by J Bree
I can’t look at my girl until I get her safe in my car and clean myself up a little. She still looks too shell shocked to grasp what’s gone down and I don’t need her figuring it all out and being fucking scared of me. I couldn’t take it.
Lips gets her settled in the front seat, quiet words and soothing tones, and I wipe up quickly. I have no doubt there’s about to be backup arriving and I need out.
Ten seconds later we’re speeding the fuck away, driving away from the docks and over to my warehouse. It’s a short trip, barely enough to get settled into my seat, and then I’m pulling into the garage. I’ve never had the kid here before but the second I park she’s out of the car and opening the door to my girl, murmuring quietly to her where she sits with her eyes shut. I shut the alarm off and by the time I turn back to the car the kid is turning to leave.
I stop her. "What's to say you didn't just rescue her from one monster and delivered her to another? I am the fucking Butcher of the Bay, kid. You should stick around long enough to get her settled and… fuck, calm at least.“
She smirks at me, a feral light in her eyes. "You think I don't know who the real monsters are around here? You're bad and you're ruthless but she's safe here. If I'm wrong about that then... well, I guess I'm already heading to Hell, how much worse can it get?"
I shrug. “She needs a friend, stay.”
Lips winces and checks the time of her phone. “It’s almost time for the bed check at the group home. If I miss it and Matteo has to square it, he’s going to have questions.”
Right.
Neither of us want that. He’s a fucking jealous dick and his attitude problem will be even worse if he knows we’ve been out on a… job together. I give her a nod instead and she smiles a little ruefully back at me.
“See you ‘round, Butcher.” She says, and stalks off into the darkness. No fucking fear in the kid, it’s not safe here at the docks at night but there aren’t many men I’d wager would win against her hand-to-hand. She’s made of tough shit, the type that gets you through hell no matter what.
“Hey, kid!” I call out. She turns and I swear she’s so fucking skinny she damn near disappears into the shadows when she turns side on.
I need to feed her sometime.
“My friends call me Illi.”
She smirks, all white teeth in the dark. “I didn’t think we were friends, Butcher.”
I run my hand through my hair, tugging a little at the length of it. I’m due to cut the shit off. “After tonight, kid, we’re more than friends. You need me, I’ll come. No matter the cost.”
She curls forward a little, ducking her head down and grinning at her shoes. “Ride or die, huh? I’m honored. Same goes to you, you know? And that beauty you just killed half the Bay for.”
Then she turns and disappears into the night like she really is nothing but a shadow.
Chapter Thirteen
Odie
The auctions are much worse to be at than I thought.
All of the men touch me too much, their hands roaming where they’re unwanted, pinching and squeezing as if I’m a prized piece of flesh. I didn’t even have time to feel relief at being away from Alcatron and for the rags they had dressed me in, finally some sort of coverings.
I am kept in a cage that sings with electricity.
The other girls in the room are all silent, some of them wear shock collars as if they are dogs and every so often they’ll fall to the ground in spasms. I don’t understand why they would be shocked like that, they’re not attempting to escape or anything but I supposed evil men don’t need an excuse.
After I had fought being dragged out onto the stage, one of the men had hit me and left me dazed, so when I hear the cage door open and find a beautiful girl staring at me I decide I have finally found peace.
“This is it then? I am dead?”
She shakes her head, speaking in low tones to me. “No. We’re here to get you out of here. There’s nothing to be afraid of now, we won’t hurt you.”
That can’t possibly be true. Everyone has hurt me. Every man I have met here, the little old lady and the maids. The woman who had auctioned me off hadn’t even flinched, even when she watched one of the men punch me.
“Have you purchased me?”
She shakes her head again. “No. We don’t buy women, this place is evil and we’re getting you out. Do you think you can stand?”
I look down at my legs, covered in bruises like fingerprints. My lip trembles and I blame the blow to my head for the weakness. I can’t speak, if I open my mouth again a sob will come out and I don’t want to scare the beautiful girl.
Then I hear his voice. “We’ve got to get a move on. It’s not safe here, kid.”
I know that voice. That’s the monster’s voice, the man who looked more terrifying than others since I’ve arrived here in America. He didn’t hurt me though, not physically, it was only the care he took with me that burned me because I knew it was because I was valuable, not that he cared about who I am.
I stare at my feet so I don’t see her creep forward until she’s wrapping me in her little arms, gently folding me into her embrace. I startle, scared of what she’s going to do to me, but when nothing happens I deflate, letting her take my weight.
She murmurs under her breath softly, rubbing my shoulder carefully. I should be embarrassed at the state I’m in, I haven’t had a real shower since I was back home in France, but her arms never falter.
“We’re going to move now, okay? Don’t worry about anything, just focus on staying upright and we’ll take care of everything else. We need to go as quickly as you can manage. Are you… sore?”
I know exactly which soreness she is referring to and I swallow. “I can do it. If we’re leaving here, I can do anything.”
She helps me stand with a little squeeze to my shoulders. “Of course you can. I never doubted it.”
