by Nikki Rose
“Hello?” Drew’s voice croaked into the phone. “Mikhail, is something wrong?”
I leaned in so I could hear what was being said.
“Not at all my friend. It is an exciting day,” Mikhail's energetic voice came through the line. “The shipment will be arriving in three or four hours. I’m texting you the address. Be there an hour early so we can prepare.”
“An hour? Okay, I’ll be there.”
“Oh, and Andrew, bring the girl.”
The phone clicked, signaling the ended call and Drew looked over at me with worry etched on his now very awake eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“He wants me to bring you.”
“Are you really that surprised? He’s always seemed infatuated.”
“Women are usually kept away from the business side of things. Something doesn’t seem right.”
“We’ll be careful.”
“I don’t want to bring you. I don’t want you anywhere near all this.”
“If you don’t, he’ll get suspicious. We can’t risk that this close to the bust.”
“I don’t care. It’s not worth putting you at risk.”
“I won’t be at risk. I’ll be there with you. You need to call Jason and assemble the team.” The sound of a text coming through on Drew’s phone silenced us both.
He looked down at the phone and swiped open the text. “Looks like we’re going to the shipyard.”
“You need to call Jason.”
“Okay. Go get dressed. I’ll contact the team.”
Fifteen minutes later, we were walking out the door.
“Do you have your emergency bag?” Drew said as he carried his own bag toward the elevators.
“Yep. A girl can’t go anywhere without her makeup bag.”
“Not tha— you know what I mean.” His voice was tense.
“I know. Relax. Things are going to be okay. You said so yourself.”
“That was before he told me to bring you along. Something’s up with that and I don’t like it.”
“You need to calm down. Nerves make mistakes.” I reminded him as we rode the elevator down.
“Now you sound like Jason.” He chuckled.
“Well, he and Rebecca have been my best friends for a while.”
We made our way to the car and Philip got out. “Hello Sir, Ma’am. I hope you have a pleasant drive this morning.”
“Thanks.” Drew took the keys from him and motioned me around to the passenger seat.
“He’s not driving us today?”
“No. Mikhail specifically said for me to come alone — before he added you to the mix. Hurry or we’ll be late.”
I climbed into the car and buckled as he rounded to the other side. “How long will it take to get to the shipyard from here?”
“This time of morning? I can get there in an hour and a half.” It was early. The street lights were still on and even the sun wasn’t out of bed yet.
The drive to the shipyard was tense. We had to stop by the apartment to switch cars and barely spoke the whole time. I watched as the dark shadows of the street zipped by until Drew broke the silence.
“Try to stay away from the action as much as possible. Stay close to me when you can, though.”
“How am I supposed to do both?”
“I don’t know. Damn it, this was not the plan.” He hit the wheel with both hands.
I placed my hand on his thigh and tried to comfort him. “It will be okay. I’m a smart girl and I’ve got my emergency bag with me in case we get separated.”
“Promise me you’ll be careful.” Drew glanced my way. “Promise me if anything bad goes down, you’ll get the hell out of there and never look back.”
“If anything bad happens, we will get out of there and never look back.”
“But if something happens —.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you.” I squeezed his hand as we pulled up to the dark shipyard.
We parked in the large gravel lot but something felt off. For a big shipment coming in, the place seemed eerily calm and deserted. “Where is everyone?” I said as I unbuckled.
“I don’t know. This doesn’t feel right. Stay in the car while I look around.”
“Oh hell no. You’re not leaving me here.” I jumped out of the car as he got out.
“Hailey,” he scolded.
“Drew,” I mocked his tone with my hands on my hips.
“Fine.” Drew looked around. His hand twitched, ready to reach for the gun at his back.
The shipyard was dark and the few flickering outdoor lights cast deep shadows. Clouds covered the moon and stars and there was just the tiniest hint of sunlight beginning to peek up over the water. I started to shake and grabbed hold of Drew’s hand for strength.
“You okay?” He whispered.
“I guess. Where is everyone?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
“Don’t move,” a loud booming voice made my breath catch in my throat as we whirled around to see Dmitri standing with a huge gun pointed at us.
“Dmitri, what the hell?” Drew said as he slumped his shoulder, but I could feel the tension rolling off of him.
“Drew, sorry man. Didn’t know it was you.” He lowered the gun and we both relaxed a little for real this time.
“Where is everyone?”
“They’re out back. You’re late. The shipment just arrived.”
Drew checked his watch. “It arrived early.”
Dmitri shrugged and motioned for us to follow him.
Several men worked to unload large shipping containers from a boat that had definitely seen better days. Mikhail stood with a few of his men on the dock, watching.
“Andrew. You made it just in time.” Mikhail motioned us over excitedly. “Three shipping containers. This is the last one. The others are already inside. Soon the real fun starts.”
“The real fun?” Drew looked at him suspiciously and his hand tightened on mine.
“Inspecting the product.” Mikhail's devilish smirk sent chills down my spine.
“Oh of course.” Drew forced a smile and I could tell he was trying his best to hide his disgust.
