The edge of life: Official cover - coming soon

by Rachael Tonks

  All I can do is wait.

  Wait for the evil to reveal itself.

  And that’s exactly what I do. I clear my mind, concentrating only on counting.

  “Ten thousand and one, ten thousand and two…”

  That’s the number I get to when the car suddenly stops. I lift my head a little, turning it in hopes to hear something. I have to take in everything. My surroundings, my captor, my location. It’s the only way.

  I freeze at the sound of a door opening. Despite having something covering my head, it's suddenly become much lighter. I still can’t see beyond whatever is over my head, but the light, I can see. Part of me contemplates screaming and shouting, but the scared, seventeen-year-old in me tells me to keep quiet.

  Hands land on me heavily, dragging me from the vehicle. My head whips back and forth frantically.

  “Take her in,” bellows a gruff voice I don’t recognize. “We need her cleaned up and ready for show time. Be gentle; I don’t want her marked any more than she already is.”

  My feet don’t even touch the ground. I’m lifted and carried a short distance. I try to wiggle free, but it’s no use. I’m weak and sore, and I’m no match for the hands that carry me.

  “W-w-where am I?” I croak out, a sob catching in my throat. I remind myself to stay strong and not to let my emotion control me. I need to be in control, however bad the situation.

  Whoever is carrying me doesn’t answer, but they do laugh. A low, menacing laugh and it knocks me sick to my stomach. Whatever is going on here, they think it’s funny.

  The sound of their footsteps against the floor matches the sound of my thudding heart; I’m just not sure which is loudest. Right now, all I can hear is the sound of my own heartbeat.

  “This one,” the voice instructs as I’m pulled in another direction. All a sudden, we stop, and I’m placed down in some sort of seat. My mind races at a thousand miles an hour, trying to anticipate what will happen to me next. Where the hell am I? And what am I doing here?

  The bind around my wrists loosens. The material over my head moves. Someone is removing it, but the brightness of the light is too much. It stings so bad, causing me to lift my arm, using it to cover my eyes. I slowly start to move my arm, allowing a small amount of light to flood my sensitive eyes. I blink rapidly, hoping and praying my eyes will adjust quickly. I need to see where I am. Study my surroundings. I have to try to be one step ahead.

  Finally, as my eyes adjust, I see two men in front of me. They stand with their legs apart, hands clutched together in front of them, in front of the door. Slowly, I remove my arm, reaching down and rubbing my wrists. They are sore and red from the ropes.

  “Where am I?” I ask as calmly as my voice will allow. My throat is dry and sore, and talking now appears painful.

  “Your location is irrelevant,” drones the female voice from behind me. I turn, surprised by her presence. She stands with her back to me, and she’s moving things around on what looks like a dressing table.

  “Who the hell are you?” I shriek. “I seriously need to get some answers.” I straighten myself, turning and glaring at the two guys in front of me. “Well,” I screech. “Where the fuck am I? What do you want with me?” I rub my throat in a circular motion, desperate to relieve the pain. I want to stand, and I have nothing stopping me, but I feel weak. I have no energy, and my whole body aches.

  I glare at the guys. If looks could kill, these two would be gone by now. But they don’t speak.

  “I’m here to do a job. To make you look as pretty as possible,” the woman drones.

  “So you bound me, threw me in the trunk of a car, and brought me here, just so you can give me some ridiculous sort of makeover?”

  “You need to bring a high price. You are our star attraction for the night,” she continues, making no sense at all.

  “Attraction? What the fuck are you talking about?”

  I feel the sick sting the back of my throat. High price? Attraction? What the hell is she talking about?

  “What exactly are you expecting me to do?” I ask, swallowing the bile trying to force its way up.

  “Absolutely nothing,” she murmurs, finally turning to me. Her straight black shiny hair, styled in a bob, frames her attractive face. She has beautiful olive skin and full lips that seem to twist at the corner as she takes me in. Stepping forward slightly, she reaches her hand to me. I flinch, moving my head back as far as I can. But she doesn’t stop. She grasps my chin, forcing me to look at her. “Well, you’re quite the pretty little thing, aren’t you?”

