Many men and women in Vinnie's World are from your world - the world of white picket fences. Some come into my world seeking protection or assistance. Some stumble into my world by accident. Some fall into it from curiosity, like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Some don't know they're in it until the truths of my world crush their realities, like the jaws of a great white shark crush the realities of a swimmer.

So it was with Marie Dinsmore.

I watched from the van as Marie Dinsmore locked her Mercedes and walked toward the railing along the jogging path's edge.

She wore a nylon top and shorts, both in navy blue, and new white Nike running shoes over white ankle socks. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail. She sat on the ground to begin her stretching exercises.

She reminded me of a thoroughbred with those perfectly formed, incredibly long legs leading to a high, hard rump. Her short, narrow waist accented her smallish breasts. But it was her face - it's always their face - that made the picture perfect. She was a beautiful animal.

She stood and twisted side to side. Her beauty broke the concentration of a male jogger running by and he stumbled. She didn't seem to notice. She took her first step down the path. In a moment, she was running like a deer, free and easy through the woods.

"She's on her way," I said into the walkie-talkie.

"Roger," came the reply.

Mica started the van. We eased down the road to the next site.

As she cantered into view, I admired her physical conditioning. She'd covered two miles in less than twelve minutes and she wasn't breathing hard.

"Here she comes," I said into the walkie-talkie.

"We see her."

She disappeared from sight as the jogging trail turned back into the woods. The seconds crept by.

"Target hit. She's down," the walkie-talkie blared.

The van lurched forward to the pickup site. I slid open the door as Bigun stepped from the woods with her in his arms. He dumped her in the back of the van. I retrieved her car keys from her fanny pack and gave them to him. He'd drive her Mercedes, leaving no trace of her disappearance.

She lay inert on the van floor with her legs parted and her arms benignly by her side. I turned her head to look at me. I squeezed her Achilles tendon and saw the pain register in her eyes.

"Hello, Mrs. Dinsmore," I said calmly. "The sharp pain you felt in your hip was a hypodermic dart fired by a gas-propelled gun, the kind used to capture animals in the jungle. You were given a paralyzing sedative. As you noticed, you're unable to move or speak. That'll give us a chance to talk."

I smiled as I leaned over her.

"You can feel pain and you can think, but you can't move or communicate. Listen carefully to what I have to say. Your life depends on it."

When I stopped for effect, I admired her face. Michelle Pfeiffer was as beautiful, but there weren't many more in her class. Her face was soft and relaxed, which was the effect of the drug.

"Your husband's aware of your affair with David Barton."

Her arms trembled. One of the problems with a Curare based sedative is determining the appropriate dosage for the specific subject. While she wasn't big, she had a strong constitution.

"I'm a specialist in difficult problems, Mrs. Dinsmore. Your husband hired me to assist him in dealing with the problems you created for him. We discussed several options. The first was killing you."

She trembled all over and I thought about giving her another dose, but decided against it.

"Another option was maiming or disfiguring you so no other man would want you. A third was arranging your disappearance. In that case, you'd be sold to a wealthy man who'd keep you hidden away in a far off country where no one would ever find you."

I opened a long bladed pocket knife. She was struggling to move, but without result, as I cut away her top and sports bra. Her breasts were perfectly shaped, as if made by a master sculptor. I lay the blade against her nipple.

"Do you understand how helpless you are, Mrs. Dinsmore? Do you understand you're completely in my control? This isn't a game. Make sure you listen."

I closed the knife and returned it to my pocket.

"A fourth option, Mrs. Dinsmore, is that you'll leave the marriage as you came into it, with nothing. The last option's the one your husband wants. You see, he doesn't want you killed or disfigured or sold. He wants you all to himself. That option is that you return to him and be faithful."

I pinched a nipple and twisted it hard. Her body surged in pain.

"Let me explain one other thing. My services come with a guarantee. If you, Mr. Dinsmore, and I reach an agreement and you break it, or if he thinks you've broken it, I'll dispatch you without further ado. I guaranteed that to him and my word's gold, Mrs. Dinsmore."

I rolled her face down, pulled her wrists behind her, and handcuffed her. I handcuffed her ankles, slipped a rope around those cuffs and attached it to her wrists, drawing her legs up so she couldn't kick. I propped her up against the pillows in the back of the van.

"I'm going to administer an antidote now. It'll take a few minutes to work. When you can speak again, I want to talk to you, but no screaming or fighting. It's counterproductive."

I injected the dose into her thigh and sat back to wait. She watched me as I watched her.

"I know you're free of the drug's effect," I said, but she showed no signs she could move or talk. I had to admire her. She was in control of herself and her emotions. But she needed to understand the situation. I reached for her tendon again.

"Please don't hurt me," she said softly.

It was the first time I'd heard her voice. Even in the situation it was incredibly sexy, a one in a million voice that would cause hardons if she was quoting hog prices.

"How do you feel?"

"Terrified," she replied.

"You should be terrified. I'm deadly serious about what I've said. I'd kill you, Mrs. Dinsmore."

"I believe you."

We didn't speak for about ten minutes as the van bumped along the roads to my warehouse. She studied me the whole time.

"You're a cool customer," I said.

"My life's at stake and I didn't think you'd be swayed by hysterical sobbing." Her face became intent. "Which option did Roger want for me?"

"The first one was his suggestion, but he didn't mean it. Anyway, I would've talked him out of it. You're too beautiful to kill... unless it's absolutely necessary."

"I thought he loved me," she whispered.

"He thought you loved him."

"I do love him, but... who are you?"

"My name's Vincent Costello. Call me Vinnie."

"Vinnie, I'm thirty-three. My husband's sixty-three. There's a great deal of difference in our ages and our libidos."

"You knew that eleven years ago when you married him. Nothing's changed."

