“How do you think it would look if they saw me allowing you to walk free after you just attempted to escape?”
“Do I have to go back there?”
“Yes.”
“Can I stay with you? I’ll behave, I promise.” The idea of going back to my cell and looking at the spot where that poor girl was murdered made my stomach roll. The little bit of dinner I ate had threatened to come up several times already since the demonstration Tanner put on.
“That’s not an option, Gwen. But I won’t take you back yet. We still have the matter of your punishment to attend to.” He unlocked the door and opened it before I had a chance to respond. “And fuck, for the love of Christ stay quiet and act like an obedient little pet if we run into anyone.”
After bending to retrieve his shirt, he gave the leash a tug and I walked forward not sure what to think. I didn’t understand, I actually offered to blow him and he refused. Hell, I offered him me and he refused, what else did I have to offer in the way of proving my regret? Although deep down the only remorse I felt was the fact I got caught.
I walked wordlessly behind Lance, clutching to my towel, grateful I was covered for the first time in close to a week. We took a quick stop at the doctor’s office, which was currently vacant. After searching a few cabinets he produced a bottle of pills; opening it up, he shook a couple into his hand and passed them to me. “It’s just painkillers, for your side,” he explained, seeing the look of apprehension on my face. He grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge, twisted off the top and gave me the bottle. Taking the pills, I drank down most of the bottle, relishing the fact I could be greedy with the amount of water I drank this time.
We traveled back upstairs and he led me right to the door at the end of the hallway. Opening it, he stepped aside and allowed me to enter before him. The room was darkened, but as soon as he flipped on the light I gasped and quickly stepped backward, attempting to escape the room, but my escape was blocked by his large frame in the doorway.
“Why are we here?” My eyes scanned the dimly lit room. A number of contraptions that I assumed were all used somehow in the BDSM world filled the large room. An assortment of whips and paddles hung neatly on the wall to the left of me and toward the back of the room was a large bed with a large, finely detailed wooden cabinet next to it. Looking toward the ceiling I noticed chains hanging down with cuffs attached to them. They kind of reminded me of a scene from the Hellraiser movies.
I don’t want to be here, in fact, I’ll take my cell over this place in a New York minute.
I turned around and looked up at him, pleading with my eyes. I didn’t want to be here. “I’ll go back to my cell. I don’t –”
His eyes were uncompromising as he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me forward so he could close the door and, as usual, lock it. Once locked he took a couple of steps toward me, closing the distance; instinctively I matched his steps backward. A look of annoyance appeared on his handsome features and he gave the leash a yank, forcing me toward him.
“What did I tell you about trying to get away from me?” His voice was so cold it sent a shiver through me and I wrapped the towel tighter around my shoulders as if in protection, but didn’t answer.
He sighed, thrusting a hand in his hair in frustration. “I already told you how much it annoys me.” I forced myself not to back away when he unhooked the leash and then reached behind my neck and unclasped the collar. Removing it, he placed them both onto a small steel table next to the door.
“Why are we here?”
“I can’t very well take you into the main section of the compound. Slaves aren’t permitted on the main floors.” He walked past me and motioned for me to follow. “Come on.”
I looked behind me at the door. Three seconds to unlock it. Then what? No one aside from Lance knew my location, I could –
“Don’t even think it, Gwen. If you refuse to trust anything else from me then trust you won’t get far and there’s no way I’ll be able to save you from punishment from Tanner or Connor. I may be the son of the boss here, but I’m still not the boss and believe me when I say my opinion doesn’t count for shit for the most part when my father is on the premises. Not yet anyhow.”
My brow furrowed as I eyed him. Not yet anyhow? Whether he meant to say that or not I didn’t know, but I certainly caught it.
I watched as he turned off one of the cameras and proceeded to the other side of the room to turn off the second one. Feeling my eyes on him, he caught my gaze and held it a moment before answering my unasked question. “Aside from the staff living quarters of the compound, every inch of this place has cameras all working and recording. I have no desire to have the whole crew watching us. I wouldn’t be surprised if they spend their free time jacking off to the training videos.”
Still not sure how to comment, I again opted for remaining silent.
“Come on. Away from the door, you’re making me nervous.”
I couldn’t help but crack a small smile at his comment, the first genuine smile since I arrived in this godforsaken place. Lance didn’t seem the type to get nervous over anything – especially his ability to catch me if I decided to make a run for it. His blank expression cracked and he returned my smile.
Walking up to me, he took my hand and led me over to the bed at the back of the room. Pulling the beige blanket down, he patted the mattress. “I’m sure your side must be hurting, lie down a while before I take you back.”
Doing as told I dropped the towel onto the floor and climbed in. Once I was in he yanked the blanket up and under my chin, tucking me in as if I were a child going down for a nap. Turning his back to me he undid his soaked jeans and pulled them down. Shifting to my good side, I examined his naked body from behind. The rest of his body was devoid of tattoos but his back piece made up for it; coming out from his spine were two beautifully detailed dark wings, the tips of the wings reaching up to his shoulders. It was so detailed and well textured if you looked quickly you’d almost think they were actually feathers. It was beautiful and intimidating all in one.
