His Property

by Allison West

  "Come with me," Hailey said, leading Aria up the elevator to her apartment.

  Aria was cautious, but who else could she trust?

  Hailey turned the handle to her apartment door, not bothering with a lock. Once inside, she shut the door behind them and led Aria into her living room. "Lie down on the sofa. It's best if I can get you flat and resting for the procedure."

  "Procedure?" Aria repeated. "You don't have an old pair of contact lenses in blue that I can borrow?"

  Hailey's expression remained solemn. "No. The procedure will only take a few minutes. It's not a big deal. In fact, since you're naturally immune, I suspect the blue color may last longer on your irises. Now relax."

  It was easy to tell someone to relax. Actually, calming down wasn't so easy when the other person carried two giant syringes with them from the bathroom. "What do you plan on doing with those needles?" Aria asked.

  "I need to inject the blue fluid into both of your irises."

  Aria jumped from the sofa. "You're out of your mind!"

  "How else did you think this was going to work? If you want to get into the quarantine facility, you're going to need blue eyes. You'll be able to walk amongst them without getting caught."

  She left out the part about escaping with blue eyes and how Aria would be putting herself in more danger. Aria didn't bring it up; what good would it do? "Is it possible to change James' eyes temporarily as well?" Aria asked. "It would help ease the escape if we could both be emeralds."

  "Possibly, but I don't have the materials and can't create any more syringes. Besides, who would administer it? I only kept this one around in case sapphires showed up again and took control of the city."

  Aria gave in, lying back down on the sofa, her fingers gripping the cushions.

  "I won't lie; this is going to hurt," Hailey said. She patted Aria's arm gently. "Try to relax."

  Understatement of the century. She couldn't, and even though she was lying down, Aria saw the needle coming at her eye. Knowing she couldn't shut her eyelid not to look, every time she tried to glance away, Hailey hissed at her.

  "Quit moving."

  Aria tried not to blink or wince. It was quite painful. The nausea swept over her, and bile crept into her throat. After the first eye, she wasn't ready for Hailey to do the second one.

  "I need to finish," she said, "or else you'll look peculiar. One more prick, and then it's over."

  Easy for Hailey to say, she wasn't the one getting dye injected into her iris. It burned as the color floated over the emerald and became a pale blue. Hailey finished the second injection before she reached for a mirror, handing the small antique to Aria. Sure enough, her eyes, though constantly tearing, were blue. She would blend in quite easily; at least her eyes would.

  "How long will it last?" Aria wiped away the tears as quickly as she could.

  "The pain or the color?" Hailey asked.

  "Both."

  "The blue will last up to four hours. You might get a little longer since you're a natural emerald. The burning sensation will vanish after ten minutes. You'll be fine by the time you get to the quarantine facility. Come with me," she said.

  Hailey escorted Aria to the elevator again, and they headed together downstairs and into the parking garage. Floodlights illuminated the path. "How do you have electricity?" Aria asked. Already, the burning in her eyes had diminished. A few stray tears lingered, but the darkness had helped immensely.

  "We have enough power for the elevators, backup generators, and some lights up in my apartment. I rigged what I needed to the solar panels on the roof. It wasn't too difficult."

  Hailey tossed Aria a set of car keys, and she hit the unlock button. A vehicle at the other end of the darkened garage lit up. "I'll get the car started. Ever driven before?"

  "No." Aria had been in cars, but she hadn't been given the opportunity to drive.

  "This will be easy."

  Aria didn't know if she was being sarcastic or serious. Hailey opened the car door and pushed the button for the ignition. The engine hummed like a cat purring quietly. Hailey put the address of where Aria headed into a computer screen.

  Aria climbed into the car. The seats sat sideways, facing one another. She sat down and buckled herself in.

  "When you want to bring the car back, just click the home button. It's not too hard to figure out." She handed Aria the keys and dropped them into her palm. "Good luck."