"Yes, it has. My libido has grown and his has shrunk."

"That's no excuse for adultery. Your husband loves you and treats you like a queen."

"I've had one affair. That doesn't make me a slut. My God, don't you have a desire for sex sometimes?"

I sighed audibly.

"Mrs. Dinsmore, you're lying to me."

"I didn't lie."

"Yes, you did, and the next time you lie, I'm going to hurt you. Why are you cheating?"

Her eyes flashed angrily as she leaned toward me and hissed, "The bastard's got a mistress. He can't get it up enough to keep me happy, but he's fucking her."

I clapped my hands in sardonic applause.

"Bravo, Mrs. Dinsmore. That was a wonderful performance. You've earned a reward."

There are pressure points on the human body where the nerves are particularly sensitive. I wrapped my hand around her mouth to silence the screams I knew would come and lay against her to impede her anticipated thrashing. We were eye to eye as my fingers found a pressure point.

She couldn't stop her silenced screams or her vain twisting to end the pain. I administered her reward until her skin was sickly pale and covered with sweat, and her eyes held only pain and fear.

When I sat back, she sobbed and gasped for air as tears poured down her perfect cheeks. Those magnificent blue eyes were full of terror and never looked away from me.

"On a pain scale from one to ten, that was a five. Next time will be worse. Why don't you try telling me the truth?"

Her eyes narrowed and resistance flashed. I reached for her again and resistance fled as she tried to squirm away.

"Tell me about your cheating."

"Roger's rich and powerful, but he's unsatisfying in bed."

"Then you married him strictly for the money."

"I told you I loved..." Her voice trailed off. "Yes, I married him for the money. I'm from a poor family. Money means a lot to me."

"When did your cheating start?"

"About a year ago."

"How many men have there been?"

She hesitated. "Five."

"Anyone in particular?"

She hesitated again before saying, "No."

She'd signed a prenuptial agreement with her husband. It contained significant restrictions on monies she could receive, and provided that if she committed adultery, she'd get nothing. But after ten years, the prenup expired unless adultery during those ten years could be proven.

"I thought we understood each other, Mrs. Dinsmore. I thought you knew that if you lied, I'd hurt you again, but you've told several lies to me since then."

"No, I haven't. You've got to believe me."

I slapped her.

"God, please," escaped her before I sealed her mouth with my hand.

This time she hurt until she threw up. I pushed her face into her smelly, green bile, undid her pony tail, and wiped up her vomit with her hair.

"On the pain scale, that was a six. Open your mouth," I ordered.

I stuffed her vomit soaked hair into her mouth. She was a terrified, traumatized, meek little mouse, quivering as she stared at the predator who'd caught her. She'd do anything for me right now. That's the way I wanted her. I didn't speak in the ten minutes more to the warehouse where my interview of Marie Dinsmore would continue. She didn't move.

"Are you ready to tell the truth, Mrs. Dinsmore?" I asked when the van came to a stop.

She nodded. I pulled the hair from her mouth and removed the ankle cuffs. Bigun opened the van door.

"Let's go talk," I said.

I wrapped her hair around my hand to control her. She limped from the residual pain I'd caused in her leg, but she made no effort to get away.

The warehouse is at the end of a series of warehouses near the wharves. I own them and use them as a record storage business, but deep in the bowels of one is hidden a suite of rooms I use for my purposes. I led Mrs. Dinsmore to the bathroom in the master suite. Bigun and Mica accompanied us.

"Take a shower and clean up," I said as I unfastened the handcuffs.

Some women would've been humiliated by taking a shower in front of three strange men, but Mrs. Dinsmore was in her element. She knew she was a desirable woman and she liked men watching her. She posed and turned behind the glass walls of the shower until my cock was bursting with desire for her.

As I tugged at my pants to gain a little room, Bigun laughed.

"Me, too, boss," he said. Mica grinned sheepishly and nodded agreement.

Three hardons ready for her. Her expression told me she knew full well the impact she had and the power her beauty and sexuality gave her. She didn't realize that the three of us have all the women we want and that I, in particular, had the will to turn away any woman. She swayed out of the shower with a towel around her head.

"Dry your hair," I said, tossing her a hair dryer. "Then put on those clothes." I pointed to the items hanging neatly nearby.

Anger at being ineffective in seducing me quickly gave way to resignation. After she dried her hair and dressed, I led her to the conference room.

"Sit there," I said, pointing to a chair. "Here's what's going to happen. I'll ask questions. You'll answer them truthfully and fully. No lies from partial truths, Mrs. Dinsmore. Then, you'll wait here while I meet with Mr. Dinsmore to explain what you've told me."

"If I'm honest, he'll want me killed," she said matter-of-factly.

"I promise you won't be killed or disfigured if you're truthful."

"And option three? I don't want to be a harem slave."

"No promises, Mrs. Dinsmore."

"I don't have any choice, do I? All right." She audibly exhaled and sat in the chair.

I sat opposite her with Bigun standing quietly behind me. Her face was tense, her eyes narrow.

"Mrs. Dinsmore, have you ever committed adultery?"

"Yes, I have." Her voice was tight and a bead of sweat trickled down her neck.

"When was the first time?"

She hesitated as her eyes bored into me again. She reached a decision and I hoped it was the right one for her.

"Five days after Roger and I returned from our honeymoon."

"Who was your partner?"

"Simon White."

She flushed, then relaxed. With that admission out of the way, she'd tell the truth. What she didn't know was that I'd interviewed Simon at length and he'd told me everything.

Simon White was a big, handsome, black man with a sexy, boyish smile when he wanted to portray it and a hard, sexual coldness when that suited his needs. He was proud of his equipment, too, and enjoyed telling his conquests that black men are bigger, spreading another myth.