. ”

  “All bitches gotta get they ass whooped sometimes. Damn, I wasn’t trying to kill you. You ain’t no good to me if yo’ ass is dead.”

  “I was scared of getting another beating.”

  Bullet threw his head back in disgust. “I gotta beat yo’ ass. That’s how the game goes.”

  “I’m not used to that, Bullet. My parents don’t believe in corporal punishment.”

  “They don’t believe in what?” Bullet’s vocabulary was limited.

  “Hitting children,” she clarified.

  Bullet nodded reflectively. “Oh. So that’s yo’ problem? You a lil’ rich girl, used to having everything handed to you on a silver platter.” His expression changed from thoughtful to mean and dangerous.

  Gianna was sorry that she’d spoken.

  “I see that I got a lot a work ahead of me. I’ma break yo’ spoiled, stuck-up ass. I’ma stay whippin’ that ass so good, you gon’ forget you ever had any parents.”

  Images of her mother and father sped through her mind. The last time she’d seen them together had not been a happy time. Her parents’ pending divorce was bitter, inciting them to shouting matches and name-calling, each threatening to file for full custody of Gianna.

  “What’s your daddy’s name?” Bullet demanded.

  “Andrew Str…”

  BAM! Bullet’s knuckles collided with the side of her head. “What I tell you about disagreeing with me. Yo’ daddy’s name ain’t no Andrew. What’s yo’ daddy’s name?”

  “Bullet. My daddy’s name is Bullet,” she uttered, fighting back the tears that would incite him to do more violence.

  He brought the knife close to her face. “I own you, bitch. What I gotta do to make you understand that? Do I have to carve my name in your muthafuckin’ face?”

  Gianna cringed at the sight of the blade. “I won’t run away anymore.”

  “I need some money, bitch, and that shit you pulled done put me in another setback.”

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

  “Fuck being sorry. We need some money to move. We gotta get out of this ’hood. All I need is for one of those mufuckers on that bus to decide they wanna be a hero.” His eyes went dull and deadly. “I can’t believe you gave out your government name.” Bullet poked the tip of the knife into Gianna’s cheek.

  She shook with fear. “I won’t do it again.” She thought telling him that she loved him would lessen his anger, but he was now raging mad.

  He brought the knife up higher and pricked the skin beneath her blackened eye. “You think you could still make me some money with only one eye?”

  “Um, um, um…” Terror made her shudder. Gianna was at a loss for words. She had no idea what Bullet wanted her to say.

  “I don’t know how much a one-eyed hooker can make. But I bet tricks will be willing to spend a grip to fuck you in that empty eye socket.” He laughed. “A horny trick will fuck anything. Trust me.” Bullet glared at the shivering girl. “After all the work I put in, your head game still ain’t right.”

  “I’ll do better.” The words came out in high-pitched anguish.

  “Shut the fuck up.” He stuck the tip of the knife in a little deeper, hushing her. “That empty eye socket probably would make a good fuck hole.”

  Gianna’s teeth began to chatter. Bullet had proven himself to be brutal enough to remove her eyeball without remorse. Her mind went on overdrive, trying to figure out a way to break free before the lunatic poked his knife into the swelling skin beneath her eyeball.

  “You gon’ run away again?”

  “No!”

  “Try it and we gon’ find out how much money a one-eyed ho can bring in.”

  “I won’t run away again. I promise, Bullet,” she said, her voice shaky.

  Bullet withdrew the knife. “Peep this, ho. If I tell you the sky is dog-shit brown, whatchu ’spose to say?”

  “The sky is dog-shit brown,” she agreed.

  “Who is Gianna Strand?”

  “I don’t know her. I’ve never heard of anyone by that name.” She shook her head, adamant.

  “Uh-huh,” he said doubtfully. “So, what’s your muthafuckin’ name, then?”

  “My name is Lollipop.”

  “Why you go by that name?”