  I try to snap my chin from her hold, but she tightens her fingers.

  “There’s no point in resisting, Kailee.” She runs her long, bright red nail down the side of my face.

  “Yes, you are quite a rarity. We don’t get many like you.” Her eyes drift from my face as she takes in the rest of my body. “Such a shame,” she says with a lift of her brow.

  “What is?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at the strange women.

  “That you will be sold to the highest bidder. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have liked a taste myself.”

  “Sold,” I yelp. “You can’t sell me.” My voice is now full of panic. “I’m not a goddamn car. I’m a fucking human being.” I find the strength to step up from my seat despite every part of me shaking uncontrollably. Not sure what to do, or if there’s anywhere to go, but I push past the two guys standing in front of the door, screaming, and banging my hand against the metallic door.

  “Where are they?” I twist my neck, my eyes landing on the women whose name I don’t know.

  “Who?” she asks calmly.

  “Jax and Eric. The assholes who made this happen.”

  “They’re not here. But they will be.” She smiles widely. “Don’t worry; you’ll be able to say goodbye to lover boy.”

  My legs give way, and my body collapses to the floor as I bend over, sobbing hysterically. This is it. The end of my life as I know it.

  Ryder

  If anything happens to her, I will kill the fuckers responsible with my bare hands. Marco’s driver speeds to get us to the trailer park as fast as fucking possible.

  “This whole thing is fucking with my head, man.” I sigh heavily. I tap my leg repeatedly, anxiety getting the better of me. “I need you to be straight with me, Marco. If you know something, I swear to God, you have to tell me. Henchmen, or no fucking henchmen, I’ll rip you from limb to limb if I learn you have anything to do with this.”

  He might be helping me, but I don’t doubt for a motherfucking second that he’d screw me over in a heartbeat.

  “Ryder, man. You have my word. I am just as in the dark as you are.” I glance over my shoulder at him sitting in the backseat. My eyes land on him, darkening with an unspoken warning.

  “I fucking mean it, bro,” I growl, letting him know that my threat isn’t an empty one.

  He holds up both hands in mock surrender. “I never doubt you, Ryder. You’re a man of your word. Give me the same courtesy, will you?”

  “I trust no one, not even that fucking brother of mine,” I say, flaring my nostrils. It’s true. Since he became secretly involved in Eric’s business, I’ve not been able to trust him. And I’m not gonna lie. It cuts deep. Too fucking deep. But what can I do?

  “I’m gonna try Jax’s cell phone again.” Marco narrows his eyes, pouting his lips a little.

  I lift my top lip, screwing up my face. “What the fuck is that look all about?” I ask.

  “I have an idea. A really good idea. Now, listen. If Jax’s cell phone is switched on, I can locate him. All I need is my laptop and about ten minutes.”

  “You’re shitting me, right?” I breathe out heavily in disbelief.

  “No, Ryder, I’m not.”

  “Why didn’t you mention this earlier.”

  “It just came to me, all right!” he snaps. “Jesus, if I pull this off, you’re going to owe me big time, you hear, big boy.” He winks at me, pulling out his tongue.

&nb
sp; “Back the fuck up.” I chortle. “It ain’t happening. Not now, not ever.”

  He shakes his head, pouting more than ever. “Humor me.” He flutters his eyelashes at me.

  “You’re a crazy motherfucker.” I shake my head.

  “Oh, come on, Ryder. You know you’ve been my guy crush since high school.”

  “Not. Happening,” I say with a tone that tells him I'm serious. Marco is like a rabbit most of the time. He’ll fuck anything that moves and is openly bisexual. I couldn’t give a fuck, but he’s barking up the wrong tree with me.

  He laughs loudly. “I’m just messing with you.” He dismisses me with a light wave of his hand. He pulls the phone from his ear. “Good news, my man. The cell is on. I need to get my laptop set up when we get to your trailer. Let’s get a local on them!”

