Standing, Connor noticed my staring and walked over to the bars separating us. “Don’t worry, whore. I haven’t forgotten you.” The bastard gave me a wink and began to whistle as he left Jenny’s cell and locked it behind him. Moments later the trio of guards were gone and I was left trembling on my cot. I’d hoped Lance somehow had me protected, even while gone, but I thought I may have been wrong. Connor was coming for me.
~*~*~*~*~
I was just beginning to dig into my slop that was considered food around here when the soft moaning of the new girl to the left of me drew my attention to her.
“She’s waking up,” I said to Becca.
“That one too,” Becca added, jerking her thumb toward the girl on the opposite end of the dungeon.
“Wh-where, where am I? I’m so thirsty,” the girl to my left muttered as she slowly sat up. After a minute she stood and her eyes began to widen as she surveyed her surroundings. I knew the look well, I could almost see that she was thinking the same things that had run through my mind – the same things that I imagine ran through most girls’ minds after being abducted and dumped off in this godforsaken place.
“You’ve been taken,” Becca spoke up.
“Taken? Where? By who? Ohmygod! Claire! Claire. Where’s my sister?” Her expression became frantic. “Where’s my sister? What did they do with her?” Her voice became a high-pitched scream, piercing my skull.
“She’s over there.” I pointed to the cage at the opposite end of the hallway.
“Where? I can’t see her!”
“Chloe?” A second identical voice to the new girl called out. When she walked to the front of the cage I saw the identical image to the first girl. They’d kidnapped identical twins.
Sadistic bastards must be proud of themselves, I seethed inwardly. The Boss must have a serious hard-on for what kind of cash two young, beautiful twins could bring in. One day I’d see that The Boss and all the rest of the savages would pay – for everything. I had no idea how, but I had lots of time to think and figure it out.
“Claire. Oh thank God, are you okay?”
“Where are we?”
Becca, myself and the other girls who were eating our dinner listened to the two women chatter, answering whatever questions we could for them. I glanced over at Jenny, who was sound asleep with the ball gag still in her mouth oblivious to everything around her, which seemed to be her normal state of being since arriving here – that is, when she wasn’t ranting as if begging to be punished.
“What are they going to do with us?” I glanced over at Chloe and grimaced.
“You’ll be sold,” Becca, the woman of brutal truth supplied, before I could formulate an answer that wouldn’t cause her brown eyes to break down in a fit of tears or turn her into a state of hysteria.
“What do you mean?”
We could hear the voices of our captors and all quickly placed our trays at the fronts of our cages and slipped onto our cots, manning the position.
“What’s going on?” Chloe asked.
“Why are you all being quiet?” Claire asked.
“Shhhh. Be quiet,” Becca hissed, looking from one girl to the other. “Get on your cots and shut up.” Neither girl paid any mind to her warnings, remaining rooted in the spots at the fronts of their cells.
The door unlocked and swung open; Tanner, followed by Jazz and Connor entered. While Jazz and Connor began gathering the food trays, Tanner made his way over to Claire and gave her the intro speech. While my reaction to the speech had been silence and Jenny’s had been aggression, Claire and Chloe’s was more what you would expect from someone in their situation. They pled for each other’s lives, begging to be let go, tried to reason with him. They went through the string of appeals until they were on their knees on the concrete, tears streaming down their cheeks.
By the time Tanner was finished with his spiel, Connor and Jazz were back from tray duty. As Tanner removed Chloe from her cage, Jazz removed Claire. The girls fought like little wildcats and I silently cheered them on even though I knew what would happen to them for their defiance. I could already feel their pain; my jaw ached as a reminder of the blow I’d received in the doctor’s office on my first day.
The ruckus caused by the twins roused Jenny from her slumber. Jenny was immediately alert and pounding against the bars of her cell, making grunting noises around the ball gag in her mouth. While Jenny’s noisemaking would normally bring about punishment, the three men had their hands full with the struggling twins.