Opening the cabinet, Lance pulled out a pair of grey jogging pants and pulled them on before turning back to me. He frowned, eyeing me closely. “What’s wrong?”
I could have laughed at the question, but didn’t. If he had a few hours I could have made a list of everything that was upsetting me. “Aside from being held captive and going up for sale?”
“Yeah, aside from that.”
“Your tattoo.”
He let out a little chuckle. “Ahhh.”
“Why the wings?”
He shrugged as if to dismiss the question, but I couldn’t imagine someone getting something that impressive without a meaning behind it. Walking over to the bed, he sat on the edge, leaving close to a foot between us.
“So does everyone live here?”
“Yes and no. We’re quite a ways from civilization so it takes a while to get into town, so it’s usually easier to stay here.” With hesitation he reached out and brushed a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. I didn’t flinch at his touch and it seemed to please him that I didn’t. “Everyone has their own quarters in the main section of the compound.”
Tucking my hands under my head, I snuggled into the bed. In a bed that was halfway cozy and speaking casually with Lance, I was almost able to block out everything else and relax. “What about your mom?”
His eyes seemed to grow dark, his body tensing.
Shit, shit, shit. As soon as the question came out I immediately regretted it.
There was silence for a couple of minutes. I’d decided he wasn’t going to answer, but to my surprise he eventually did. “She’s dead.” By the tone in his voice, I knew that wasn’t a topic open for discussion.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-six.”
“So do you have a girlfriend or anything?”
The question was greeted by a roar of laughter. “No. I don’t think there’s a woman in the
world who deserves someone like me.”
A frown spread across my face. “What do you mean?”
His laughter trailed off to a chuckle. “I mean, when you do what I do for a living, you give up the privilege of having someone in your life. Can you imagine the first date conversation? What do you do? Ahhh, well, I kidnap and rape women then sell them off to people even worse than me.” He cocked a brow at me. “Please don’t tell me there would be a second date after that.”
“But you’ve never actually raped anyone before, have you? I’m your first, right?”
“Semantics, Gwen. I’m guilty by association. Every time one of the women here is raped or murdered that’s also on me. And I have other duties within the organization that have nothing to do with the sex trade. This place is just a central point of the U.S. operation.”
“I don’t understand. Then why are you here?”
“You ask a lot of questions. Many more than you’re privileged to.” Despite his teasing tone, I could see my bombarding him with questions was making him uneasy. That’s the last thing I wanted. If he decided I was too much to handle, he could pass me off to Tanner, or Jazz or god forbid Connor. The idea of being passed off to someone made me shiver in fear.
“Are you cold?”
Not wanting him to know the real reason, I nodded.
“This whole floor is centrally heated so I have no control of it right now.” He rubbed his chin and was about to get up, but on impulse I grabbed his arm. His head turned and he looked down at me.
Pulling the blanket aside, I patted the mattress beside me. I shouldn’t be doing this, I thought, but I needed the contact even if there was the danger of sparking something within him I’d later regret awakening.
He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “I don’t think –”
“Just for a minute. Might as well get used to each other considering what we’ll be doing tomorrow, right?” I held my breath.
His eyes lowered to take in the sight of my exposed breasts, my nipples beginning to harden from the chill in the air. With a sigh he nodded. “You’re right.”
Slipping in beside me, he gathered me into his arms and I eagerly snuggled tight to his warm, hard body, all the while thinking about how fucked up this was – cuddling with a virtual stranger, in a sex room while biding my time before I was sent back to my cell and ultimately sold.
Laying my head on his shoulder, I fingered the contours of muscle in his chest and lower to his abdominals; the muscle rippled and jerked at my touch, as he ran his fingertips up and down along my upper arm, not even attempting to touch me more intimately. It felt so nice, almost relaxing.
He just didn’t seem to fit in here. As much as he stated otherwise, I felt in my heart of hearts he wasn’t like the others, known it from the moment I set eyes on him. So what was his deal? Had he known about his father’s activities from a young age or was he gradually introduced into it? So many questions and no answers.
I was so lost in my ponderings over him that it wasn’t until his body tensed and his free hand grabbed mine that I realized I’d absentmindedly reached the waistband of his jogging pants.
“As much as I’m trying to restrain myself, you’re making this hard. I can only hold myself back for so long.” Removing my hand from his stomach and placing it on his chest, he stroked the side of my face with the palm of his hand, his thumb tracing my bottom lip. His blue eyes caught mine and I could see the hunger flaring up in them, sending a tremor through me.
What was with this man? I never trembled at Brandon’s hand like this. Maybe it was the danger hovering around us, knowing that in less than a week my body would no longer be mine; as it was Lance was the only reason it still was to a small extent. Maybe this was one of the only opportunities I had left that I could make the decision myself on who touched me and how.
His hand slipped from my cheek to settle at my neck. I gasped as his hand gently closed around my neck. It would be so easy for him to hurt me right now. All he had to do was tighten his grip around my neck and I’d be done for, but I knew he wouldn’t. And he didn’t.
