True Meaning Of Sacrifice Ch. 02

When Tony finished with her he said, "I guess you're good enough for now, slut." He didn't give her a chance to finish dressing as he opened the door to the van. He just pushed her out with his foot and she tumbled to the ground.

She was still lying there as he drove away. She slowly finished dressing and limped to her car. When she climbed in, it became obvious that it hurt too much to sit in the seat normally. She had to maneuver awkwardly until she found a position that helped relieve the pain. She slammed down another tequila from her purse and started driving.

When Michelle arrived home, she pulled into the garage. She dragged herself out of the car and slowly made her way to the door. Tired and sore, she entered the house. She immediately hurried to the bathroom where she threw up until there was nothing left in her stomach. After resting for a while, she tried to get up the stairs, but found she couldn't make it. She limped back to the couch and fell asleep quickly, finding no relief in her dreams either.

~~~~~~~

At about 11:00AM, Stacy's phone rang. "Hello," she answered.

"Stacy, it's Mike. Michelle hasn't answered all morning and should be on her way here already. She's been acting strangely and I'm really worried. Could you please see what's going on?" Mike asked.

Stacy promised him she'd find Michelle and hung up. It took 20 minutes to make it to the couple's house. The garage door was closed, so she couldn't tell if her car was there. She parked in the driveway, and walked quickly to the front door. She rang the doorbell and saw a movement through the window. She looked closer and could see Michelle lying on the couch, still dressed in her clothes from yesterday. When she didn't get off the couch, Stacy checked the door. It was open, so she let herself in.

As she walked through the door, she asked tentatively, "Michelle, are you alright?"

Michelle's eyes fluttered open and focused on her friend. She knew there was no way to hide this. She rolled over, trying to hide her face and began sobbing.

Stacy slowly walked to the couch. When she reached her friend, she could smell the stench of dried sweat and sperm. It was all over her face, had run down her legs and was ground into her clothes.

As her behavior of the last week flashed through Stacy's head, tears appeared in her eyes. She realized that her friend must be in deep trouble. She tried to comfort the crying woman, hoping that somehow this wasn't as bad as it looked.

She called their friend Pam and asked her to pick up Mike at the hospital. Stacy told her that Michelle had injured herself but that she couldn't talk about it right now. "Just please don't tell him, no matter what. Michelle doesn't want him to worry."

Pam agreed to get Mike and make-up something so he wouldn't be alarmed. She said she'd do whatever she could to stall him. She asked if her husband Pete should come over. He had been Mike and Michelle's doctor since their marriage.

Stacy asked Michelle, who firmly shook her head no. Stacy tried to sound nonchalant, "I think she'll be OK. She just needs to get some rest."

She hung up the phone and helped her friend up the stairs to the bedroom. Once Michelle was undressed, Stacy started a hot bath for her. She hustled Michelle into the bathtub and found what they had in the medicine cabinet to help with the pain.

Once Michelle was settled in, Stacy couldn't take it anymore. No matter how much sympathy she felt, she couldn't let this go on further. Michelle was obviously suffering and was determined to do it alone. Even if her friend had done something stupid like an affair, Stacy wasn't going to let her go through it by herself.

"Alright, enough of this, you tell me what's going on and you tell me right now. No more excuses or I'm leaving."

When Michelle began to cry, Stacy reprimanded herself for being too harsh.

"I don't...know...what...to...do," she stuttered.

Slowly the whole story spilled out. When she was finished, Michelle begged, "Please, you can't tell Mike. It would kill him to know what they've done to me and that they used him to make it happen."

Stacy fumed, "Look, this is insane. There's got to be a way out of this. What if you just went to the police?"

"And tell them what? I've been having sex with men from work because I think that my husband's accident was their doing? I've tried to get Ryan or the others to slip up and say something that might help me out of this mess, but they won't admit to anything. They just tell me what to do. I said no once to Paul, hoping he would threaten me or something. I thought maybe if I knew he might admit to anything, I could tape him or something. He just smiled at me and said, "Whatever you want Michelle."

Ryan called me into his office an hour later. He told me that if I wanted to change the arrangement, that I should just let him know. Then he pulled out pictures of me from the 'meeting' and some when he took me in his office. Then he took out a picture of Mike in his room at the hospital. He asked me if I was sure I wanted things to change.