One of the two managed to break free of Jazz’s grasp and lunged for Connor, jumping onto his back and pummeling the back of his head with her small fists. Connor released the twin he was holding and fell backward into the cell behind him, crushing the twin on his back. She grunted and released her hold on him, tumbling to the ground. The twin who was released raced to the doorway and was almost out by the time she was tackled to the ground by Jazz.
And it was over. The hands of the twins were quickly bound behind their backs and they were escorted out.
“Show’s over ladies,” Tanner announced, ushering the girls from the dungeon. The women left with innocence and spirit. I suspected when they returned they would have a whole different perspective on life.
~*~*~*~*~
“I told you I wouldn’t forget about you, whore.” Connor’s low, gravelly voice in my ear pulled me from a deep sleep to find a hand firmly over my mouth and his body pressed down on top of me. I attempted to push him off, but he easily overpowered me.
I looked up at him with terror in my eyes and filling every inch of my body. Everyone was asleep in the dungeon and I could assume it was overnight, which meant it would be hours before the men came down to check on our cells.
“If you fight or cause a problem –” He nodded toward Jenny, who had finally been permitted to be unshackled and no longer gagged. “She’ll pay for it. I may not be able to punish you, but I can make her life worse than it already is. Or maybe I’ll work over one of the twins. Fuck one while making the other watch.”
He’d do it. The sick bastard would do it. One thing I’d noticed during my time there was that a sort of sisterhood developed between the girls. We may be diverse in ethnicity and social stature on the outside world, but in here we were the same and all we had was each other to get through the days. We may not get to even speak for the most part, but we all knew with a glance into each other’s eyes that we were in this together. When the girls were sold, or in the case of Mia murdered, then we all felt it.
“Nod if you understand me.” I nodded and he slowly removed his gloved hand from my lips.
“Please, they’re not ready for that,” I whispered, not wanting to wake the others. The only thing worse than what was about to happen was having the girls watch it happen. It felt like a part of me was torn apart when Jenny was raped mere feet away from me and there wasn’t a damned thing I could do about it.
“Nothing will happen to them, as long as you lie here and let me find out for myself what’s so magical about your pussy that you have The Boss’s son’s balls in a sling. You must have a golden pussy is all I can figure.” His hand slipped down the side of my hip. “But I guess I’m about to find out, aren’t I whore?”
I held back a sob, but couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks. It had been a few days since Lance left, he was supposed to be back by now, and a part of me had held onto the hope that maybe Connor wouldn’t follow through with his threat. I should have known I wouldn’t get that lucky, he’d just been waiting for a moment when he wouldn’t get caught.
He shifted his weight on me, forcing my legs apart and palming my mound. My body tensed and my jaw clenched to keep from screaming out in protest when his fingers began to explore between my legs.
“You’re not going to say a word to anyone about this. Not the other slaves and not your boyfriend. No one. Or the other girls will suffer. You may be protected, but the others aren’t.”
I can endure. I can
do this, I coached myself, trying not to lose my mind. The thought of him filling me with cum made me sick to my stomach and I gagged just from the thought. My stomach churned and I prayed I wouldn’t lose the little bit of food I had in my stomach.
As his fingers probed my entrance, I instinctually clenched up, my thighs attempting to close together and force him out, but he was too strong, too eager.
Grabbing a fist full of my golden hair he yanked hard. I bit down on my lower lip so hard I could taste the blood as my teeth broke the skin, to keep from screaming.
“Let me in, cunt,” he growled, leaning down and licking the side of my neck.
My stomach churned again. Please don’t puke, please don’t puke, I begged my body. The sheet on the cots were changed once a week so I’d be sleeping in vomit for a long time before I got to sleep in fresh sheets again. Taking a deep breath in I slowly released it and forced myself to relax. Just had to get it over with.
“That’s a good girl,” he groaned, sinking a couple fingers into me.
