by Jenika Snow
The room Alessandria was in was the nicest one she’d been in for longer than she could remember. She stood in the center of the room, stared at the beds lined up against both walls, took in the flowers sitting on the coffee table between two plush looking couches off to the side, and swallowed when she saw the closet that was as big and wide as the room itself. She moved toward it, saw the colorful, expensive clothes, and knew that whoever this man was, the one that had killed the men that had taken her and hurt her, would not give them these things freely.
He might have killed the ones that brought her here when he saw her bruises and wounds, but she had looked into his eyes, saw the very devil himself staring back. He was cold, calculating, smart, and powerful. If he could kill people with so little emotion, with so little thought, what would he do to her, what would he make her do? She knew that nothing came without a cost.
God, did she know that better than most.
Her entire life had been nothing more than a living hell, and it all started with one man, one man she thought she’d loved, would have given the world to, and saw her future with. But the devil comes in many forms, can be charming, intelligent, charismatic, and in the end, is nothing more than a sociopath.
She moved over to one of the beds and sat down, staring at the women around her. These women were professionals, knew what they were doing here, why they were here, and even wanted to do this for a living. Alessandria had been forced into this lifestyle, tricked into thinking that giving herself to the men Gerald had wanted her with was the right thing to do. God, she’d been a fool, a stupid fool, and she deserved what she got.
WITH NO FAMILY and nothing to her name, the man she thought she’d loved, that she thought loved her, had pimped her out. She’d been wrong, and after being forced to have sex with three strange men, forced to have it recorded, and beaten when she tried to run, she’d felt her hope evaporating.
Maybe if she hadn’t told him her secret, told him that she liked a little pain with her pleasure, that she’d envisioned all these things she’d once thought were wrong and dirty, Gerald wouldn’t have thought she was a deviant and done this to her.
It doesn’t matter, because this is where you’re at now.
She’d tried escaping once, and that had ended up with her having a few broken ribs, a bruised and swollen body, and the hope that she could leave fading from her. Gerald had made sure to isolate her, to make her distant from the couple of friends she did have before he came along. She was a puppet now, a puppet that liked pain with her sex, and revealing that to the one person she thought she loved had put her in this situation.
Even if she did leave, Gerald knew her name, had the means to find her; that fear had kept her in line, because she didn’t want to die, even if she knew death would be a far better outcome than where she was right now.
Chapter Four
ZEKE STARED AT the screens from the surveillance cameras, the ones that showed him the new women that had been brought in. He tapped his phone against his lip waiting for the information to come from the Soldiers. Every time he took in a new shipment of women, he placed them in this room. For some strange reason, the females relaxed and tended to reveal the secrets that they hid. He didn’t like managing women who were addicts, disease-riddled, or caused fights.
There had been too many incidents in the past that had resulted in women getting hurt. He dealt with sweet women to the bitchiest ones. The problem was, the bitches tended to rule over the sweet women, but Zeke kept them in line. No violence between the women. There was more than enough cock for them to all serve. Some men liked the sweet women, others wanted to tame the bitch, and Zeke made money from it all.
“What’s the matter, boss?” Randy asked.
Randy was a good man and had been with him from the beginning. He dealt with the club’s security, set up all the cameras, and had caught his fair share of thieves and troublemakers.
“I don’t like it when a woman is bruised, broken, and in pain. This woman here,” he pointed at the screen, “she’s not like all the other women.”
Randy leaned in close and whistled. “Behind those bruises, she’s a beauty all right. Do you think she’s been sold to try and get close to you?”
“No. She’d try to get my attention by being a good girl. This woman isn’t doing that. She’s accepting her fate, and I don’t like it.” Taking a seat, he watched the screen. He couldn’t look away even if he wanted to.
So far, none of the women showed any signs of being troublemakers, but he wasn’t done with them yet. The back alley doctor had arrived, and his assistant was taking the women from the main room, to the room Zeke kept on hand for the doctor. His business succeeded by having cameras in every room. He didn’t give a shit if he was breaking any laws. Randy was a genius for making the screens change so all focus was on the club, and not what went on in the back rooms.
“The good doctor is setting up,” Randy said.
“When I tell you to, I want you to put sound on the room,” Zeke said.
“You got it.”
Tapping his fingers on the desk, he stared at Alessandria. Her head was down, and she was rubbing her hands together. When he noticed another woman approach her, all of his instincts blared to life.
“Sound on.”
Randy typed away on his computer and the sound within the room turned up.
“Hi,” the red head asked.
Alessandria looked up. Tears had filled her eyes, and she licked her lips. “Hello.” Her throat sounded scratchy as if she’d been strangled before she came into his possession. The bruises around her neck was proof of his assessment, and it only served to piss him off. No one put their hands on his women.
It wasn’t just about that though. Zeke couldn’t get over the feelings of ownership when it came to Alessandria. He wanted to protect her, claim her, and rule over her. No harm would ever come to her if she were his.