He rolled to his side facing me, and his fingertips began to trace my collarbone, his gaze leaving mine and concentrating on the travel of his fingers. I closed my eyes and focused on the feel of him touching me. His fingers wandered along the side of my breast, and down my side to my hip, pushing the blanket down and exposing me fully to him in the process, taking care not to touch the large bruise forming along my bottom rib. Despite normally being naked in front of him, the feeling of being revealed to him this way seemed more intimate. How could a monster touch me with such tenderness?
I almost drifted to sleep being soothed by his touch exploring me, while avoiding my most intimate areas. I could only imagine how hard he must be, but I didn’t attempt to touch him any lower than his chest.
“I need to take you back.” His proclamation cut into my tranquil state and my body tensed, as my eyes flew open. I don’t want to go back. I don’t understand why he can’t keep me with him. He seems to like me.
“Already?”
“Yeah. I have matters to attend to.” He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead before slipping out of the bed.
I wanted to protest, but didn’t, instead I slid out after him. I still had a few days, maybe.
Chapter 7
I woke up on my cot in my little cell to high-pitched screams and shouts of vulgarity. My eyes sprang open and I sat up on the cot to see Tanner unceremoniously throwing a screaming redhead into the cell beside me. The girl, who appeared to be just out of high school, fell backwards against the brick of the back wall. Looking over at Becca, she didn’t even bother to open her eyes to see what was going on. No doubt she’d been through a drop-off more than once.
Switching my gaze back to the redhead I watched as she got up off the floor and raced up to the front of the cell, which was already closed and locked, called Tanner a fucking prick and spit in his face. My eyes widened in terror, waiting to see the repercussions of her insolence.
Tanner grunted as he wiped his face with his bare hand. “That’s a free one, bitch.”
“Fuck… you…” Her body vibrated with anger. Unlike me, she’d been stripped before being brought down here. “I’m going to fucking kill you! You hear me!”
I glanced over at Jazz guarding the door with Connor and then back to Tanner, not even paying any mind to the fact that I was staring. I might get reprimanded for lifting my eyes, but the scene was too much to not watch, being this was the first time I’d seen a new arrival.
Glancing back over at Becca, I noticed her eyes were now open, but she didn’t move from the cot. She’d been extremely subdued since they murdered the Asian woman, who I later found out from Becca was named Mia, the previous day. Apparently, before Mia lost her mind they’d been friends – or as much of friends as you could be in a place like this.
I’d been avoiding looking at the spot where Mia was murdered. While there was no longer any blood, seeing that area brought the image back to my mind. Instead I’d been trying to focus on Lance and the feelings of reassurance that came with his embrace. It was the only light I had in this darkness and I knew I had to cling to it, whether it was mentally and emotionally healthy for me to do so or not.
One of the girls in a corner cell to the left of me, at the end of the line on the opposite side, was extremely religious. She softly prayed constantly. She hadn’t lost it yet and I think it was due to the fact she had something to believe in. No matter how bad things got for her she was confident God would save her from the grasp of evil. In a fucked-up, twisted way, I think Lance was to me as God was to her – a small part of me felt he’d protect me.
Was thinking Lance may be my knight in shining armour stupid? Most likely. A necessity to get through the horrors of each day – definitely.
“Do you know who I am, motherfucker! My father is a detective with the LAPD. He’ll find me, tear off your balls and feed
them to you. You… you FUCK!”
I waited on bated breath to see Tanner’s response. To my surprise there was none, didn’t even give her the speech. Instead he spun on his heel and left, followed by Connor and Jazz, slamming the door behind them.
I watched the redhead as she took a moment to explore her surroundings. Once done, she gave the bucket an angry kick. It slammed against the cell door and down to the floor with a clunk, water spilling out over the floor and creeping into my cell. Fuck! Feeling my eyes on her, she returned the stare as she plunked herself down on the cot.
“Bastards,” the redhead grumbled, batting away her tears with the back of her hand. “Where are we?”
I shrugged. “Some place in the woods. That’s all I know.”
She nodded.
“I’m Gwen.” I jerked my thumb back at Becca. “That’s Becca.” I would have introduced her to the other girls, but I still hadn’t learned their names. I could have told you their slave numbers, though. From what I could tell, the longer girls were here, the less likely they were to continue using their real names. After time they became the numbers assigned to them.
“Jenny...” the girl mumbled. Her head cocked to the side and she eyed me carefully. Suddenly her eyes lit up with recognition, taking me by surprise. “Are you her? The cheerleader?”
I crinkled my nose up and I shrugged. “I… umm… I’m not sure. What are you talking about?”
“Ohmygod, it’s all in the news! Your face is plastered everywhere. Your dad’s a mayor, right?”
“Yeah.” I tried not to let my mind go where it wanted to and think about my family. I’d cried so much over the past almost week that I wasn’t even sure I would have any tears left to cry anyhow.
A smile crossed her face and she bounced with excitement, not an emotion I’d seen from one of us before. “Oh yeah, you’re almost famous! And your boyfriend. Ohmygod! Fucking hot! He was on TV pleading with whoever it was that took you to bring you back. He had a ring and everything and told reporters he was going to propose as soon as you’re found.”
Bad & Bold - A 7 Book Bad Boy Romance Collection! Page 79