by Dee Bridle
“Fuck you,” I spat, this time a lot easier.
“Ah, the drugs are wearing off I see. Good. I want you to experience everything.”
“You’re not…touching…me,” I said, moving my head and seeing if I could roll off whatever I was lying on.
“Oh, but I will be eventually, after the others have finished with you of course. I’m looking forward to the end.”
“Sir, they are all here,” said a voice.
“Excellent,” he said. “Remember to smile for me, sister.”
I lifted my head to watch him leave the small room I seemed to be in. I scanned the room as fast as I could to see I was alone. There were no windows and the door he had just disappeared through seemed to be a part of the wall. I moved my arm and felt satisfaction when it moved where I wanted it to go. I needed to get out of there. I moved my legs up and then moved to my side, trying to pull myself up into a sitting position.
“Gentleman, meet Janey.”
A light switched on from somewhere and burned my eyes. I pulled myself up and covered my eyes, trying to figure out what was going on.
“As you can see, I do not need to explain her beauty or the depths of despair in her eyes,” said Oliver.
Shielding my eyes, I looked around the room to see where his voice was coming from. He started to rattle off details about me, including my age, like he was selling me.
“Tonight you may bid your highest value and join me at an undisclosed location to enjoy this delectable body.”
Fear rendered me motionless again.
“Let’s start the bidding.”
“No,” I said, shoving myself off the bench I was on. My feet hit the floor and then my knees gave out, sending me to the floor. I gasped and tried to ignore the sharp pain in my knees. Grunting with everything I had left in me, I crawled across the small room in the silence. The bidding was kept from me; his voice no longer being blared into the room. I stopped at the wall where he had disappeared and ran my fingers over it, trying to find the door. I squinted under the bright light, trying not to panic as I looked for a way out. I crawled along to the next wall and felt cool glass instead with my fingers. It wasn’t a wall - but a viewing window.
The light was so bright in the room that I couldn’t see anything other than my own reflection, so I put my face against the glass and tried my hardest to look through.
“No,” I said, seeing men looking at me through the glass. “No!” I screamed, banging on the glass. The bright light suddenly shut off and I was in semi-darkness again. As my eyes adjusted, I started to see beyond the glass.
Oliver stood in front of the glass, holding a glass of amber liquid, a cold smirk on his face. Behind him there were at least fifteen men in suits, some standing, others were lounging back and holding drinks, all watching me.
“Fuck you all!” I screamed. I looked at all the sick fucks, eyeing me over like I was a piece of meat. I banged against the glass and screamed.
“Stop the screaming; you’re driving the price down, my darling sister,” said Oliver.
“Screaming is good,” said someone in the background. “I’ll pay more for a screamer.” A couple of the other men agreed.
“You sick fucks!” I screamed getting up and kicking at the glass before losing my balance and falling to the floor again.
“She’s a wild one.”
“I told you she was,” smiled Oliver. “She’s been my favourite project out of all of them.”
I kicked and hit the glass wall repeatedly, hurting my fists.
The bright light came back on and I could no longer see Oliver or the men.
“Let the show begin,” said Oliver. “Let’s see what she’s made of.”
Part of the wall opened again and a guy stepped in. He was wearing only a towel as he stepped closer to me, the door in the wall closing behind him. I pulled myself away from him and then paused, noticing Will’s family crest on his towel. Realisation dawned on me and I felt so fucking annoyed that I had been so clueless these past weeks. I was in his mother’s stupid sex club with Oliver. Was she behind all of this? Was she in with Oliver? And how the fuck did I get so unlucky?
The guy pulled the towel off his hips and stepped towards me. I took a deep breath, switched off my fear and clenched my fists, just like Harry had shown me. I had done self defence and had been living with fighters most of my life. If they wanted a show, I would give them one.
“Suck it first,” demanded Oliver.
I turned to the guy and calmly looked up at him. I was on my knees already as he took a step closer to me, palming himself in preparation. I knew I was in trouble, but I refused to go down without a fight. Oliver would no doubt end my life after he had finished his sick fuck fantasy with me. I had nothing to lose. Will would want me to fight; he was my strength, my sanctuary.
The guy looked down at me, waiting for me to take him in my mouth. I smirked up at him as I licked my lips, his eyes suddenly hooded. He didn’t see my fist come up as I punched him in the balls, but he sure as hell felt it.
He screamed in agony as his face turned red and then purple. His eyes popped out as he bent over in pain. He then dropped to the floor in front of me, still screaming in pain. I moved back and then brought up the heel of my bare foot and delivered a kick to his face. I heard his nose crunch as he fell backwards.
“Get him out of there,” ordered Oliver.
The wall suddenly slid open again and two guys came in. I dived for the door but one of the men was too quick and grabbed me, while the other guy removed the groaning naked man. I tried to get out of the guy’s tight hold, but his fingers only dug deeper into my skin. I tried to head butt him from behind, but he moved just in time, clearly trained in the art of fighting.