"Son of a bitch, what was I supposed to say? He's telling me he can get to Mike anytime, plus he can discredit anything I say about him blackmailing me because it's my word against all five of them. Now that he has pictures that make me look like I'm having a good time, nobody would ever believe me. You tell me how I'm supposed to get out of this?"

Stacy was frustrated that she couldn't seem to help. "Fine, let's talk to Mike and you two can decide. I'll help any way I can."

Michelle buried her face in her hands. "How do I talk to him? Either he is going to hate me for what I've done or he's going to be so angry he'll do something to get himself in trouble, or worse." She shuddered as she thought of Mike going after Ryan, only to end up in jail or dead.

"I would do anything to have that first day back. I was so shocked about everything that happened, I just froze up. I saw Mike in the hospital and couldn't see how there was anything he could do. I was terrified that something else could happen to him, he was so helpless." She sobbed as her voice trailed off.

After a moment, Michelle regained her composure. "I thought if I just agreed to go along with them, I'd have time to figure a way out before anything happened. By the time I realized there wasn't anything I could do to get myself out, it was too late. I haven't given up, there has to be a way to nail that son of a bitch. I've worked for him for two years, I know he isn't that smart. I just have to be careful because I'm not going to put Mike in danger to do it."

Stacy listened skeptically, afraid they'd never let her friend go. She thought about going behind Michelle's back and talking to Mike, but what if it just made things worse? It was a big chance to take with her friend's life. She didn't know what to do other than nosing around at work. Maybe she could find a way to help.

When Mike arrived home, he was greeted with the story that Michelle had injured herself at the gym. It was probably just a pulled hamstring but she would be limping for a day or two and the medicine made her tired, so she needed rest.

Mike accepted the story but was worried about her. He thought something had been wrong since the stupid Office Party and he needed to find out if there was something she wasn't telling him. She had a stubborn streak and didn't like having to ask anyone, even him, for help. It was the only part of her personality that frustrated him.

The next day her parents came over. While Mary and Stacy fussed over Michelle, Mike and her dad transformed the basement into a make-shift gym. He needed to continue the rehab he had been doing at the hospital. The insurance company wouldn't continue paying for him to see a private physical therapist but he still needed to get his strength back. It wasn't something new to him because he used to workout for football and track in high school, then stepped it up in college with martial arts training.

He got a list of suggestions from the therapist at the hospital including dietary, stretching, strength training, and therapeutic to set up a training regimen. They put in weights, a speed bag, heavy bag and a treadmill that her parents had brought with them.

They spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Mike still thought Michelle seemed distant, although she denied anything being wrong.

When she was called into Ryan's office on Monday, he seemed very pleased with himself. "So I take it your punishment was effective?"

"Yes" she said quietly.

"I don't have to worry that you'll let me down again?"

"No Ryan."

"I can see you're not at your best, so I'll give you a week off for good behavior. I have another 'meeting' for you in two weeks and I expect it to go perfectly, do you understand me?"

She looked at the floor, "Yes Ryan."

Although Ryan was smiling, Michelle would have been shocked at what was going on just under the surface. Ryan was a mess. His screw-up at the office party could have cost him everything and now he was in a situation that was way beyond his control.

His relationship with Bill had been highly profitable, even coming close to setting him up for life. Over the last two years, John and Paul had been brought on board when he felt he could trust them. With their help, he had been able to increase his extra income and still have enough left over to keep them happy.

Unfortunately, he knew that a good thing couldn't last forever and had been looking forward to getting his promotion and moving to new surroundings. The increase in pay would allow him to continue his lifestyle without having to worry about getting caught. He had wisely invested much of the money he had stolen. He just needed to get through the next four months. Then came his screw up at the office party. His first thought was to call Bill for help.