  Aria needed more than luck to find James and rescue him from a quarantine facility under heavy guard. It wasn't going to be easy, but when was anything ever simple for them? "Why are you doing this, helping me?" Aria asked.

  "Someday, I may need a favor. No questions, okay?"

  Aria nodded. If the rescue worked, she'd do whatever Hailey asked of her.

  Chapter 3

  The city around Aria glided by at lightning speed. The car drove itself through the city and around abandoned vehicles. It was careful, meticulous not to hit anything. Debris littered the streets. Aria hadn't caught a single glimpse of civilization. Where were the other people Hailey spoke of? Were they hiding in their apartments and condos, keeping away from quarantine vehicles and claimers? Aria didn't blame them. Had she known, they'd have stayed off the street too.

  She blinked back the last of the tears. Aria hoped it wouldn't take long to find James and rescue him from quarantine. She had no plan, just a loaded gun with only a few bullets. She was no match for the men who had attacked earlier and taken James.

  The car slowed around curves and eventually parked itself outside of a chained fence. She couldn't read the inscription on the sign. How would she find her way inside the quarantine zone?

  Aria stepped out from the vehicle, shut the door, and shoved the keys into her pocket. She would need it later, when she got out of there with James. The only door was at the front of the building, wired to an electronic keypad. She felt doomed.

  She watched the door and waited until there was no sign of civilization yet again. Thunder clapped overhead, and she sprinted across the puddles, lingering on the road, and cozied up to the side of the building. Her only choice was to wait until someone exited and she could attempt to slip in, assuming she didn't get caught first.

  Her hair was soaked from the downpour. The rain gutter reminded her of a canopy. Aria hovered beneath it, and it shielded her from rain, but it did little good to help her already drenched clothes. The wind whipped against her skin, forcing her to shiver. She shut her eyes and hoped James was safe and unharmed. Would he be exposed to the virus? Were they herding together the sick with the uninfected, like wild animals? Hailey made the facility sound civil, minus the part about buying your way out when you were done.

  A loud beep and click sounded as the door unlocked and swung wide open. A man dressed in a suit stepped outside, with his back to Aria as he walked toward the gate.

  She sneaked around and grabbed the door before it had time to shut behind him. The weight of the metal was heavy and Aria was quick to slip inside, letting it close behind her.

  A guard sat at the front entrance, focused on a screen with a moving picture, with his back to her. It reminded Aria of the movie James had played for her in the palace theater, but on a much smaller scale. The guard's feet were up on a table, and he paid no attention to Aria or the door.

  She didn't wait around to get caught. She tried the handle to the next door, and it was unlocked. Surprised to find it easy to enter, Aria wondered how difficult it would be to escape. They probably were less concerned with people entering the facility. Who would be crazy enough to sneak in?

  Aria eased her way down the hall. To her left and right, were glass windows, revealing large rooms filled with people. She didn't see James. At the farthest end of the hall, several yards away, was another door, locked by a keypad.

  According to Hailey, she was immune. Could she believe her? Did she know without a doubt that Aria couldn't get sick? Or had the pathogen mutated a second time?

  As she p
eered through the glass and walked down the hall, Aria realized she would likely stand out by her wardrobe. All the sapphires were dressed in blue scrubs and white sneakers. The quarantine crew wore white pants and matching shirts. Aria slipped into a supply closet and stared up at the array of spare clothes. It was unlikely they'd notice another sapphire. She'd stand out in white with only a few guards in charge.

  Removing the gun from the back of her pants, she placed it carefully on the stack of clothes. She didn't know how well she could hide the weapon under scrubs. There was no harness, and the elastic looked slack.

  Shouts erupted outside the closet door. Aria quickly disrobed, changing clothes and fingering the gun. She had to do something with it. Leaving it would be stupid. She dug the keys from her pocket, putting them in her new scrubs before hiding her clothes under the bottom shelf. One last glance at the gun, and she slipped it into the waistband of her panties, along her ass crack. It wasn't comfortable, but it just might save her life.