“You missed,” he grunted, shaking me slightly, before swiftly moving his hand to my neck and squeezing. He held me in a lock as I tried to thrash about, his other arm holding both of my arms down. I tried to kick at him but he moved me to the side so I was kicking at the air. I was like a wild animal, with my only thought being to escape, no matter what I hurt but this man was just too large for me to conquer while I was in this hold.
Another familiar face appeared before me.
“Stop fighting,” said Sebastian, under his breath as he concentrated on preparing a needle.
“Don’t touch me!” I screamed. I was being drugged again. There was no telling what would happen to me now.
“Calm down,” he said reaching for my arm.
I thrashed about more, refusing the needle.
“Hurry the fuck up before I knock her out myself,” said the man holding me tightly.
Sebastian pricked me with the needle. I think I heard him say sorry under his breath before everything went hazy.
Then blackness. Again.
Will
It had been hours. Of nothing.
The pain of not knowing whether Janey was alive or dead was excruciating.
I turned back from the balcony and stepped inside my apartment. I looked at the furniture that had been smashed, the two holes in the wall and Noah who was sitting down with a fresh black eye. I had lost my mind. I couldn’t contain the anger I had in me. She was gone and it was all totally hopeless. I had no lead, no information and I had blamed Noah for sleeping through her kidnapping. I knew it wasn’t really his fault. We all had no idea that Oliver was somehow big enough to have access to my place, access to the doorman, access to do whatever the Hell he liked. He had somehow tricked all of us.
Zac couldn’t get anything on him.
He had even tried to contact his mother who he hadn’t even spoken to for years. She was still with Oliver’s father; this time in Europe on some holiday and they were both another complete dead end.
Sebastian and Tilly had disappeared into thin air. I only assumed that they were with Oliver now too.
We were hopeless.
I knew punching another hole in the wall wouldn’t help. Neither would smashing anything else, because I
was almost out of furniture.
Chapter Seventeen
Present
Janey
I tried to open my eyes but it was like they were sealed shut. Déjà vu. Here we fucking go again. I swallowed down the panic that seemed to be trying to choke me and concentrated on my other senses. I smelt leather and I realised I was moving, in a car. I could already start to slightly move my hands and feet but they seemed to be tied together with something this time. I slowly forced my eyelids open, blinking continuously, trying to remove the blurry fog and focus.
“Good timing; we are nearly there,” said Oliver.
I remembered the room, the glass wall and then the men. Fear made me move and start to scream again.
“Shut her up for God’s sake,” said Oliver.
A hand came over my mouth and pushed me further back on the seat. I tried to wriggle away and then bite the hand but it only made the hand hold me down harder.
“Stop,” said Sebastian.
“Get off me!” I muffled through his hand.
“Stop it,” he warned.
I didn’t stop, but only struggled more, crying and screaming for my life.
“Forget it, I’ll do it my fucking self,” said Oliver, shoving Sebastian aside as he loomed over me across the car. My eyes locked on Oliver’s as his hand squeezed around my throat.
“You will shut the fuck up,” he said with a deadly calm, his eyes glowing with anger. “Or I will shut you up myself,” he said squeezing my neck harder.
I stopped screaming, purely from having my airways blocked and started to choke instead. My eyes popped as I focused on him; he hadn’t changed a single bit. He was still as clear as my nightmares.
I wanted to die right then. He needed to choke me harder. I wouldn’t survive what he had planned for me. He had been a sick fuck years ago and I had no doubt that he would have only refined his skills. He squeezed harder and I could no longer even choke. I felt the blood drain from my face.
“You going to be quiet from now on?”
I couldn’t answer as my eyes locked onto his. He obviously saw an answer he liked within them and suddenly let me go. I dropped my head and gasped for air. My throat burned and my heart pumped fast as I felt a sharp pain in my head. Oliver moved back across to the other seat and I realised I was inside a limousine. I looked down to my wrists that were tied with tape and then to my tied ankles. I had bare feet and the same lingerie as before. I felt completely naked and hopeless and tried my hardest to swallow down another scream.
I moved my eyes over to Sebastian.
He was watching me closely and a flicker of shame appeared in his eyes before he looked away from me, out through the tinted window. He had lied and tricked me. I wanted to jump over and scratch his eyes out. I glanced back to Oliver who was now looking down at his phone, typing something. I thought of my current options and realised I had none; I couldn’t take them both on and I couldn’t jump out of a moving car. I was tied up and still slowly having my limbs return to normal function.
I was well and truly fucked.
I glanced out the window to see a country road and fields of grass. Mountains were in the distance and I wondered where the Hell we were going.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked throatily.
Oliver didn’t answer me, but put his phone up instead and said, “Say cheese.” He took a photo and then laughed to himself and continued to type into his phone.
I looked to Sebastian, my eyes pleading with him. He gave one shake of his head in warning and then looked back out the window. Tears filled my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I would not cry in front of Oliver because I knew he would only get off on it. I had to stay strong. I only hoped to God that he hadn’t sent the photo of me to Will. He would already be going crazy with the worry of his sick father. He didn’t need this on top of everything else. I had no idea of the time or how long I had been out with the drugs he had injected into me, but I wondered if anyone knew I had been taken yet.
