After an unknown amount of time, I finally felt assured whoever it was who took me was not in the room so I struggled to sit up on the cot and realized my hands were free. I immediately ripped the blindfold from my eyes and blinked several times, my eyes adjusting to the dim light of the room.
“OhmyGod…” I hardly believed my eyes as I scanned the room, which was actually a dungeon, with 6x8 cells of women lining the walls.
The murmurs of whoever was speaking a moment ago stopped and every set of eyes – all young women who I guessed to be between the ages of 15 and 25 – in the room focused on me. Slowly I slid from the cot and tested my legs on the concrete floor; they seemed to hold me so I rose up to my feet and walked to the front of the cell.
I counted the women in the room. There were twenty cages and twelve had women in them, a mixture of blonde and brunette, Caucasian, African-America, and Asian. All beautiful and slender and naked. I looked down at my cheerleader uniform and wondered why I was allowed my clothing when the others weren’t.
“Where are we?” I looked from one face to the next, but none offered up an explanation. They simply stared.
“Please. Tell me. What’s going on?”
“Shhhh. Lower your voice or they’ll come.” My head whipped to the cell to my immediate left to see a tall, black woman with long, mussed-up black curls motion for me to come closer.
Hoping for some sort of answer I walked over to her and leaned in closer. “What’s going on?”
“You’re for sale now, honey.”
“What?” Even though I asked the question the situation became perfectly clear. I was a hardcore book junkie and I loved true stories and documentaries, especially ones involving women who’d been taken for various reasons. A class I planned on taking for my fall courses was on the human slave trade – the irony that I may just be part of what I planned to study wasn’t lost on me. Never had I considered I’d be one of them. I had a very good idea of the scenarios that could play out for me; the knowledge was both a blessing and a curse.
“We stay here until we’re ready for sale. They take us out once in a while for training and to be put on display or to auction us and then throw us back here until they’re ready for us.”
“How long have you been here?”
The woman shrugged. Upon looking closer at her I saw her body was littered with long red gashes, especially on her backside and lower back. Her lip was cut and slightly swollen. I didn’t even want to imagine what she’d endured and the scary thing was she appeared to be one of the women in the best condition.
I looked around the room once again. There were no windows so there was no telling what time of day it was. One string of dim fluorescent lights running from one end of the room to the other hung above us, lighting the room, and there was only one steel door in and out. Looking behind me I saw my cell contained three things, a cot, a bucket and a roll of toilet paper.
So kind of them to supply ass wipe.
Seeing the bucket made me realize one more thing; it fucking stunk in there, a combination of piss, shit, puke and blood. It was nasty, but despite the smell it seemed to be as clean as a dungeon could be.
“So what happens now?”
We heard footsteps outside of the door and a key working the lock. The black woman’s eyes widened and she stepped away from the bars and rushed to her cot, sitting down and lowering her eyes to the floor. The other women followed suit, scurrying to their cots and keeping their eyes glued to the floor.
“Sit and pray they’re not coming for you. Now shut up and get in position,” my neighbour hissed under her breath.
I crinkled my nose up at her, get in position? Despite her warning I couldn’t. I walked to the front of my cell and prepared to meet my captors. I swallowed down a lump of fear threatening to overtake me. I needed to stay calm, focused, if I wanted to get out of this alive. Losing myself in my fear wasn’t going to help. I needed to plan, strategize, wait for the best moment to try and gain my freedom – until then I would go along with whatever they wanted me to. I’d be the star captive, until they let their guard down. Then I’d take my chance at freedom.
Gwen Anderson is nobody’s slave.
The lock disengaged and the door flung open.
Chapter 2
Lance
I watched from the second floor of the housing quarters of the compound as Tanner pulled the unconscious cheerleader from the side of the van and slung her over his shoulder. Her golden hair veiled her face from my view, but I didn’t need to see it; every delicate feature from her heart-shaped face to her large, sapphire blue eyes, and pouty lips was engraved in my brain.
Followed by his two men – Jazz and Connor – Tanner proceeded across the driveway and into the building, using the main entrance directly below me. I’d been here for well over two years, closer to three, I think. Usually I kept my distance from the slaves. I had other daunting duties and obligations to the organization; the last thing I had any interest in was the emotional and mental anguish that came with kidnapping and selling young women. Human trafficking was a practice I didn’t agree with, but then again considering what I did for the organization, who was I to judge?
Flipping open the file folder I browsed through the dozen pictures of her that had been taken over the past couple of weeks of surveillance. Her boyfriend looked like a douche to me, one of those uptight prep boys who had everything handed to him on a silver platter – I immediately disliked him. There were a couple of pictures of her with her family; her mother Louise, father Harry who happened to be the mayor of the little town she came from, and younger sister Tanya. They were the perfect little family.
There were also a number of pictures of her at the mall, walking alone in the evening and then her at cheerleading practice. The pictures of her cheering always gave me pause. There was such promise and happiness in her eyes and expression, like a beam of light and goodness shone from within her lighting up everything it touched. Sadly it was her vibrancy that landed her on our radar, her light that attracted our darkness.
