The Las Vegas sun already beats down on the strip and the heat engulfs her as Maria steps foot out of the hotel. She tosses her sunglasses on her face and music starts playing as one of the fountain shows get's started. She starts walking toward the street when she hears her name being called.

"Hey, Maria."

She turns toward the voice unsure of who she'll be met with. She's not really used to many people, men included, knowing her real name. If there's one thing she hasn't done is create any relationships when she came out here. And she purposely wanted to keep it that way.

Her skin crawls as she sees the person standing in front of her, but she hides her true feelings through a plastered smile on her face. "Oh, hi Charles. I was just heading home. What are you doing up this early?"

He steps closer to her and the overwhelming scent of rotten eggs surrounds her. His stringy blond hair is plastered to his forehead and it's obvious that he hasn't showered in days. No doubt he's spent a good portion of that time in the lab, hence his distinctive odor. He greets her with a sinister smile and his yellowed teeth are on full display.

"Well I was out on my morning rounds and saw you coming out of this hotel and I thought to myself there's no way Maria could afford staying in a place like this. Not with how much you owe me. So, what are you doing some side work now and not letting me know about it?"

She's suspected for a while now that he has someone tracking her and this pretty much confirms it. His lie is completely laughable and they both know it. What she needs is to find a way out of this situation and fast. Caught off guard by his line of questioning, she just starts talking, "No of course not. I would never do anything like that. I just…"

"You just what?"

Shit. She's never been much of a liar especially when it comes to making up something on the spot. If she has time and can think something through, she's been known to weave together insanely believable lies. But never impromptu.

"I had to go to the bathroom."

He grabs a hold of her arm and squeezes tightly. "You really expect me to believe that shit? That you just popped right in to use the bathroom? You've got to be a better liar than that Maria. Why don't we get in my car and we'll talk about this over breakfast? And we can also discuss the scene you made at the club last night. I don't like the stories I've been hearing."

She nods her head slowly but can't help the terror that travels up her spine. Nothing good can come from her getting into this car right now and she honestly has no idea how to get out of it. Charles opens the back door of the black sedan and closes the door behind her. He stands there talking to his driver, no doubt giving him directions to someplace other than breakfast. Thinking quickly, she pulls her cell phone out of her purse and types out a quick text message to the only person she knows who can save her.

Me: 911. Bellagio. Rm 29036.

Rather than putting her phone back into her purse, she shoves it into her bra in hopes that it won't be as quickly discovered there. She doesn't know where she's being taken but she knows it's not out to breakfast. When Charles opens the back door and the driver climbs into the front seat, she knows she's out of time. After he closes the door he instantly reaches out for her purse and tosses it on the passenger seat in the front without a look or word in her direction. The car quickly starts driving toward the road and they instantly get swallowed up by the Las Vegas Strip.

She tries paying attention to where they're going to at least have a location to text out when she's by herself, but Charles has other plans. He places his dirty hand on her face and turns her focus toward him. The tobacco smell on his fingertips is just barely recognizable through the overwhelming power of bleach. Her nostrils immediately start burning but she doesn't dare fight him.

"If you're going to start whoring yourself out, maybe I should move you from the club to the streets. I know quite a few guys that would pay a pretty penny for you."

Her stomach turns just imagining the kind of friends he could be talking about. Her voice wavers but she stays firm as she replies, "I would never do that."

His grip tightens on her face and he pulls her closer toward him. He raises an eyebrow in question and asks, "Yeah? So, what would you call this morning?"

"He didn't pay me. It wasn't like that."

"Well, I can't have you giving the goods away for free. Now, can I?"

The way he asks her that question has her skin crawling. He leans his face down to hers and their lips are just a breath apart. She forces herself to breathe through her mouth only as death comes spewing from his mouth. He releases her face but instantly starts sliding his hand up her thigh. As his hand gets dangerously close to comfort for her, she instantly tries to shut off all feeling. Maria closes her eyes and hopes that whatever he plans on doing he's done with quickly.

His lips slam down on her own and she tightens her mouth shut as he tries to push his tongue through. Before she can react, he pushes a sharp object into the side of her neck and it only takes a few seconds and then everything starts fading. Charles continues running his hand up her thigh as the darkness starts to take over and she just hopes that wherever she's going someone will find her and soon.