If Oliver sent the photo to Zac, he would be able to trace it and find me. I had to believe that it would happen. Had to believe that I had a chance of surviving whatever Oliver had in store for me.
“They will kill you this time,” I said.
Oliver eyes flicked over to me, piercing me. He started to smirk, before he said, “They have to find me first.”
I hid my sudden urge to jump over and head butt him, before I choked him to death.
“Zac found you before and he will find you again,” I said.
“Then how come I have been in your life, all of this time without you even realising? His priorities have somewhat changed over time. Ava is his focus now, not you.”
I swallowed hard, emotion trying its hardest to escape from me.
“Everyone is quite clearly sick to death of the antics of Janey. Except for Will, who seems to be fascinated with the idea of making you happy for some reason? He needs to see that he is fighting a lost battle,” he said with a small chuckle. “Pathetic.”
“Don’t even speak about him,” I spat quietly, flexing my fingers in anger. I felt the tight tape around my wrists again, reminding me that I had no other option than to just sit still.
“You’re forever ruined, Janey” he said, zeroing his eyes back on to me. “Deep down we all know that Will doesn’t really want that.”
He had taken everything from me. He was the sole reason I was who I was today. This one man had undeniably ruined me; he had darkened my soul and had taken any of the possible brightness I may have had in my life, he had tortured me into believing that I was worth nothing.
I hated him more than I hated myself.
I focused on my tied wrists instead of him. He was a disgusting, vapid soul who had been with me every day and night since that one fateful night all those years ago. In my nightmares and in every bad decision I had made since then.
“I’ve enjoyed watching you, Janey. You are always searching for some reason, some purpose to your continual quest for answers,” he said with a smirk.
“I have all the answers I need,” I returned coolly.
“Do you though?” he asked cocking his head to the side. “Is Will your answer? I know he would like to think he is.”
“Leave Will out of this,” I spat.
“Too late for that,” he said with a smile. “He must be going through Hell right now. No leads, no one to pay for answers.”
I hated this man, if I could even call him a man. He was still a boy, playing in a man’s suit with his stupid sick games.
“Your parents must be so proud of you,” I said, knowing I was tempting fate by goading him but suddenly not caring of the outcome.
“Well now, they’re your parents too,” he returned.
“My parents are dead,” I spat.
“Only to you; your mother is doing well with my father. So happy. I don’t think she even thinks of you and Zac anymore.”
“Good,” I said, his words doing nothing to me other than fuel my anger. My mother was dead to me and had been the day she had taken Oliver’s side. She had believed him over me and had let her own son stay locked in juvenile detention because of it. She hadn’t visited him once and was a cold-hearted bitch who I wanted nothing to do with.
“So much anger,” he said with a sick smile. “Your mother’s love is meant to be the most important love. Shame she loves me the best.”
“She’s not even your real mother, Oliver. Where is your real mother by the way? You and your dad smothered her with your sickness and then got rid of her or something?”
He lunged across the limo towards me and smacked me across the face. I fell to the floor of the limo with his brunt force, my head feeling like it had split.
“Never talk about her,” he growled.
Sebastian leaned down to lift me back onto the car seat. I kicked at him, not wanting him to touch me. He still put me back on the seat; I curled into a ball and tried not to cry. I licked my lip, tasting blood. Oliver s
traightened himself and went back to looking at his phone, like he hadn’t just made my head explode. So his real mother was an issue. I knew that if I ever survived this, she would be the first person I would look into with Zac and make him pay.
Will
Zac sat with his head in his hands, his laptop closed beside him. The sight of him having given up and at a loss made me want to drop to my knees. We always had hope; always worked together to get something fixed, but this time was different. We had nowhere to go, no one to speak to.
“Where are the girls?” I asked, breaking the silence in the room.
“Went out somewhere to get air,” said Noah with a sigh. “Look, I know this is a long shot, but do you think you should speak to your mother and tell her what’s going on?”
“Why?” I asked.
He shrugged and said, “It wouldn’t hurt and she would know a lot of Janey’s movements over the last few months - maybe she knows something. Stranger things have happened lately.”
I nodded and pulled my phone out and pressed the contacts for her name. I’d try anything if it got me one step closer to Janey and her whereabouts.
The lift bell went off and we all looked over to the door as it slid open. Tilly walked in, her hands tied behind her back, her fearful eyes going straight to me. Ava walked in behind her with a gun pointed at Tilly’s head and I stood there shocked. I could see it was one of my guns and I had no idea how she had even got her hands on it.
“Ava, what the fuck are you doing?” gasped Zac, standing up.
“What I need to do to get my sister back,” she said, not taking her eyes off Tilly. “Tell them everything you know.”
Tilly swallowed hard.
“Speak!” said Ivy, pulling a dining chair out and shoving her down onto it. Tilly grimaced at the force but stayed silent.
Ava moved towards her and pointed the gun to her face. “Tell them everything, right now or so help me, I will shoot you.”
“You wouldn’t,” spat Tilly.
Ava stepped closer and pushed the gun against her head. “Try me. I already hate you for being with Zac, let alone fucking around with Janey. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t shoot you.”