The pictures told a story of a young woman with a promising future ahead of her. It was like a knife in my gut thinking that it wouldn’t be long before that light in her eyes would dim and then fade out completely, leaving a hollow shell of a woman in its place. I didn’t even know this woman, but I immediately felt the urge to protect her from the evils lurking within these walls.
“Sir, The Boss wants to see you in his office.” I turned to see my right hand man, Will. He had saved my life a number of times over the past couple of years, but I held no feelings or sense of obligation toward him. Emotions were what got people killed; they made you weak. There was no place for emotion in this world of death and debauchery.
Then why did a woman I hadn’t even met threaten to make me feel?
~*~*~*~*~
Gwen
The door opened to reveal three men, two of them with rifles slung over their shoulders. I had no doubt they’d use them if they had to, although I wouldn’t be worth a hell of a lot dead. That only gave me a sliver of reassurance. What I find surprising was how normal they looked.
There were two Caucasian men and one black man. They weren’t huge, domineering types, and they weren’t ugly hillbilly types. They were the types of men I’d expect to see in the stands at our high school football games cheering on the team, or the father of one of my friends who would check on us before going to bed and offering to make us some hot cocoa or bring some snacks. Not creepy or scary in the least, just – normal, which I supposed in itself was creepy.
“Good, you’re awake. Saves me from having to carry you.” One of the Caucasian men stepped forward while the two men with the rifles stood by the door, not saying a word, but watching closely. I looked around me at the other girls; they were all cowering on their cots, eyes cast downward, not moving or making a sound, as if making themselves as small and as quiet as possible would make them invisible.
I didn’t answer, but sto
od my ground, eyeing him intently.
The man before me pulled a set of keys from the pocket of his jeans and gave them a little jingle, as if to taunt me. “All right, this is how this is going to work. I’m going to open the cell and you’re going to nice and politely walk out. You’re not going to try and run. You’re not going to try and fight. And you’re not going to cause me a single problem. If you abide by these rules, we’ll get along fine. But if you don’t…” he held his index finger up to me and walked over to the cell across the hall and a little to the left of me.
“Come here, sweetheart.” He motioned for the petite Asian woman to stand and walk over to the front of the cell. The woman stood and slowly walked to the front of the cage. As she got closer I could see harsh black and blue marks littering her body. “Lift your head, let her see you.”
“Yes, Master.” She lifted her face and I couldn’t stop the gasp from escaping my lips. One of her eyes was black and swollen shut and there was blood caked onto her cheeks along with several harsh cuts on her lip, forehead and cheeks. She looked like she’d just walked away from a horrific car accident.
“This is what happens when you disobey. This little one used to box at an amateur competitive level. She thought she was strong enough to escape. She couldn’t. When you’re disobedient there’s a price to be paid. The only way you get out of here is when you’re sold. Or if you’re dead. The only choice you have is how easy or hard life can be for you while here.” He turned his attention back to the tiny Asian woman. “Go sit down.”
“Yes, Master.” She turned and hurried back to her cot. She sat and remained motionless, eyes downcast as she was before she was summoned.
Her captor made his way back over to my cell. “Now, you’ll refer to me and my men as Master. If you refuse or forget, you’ll be reminded, politely, once. And only once. For each act of defiance you’ll be punished. And each punishment will become more severe until you’ve learned your lesson. Your eyes are also to be downcast unless told otherwise. The rules are simple. Obey. So make it easy on both me and yourself and behave.”
He jingled the keys once more. “Any questions?”
I shook my head. Sure I had lots of questions, but none for him. Not now anyhow.
He smiled and his smile actually gave me chills more than any sinister gesture he could have made, because it made him look approachable. It made him look like he was there to make my life easier and I knew that was far from the case.
“So you’re not going to ask why you’re here? What we’re going to do with you? You’re not going to beg for us to let you go home? Nothing?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He frowned. “Excuse me?”
I froze a moment and we eyed each other. What in the fuck does he want from me?
“No, what?” His smile began to fade and a darkness began to fill his eyes.
I swallowed down the fear beginning to rise up in me and swallowed down my pride as I responded. “No, Master.”
As if by magic the darkness in his eyes lifted and his smile returned. “Good. I think we’re going to get along fine.” He pushed the key into the lock and opened the cell, stepping back and motioning for me to exit. “That’s a cute little outfit you have on there. I always had a thing for cheerleaders when I was in high school.”
I froze halfway out of the cell and stared up into his eyes. Had I entered some fucked-up version of Bizarro world? Or was this some cruel game where they acted friendly and then just when I started to feel a sense of calmness things changed? By looking at the women around me, many battered and bruised, I suspected this was simply the calm before the storm. “Thank you, Master.”
“Are you allowed to look at me, slave?”
I visibly cringed at the term “slave” and I heard the two men at the door chuckle softly. A surge of anger fought to surface, but I pushed it down. I lowered my eyes and muttered, “No, Master.”