Bill had advised him to bring John and Paul in on their plot because they had as much to lose as he did. If Ryan lost his job, it was possible that the circumstances would trigger a more in-depth investigation into his department. If the missing money was discovered, the trail would eventually lead to all three of them. Bill said to give them assurances that he would compensate them well for their risk. By having a group confront Michelle initially, they could always claim she was making up their demands. It would make it less likely she would be believed and it would be incredibly intimidating for a woman unprepared for that kind of threat.

The problem was, the embezzlement accusation probably wouldn't be enough to keep her quiet. Bill warned him that Michelle didn't seem like the type who would fold with a direct threat. He talked to her once while visiting Ryan over some purchases. He thought she was stunning, but completely untouchable. She didn't give off any signal that she was anything but happily married. But that might be the way to get to her. Bill believed that a threat against the husband might be enough to make her crumble. The question was how to do it credibly.

The answer came from an unlikely source...Tony. He suggested that he could follow her husband. Once he had an opportunity, he'd run Mike off the road. If it went bad, the worst that would happen is that he'd get a ticket for causing an accident, which didn't bother someone like him. If he got away, they could tell Michelle if she wouldn't go along with them, her life (and more importantly her husband's life) wouldn't be worth squat.

They talked all Sunday about how to pull it off. If Tony's plan was successful, she'd most likely be too afraid to go to the cops. Just in case she called their bluff, Bill warned them to be very careful about what they said around her. The first thing she would probably think of would be getting one of them to say something she could use against them. As long as they were all careful, it would be her word against theirs.

The embezzlement accusation would help scare her. If they could intimidate her enough to go along with it, even for a week, he could use a hidden camera to get pictures of her performing. She was little miss perfect and Ryan knew that nothing would break her will more than the fear of everyone seeing her behave like a slut. It would make her too scared to ever tell her husband and Ryan could use it to defend himself if it ever came out that she was sleeping with them. She couldn't cry rape if he had pictures of her apparent cooperation, which would make her look very willing. Every time she did it, she would dig herself deeper until there was no way out.

Luckily, Tony pulled off the accident without any complications. It actually happened before Michelle ever went into Ryan's office. He couldn't threaten her unless he already knew Tony had been successful. In a stroke of luck, Mike had been hurt badly enough to be stuck in the hospital for a month. It helped make Michelle feel like she had nowhere to turn. It seemed perfect!

"Perfect," he thought disgustedly. This had been anything but perfect. Ryan wasn't a master criminal, he was a coward. Once he confronted her, there was no going back. If anything went wrong, embezzlement would be the least of his problems. Then to top everything off, her first meeting had been a disappointment to Bill. Ryan had to come up with a way to scare her enough so that she would do a good job in the future without freaking her out to the point where she ran to the cops.

He again turned to Tony. They had met years earlier through an associate. Ryan needed something done that wasn't exactly legal and Tony had taken care of it with no questions asked. When he had the opportunity, Ryan got him a job with security. He knew it would be helpful to have someone like Tony owing him favors. Tony had a reputation for being far too rough with women and Ryan thought he'd be the perfect 'bad guy' to give Michelle the motivation she needed.

When he asked him to scare Michelle but not to hurt her, all he could do was hope that it didn't get fucked up. He spent the whole weekend in a panic that Tony had gone too far. He saw the video from the camera they put above the driver's seat. It was way more than he had wanted, so he had no choice but to wait until he saw her at the office today to know if it worked.

Now that he saw her, he was sure it was exactly what they needed. With the fear or her reaction gone, he thought again about the video. The way Tony abused her was so nasty it was incredible. Ryan only wished he could treat her that way. That kind of complete disregard for her was incredibly arousing. Maybe they'd have to do her together sometime. Maybe when this was almost over. But for now...

He had a confident grin as he proceeded. "Well, since I'm rewarding you with a week off, the least you can do is show your gratitude."

"Yes sir," she said and didn't hesitate to fall to her knees and give him the best blowjob she could perform.