  Bullet was quizzing her. She took a deep breath and launched into the recitation that he’d taught her. “My head game is tight; trick with me and I’ll suck you off like your dick is a sweet-ass lollipop.” Her tongue darted out to lick her lips provocatively, the way Bullet had taught her to. Her lips were sore from all the training she’d been put through. She winced when her tongue flicked against her chaffed skin.

  Bullet gave a derisive snort. “How the fuck you ’spect somebody to believe you give good brain if you gon’ be flinching and shit every time you lick your lips?”

  “I’m sorry. I won’t flinch.”

  Bullet sucked his teeth. “If you really had your head game right, I’d be stacking some loot by now.” He loosened the string in the front of his nylon shorts. “I’ma give you one more chance to get back in my good graces.” He lowered the elastic waistband. “Show your man some love.”

  Dutifully, Gianna dropped to her knees and took his thick erection inside her palm. It pained her to stretch her mouth open, but she stretched it wide to accommodate Bullet’s large size.

  He scowled down at her and then smacked the top of her head. “Watch your grille. Don’t be scraping up and mangling my shit up with those sharp-ass teeth you got.”

  She nodded and commenced to pleasing him. Performing oral sex on this man she hated was disgusting, but giving head was preferable to getting punched around or having an eye poked out.

  Besides, she wouldn’t be held hostage much longer. Everyone on the bus knew her name. Surely one of those passengers would have the common decency to call the police.

  As she pulled Bullet’s thick erection in and out of her mouth, she ignored her pained lips. It was only a matter of time before she was rescued. She imagined bloodhounds sniffing out the area and tracking her scent. She sucked passionately as she envisioned a SWAT team, equipped with specialized weapons, breaking down the front door and pointing assault rifles and machine guns at Bullet’s head.

  “It’s smelly in here.”

  “It’s cool, man. Stop trippin’.”

  “I don’t wanna be in no abandoned house. Why couldn’t you bring the ho out to my car?”

  “She’s young and wild. I’m still training her.”

  “Oh, yeah?” the male voice said, his interest piqued.

  “Am I her first, uh, customer?”

  “Yup, you ’bout to pop a sweet, young-ass cherry.”

  “She’s a virgin?”

  “Yeah, man. You ain’t gon’ get a better price than I’m giving you.”

  Gianna moaned in distress as she listened to Bullet’s lies. The man named Jimmy had stolen her virginity and Bullet’s fuck and suck lessons had ensured that her vagina was no longer tight.

  The SWAT team hadn’t arrived. From the bathroom, where she lay in the tub naked with her wrists tied to the faucet, she heard the sex transaction taking place. After her escape attempt, Bullet said it would be a snowy day in hell before he’d allow her the privilege of walking freely about.

  She hoped that she wouldn’t be expected to demonstrate her oral skills. Her lips ached and felt bruised from working extra hard on her head game.

  The bathroom door opened. Bullet entered with a short man who was pale, an obvious albino who r
eeked of liquor. Bullet gestured toward Gianna. “That’s Lollipop, man.” He glared at Gianna. “Show some manners. Say hi to my man, Whitey.”

  “Hi, Whitey,” Gianna murmured.

  “My name ain’t Whitey,” the albino muttered, offended.

  “My bad, man. Look here, Lollipop is something special,” he said, beaming proudly, attempting to get the albino in a better mood. “She’s worth a lot more than forty dollars, man. But due to our surroundings and everything, I’m letting you have her cheap.”

  The albino took in an eyeful of Gianna’s youthful nudity. “Why you got her all tied up like that?”

  “That young ho got devious ways. She can’t be trusted. She be tryna get frisky all the time and I ain’t with that, so I keep that ass on lock. Y’ah mean?”

  “I…I…don’t know. I think I changed my mind—”

  “Fuck that. I’m not giving you no money back.” Bullet’s body language was confrontational, as though he was prepared to physically fight the albino over the forty dollars.

  “I mean…I don’t know if I want to have regular sex with this girl.”

  “You want something extra…you gotta come outta pocket,” Bullet said firmly.