“Follow me.” He turned and walked out of the room. I dutifully followed behind and heard the two men who were manning the door take up the rear, closing and locking the dungeon door behind us. Although my head was down I was able to take in a bit of my surroundings. I appeared to be in a house, a really large house.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about being in a house. If I were in a warehouse then there’d be a chance I was close enough to outside people that if I escaped there may be a place to run. If I were in some far-off house, way out in the country somewhere, then I could be running for hours and hours naked in the woods. Hell, for all I know they had dogs that could hunt me down before I even got a mile from the place.
I followed what appeared to be the leader of the group down a hallway until we came to a closed wooden door. He opened it up and a bright light spilled out into the dimly lit hallway and he motioned for me to enter. I hesitated, but when I glanced up at him and saw a frown begin to form on his face I quickly skirted past him and into what appeared to be a doctor’s office, with a table at the center.
The reality of what was about to happen crashed over me and I couldn’t have controlled the instinct to flee if I wanted to. I spun around and bolted. I made it three feet before a hand reached out, grabbed my hair and pulled me backward. Screaming, I fell backward, pain radiating through my skull as the strands were tugged and some pulled from my head. I clawed wildly at the hand grasping my hair, but it was a futile effort. The blonde thug who’d been silent up until this point stepped forward, straddled my body and landed a punch to the left side of my face. There was ringing in my ears and a second later the world went black.
~*~*~*~
My head hurt, and there was a faint metallic taste in my mouth. My lip was also throbbing and I could feel it had swollen while I was knocked out. Groaning, I attempted to move, but then froze upon realizing I was strapped down on a cold metal table – my arms at my sides and feet in the stirrups, my legs spread wide. Even more alarming was the realization that while I’d been passed out I’d been stripped and I was lying bare on the table.
A single tear escaped my eyes, but I swallowed down the need to sob, as I opened my eyes to find I was alone. Testing my restraints I wasn’t surprised to find they were secure. And there was something on my neck, a collar perhaps? It was snug and uncomfortable.
“Shit, shit, shit…”
I didn’t have to spend too much time thinking about what was going to happen. Or at least I assumed what was going to happen, although it was quite possible it happened already. A hundred different scenarios started going through my head, but when the door opened all thought left me and all I could do is watch in horror as a man in a white doctor’s coat entered, behind him the man who’d led me here. My scalp ached just setting eyes on him.
“Good afternoon, Miss Anderson.” The doctor was on the short side and slender, perhaps 5’6 with grey at his temples. I guessed he was in his early fifties. “I have some questions for you, all right?”
I didn’t respond, but just eyed him with suspicion.
He chuckled. “Not much of a talker, huh Tanner?”
“Not really, no,” the man who had grabbed me by my hair answered.
“Is she retarded?”
My mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“Well, look at that, she can speak.” The doctor chuckled as he walked over to the side of the table and his eyes scanned the length of my exposed body. No one had ever seen me completely naked before and it was the most humiliating experience of my life, although I suspected it wouldn’t be the last or worst if I didn’t get out of wherever it was they’d taken me.
I glared up at him, but refused to comment.
He finished his visual inspection of me, turned around and walked over to the counter across the room. Grabbing a pair of latex gloves from a box on the counter he pulled them on and then grabbed an electric razor.
“First thing is first, you need to be shaved. The Boss prefers you clean.” Grabbing a stool with his free hand he rolled it over, situating it between my
legs, and sat down. Plugging in the razor, it began to buzz softly and he proceeded to carefully remove all traces of blonde hair from between my legs. With each strip of hair that was removed, a part of my dignity went with it.
My hands fisted at my sides, as I closed my eyes and fought the tears threatening to fall. They don’t deserve to see my tears, I’m not giving them the satisfaction. I’d rather be punched in the face again than endure the humiliation of some strange old doctor shaving my most private of areas while some brute watched, no doubt sporting a hard-on.
They’d pay for this, all of them. How or when I couldn’t say, but one day. A lifetime was a long time and I just needed to stay strong and keep my mind right. Eventually I’d have my freedom, it was only a matter of when. I knew that above all else I had to keep that in mind.
“There. Done.” The buzzing stopped and I heard the razor being placed on the steel cart beside the bed. I took a deep breath in and slowly released it. My body had just begun to relax when two fingers were roughly thrust into me, forcing a cry to escape my lips as my eyes flew open to stare at the bastard between my legs. A vaginal examination proceeded to take place. I endured, trying to think of anything other than the situation I was in at this moment.
“So? What’s the verdict?” the man I now knew to be Tanner asked.
A slow smile spread across the doctor’s lips. “She’s a virgin. Good pick.”
Tanner chuckled. “Yeah, I figured. Even if she wasn’t she’d still bring in a hefty amount, buyers love the petite, blonde, blue-eyed ones.”
The doctor’s eyes roamed my body once more. “Indeed.” He pulled off his latex gloves and rolled back over to the counter. After a moment he returned with a syringe in hand and rolled over to my arm. “Don’t move.”
I could have laughed outright as he prepared my arm and then jabbed me with the needle. Where in the fuck was he expecting me to go tethered to the table?
Bad & Bold - A 7 Book Bad Boy Romance Collection! Page 75