“I’m glad you brought your girl. I have some work for her.”
“You do?” Drew’s grip on my hand turned almost painful.
“Yeah. The auction will be this evening. We will inspect the girls. Then they will go through a whole process of being cleaned before having hair and makeup done. Hailey will help Lacy make sure the girls’ look good.”
“And what about me?”
“You’ll help with setup and security at the event.”
“Of course.”
“Now let's get inside.” Mikhail said excitedly with a clap of his hands. He reminded me of a kid ready and eager to open his presents on Christmas morning. If the kid was an evil sadistic, psychopath, of course.
When we walked into the now lit warehouse, it was like walking into a whole other world. There was a stage being set up off to one side and men were busy putting out folding chairs. Like they were setting up for a play or something.
I was quickly reminded of what kind of show was really about to go on when one of the men led a long line of filthy, almost naked girls toward us. Several of them were crying and I wanted to cry with them. My heart pained at the thought of what they must have endured, what they were still enduring, and what would become of them if things didn’t go as planned.
Lacy joined Mikhail as we came inside and he led our small group along the line of girls. I gave her a timid look and she returned it to me. Although she looked nervous and uncomfortable, she seemed to know what she was doing and I assumed that she’d probably had to endure this before.
One thin girl, practically skin and bones grabbed at Mikhail’s man as he passed by her. I couldn’t understand her as she spoke quick Russian, but I still knew what she was saying. She was pleading with him — for mercy, for freedom, for help — it didn’t matter becaus
e his hand swiftly rose and he brought it down hard across her face.
A loud gasp escaped me as she crumbled to the floor sobbing and the man yelled at her in her native tongue.
Drew tensed but didn’t move. He squeezed my hand and kept walking. We walked along the line of the girls. I couldn’t look at them. I couldn’t handle the pain in their pleas, their tear stained faces. It was slowly breaking me. I held harder to Drew’s hand but he kept walking by each one. He feigned interest in Mikhail’s examination and appraisal of each as they were made to turn around one at a time.
I found myself simply keeping my eyes on the ground after around the fifth girl. I had to separate myself from them, at least for now. I couldn’t let myself think of them as people, as girls, some of them just barely of age. If I allowed myself to truly soak in the full situation, I would have lost it.
We finally came to the end of the line and Mikhail looked to his men. “Take the girls and lock them four to each domicile. Remember, do not sample the merchandise. This is your one and only warning.
He dismissed the men and the girls who sobbed as they were led away.
“Aleksey” he called over one of his men from the group. The man stepped forward and I recognized him as the man from the club. He was the one who had helped Lacy and I climbed up onto the riser when we were wanting to dance.
“Yes, Sir.” Aleksey said, eyeing me and Lacy before turning his full attention to Mikhail.
“Take Hailey and Lacy to get their supplies. Then take them to each room. They may have an hour per room to have all four girls presentable before the auction.”
“Yes, Sir.”
I held Drew’s hand tighter. I didn’t want to leave his side and an hour for each room with four girls per room. I wasn’t quick at math but I knew time would be tight to have all the girls ready. That meant I probably wouldn’t see Drew again until the auction began.
Drew squeezed my hand and gave me a small reassuring nod before letting go and urging me toward Aleksey. I gave him one last glance as Lacy and I were led away.
The plan was, once the auction was underway and the men were distracted by the bidding and half naked girls, Drew’s men would sneak in and slowly pick off the men along the perimeter first. Men would be posted at every exit so no one could get out and Jason would lead a group of men to close in on them in the auction room to take down the majority in the act. I just prayed it all went according to plan.
“Here is a bag of makeup and hair supplies.” He shoved the bag into my arms and I had no choice but to take it. “And lingerie.” He shoved another bag into Lacy’s arms.
“Each girl has already been ordered to shower while they wait for you to arrive. I will be just outside the door if any of the girls give you trouble. You’ll have one hour per room. No longer. Any questions?”
“Uh— not that I can think of.” I stammered as I fell into step behind him trying to keep up.
“Good. Here is your first room.”
There were guards between each room. Aleksey nodded to the first guard who unlocked the door and they practically shoved us inside before the door clicked locked behind us.
The room looked like what you might expect from a shipyard domicile. Minimalistic wasn’t even enough to describe it. Everything was metal and concrete. The girls sat two by two on plain white bunk beds on opposite walls with lumpy bare mattresses.
One of the girls was now clean, with stringy wet hair clinging to her terrified faces. Two others sat huddled on one bed and I assumed the fourth was in the shower. I wanted to reassure them, to tell them everything would be alright soon, but I knew I couldn’t give anything away.
“I’m Hailey. Do any of you speak English?”
“Just a little.” One girl spoke up. “The men required us to learn basic commands.”
“But you seem to know more than that.”
“Yes. I went to a university before —.” Her voice cracked and she fought back a sob that ripped a hole in my already breaking heart.
“I understand. No need to continue.” I forced a smile to try to make them feel better, though I’m not sure anything I could do would help.