I had to think of something else, somewhere else. Anywhere. I closed my eyes tight and I left my body and was transported back to the state cheer competition. That was such a wonderful day. I squealed in delight as Jared and Theo hoisted me up onto their shoulders and I held our trophy high above my head.
The feel of his cock pressing at my entrance jarred the fantasy for a brief moment, but then the pressure was gone.
“Get the fuck off of her or I’ll blow your fucking brains all over this cell.” The voice was so familiar I began to cry in earnest now, not caring if I woke any of the other girls.
Connor didn’t move; his body was stiff over me.
“I said, slowly, get the fuck off of her. I won’t warn you again.” Lance’s voice was so menacing, so filled with rage it made me cringe inside. He’d do it. The sound of a gun being cocked echoed through the room. “Last chance.”
Connor’s weight slowly moved off of mine and I immediately scrambled out from under him and cowered in the corner, pulling my legs up to my chest, and began rocking. It had been close to a week since I’d had a panic attack, but I felt one coming on.
Breathe, I gotta breathe, I kept reminding myself. My breaths started becoming short, quick and ragged and the room began to spin. My stomach churned again. Ohmygod! I rocked harder, placing my forehead onto my knees. The feeling began to pass and my breathing started to slow to normal.
My head jerked upward when I heard the loud thud and groan. A trickle of blood seeped down Connor’s temple and his body slammed backward against the brick wall beside me. I watched in shock as Lance began to beat on Connor using the butt of the gun as a weapon until Connor was a semiconscious bloody, moaning mess on the floor beside the cot. What shocked me even more was the look of pure rage on Lance’s face and cold fury in his blue eyes.
For a moment I didn’t think he was going to stop until Connor was dead, but finally he stepped back and stuffed the bloody gun into the back of his jeans.
“You okay, baby? Did he hurt you?” Lance leaned down and began touching my cheek as his eyes examined every part of me, the rage in his eyes softening to anger.
I shook my head. “No. You stopped him before…”
“I’ll get you out of here in a minute.” His eyes refocused on Connor. “Time to teach this fucker a lesson.”
My brow furrowed as I watched Lance undress Connor. What the fuck?
“Ummm. Lance?” Feeling eyes on me, I noticed Becca had woken and was watching Lance. She had an odd expression on her face that I’m sure was identical to the one I had.
Once Connor was stripped and his clothing tossed into a heap by the entrance, with a bit of effort Lance managed to string him up from the top of the cage. Connor was so groggy that he didn’t put up a fight, simply allowed it to happen. Leaving my cell, Lance grabbed a ball gag from the rack beside the door and re-entered my cell, stuffing it into Connor’s mouth and securing it behind his head.
Once done Lance took a step back and nodded. “Let him stay like that for a while.”
Getting up from my spot on the cot, I stood beside Lance and eyed Connor, not sure what to think. I supposed this was one way to humiliate Connor. Connor seemed to regain a little more of his consciousness and his eyes widened as he struggled against the binds, his face growing red with anger.
Connor’s struggles awoke Jenny, who was immediately on her feet, taunting Connor. He turned to Jenny and glared at her. No doubt she would regret her actions, but for now, she had the privilege of being on the other side of the binds and she was making the most of it.
“Come on.” Grabbing my elbow, Lance locked my cell up with Connor struggling in it, led me from the dungeon without as much as a look back at Connor. He didn’t bother with a leash, but grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway and up the first set of stairs. We walked past the BDSM room, which was usually the room he took me to, and headed for the elevator to take us to the main floor of the compound.
“Where are we going?” I wasn’t allowed on the main floor, was I? Why was he taking me up?
“My room.”
“But I’m not allowed…”
“I was told nothing would happen to you while I was gone and it appears that was an empty promise, so you’re staying with me until this is settled. Did he fuck you while I was gone?”
“No.”
Lance punched in the code to the elevator then turned to me. “Did any of them fuck you?”
“No. This was the first time any tried. They all ignored me.”
His jaw clenched as the elevator doors slid open and he ushered me in. “If I hadn’t gotten there… I should have fucking killed him and gotten it over with.”