  Aria inched the supply closet door open and came face-to-face with a guard. He stood over six feet tall, and his stomach protruded past his belt. She stared up at his green eyes and swallowed nervously.

  "You should know better than to hide," he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her through the hall toward the doctor's station. "You must be the new girl Carl brought in. He said you'd be a real treat." His eyes glimmered, and she felt sweat bead on her forehead.

  "You have me mistaken with another girl," Aria said. What did this guy think she was going to do for him?

  He loosened the buckle on his belt, and Aria took a massive step back. Oh hell, no. Her hand slipped behind her. She could pull the gun, stop this bastard, but then her chance of escaping with James would diminish quickly.

  Aria surveyed her surroundings and considered her odds. Maybe he'd get called away on duty from another guard or doctor. Didn't this guy worry about infection? Getting this close to a sapphire had to be dangerous.

  Her eyes widened as he unzipped his slacks. "James!" she screamed.

  "That's not my name, baby," the guard cooed at Aria.

  Did he think she'd take to his charm? He was slime. She skirted him, moving from one glass wall in the hallway to the other. Her fingers reached behind her, looking for a door, an exit, some way to escape this pervert. She found the edge of the wall and spun around, forcing herself into the large room filled with sapphires. She hoped James was here and nearby.

  "Leave her alone," a female voice said. The brunette stalked toward the guard, her arms thick and muscular, showing no hint of backing down. "I said, leave her alone!"

  Three other girls, bigger than the first, followed the brunette. Was this place like a prison? It felt a bit too much like one.

  "Slutty Sapphire," the guard snarled and stomped angrily down the hall. "What a fucking tease."

  Aria's mouth dropped as she watched him walk away. She breathed a sigh of relief and spun around on her feet. "Thank you," she said, knowing they had saved her.

  "Don't worry about him. Stick with us, and we've got your back."

  "Thanks, but I don't plan on staying here for long. I'm looking for James. He was taken earlier today; someone suggested that the claimers took him here."

  The girl who'd stood her ground rescuing Aria glanced her up and down. "You're not an observant peach, are you?"

  "Peach?" Aria repeated.

  "Well, you haven't given me your name. I figured I might as well give you a nickname. Look around here, Peach. There are no men at our quarantine facility."

  "No." Aria's voice quivered, and the air left her lungs. Her chest felt heavy and weighted. "James has to be here." Could she be at the wrong building? Perhaps the sapphires were mistaken. Maybe there was another corridor with sapphire men?

  "We're all missing our men," the woman said. "I couldn't even guess what they want with them. I know what they want with us, though. Angels come in, have a look at us, sometimes they even get a private tour of the goods before they settle their debt and we go home with them."

  Aria's head spun, and she felt the need to sit down. There were no chairs nearby, just a few cots at the far end of the room. She opted for the floor.

  "I'm Betsy," the woman said, introducing herself. "I suggest you breathe deeply and try to relax. Fainting won't do a bit of good. In fact, it's likely to get you taken in for observation. Trust me when I tell you that observation is the last place you want to go."

  "Why's that?" Aria's voice was small, timid, as she stared up at the woman who towered over her.

  "They'll cage you."

  Aria didn't have time to think about what Betsy meant. A female guard headed right for Aria. She hoped she hadn't noticed she didn't belong.

  "You, on the floor, come with me," the guard said.

  With no other choice, Aria stood. She hoped they weren't taking her in for observation because she'd been sitting on the floor. The guard led Aria across the hall and grabbed a key from her belt. It stretched against a string as she unlocked a door on the side of the building, leading into another room.

  "Go." Her voice was short and firm.

  Aria swallowed nervously but followed. Did she have a choice? "Where are we going?" Aria tried to remain calm. If she could get this woman to talk, maybe she'd find out what was going on around here.

  "We're getting you cleaned up for the angels."