“I heard that Zeke does this for all of his girls,” the woman said, taking a seat. She had to go into the sweet category.
“Zeke?”
“The guy who was talking to you outside. You know, the one that shot those men, he’s the boss. This is his club, and we belong to him.”
“Oh.”
“I’m Rachel. No need to know last names.”
“Alessandria.”
They shook hands.
“Do you enjoying whoring?” Rachel asked.
“I don’t have a choice why I’m here.”
Rachel shook her head. “No, I can tell you aren’t into this life style.” Sympathy moved across her face.
“You’re here because you want to?” Alessandria said.
Rachel nodded. “I am. I love sex; I love having that control in giving yourself to a man. This is the only business I’ll ever be good at. I dropped out of school, ran away from home when I was sixteen, and I’ve been working the streets for some time.” Rachel told her story, and Zeke saw the horror in Alessandria’s eyes. “See, that’s why I know you’re not part of this world.” Rachel pointed at the horror that covered Alessandria’s body.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Look around you, Alessandria, we’re all here, and we’ve got our own story to tell. The streets are a fucking awful place. If a pimp catches you, you’re in trouble. You can’t work for yourself since some clients like to be rough. The moment I heard about Zeke and the care he gives to his women, I knew I had to get here. This is a start of a whole new life. We’re not treated like scum here. He respects us because we earn him money. This, believe it or not, is a better life.” Rachel laughed. “I’ve even heard we get Christmas vacation as well. I love Christmas.”
Zeke couldn’t help but laugh.
“They’re making you sound like a fucking saint,” Randy said.
“Compared to the life they’ve lived on the streets, I am a saint.” He did give them holidays off. The wealthy clients were always at home with their families, so Zeke made sure his g
irls were taken care of. He owned a block of apartments not far from the club so they could have their own life outside of his hours.
What a lot of people didn’t know was the women who found love, a family, and a life, moved on. Zeke didn’t force them to remain in the lifestyle forever. The women that got greedy, tried to rob him, hurt his clients, or give him a bad name, they didn’t live to see another Christmas. On the one hand, he was a fair man; on the other, he was a mean motherfucker.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Rachel said. “You’ve got your own story to tell, but it’s not like ours.”
Alessandria licked her lips and stared down at her lap. “I, erm, I fell in love with the wrong man. I trusted him, and I told him things.” Tears that had filled her eyes slid down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
“One day, you’re going to need to tell your story, but you don’t have to tell me. I’m not here to cause trouble.”
The doctor’s assistant came through again, and Rachel went with him, waving at Alessandria.
“What do you think her story is?”
“I think a pimp lured her in and then turned her. It happens many times, giving false hopes and dreams. He probably told her that he loved her, cared about her, but she had to do a little something for him. Before long, he was passing her around, breaking her down.” Zeke had heard of it many times. Growing up, he’d seen it happen, especially with girls at school. Young girls were the most vulnerable since they were so damn naive.
“Damn. I hate fucking pimps.”
Zeke gave him a look.
“Not you. You don’t count, and from what you just told me, you are a fucking saint.”
“I’m not. I will kill any one of those girls if they try to fuck or screw me over.” Zeke pointed at the screen again.
Randy let out a sigh. “I’m getting old.”
He couldn’t argue with him. It wasn’t going to be long until he was a grandfather himself.
The thought of Daniella pregnant filled Zeke with a lot of sadness. He wasn’t used to having his daughter so emotionally far away from him and with a fucking Soldier. Pushing thoughts of his daughter aside, he stared at the screen. None of the women had tried to shoot up, or were showing signs of drug use, which was good. He didn’t have to worry about getting them off the hard shit first.
His girls didn’t use. He didn’t deal with junkies.
When the doctor’s assistant took Alessandria, he gave Randy the nod to turn the sound back on in the room.
Alessandria didn’t speak as she sat down in a chair. The doctor took her blood pressure, tested her pulse, and even weighed her. When it was time for her to get on the table, Alessandria had tears falling down her cheeks. The sight of it twisted his gut. He wanted to rush into the room, pick her up, and carry her away.
Her feet went into the stirrups, and the assistant brushed the tears away.
“It will be okay. It’s not seedy, and it’s just like going to the doctor’s office.” Alessandria nodded, but that didn’t stop the tears.
The doctor moved away from between Alessandria’s thighs and left the room. In the next second, Zeke’s phone went off.
“Zeke,” he said, answering.
“I’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve got one of your clients on the table, and she shows evidence of being raped, Zeke. What do you want me to do?”
Grabbing his cell phone tightly, Zeke wanted to kill the man who had done this to her. “Finish the examination, do the necessary STD tests, and send me the results.”
None of the women would be working until the test results came back. Until then, they would be cleaning the club and other things that didn’t get them near a client.