We get out of the cage and the monster gives me his jacket. I don’t want him touching me but… he never tries to, his eyes never touch me for long and it’s a relief to not be watched for a moment. Every man I’ve been around all this time has watched me with possession in their eyes and it’s like a balm to my soul for him not to.
I cannot let my guard down though.
He is still a man, and one I truly could not get away from. He’s twice the size of me easily. There’s dozens of weapons strapped to his body and his arms look like weapons of their own. I’ve never seen a man like him, not ever, and I wonder how much money it had cost to hire him to rescue me.
Who had paid it?
We make it to the car out in the alleyway only to be found by two of the men who had dragged me out to the stage. My entire body gets overtaken in a tremble at the sound of there voices. We were so close, so close!
"Stealing the merchandise, Butcher? It's not smart to go against the Twelve."
The monster moves in front of the girl and I, his large frame easily covering us entirely. He doesn’t say a word, just grips a meat cleaver in his fist. What a strange weapon, I glance at the girl but she doesn’t look worried. No, she looks blank and as if she’s about to get up and help him.
How could she possibly help?
"Look, if you pay the price you can have the pussy. No one care that you killed the suit."
My jaw clenches. God, I wish a violent and blood-soaked death to these men. For them to call me that, to only see the body part they wish to own, I wish for them to choke on their own blood as they die screaming.
The monster speaks. "Well, tell me which account to pay it in then."
My breath catches in my throat but the little girl squeezes my shoulders again, shooting me a warning look. He’s going to buy me. He’s going to be my next owner.
"Have you purchased from us before? Let me give you the details. She went for a pretty penny, Butcher-"
I hear the gurgle over my internal panic and glance up again just in time to see the blood begin to spray out from the man’s throat. He goes down
, clutching at and convulsing on the ground but the wound is so deep it’s a matter of seconds before he passes out from the blood loss.
We sit there and watch as he gives the men the exact death I wished for them, my eyes round and my stomach calm. He doesn’t offer any of them a swift death except the first man. No, on the rest he aims for places of their body that will take them down but keep them mostly awake as he hacks their limbs off and slowly the alleyway looks as though it’s had a visit from Jack the Ripper.
Not once do I feel anything except relief. Maybe he’s not a monster, maybe he is the angel of death and war, sent here to avenge the wrongs done to me. I am not saintly being though, I do not know why he would be here for me.
When he’s done, he stalks around the car to wipe down his face of the blood without a word.
"He just killed those men." I murmur, and the girl looks at me, dead in the eye.
"He just saved you. He just killed the men that sold you at auction to your next rapist. He did that to protect you."
I nod, placidly. He did. I don’t know why but I’ll be grateful regardless.
"I'd like to go home." I murmur, and she nods.
"The Butcher will take you home."
Why would a butcher take me home to France? Is that their slang for a pilot? Or maybe it will be an illegal flight and that is their way of saying that. This country is so confusing! There is no other place on Earth quite like it. Their language and all the words with two meanings, I will never figure it out.
The girl covers my hand with her own. "Slow your breathing down, you're starting to hyperventilate. Everything is going to be okay, we'll take you somewhere safe and you can... heal up there."
A dark, twisted sound claws its' way out of my throat. "You cannot heal what was done to me. There is no coming back from being used in such a way. But I will survive it and whatever else is to come.“
I rest my head back against the leather seats and shut my eyes as we drive. The monster is definitely speeding, the road laws cannot be so different to the ones back home that this is legal, but it’s either a very short trip or I once again lose time because I startle awake in a bed.
A very comfortable, plush, clean bed.
Where the hell am I?
Panic sets in.
I’m not chained to the bed.
There’s a little wooden table by the bed with a towel and some clothes on it and a pair of slippers on the floor. I stare at them all for a moment and then glance around the room to take stock a little more. There’s a bathroom at one end of the room, the light on in there casting a glow that helps me see what else is here. The bed I’m in is massive, the biggest I’ve ever seen, and the bedding is all very high quality. Whoever owns it is a very rich person and someone who values their sleep highly.
The dresser against the wall at the end of the bed is made in the some dark wood as the bed and tables, and it has a small photo frame on it but that’s the only personal touch in the entire room. There’s no art or other photos, no rug on the floor, nothing to say who owns it.
But there is a window.
My heart sings at the sight of it and I stand on shaking legs to walk over and pull the blackout blinds up. The sun shines in and blinds me but the tears that stream down my face have nothing to do with that.
I haven’t seen the sun in weeks.
Weeks.
When my eyes adjust I see the ocean and sand as far as the eye can see, gulls flying overhead and calling out. It’s stunning, so beautiful that it feels like a dream.
I stand there for as long as my bladder can hold on, but eventually I have to move to the bathroom. I remember to grab the towel and clothing, desperately wanting to get out of the rags. I hate that I wore them in that beautiful bed but the alternate option isn’t any better.
I would have woken in a panic if I was naked.
The bathroom door has a lock and a bolt, making it impossible for someone to get in here while I’m naked, a luxury I also haven’t had in weeks. I take my first real deep breath since I stepped off of that private jet in the desert, where my father had abandoned me to my unwanted husband.
