CHAPTER 1
WHICH BITCH IS WHICH?
Heather Valentine yawned herself awake and rolled onto her back in her king sized waterbed. She sighed in relief knowing she finally had the day off--the next few days, in fact. After a week of hell at the hotel where she worked in the sales office, she was ready for a weekend of R&R.
She became aware of the muted clicks of a keyboard outside her closed bedroom door. Her roommate and good friend, Cristel Palmer, was already up and on their computer. Heather only used the computer herself to do the work she occasionally brought home. Most of the time Cristel was on the internet, playing and chatting with her numerous buddies.
Heather got out of bed and wrapped her red satin robe around her lithe naked form. She always slept in the nude. She loved the feel of her satin sheets against her skin. She trudged over to her dresser and ran a brush through her tousled dark red hair. Her dark sapphire blue eyes twinkled as she looked herself over. Her five foot seven, willowy frame had curves in all the right places. She was proud of her trim, firm body and glad she was blessed with such amazing beauty.
Heather walked out into the living room where Cristel sat at the computer and noted the faint scent of arousal. Sex. She looked at her roommate.
"Hi, Cris."
Cristel quickly minimized every window on the screen before turning to look at Heather.
"Hey," she responded.
Heather took in Cristel's flushed face and knew her friend had been in the middle of a hot and heavy session of cybersex.
"Chatting again?" Heather teased, chuckling as Cristel's face turned even redder.
"Something like that," she muttered. "Are you leaving soon?"
"Why? Anxious to get rid of me?"
"No. I just..."
Heather laughed. "Richard's taking me to a matinee."
Cristel raised an eyebrow. "Why not wait till tonight?"
"He's got to work. So, I have another fun evening with a good book," Heather said.
"You should come out with me. You'd have fun."
Heather shook her head. "I don't think so. You know I can't stand karaoke."
"Well, okay. Whatever," Cristel said and shrugged. There was a dinging noise from the computer, signaling that Cristel's buddy had sent another message. Cristel didn't move.
"Well," said Heather, trying to fill in the silence as they stared at each other, "I'm going to go jump in the shower and get ready. I didn't realize I slept so late."
Cristel nodded. "Have fun. I'll probably be gone when you get out. Cory is picking me up soon and we're going ... somewhere."
Heather laughed. "Oh, that sounds interesting."
She grinned. "With Cory you never know what to expect."
"That is so true. Anyway, have a good time. See you tomorrow."
Cristel smiled. "Maybe."
"You are so naughty, Cris."
"Tell me something I don't know."
Heather laughed and continued on her way to the bathroom. She changed her mind about the shower and decided to take a bath instead. Who cared if she and Richard didn't make it to the show? They could always have their own show in her bedroom. The possibilities were endless.
Later that night, after the movie and a fantastic roll in the hay, Heather was curled up on the couch, flipping through the channels. She finally decided on MTV, finding nothing but murders and violence on every other channel. She thought briefly about Cristel's offer to join her out on the town but decided against it. Karaoke just wasn't her thing. Besides, she didn't like some of Cristel's other friends and she knew they didn't like her.
"Oh, well. Might as well get back to Romeo," she said and picked up her Harlequin romance. She quickly forgot about the TV as she became immersed in the world of make believe the author had spun in the novel.
She had no idea how long it was before she became aware of a scraping sound, accompanied by thumps. She looked around, thinking it was the wind, but the sounds continued.
"You home already?" she called out, thinking Cristel had returned early. There was no response. She got up and headed for the door. If Cristel was getting sick in the hall again, she'd just have to clean it up herself this time. "Hey? Did you overdo it again?"
As she turned the corner to the short hallway leading to the door, she froze. Two men loomed in front of her. One was tall, broad-shouldered and muscular. The other was slender, wiry. They were both dressed in black, complete with gloves and ski masks. The whites of their eyes seemed to bulge from behind their knit masks when Heather appeared.
She absorbed the scene in a split second. Her mouth flew open. "Wh-?"
The smaller man moved first. He was fast, almost a blur, his motion looking like something out of a martial arts movie. He was all over her before she could finish a single syllable. He stunned her with a single blow, then grasped her right arm, twisting it painfully behind her.
Somehow the hold completely paralyzed her. She blinked back tears from the sudden pain and loss of control, as the larger man approached. Heather kept telling herself to move, fight, but her muscles wouldn't respond. She stared in disbelief as the second man pulled a large, squishy ball from his pocket and began forcing it into her mouth.
"No!" she finally managed to shout, just as the spongy sphere slipped past her lips, expanding to fill her cheeks. She felt her eyes bulge as she struggled to suppress her gagging reflex. The bigger man immediately began circling her head with medical wrap. It was obviously meant to prevent her from spitting the ball out, even though such a feat seemed impossible, the way it swelled up in her mouth.
After the elastic wrap ran out, the man took a roll of duct tape and began sealing her mouth shut even more completely, with several layers of tape over the medical wrap.
All the while, the smaller man held her helpless. Whenever she tried to struggle, he twisted her wrist in a way that caused incredible pain.
When they were done gagging her, they set about binding her limbs. The smaller man stepped aside, allowing the larger one access to her wrists, which were quickly immobilized with the duct tape. More tape was applied to her elbows, drawing her arms painfully close together behind her.
Moments later, the smaller man let her go and she stood gaping at her attackers, sucking air though her nostrils. Blind fear constricted her chest. She couldn't seem to catch her breath.
)