  It’s not long before we’re pulling into the park. I crane my neck, trying to look around for any sign that they might be here. But there isn’t any. No sign of the Honda Jax bought Kailee. Everything looks exactly as it was when we left. As soon as the car slows down, I thrust open the door, jumping out. I storm over to the trailer, yanking on the door handle. Locked.

  I race over to Eric’s trailer next door. I pull on the handle. This one’s locked too.

  “No sign?” Marco yells, two or three more cars pulling behind his huge Bentley.

  I tilt my head a little. “Company?” I question with wide eyes.

  Marco looks over his shoulder, trying to figure out what I’m talking about. “They’re my men. At ease.” He laughs.

  I dart back over to the half-opened door, reaching in for my gym bag to search for my keys. The cold metal against my hand tells me I have found what I was looking for. “Let’s get inside. I need to see if Eric’s trailer key is in there.”

  “Good idea,” Marco says, landing a heavy hand on my back.

  Making our way inside, I switch on the light and begin searching, trying to find the fucking key that must be here somewhere. Unless Jax has it with him. I pull the keys from the key rack, frantically throwing them on the floor. But no joy. I step over to the shelf, running my arm across, and I knock the contents to the floor. Dropping down, I search through the stack of papers and more keys.

  “Shit,” I growl. “It’s not here.” I slam my clenched fist against the floor.

  “So what,” Marco looks at me with a worrying smile on his face.

  “So what?” I fire back. “I need to get in there,” I roar.

  “So I get one of my guys to get in there. No problem.” He loosely shrugs. He turns on his heel and steps outside. I follow him, stopping just outside my trailer. He walks over to one of the other cars parked, bends down to the window, and says something I can’t quite make out.

  Within seconds, he jogs back over to me, case in hand. “Let me get a local on your brother while my guys get you into the trailer, yeah?”

  “Sure.” I squeeze his neck gently. “Thanks for this, man. I owe you big time.”

  “Don’t thank me yet,” he says with a lift of his brow as he walks into my trailer. I step back and watch the guys as they bend in front of the door. All a sudden, the door is open, and they stand in front of it, their arms pointing inside.

  I race over, thanking them as I steam inside. I head straight for Eric’s room, searching for something that could lead me to their whereabouts. I rummage through his cabinets, shocked by the serious amount of narcotics. Eric is doing some serious drugs. But I can’t find anything else of interest. I step out of his room and to the one next door. Kailee’s bedroom.

  I swallow down hard, and a cold shiver rushes through me as I step inside. The room smells just as sweet as she does. The perfume she wears is all I can smell. I reach for the closet doors, checking inside for anything that might be missing. There isn’t a great deal in here, but I can’t see anything obvious missing.

  “Ryder…” Marco is screaming my name over and over. My heart pounds as I will my feet to move faster to get to him as quickly as I can.

  “What?” I roar emerging at speed from the trailer.

  “You’re going to want to come and look at this,” he shouts so loud his voice gives out.

  Kailee

  “I need you to change into these,” the dark-haired women instructs, thrusting the items of clothing toward me. I glance down and grab it from her hands. Holding it up, I take a closer look. This isn’t clothing at all. It’s lingerie.

  “I… I… I can’t wear this,” I croak out.

  “Oh, you can. And you will,” she says, widening her eyes. “Now,” she yells, and my whole body shakes in response.

  “What, here? In front of you and those guys?” I point over at the two men still blocking the door.

  I watch as she drops her head back, laughing loudly. She kicks her hip out, placing a hand there.

  “What is it exactly that you expect? Getting changed in front of a few strangers is the least of your worries.” She continues to laugh.

  “I’m not doing it,” I roar. “You can’t do this to me. I’m not some damn puppet; I’m my own person.”

  She reaches for me, grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling it back so roughly that I can’t help but cry out in pain.