“You are not like the others.”
“What do you mean?”
“This all makes you upset.”
I couldn’t do this. My insides twisted and panic rose in me. Lacy must have sensed I was panicking because she spoke up then. “We only have an hour to make you presentable. You don’t want to be found displeasing to the men or it will be much worse for you so let’s get started.”
“You want to do hair and I’ll do make up?” I asked as I started digging through the bag of supplies.
“Sounds good.”
Keeping busy helped. Before I knew it, all the girls looked beautiful — a little thin — but beautiful. We let them pick out the lingerie they liked best, though they were all timid about it considering why they would be wearing it. I think giving them small choices like which lipstick they liked best or which lacy scrap they’d be wearing gave them a small feeling of control.
We moved from room to room. Time went by faster than expected, though, there were times when a girl would start crying and pleading with us that made the reality of things that much harder.
I wanted the day to be over. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally. Once Aleksey led us out of the last room, he took us to another room down the hall.
“I thought that was the last one.” I looked at him curiously.
“This is your room.”
“Our room? For what?”
“The boss wants you two cleaned up and presentable as well — eye candy for the crowd, though you’ll both be in cocktail dresses, not lingerie since you’re not for sale.”
“Oh.” I timidly stepped into the room. The door slammed shut with a loud click like all the rest. He’d locked us in.
Chapter 27
As fast as time had flown by when we were helping get the girls ready, it went in slow motion as I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for someone to let us out and for the auction to begin. I somehow doubted Drew knew I’d be locked in a room and forced to wear skimpy cocktail dress I was sure Mikhail had picked out.
Finally, Aleksey unlocked the door and escorted us out. I stood nervously and slung the emergency bag that looked like an oversized purse over my shoulder.
“Leave that here.”
“I need my purse.”
“Boss won’t like it. You can get it after the auction.”
I was reluctant but I placed it beside the door and followed Aleksey from the room.
“The auction will begin in one hour. It is time for the customary cocktail hour before it begins. The boss requests both of you girls to accompany him.”
“What about Drew?” Panic seized me and I fought back the panic rising in my throat.
“He is busy handling security for the evening.”
So, I wouldn’t see Drew. This was torture. Nothing was going as I’d hoped. I needed to see him, to know he was okay, to know this was all still going as planned. I resisted the urge to run, reminding myself of those poor girls I’d be leaving behind.
We entered the dimly lit auction room. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought we were at any other cocktail party. The room was filled with mostly men in nice suits. There were a few girls in the mix, mostly dressed in tiny cocktail dresses.
“There they are.” Mikhail called us over and snaked one arm around each of our waists. “Gentlemen, I’d like you to meet Lacy and Hailey.”
“They are lovely. Will they not be joining the others on the block tonight?” One larger man roughly gripped my chin and lifted it as he studied me like a prize mare. I clenched my jaw and fought the urge to jerk away.
“Oh no, these lovelies are not for sale.” Mikhail looked like a snake as he smirked, letting his gaze roam over my body and linger at the low neckline of the deep green dress he’d had me wear.
“A shame. I do hope you have some othe
r beauties for us tonight.”
“Don’t I always?”
“That you do.” One man interrupted, a timid young girl on his arm who barely looked legal. “I bought this one from your auction last year.”
“I remember her. Such an exquisite little thing.” Mikhail eyed her intently. “What brings you back tonight?”
“Too much money to burn.” The man laughed. “I’m looking for a second girl to add to my collection.”
“Well, you will find her here tonight.” Mikhail assured him.
The whole conversation made me want to throw up or punch someone — maybe both.
The lights flickered and I jumped. “What was that?”
“Ah, that is the signal the auction is ready to begin.” Mikhail said with his sly grin. “Let us take our seats. You girls will be sitting right up front with me.”
He led us both to the front of the auction seating and placed one of us on either side of him. His touch made me physically ill.
An announcer took the stage. He was tall and thinner than most of the men who worked for Mikhail. He grinned that same sly grin Mikhail had and the resemblance was uncanny.
“My younger brother.” Mikhail whispered to me as if he’d known my thoughts.
“Gentlemen, gentlemen.” His accent wasn’t nearly as thick as Mikhail’s and I wondered if he had been in the U.S. for longer. “It’s almost time for the auction to begin, if you will please take your seats.”
There was a loud rumble of voices from the crowd as everyone started moving to the rows of seats. I looked around trying to spot Drew. I didn’t see anyone I knew but some of Mikhail’s men.
“He’s outside making sure things are secure there. I thought it would give us a little time to enjoy ourselves.” Mikhail placed his hand high on my thigh and I tensed.
My heart began to pound. I wanted out of here. I wanted away from all these horrible men. I took a deep breath and reminded myself why I was doing this. Drew’s just outside. He’s not gone. Breathe. Focus.
“Shall we start with our first item of the night?” The announcer said excitedly.
Mikhail held up a hand, standing and catching his brother’s attention. “Before we begin with the planned line up, I’d like to start off with a special treat for you this evening.”