  Visibly excited and apparently willing to forgive being called “Whitey,” the man said excitedly, “Can I speak to you in private?”

  Bullet and the drunken albino exited the bathroom.

  Gianna couldn’t begin to imagine what the pasty-faced man wanted to do to her. The bathroom door burst open. The albino reentered the bathroom alone. Bound and helpless, all she could do was close her eyes.

  Bullet hadn’t accompanied the albino man. Struck with an idea, Gianna’s eyes popped open. Perhaps she could talk him into helping her escape. She would explain that she’d lied about her age when she first met Bullet, pretending to be sixteen. If the albino knew her true age, maybe he’d have a heart and call her mother.

  “I’m only fifteen,” she confessed. “And he lied to you. You’re not my first. He let a man named Jimmy have sex with me.” Expecting the albino to be outraged at Bullet’s deceit, Gianna waited for him to conspire against Bullet and help her escape.

  “You’re still young and tender. I don’t mind being your second john.”

  She tried another tactic. “Can you please untie me?” she whispered meekly, yanking on the two tightly tied bandanas that bound her to the rusty faucet.

  “Lookin’ at you all tied up and everything is making me horny,” he said, turning a deaf ear to her plea.

  Appalled, she watched him squeeze his crotch. “Mister, please. You have to help me. I’m just a kid.”

  The albino’s tongue darted out, moistening his lips. “Well… you got plump titties.” His eyes wandered downward. “A hairy pussy. You look woman enough for me.”

  “Listen, there’s a reward for anyone who rescues me and takes me home. My dad works on Wall Street. He’s loaded.” She didn’t know if her parents had offered a reward or not, but she assumed they were doing everything in their power to bring her back safe and sound.

  “Hush up,” the albino said, raising his voice. “Getting my money’s worth off of you is all the reward I need.”

  Panic rising, Gianna pulled at the restraints.

  Lustfully, the albino gazed at her. “Mmm,” he grunted. “All that squirming you doing is sexy, lil’ mama. But you gotta hold still. I paid extra money for you to stay tied to that faucet.”

  Quick as a flash, he opened his fly and held his opaque dick in his hand.

  The head of his dick was as disturbingly alabaster white as his face.

  “Yo’ pimp said you give good head,” he slurred.

  “He’s not my pimp. My name is Gianna Strand. He kidnapped me from—”

  With his legs pressed against the side of the tub, the pale man leaned in. He cut off Gianna’s protest, forcing his revolting white penis inside her mouth.

  CHAPTER 5

  It had started drizzling outside. The night air and raindrops felt good against her bruised skin. That small pleasure didn’t last long. Bullet shoved her into the backseat of the albino’s car.

  “I’m not comfortable with this arrangement,” the albino said, starting the motor. “I gotta think twice before I get involved in this here smuggling ring you got going on.”

  “This ain’t no smuggling ring. Lollipop is the only ho I got. She ran off from her peoples. They was abusing her. You know how that go.”

  “Why you keep her tied up?”

  “She frisky, man. After all the time and work I put in, I’d be crazy to give her too much freedom. I don’t want her running off with the first pimp who comes along and sweet-talks her panties off.” Bullet turned around and gave Gianna a cold look.

  She dropped her eyes. Her panties were in Atlantic City in the hands of a hack named Jimmy.

  The car swerved. Bullet gripped the dashboard and spat curse words. “You want me to drive, man?”

  “No, I’m good.” Cautiously, the drunken albino slowed down.

  “Aiight, so here’s what we gon’ do…You gon’ take Lollipop and me to a motel that’s close to a bar. After you get the room for us, I’ll make sure Lollipop gives you a free piece of ass.”

  “I ain’t got that kind of time.” The albino picked up speed, slipping and sliding through the damp streets. “Another blow job is all I need.”

  Another blow job! Gianna jerked her head toward the locked door. She gazed through the window, wishing she had the heart to punch out the glass and jump out.

