by M. G. Morgan
I moved ahead of the guards and Paige, guiding the small group down the hall to one of the bathing chambers. Pushing open the doors, the smell of perfumes and soap tickled my nose. Steam curled in the air from the large sunken bath in the centre of the room. I turned in time to watch Paige cowering in the corner. I wouldn’t get her cleaned up with the guards standing and watching us. She was far too new to all of this and she wouldn’t understand.
I moved towards one of the guards and stood on tip toe. Michael dipped his head, allowing me to press my lips to his ear.
“Can you wait outside? She’s not going to cooperate with me, if you guys are watching and I’d rather not get punished because she’s not ready on time.”
I smiled up at him and he nodded, he gestured to the other guard and they both moved past me and out through the double doors. Michael had always been the kindest guard. He always did his job, just enough cruelty to scrape by Christopher. But if he had a choice he always chose to be gentle. Considering how vicious Christopher was I’d always admired that part of Michael, it was a risk but it was one he was willing to take.
Turning back to Paige I approached her slowly, my hands raised in front of me in an attempt to show her that I meant her no harm. The last thing I wanted to do was spook her. She was a fighter and I had no doubt that she would fight me if she thought it meant her freedom.
“I’m not here to hurt you… I’m a prisoner, like you… I’m Bella and you must be Paige.”
I crouched down beside her.
“I need to get out of here.”
Paige’s voice was filled with fear and pain. One look at her arm explained at least where some of the pain was coming from. A long gash ran along the inside of her arm, from wrist to elbow. It had been stitched once but they had split during the struggle.
“I know you think you do, but women here only get out one way… When another man buys you… And that can either be a blessing or a curse.”
She shook her head at me and I watched the tears she was trying to force down cloud her eyes.
“He’s waiting for me… I belong to another… I don’t belong here…” She hiccuped through her tears and stifled the sound with her hand. “Chris took me because of his vendetta with Will… He wants me dead, he plans to kill me, I know he does… I have to get out of here, I have to get back to Will.”
I took her hand gently in mine and guided her over to the benches that lined the far wall. Pulling the suture kit I had hidden beneath the bench I began to tend to the wound on her arm. It wasn’t the first time I’d been forced to stitch up one of the girls and it was easier to keep the medical kit somewhere to hand. Asking Chris for anything was an ordeal, sometimes he allowed it, other times his cruelty got the better of him and he wanted the girls to suffer.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Paige asked, her curiosity about me getting the better of her.
I smiled at her as I answered. It was one of the only things I could smile about now.
“I trained to be a nurse long before I came here. I haven’t lost my skills and Chris lets me tend to the injured whenever possible…”
I cut myself off, I was being far too generous towards that man. If he had his way he would have me watch all of the injured suffer in agony. It was only because the girls were lucrative to him that he even allowed me to tend to them. Money after all spoke louder than any enjoyment he received from torturing others.
Paige touched her hand softly to my arm and I looked up at her surprised. She really was lovely. Her blonde hair hung down her back and although she wore some bruises and dirt from her ordeal, it didn’t change the fact that she was stunning. She was exactly Christopher’s type. He craved beauty. I’d often wondered if it was because he was so truly ugly on the inside.
Tears dripped down my cheeks as Paige held my hand softly. It had been such a long time since anyone had shown me any sort of kindness. And now the simple act of her hand on mine was enough to reduce me to a mess. In that moment I missed Aidan more than anything else. I’d been strong for so long, silent about my misery, I’d never truly allowed myself to grieve the loss of the man I loved.
“I was taken two years ago, I’ve been here ever since… My fiance was working on a case… It involved Christopher, as a punishment for Aidan shooting him in the shoulder he had me kidnapped and brought here…”
Something flickered across Paige’s face, she froze her tightening on my arm.
“What was his full name?”
With a shake of my head I stood. She was obviously suffering from shock, I could feel the tremors that ran through her arm and up into her body. I pulled her up with me and began to strip her old clothes but she stopped me.
“If we don’t get you cleaned up, Christopher will kill us both immediately… But he’ll let the guards have us first.”
I shivered as the thought passed through my mind. It was something I had avoided since I’d arrived. But the cost had been excruciating. The scar on my hip burned as I remembered. As quickly as it had arrived I pushed the thought from my mind. I wouldn’t allow anyone to touch me, I belonged to Aidan, he was the only man who would ever touch me and I would die before I let anyone else near me…
Paige instantly began helping me, stepping out of the her ruined clothes until she stood in front of me shivering before she stepped into the warm bath.
“Please tell me what his full name was?”
Why was she being so persistent, why was it so important I tell her Aidan’s name? These were my memories, precious memories that I kept bottled up within myself. Inside me they were safe, no one could touch them in there.
“What does it matter? It was such a long time ago, I don’t even know what happened to him.”
She grabbed my arm suddenly, digging her nails into the soft flesh of my wrist.
“Please.”
“Crantree, Aidan Crantree.”