AFTER THE EXAMINATION, Alessandria wasn’t sent to the room with the other women; she was taken to an office, a rather scary office that overlooked the whole club. Alessandria sat watching the people on the dance floor having a good time. They weren’t just enjoying themselves; they were having a great time. She saw the women in scantily clad clothing flirting with the men. The men were having a lot of fun, eyeing up the women. She saw them all touching each other, caressing their bodies. It had never been like that with Gerald.
He’d taken her virginity and taken whatever pleasure he could. There had been no touching, no love, and it was only now that she was realizing what little affection she’d been given. She’d been used and cast aside.
Alessandria thought about what Rachel had said. Zeke was a fair man. If they wanted to settle down, he let them. There would be no settling down for her. Gerald would find her, take her, and put her back to work. He’d told her in explicit detail everything he’d do to her. She was a slut and sluts were only good for servicing cock.
Her secret was why she was here, why she had to stay silent, do what she was told, and think of a way to escape. She could play along, pretend to be the good little whore, but all the while, she would be thinking of how to leave.
She wiped away the tear falling down her cheek. It was a wasted tear, wasted emotion, and she took a deep breath to force them all down. Her life was long gone. What little freedom she had was gone.
“I’m nothing.” Talking to herself wouldn’t help either.
Glancing down at her wrists, she saw the bruised marks on the cuffs. She’d tried to get away and to tell them to let her go. Alessandria hadn’t been heard. Her voice no longer mattered.
What would happen if she had a disease or an infection? Rachel had told her that the doctor checked her health, and there were tests to check in case she’d been with men without a condom.
Gerald had never made the men wear a condom. Bareback was how they’d taken her, shared her, and beaten her.
Biting her lip, she forced the memories back. It was another time, another place, and she had to focus on the here and now.
The door opened, and she turned toward the man who’d killed right in front of her eyes, Zeke. He closed the door and walked straight to his desk opposite her.
“You don’t have a fucking clue who I am,” he said without question.
“I do. You’re Zeke.”
He chuckled. “The women you were just with knew me. They all know of me. My reputation exceeds me.”
“Good for you.”
“You don’t know me; you’re not like those women.”
Alessandria shook her head, putting a wall up, pretending to be brave. She needed to try to be that way to survive. “You don’t know that.”
Zeke tilted his head to the side and stared at her. It was like he saw past the lies and saw all the pain she was suffering. He saw something that she thought had been gone a long time ago.
“You were raped, not once, but multiple times, I believe.”
Shame filled Alessandria and she stared down at her hands. “So? I’m a slut, right. I deserve it.”
Zeke moved out of his chair, rounded the desk, and knelt in front of her. He took hold of her chin, and she was surprised that his touch was incredibly gentle. There was an underlying promise that his touch could easily turn to pain. She wondered for a second how many women had been fooled by his sweet touch.
“No one deserves to be raped.”
She stayed silent.
“Let me see if I get this right, you were young when you met him, right? He wowed you with a car and a lifestyle that impressed you. You’d never seen a man with confidence before, and he just blew your little world apart. He was patient, caring, and sweet, until he took that cherry of yours. I’d say six months to a year, he started to change, ask you for favors. Before long, he was passing you around and getting money—earning off your ass. At first, you did it because you loved him, and then when you realized what was happening, you started to fight.”
“How did you know?”
“He’s a small time pimp. It’s how they work, and I’ve taken in a lot of women with the same story.”
“You’re a pimp as well.”
“Yes,
but I don’t lure young women, girls really, by manipulating them. The women come to me, I protect them.”
“You don’t beat them?”
“Not if they’re loyal to me and accept my rules.”
“If they don’t?”
“They get punished.”
Alessandria looked toward the dance floor. “You have a busy life.”
“I do.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“I want you to answer my questions honestly.”
“I’ll try.”
“Do you want this lifestyle, being with many men, servicing their needs, and getting paid for it?”
Alessandria shook her head, closing her eyes. Gerald had told her to be good and make money. She wasn’t allowed to spend any of the money she made; he wanted everything she earned.
“You’re not here of your own free will. Who sent you?”
“I can’t tell you; he’ll kill me.”
“Sweetheart, whoever you’re protecting is a fucking coward. A real man stands up. They don’t send a woman in to do a man’s job.”
His cell phone went off, and Alessandria tensed. With Gerald, when his cell phone went off, it meant she had to work. She hated phones.
“That was quick. Yes. Okay. Where. Okay. Fine. Payment will be on its way.” Zeke closed his phone, and turned back to her. “I know enough.”
Her eyes widened.
“You were taken from a small time pimp Gerald Book. He’s known for taking underage girls and putting them to work.”
“How?”
“I have many contacts. You were expected to work here for him, send him money, and when you were finished, you were going back to him.”
Alessandria nodded. God, that was the truth; her world, her life. “I can’t leave. He’ll hurt me.”
“I’m bigger than he’ll ever be. I’m hunting him down as we speak. I’ll be dealing with him. Until then, you’re coming to my house.”