~~~~~~~

The next two months passed slowly for Michelle, but at least there were no repeats with Tony. There had been four 'meetings' and they had been relatively painless. She didn't enjoy them, but when she pretended she did, the men treated her fairly well. The encounters at work were kept down also. She wasn't sure why, but guessed Ryan was afraid it would be too suspicious for them to be going after her all the time.

She and Stacy had tried everything they could think of to dig up evidence against Ryan, but had come up empty. Whatever he was into, they found he was very careful to cover his tracks. Because of the way the company's records were handled, it was impossible for either of them to get a look at Ryan's 'evidence' against Michelle without risking him finding out about it. Because days, sometimes over a week would go by without any of them bothering her, there didn't seem to be a way to trap them to find evidence that would back up Michelle's story.

Although everyone that knew her could see something had changed, she hid it well enough to avoid too many questions. She never let it show to Ryan or the men he made her entertain. They were happy, business was good for him and she was counting down the days left in this horrible arrangement.

Mike was good as new, if not better. He had been working out every day and looked great. Now that he had recovered, Michelle agonized daily about telling him. She might have done it if she didn't have the memory of that awful night with Tony. As it was, she was too scared to ever risk pissing off Ryan again. Now it wasn't just for Mike, she was frightened for herself.

Though she did everything she could think of to keep it to herself, she brought her depression home. She often couldn't bear to look Mike in the face, especially when he tried to make love to her. No matter how tender he was, his touches reminded her of the horrible things she was doing and how she was betraying him. She often had to make excuses to be alone or risk him seeing how ashamed she was.

It invaded every aspect of their life. Since the night with Tony, she treated the men she had to be with like lovers. She did it out of fear, never desire, but it was very little comfort.

The worst part for her was how it damaged the couple's communication. Until the night of the party, she always felt like she could tell him anything. She talked to him about things she never shared with anyone else. She knew she would never forgive herself for not telling him what happened the night of the party.

When her guilt drove a wedge between them, she alienated the only person who could have found a way to comfort her during this nightmare. The effect of this on her husband was predictable.

Mike had been suspicious for weeks, now he had moved on to anger. He had concluded that Michelle was cheating on him. He refused to believe it for over a month but the evidence was overwhelming. Late hour 'business meetings', low sex drive, suspicious injuries she tried to hide and a lack of communication they had never experienced before. He confronted her often about her behavior and mood swings, but she always denied there was a problem. When he could no longer tolerate her string of excuses, he decided to find out for himself.

He thought about hiring a private eye but was afraid if she found out it could destroy their marriage, especially if somehow he was wrong. He decided to ask for a week off from work and did some snooping on his own. It didn't turn up anything until she called him Friday from work.

"I'm sorry honey, I have another meeting with the new clients. I will try not to be late but it's really important."

"Yeah, well all these meetings seem to be more important than us lately," he said with bitterness. He might not have any proof yet but he wasn't going to let her treat him like an idiot either. He could hear her nervous breathing while she scrambled for a response.

Michelle carefully tried to placate him without giving anything away. "I know this has been hard on you but it's almost over. I promise I'll spend the rest of our lives making it up to you if you can just be patient a little longer. Please don't be angry with me. I love you."

Mike bitterly replied, "Fine, do what you have to do but don't expect me to wait up." He hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.

When she hung up the phone, Michelle wiped the tears from her eyes. She wondered if this was the beginning of the end for them. Although she tried to hold out hope, part of her knew it was inevitable. Keeping it from him was damaging their marriage, the same as if she told him the truth, only slower. She went to the rest room to change into the outfit she was required to wear tonight. After most of the office had left, she slipped out to the parking lot, hoping no one would notice her, while thinking about what was coming.