She gasped and took a step back in the bath. I watched her carefully, if she fell, if anything happened to her it would be my head on the chopping block.
“I’ve met your fiance. He’s part of the reason I’m here.”
Shock and confusion fought for dominance in my mind. How was it possible? How could he be here?
“You know Aidan? How is he? Is he alright?”
I couldn’t keep the emotion out of my voice, it welled up within me, spilling from my mouth in the form of words and from my eyes as tears.
“What’s taking so long? You need to get her ready, Bella.”
Michael’s words rang out in the room, shocking me from my thoughts of Aidan. He slid back out through the doors and I watched as it clanged shut. I didn’t waste any time, grabbing Paige’s arm I pulled her closer to the edge of the pool.
“Please, you have to tell me how he is? I haven’t seen him in two years… I didn’t think he would ever come for me, it’s far too impossible. But just knowing that he is here, that he is nearby somewhere. I don’t know how to describe it.”
My voice choked off as the tears came faster.
“I don’t think he ever got over you… It seems to affect him in everything he does…”
There was something strained in her voice, something she wasn’t telling me. Perhaps he had moved on? Two years was a long time. He might have met someone new, someone he could be with… Someone who wouldn’t tell him they should wait before getting married… A girl that was just right for him. The fears and doubts swelled in my mind until I felt as though I might drown in them.
“I just can’t believe he is here… Perhaps when he comes here to save you, I’ll get to see him once more…”
I longed to see him, even if it was just to say goodbye.
She shook her head and I could feel all of my hopes and dreams crashing down around my ears. He had found someone else.
“Don’t count on it.”
“I don’t understand, what do you mean?”
I needed to know the truth, I needed to know if he had moved on.
&nb
sp; “He’s the reason I’m stuck here. He came in after me, I think, I’m not exactly sure what he was doing here. He wanted to know what I had found out, like did I know where the women were kept. And when I didn’t know anything, he left me here…”
I stumbled backwards, and sat down on the hard stone beside the pool. It didn’t sound like my Aidan at all. He wasn’t like that, he had never been like that.
“That’s not possible, that doesn’t sound like Aidan at all… He would never leave you here, not at the mercy of Christopher… He knows what that monster is like…”
I handed a bottle of scented oils to Paige without even thinking, my mind was far too preoccupied with thoughts of Aidan. He was here, but he was different, so different he didn’t seem like the man that I had left behind…
Paige stood there staring at the liquid and it took me a few seconds to realise that she wasn’t using it. Taking it back I pulled the cap from the bottle and lifted it to my nose.
“It’s like a type of shower gel… Christopher insists all the girls that go to him use it… He likes the way it smells on their skin.”
I wrinkled my nose in distaste as I handed it back to her. She lifted it to her own nose and inhaled deeply before quickly shoving it back into my hands.
“I’m not using it. I’m not going to be one of Chris’s whores. I want to get out of here and you’re going to help me do it.”
I shook my head and stood, grabbing a towel from the bench I wrapped it around Paige as she stepped out of the water.
“I can’t, he’ll kill me and strange as it may seem I don’t want to die.”
And it was true, I didn’t want to die, I was so close to seeing Aidan again, I had something worth fighting for.
“As it is I haven’t prepped you enough. You’re not the way he likes his girls.” Standing on tip toe I tried to fix her hair into a high ponytail but she shrugged me off.
“No. He’ll take me as I am or not at all. I’m not his. I belong to someone else and I’m not going to dress to please Chris. I’m a human being, I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
An hysterical giggle erupted from me as she finished speaking. With Chris around we weren’t human beings, we were toys placed here for his pleasure, for his enjoyment. We did whatever he wanted. There was no such thing as fair play or mutual pleasure. It was about him, we were the meat and that was that. And if Paige wasn’t careful she would learn that lesson the hard way.
I didn’t say anything to her, I simply handed her the bra and panties Chris expected her to be presented in. She held out her hand expecting more and when it didn’t come I could see the look of panic in her eyes. It grew and grew and the only thing I could think was that I hoped he didn’t see how truly afraid of him she was… It would only make it worse.
Standing in Christopher’s room I waited for the inevitable punishment. Paige wasn’t prepared properly for him, he wouldn’t allow me to get away with such a flagrant disobedience. The guards pushed Paige to the floor in front of the desk and she immediately started to climb to her feet.
“No please, stay down, you look so much better on your knees.”
Christopher’s voice slithered across my skin as he spoke. I could feel a tremor beginning in my knees and the harder I fought it the worse it became. I knew what was coming would be terrible. I didn’t want to be involved in any part of it and yet, here I stood.
Paige stood and I watched her lift her chin defiantly. The sinking feeling in my stomach grew worse. She really was a fighter. Christopher would enjoy breaking her.
I watched as he smiled at her and moved around the desk towards her. She trembled, her long limbs beginning to shake as each step took him closer. And then she turned and ran. She was faster than most, her legs carrying her to the door before he caught her.