  “You have two fucking options, little girl. Either you cooperate, or I make you.” Her other hand reaches down to the table, and it reappears in front of my face. She has a hypodermic needle held between her fingers. “This little concoction will make you more than agreeable.” She grins evilly at me. “So what’s it going to be?” she asks, moving the needle closer and closer to my face. I try to push back, shaking my head as much as possible, despite her hold on my hair.

  “No,” I cry out. My eyes fill with impending tears, but I do everything I can to fight them back. I nod, determined not to get pumped full of God knows what.

  “Good.” She releases my hair, stepping back and picking up the underwear from the floor. “I’m glad we agree.” I reach my shaking hand out, taking the clothes from her grasp. I nervously look at the guys at the door and back at her again. I can do this. I have to do this. I close my eyes, turning until I’m facing the wall. I quickly start to undress, hunching my shoulders and trying to protect what little bit of dignity I have left as silent tears fall over my cheeks. I slide the bra around my torso, fastening it and pulling it into place. The pathetic scrap of material is practically see-through, and the lacy white material covers nothing. I try to swallow down the bile rising in my throat; the fear of the unknown terrifies me.

  “Fear is natural,” the woman says smugly as if she is reading my thoughts. “But you need to learn to control it. Be strong but don’t fight the inevitable, darlin’.”

  I ignore her, continuing to change. I check over my shoulder, and she’s still there watching. Waiting for me.

  “Give me your old clothes. You won’t be needing those.” She holds out her arms, and I reluctantly pass my things to her. She takes them from me, and holding open a black sack, she throws them in. “Turn to me.” She twirls her long skinny finger in the air. “I want to see all of you,” she pouts, her eyes widening as I turn to her.

  “So fucking good,” she murmurs, resting her index finger against her plush lips. “We just need to fix your hair and give you a little makeup. Kailee, you are going to be the star of tonight’s show.”

  I‘m screaming on the inside. I want to do something. I want to run or fight, but I can’t. When all is said and done, I have to do this. I have no choice. I shiver. I’m so damn cold and so very scared.

  The woman reaches forward, taking my hand and leading me over to the table. The stark white room has nothing but the one clothes rack and this small vanity table. She presses down on my shoulders, forcing me into the chair. My hands shake uncontrollably. I squeeze them together, trying to control the emotion raging inside me. I stare blankly at the wall as she styles my hair and applies more makeup than I’ve ever worn in my life. I let my eyes glance occasionally at my reflection in the mirror. If a hooker i
s the look she’s aiming for, I have to say she nailed it. My lips are now bright red, my cheeks highlighted and contoured. The volume of mascara on my eyelashes makes my lids feel heavy.

  “No crying now.” She shakes her finger in front of my face. “You are utter perfection,” she says smugly. “Don’t ruin it.”

  I lift my head a little in acknowledgment.

  “Well,” she says, clapping her hands together loudly, “my job here is done. Wait here. They will come for you when it’s time.”

  I do what I’ve got to do. I don’t fight. I don’t resist it. I play the game.

  Nodding, I fold my arms across my chest, trying to conceal my breasts that are clearly on show.

  “I hope you get a good owner. There’s a fire inside you.” She stops walking, turns, and narrows her eyes at me. “A girl like you could do well out of this. This auction is full of millionaires. No, scrap that” —she pauses for a second, holding up her hand— “billionaires.” She smiles. Her smile is neither nice nor is it evil. Maybe it’s sympathic, but whatever it is, I’ll never forget that face.

  Never.

  “What do they want from me? What is it they expect me to do?” I ask, scared to hear the actual reasons.

  “Everything, Kailee. Everything and anything. You will fulfill their every need and desire. Some will make you work; some will keep you to themselves. It all depends,” she says nonchalantly, lifting and dropping her shoulders loosely.

  “Work?” I whisper, my mind full of the thoughts that only nightmares contain. I’m beyond terrified. My legs shake, and I try desperately to hold onto hope. Maybe I can escape. Maybe I can get away from whoever buys me. I sit in the chair, and there isn’t a part of me that isn’t shaking. I close my eyes, trying to figure out ways to escape. I have to do this. I can do this, I tell myself.