I strip off and step into the shower, wincing as the water touches all if the cigar burns that cover me. I use the body wash there and scrub around them, over and over again until my skin is pink and raw to the touch. I might never feel clean again. I wonder idly if I can have six showers a day here, until I really do feel clean again? Maybe I’ll be brave and ask… whoever it is that now has me.
Does he own me?
Is it a he?
I don’t see how that beautiful little girl could have possibly bought me but then… I had been stolen, hadn’t I? Secreted out of the auction house like a stolen treasure.
I don’t feel at all like a treasure.
I find a medical kit under the sink and clean all of my open wounds, some of them already hot to the touch and weeping. I’ll have to be careful that they don’t get any worse. If I’m not going to be abused here then I don’t want to be taken out by blood poisoning.
I pull the clothing on, relieved to find warm and oversized clothing that will cover every inch of me except my face. They smell quite nice, like a man but nothing like any of the ones who had taken me.
It takes me a long time to come to terms with unbolting the door and coming out.
I tell myself over and over again that the beautiful girl wouldn’t lie. She was pure and honest, I’m sure of it. There’s no way she would lie to me, I understood her every word.
Eventually, it’s my hunger that moves me. I need to eat something so my legs can stop shaking and my vision can stop whiting out.
I make it out of the bathroom and four steps into the bedroom, only pausing to look at the photo on the dresser. It’s old. I can tell by the hairstyles it’s fifteen to twenty years old, and there’s a woman grinning at the camera with a little boy standing at her feet, grinning that same grin.
It’s a sweet photo but my heart clenches at the sight of it. I know exactly who that little boy is.
I slept in the monster’s bed.
I have to take a deep breath before I can step out of the room and into what I’m expecting to be a hallway but is actually a large, open-plan living area. There’s a huge kitchen with marble countertops and high end fittings in one corner and a large living area with leather couches and a big rug on the floor in front of the biggest television I’ve ever seen. There’s a dining table and a little office nook, but the best thing in the entire room in the giant wall of glass that showcases the ocean beside the apartment beautifully.
It knocks the breath out of me again.
Well, maybe it’s that or the hunger pains again, but the sun shining and the rolling waves calls out to my soul, owning me in a way I actually want to be owned.
“It’s a beautiful view, right? Worth staying in the Bay for.”
I startle at the sound of his voice, my body tensing as I look up to meet his eyes. There’s no way I’m going to lower my head now, not after all I’ve already gone through, but meeting his eyes is more terrifying than any of the other men so far.
He’s standing in the kitchen, I don’t know how I missed the giant wall of man at my first inspection but there he is, leaning against the counter with a pan in his hands and a calm look on his face.
I can’t speak. My voice just dries up in my throat.
He doesn’t notice my silence, grabbing plates and pouring piles of fluffy scrambled eggs out onto them.
My mouth is too dry with dehydration to water but my stomach comes to life at the smell. I need those goddamn eggs. I might just die right here in this perfect apartment if I don’t get them.
“Do you want bacon too, baby girl? I’ve cooked enough for us both.”
Bacon.
Mother-fucking-bacon.
My legs nearly give way at the thought of it and a slow smile stretches across his face. “Perfect, my girl likes bacon. Come sit down and let me feed you up. We’ve got to get y
ou back to healthy.”
I can’t even feel the appropriate amount of suspicion at his words because all I can think about is the bacon. I stumble over to the barstools at the end of the breakfast bar, wincing as I climb up to sit down but I think I’d walk over glass and hot coals right now to get that bacon.
Bacon.
He piles it up onto the two plate, pushing one over to me and handing my a knife and fork. I try to thank him, I’m not a savage, but the words won’t come to me.He doesn’t take notice, just smiles in satisfaction as I tear into the plate. I try to slow down and savor ever bite, but the void in my stomach gnaws at me until I’m inhaling the food.
He sets his own plate down next to mine and then fusses with the coffee machine, coffee, before bringing us both a cup each.
I drink it all in one gulp.
It tastes awful but I’d love four more of them right now.
He chuckles and immediately moves to make me another one, handing his own cup to me.
“I’m going to keep feeding you until you either puke or pass out, baby girl. And then when you’re up for round two, I’ll order in some pizzas or burgers or something.”
I swallow a mouthful of eggs and force myself to choke out, “Thank you, Monsieur.”
His eyes flare as he places the third cup of coffee in front of me. “Ah, so you can talk to me. Good, baby girl, good work. I’m also going to call you a doctor to make sure you’re okay.”
I blink back tears and he curses under his breath. “I mean that those wounds aren’t going to cause you anymore trouble. I know you’re not okay, baby girl.”
I swallow roughly again, the delicious food in my stomach roiling with nerves now. There’s so much a doctor could say to me that would make me much less okay. “And what do I do if I am pregnant or have some incurable disease? Hm? None of the men who assaulted me used protection. You will throw me out and I’ll be stuck in this country with no passport, no money, and no way to return home. I’ll lost here.”
I look back up at him try not to cry at the sight of him because tears are useless.