“Wouldn’t The Boss kill you if you did?”
Lance punched the button to take us up a floor and the doors slid closed. “Considering the deals I just set up for him I doubt he’ll do a damned thing.”
My brow furrowed. What did he mean by that? He didn’t select girls. Or hadn’t up until that point. As I searched my brain I was hard pressed to think of what he actually did do for his father. I looked up at him with questions in my eyes, hoping he’d elaborate. He didn’t. He met my stare, but refused to comment further.
Chapter 15
Lance had understated when he said he was taking me to his room, which was actually an apartment at one end of the top floor of the compound. The apartment contained one bedroom, a living room, bathroom and small kitchen, all humbly furnished.
“Do all the guys get rooms like this?” I asked as my fingers grazed the back of the suede sofa. I looked up at him and caught his gaze. All anger had left his eyes and expression and he was the Lance I’d grown fond of again – caring and concerned.
“No. Most have little studio apartment-style rooms on this floor. My father, of course, has the entire main floor.”
It felt like I’d walked into a different reality. My eyes caught sight of a window and I rushed to it, a wide smile on my face. It was the dead of the night, but I didn’t care. It was just nice to see the outside world, even if it was through a barred window.
“Wow!” I breathed the word, not even realizing I actually said anything until I felt him behind me, his hands on my shoulders, running up and down my upper arms. I looked up and noticed it was a clear night; a large full moon illuminated the sky with thousands of stars dancing around it. “It’s beautiful.”
“What?” Brushing my hair to one side, he undid my collar and removed it from my neck and tossed it onto the floor. I’d gotten so used to the collar, I barely noticed it anymore.
Tears sprang to my eyes and I leaned back into him. I’d missed the comfort of his arms so much over the past several days. I seriously doubted I would have been able to hang on long had he not come back. “The sky. The world outside these walls.”
His arms slipped around my waist and he kissed my temple. “Go get a bath and when you’re done I have a surprise for you.”
Not sure I heard
him right, I looked over my shoulder at him. “A surprise?”
“Yeah, a surprise. Now come on.” Stepping away from me, he took my hand and led me into the bathroom. The bathroom was plain, a deep tub with shower, toilet and one-sink vanity. Nothing fancy, but considering what I’d become accustomed to the past couple of weeks or so, it felt like the Ritz-Carlton. My eyes immediately spotted the toothbrush and toothpaste and it made me realize how much you can miss and take for granted such small things.
Giving me a little hip bump out of the way, Lance opened the cabinet under the vanity and produced a toothbrush and passed it to me. “Be my guest.”
I squealed and hugged him tight, grabbing the toothbrush and dousing it with toothpaste. It hadn’t even occurred to me until now how horrid my breath must smell. I flushed slightly; how on earth could he even have kissed me after my not brushing my teeth since I was abducted?
While I brushed my teeth, he ran a bath, even adding bubble bath! The bathroom immediately took on the smell of lavender. Tears formed in my eyes again. This was heaven. Surely Connor had killed me and I was in heaven or I was dreaming. I’d wake in a moment and be back in my cell realizing it was all a dream.
Turning to the sink I spit out the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth, placing my toothbrush next to his in the holder. I actually giggled, seeing our toothbrushes side by side, like this was the most normal situation in the world. The comment Lance had made before he left about me nagging like a worried wife came to mind, making the giggle turn to a snort of laughter.
“You okay?”
My laughter simmered, but the grin remained. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.”
Looking up, I caught my reflection in the mirror and gasped, the smile completely wiped from my face. I looked horrid. Dark circles lay under my eyes and my once heart-shaped face was taking on a long narrow look, my already slender frame had lost even more weight and I was becoming sickly thin. After a minute of staring at myself in the mirror, a part of me mourning the loss of the girl I used to be and was beginning to doubt I’d ever be again, I turned to see him staring at me, but not saying a word.
Bad & Bold - A 7 Book Bad Boy Romance Collection! Page 86