  “You can get with her at the motel tomorrow night,” Bullet pacified. “She’ll hook you up with something special. Tell him, Lollipop.” Once again, Bullet turned around and presented a threatening grimace.

  “I’ll give you something special,” she repeated, deliberately using as few words as possible. It pained her to move her jawbone. Adding to her misery, there was an awful taste in her mouth. After the albino had finished with her, Bullet had held a sample-sized bottle of Scope to her lips, telling her that she needed to freshen up.

  It would take much more than mouthwash to rinse away the acrid film that coated her tongue. Soap and water would not make her feel clean again. Gianna was already in counseling. Over the divorce. She was mature enough to realize that she was going to need years and years of therapy to heal from this ordeal.

  Soon the drizzle of rain turned into a downpour. The drunk behind the wheel couldn’t control the car. The ride became jerky and perilous.

  “Get yourself together, Whitey!”

  “I told you not to call me that.”

  “Yo, whatever your name is…I wanna get to the motel in one piece, y’ah mean?” Bullet grumbled.

  Gianna didn’t flinch or make a sound. Engrossed in thoughts, her eyes were fixated on street signs. She was keeping track of the route they were taking, making sure she could give detailed information about her location when she got her hands on a cell phone.

  As though he’d read her mind, Bullet turned around. “Why you so quiet?”

  She shifted her gaze away from the window and gave him a guilty smile.

  “What was you looking at?”

  “Nothing. I was just daydreaming.”

  “It’s nighttime,” Bullet said sneeringly. The albino laughed and briefly lost control of the car again.

  “It’s just an expression,” Gianna explained.

  “Whatchu looking out the window for? Why you so nosey?” She squirmed. “Curiosity, I guess.”

  “Mind ya business. You know what they say about curiosity?” She nodded.

  “What they say?”

  “Curiosity killed the cat,” she muttered.

  “Right. That’s enough sightseeing.” Bullet lifted up slightly and fished a hand inside his pocket. He pulled out the same bandana that he’d used to bind her hands.

  Bullet didn’t have to give instructions. Gianna realized what he intended to do. Making it easy for him, she scooted forward, stretching out her neck, and allowing Bu
llet to blindfold her.

  Inside the motel room, Bullet removed the blindfold. Gianna’s eyes had barely adjusted to the light before Bullet said, “Go ’head, man, get yourself a freebie.” He waved a hand toward Gianna.

  Bullet clicked on the TV, and then stretched out on top of the bed. The albino signaled Gianna to follow him into the small bathroom. Desperate, she looked over her shoulder.

  Bullet frowned. “Go on, bitch. Whatchu staring at me for?”

  But she wasn’t looking at him; her eyes were scanning the dreary room, searching for a telephone, plotting on sending out a signal of distress. There was no phone inside the cheap motel room. The TV was the only amenity.

  In a hurry, the albino didn’t take long. Less than five minutes later, clamping her head tightly between his pasty white hands, he groaned as he shot his load. Trying not to gag, she rushed over to the toilet, and spit out the milky fluid. If it were Bullet’s cum inside her mouth, she would have been forced to swallow. Bullet didn’t allow her to waste his seed. Grimacing, she flushed the toilet.

  Bullet heard the flush. His voice boomed over the blaring TV. “Damn, y’all finished already?” There was irritation in his tone, as though the speedy sex transaction annoyed him.

  Zipping his pants, the albino left the bathroom. Gianna remained behind, standing at the sink, rinsing her mouth out with tap water.

  Bullet appeared in the doorway.

  “Yes?” she asked in a meek voice.

  “I gotta go out and drum up some business.” His tone implied that somehow it was her fault that he couldn’t finish watching The Jamie Foxx Show. The TV voices grew louder. He craned his neck and smiled at the antics of actors, and then turned back to Gianna, the smile gone from his face.

  “Freshen up,” he said gruffly and tossed her the same miniature bottle of mouthwash. That mouthwash, along with a few other items, were Bullet’s only possessions, part of his paltry worldly goods. A meager part of the things he’d brought home from the penitentiary.