I closed my eyes as he crushed her up against the wood, the excited quickening of his breathing echoing in my ears. I hated him. I hated him more than anything else.
I listened as he dragged her, struggling, back across the floor to his favourite toy, the horse. Paige cried out as he twisted her body and I flinched as though I could feel every touch, every strike.
“Why isn’t she properly prepared, Bella?”
My eyes flew open and I watched as he pushed Paige up onto the horse, his hands moving quickly to secure her in place. She fought him every step of the way, small cries of pain escaping her every time he used pure force to put her in her place.
“Sir, I… Well… She…”
I stumbled over my words, hoping to draw his attention from Paige. I knew stuttering drove him crazy and I was going to get punished anyway. Perhaps If I drew enough of his wrath he wouldn’t want to torment Paige as viciously as I sensed he planned to. I’d been beaten before… And he wouldn’t kill me… Not yet anyway.
“Bella, what have I told you about stuttering?”
He yanked the chains on the horse taut, hoisting Paige up from the floor and further across the wooden frame until her toes brushed against the tile.
“Clear concise answers only, please.”
His tone was soft, anyone would think he was teaching a child but I knew better. All it meant was he was gearing up for something truly terrible.
He advanced slowly and I cowered. It was easier that way, it was easier to let him believe that I was terrified of him, and it wasn’t really a lie either. I was terrified of him, terrified of all the things he was capable of. Terrified of all the pain he was capable of inflicting on others.
He let his fingers trail softly down the side of my face before he struck the first blow. After two years in Christopher’s clutches I knew it was coming. I dropped to the floor, stars exploding behind my vision and pain flaring in my face. Without thinking I lifted my hands to defend myself. It was the wrong thing to do. Christopher expected us to simply take whatever he was doling out. We were strictly forbidden from defending ourselves.
“You would try and defend yourself from your Master? You would lift your hands to your Master? You ungrateful little bitch.”
He drew back to hit me again when Paige’s voice interrupted him.
“It’s not her fault! I refused because I don’t belong to you. I belong to Will.”
I sat on the floor and I was sure I would be sick. My ears rang and I could taste blood filling my mouth. Christopher walked away from me and back towards Paige. My stomach twisted and I closed my eyes again.
No, no, no, no. Stupid girl. The voice repeated the words over and over in my mind as Christopher flicked on the television. The screen lit up, two bodies entwined in bed, their soft moans and intimate caresses filling the room. If Paige had just kept quiet then Chris would have left her alone, he could have focussed his anger on me, I could take it. There was no way she could.
I tried to drag myself upright but the room swam in sickening circles. Looking up I caught sight of what Christopher had planned. In his hands he held a riding crop and he was positioning himself behind Paige. The first blow fell on her before I had a chance to act.
Staring around the room I caught sight of the paperweight. I dragged myself towards it, clearing the blood from my face with the back of my hand. I couldn’t watch him hurt her. I couldn’t stand by and let him kill her and he would. I recognised the look in his eyes, I’d seen it once before in action. The thought of him doing it again, of being forced to watch him murder some other girl was too much. I had to stop him and this was my only chance. For the first time ever there was only us three in the room… The guards weren’t here to protect him now.
The sound of the riding crop striking flesh and Paige’s cries of pain had died away. Glancing over my shoulder I watched Christopher moving up behind her, his trousers already unbuckled. Taking the paper weight in my hand I hefted it carefully, quietly, testing its weight in my grip.
“You won’t be calling me a bastard by the time I’m finished with you… You’ll be calling me Master like all the worthless whores before you…”
I didn’t wait for him to finish, I didn’t wait for him to make his move on her. Instead I lifted the paper weight above my head, bringing it down across his head before he even had a chance to react.
He didn’t scream, instead there was small sigh as he dropped to the floor with a thud. Paige stared up at me, her eyes wide. I started to unshackle her, freeing her wrists and legs one at a time.
“I’m so sorry, I couldn’t watch him hurt you… I don’t know how I did it but I couldn’t take anymore… I didn’t want to watch as he destroyed you… I couldn’t.”
I unclipped the final shackle and helped Paige down onto the ground. Her whole body shook and I could see the shock filtering through her eyes.
“We need to get out of here.”
I grabbed her hand.
“I don’t know how long he’ll be down for… I don’t know if I hit him hard enough.” I contemplated picking up the paperweight and bashing in his skull, to just keep hitting him until there was nothing left.
Paige pulled me away towards the door.
“How do we get out of here?”
“The fastest exit is out through the room with the glass walls. It’s where the girls go to be looked over by potential buyers… I’ve never been on the other side but I know the exit is out past there somewhere.
I tugged the door open and Paige grabbed me, fear filling her eyes.
“What the hell are you doing?”
She tried to struggle in my grip as she spotted the guards on the far end of the corridor.
“Chris wants her taken to be sold on… She’s no good for him.”
My voice didn’t waiver as I pushed her out further into the hall.
“You sure? You weren’t in there for very long… What didn’t he like?”