  "Cleaned up?" Aria didn't think she looked any dirtier than the other girls. Although she was a bit unkempt with her hair since it had rained. Had they noticed her wet hair? No one asked about it, thankfully. She guessed if they did, she would lie and say she'd gotten dunked in the toilet by that asshole of a guard who'd tried to attack her.

  "We have a special angel who is asking to view four girls at a time. You were randomly selected. Consider yourself lucky. I hear this guy owns a building in Grace. Can you believe it? An actual building. Anyways, enough about that." She shut and locked the door, guiding Aria from one hallway down another. They made a sharp left at the last door and stepped inside the room. There were four tables, and three of them were already occupied.

  The girls were all completely naked and having their pubic hair shaven. "This angel prefers the girl he chooses to look a little younger. Thanks to his fine donation already, we've agreed to prepare the candidates before he takes one home. So, you'll have to excuse the process."

  There was a dark window that stretched across the entire wall. Aria had read about one-way mirrors before. She suspected that the angel, as the woman had so elegantly put it, stayed hidden behind the glass, watching the girls. What a pervert!

  "Come with me," the woman said. "You'll disrobe, and we'll get you shaved and cleaned up before he sees you."

  "You mean he's not watching already?" Aria nodded toward the window.

  "Don't make me spank you," she said.

  Aria's eyes widened, and she took a step back. Her hands reached behind her for the gun. Oh, hell, no. There were some lines she would not cross. James, she allowed to spank her, but this woman, it was not going to happen. Not if she had a choice in the matter.

  "Strip down, or I'll remove your clothes, and you won't like that option."

  Aria headed for the corner of the room. With her back to the wall, she carefully removed her pants. The shirt covered past her bottom, concealing the gun she hid in her panties. She reached behind her, careful to slip the weapon out and guide it along her back, keeping it hidden under her shirt, as she removed the linen and placed it on the floor. She could easily shoot her or any of the women guards, but how far could she get? Maybe she'd escape, but James would still be trapped in here. No. She did this for James. Last, she removed her panties, standing naked in front of the guard.

  "Come." She gestured Aria to hurry and get on the table. "I don't have all day."

  Yeah, neither did Aria.

  "I'd rather not strap you in if I don't have to. Can you handle not moving?"

  Aria's eyes widened, and she nodded nervously. "Yes.
"

  "Put your feet in the stirrups."

  Aria did as she was instructed, knowing that whoever was on the other end of that glass could get a good look at her pussy. Is that what they were doing, watching and staring at them while they got shaved? Aria wasn't comfortable with the intrusion of privacy, but what choice did she have? It would be over soon, assuming the woman didn't cut her.

  She filled a bowl of water and brought over the shaving supplies, sitting down beside Aria on a stool.

  Aria shut her eyes, not wanting to be awake. Maybe it was all a bad dream? She felt the cool froth of shaving cream as the woman smeared it against Aria's folds. The guard dabbed a generous amount before reaching for a fresh razor. "Now don't move. I say this a hundred times a day to the girls, and someone always gets nicked because they can't listen."

  "I won't move." Aria wouldn't. She didn't want that razor to ruin any part of her enjoyment of sex. No hair wouldn't hurt, but a giant slice down there would.

  The woman carefully shaved the outside of her pussy, making sure to get every hair. "What's your name?" she asked as she paid attention to the razor. She dipped it into a bowl of water, cleaned the cream and hair before repeating the task, stroke after stroke.

  "Aria," she whispered, afraid to even speak. She forgot that giving her real name was probably not a bright idea, but did it matter? She didn't plan on sticking around. Not if she had a choice. She'd gotten into this facility. She could break James and herself out of it.

  "Good. We're almost done." She wiped Aria's pussy with a towel, examining to make sure she didn't miss a spot. "Master will be pleased if you're chosen."

  "Can I sit up?" Aria asked, wanting to remove her legs from the stirrups and the humiliating position it put her in.