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Pulling my hand back, I assure her, “Shh, I won’t hurt you. I just want to help you. Can you tell me where it hurts?”
The girl, a petite redhead with pale skin and a dusting of freckles over her nose and cheek bones, lays on her side and pulls her knees up to her chest. “You’re new,” she says.
Swallowing down my fear, I glance at the doorway and notice we’re alone. Telling this girl the truth won’t get me anywhere, so I lie. “Yeah, they want me to help clean you all up.”
The girl’s gaze is fixed on mine as though she can see into the depths of my soul.Can she see the resemblance between my brother and me?God, I hope not.
“There’s no point,” she says, averting her gaze. “We’ll all die here.”
“Please let me help you.” My words are nothing more than an empty promise. I can’t do anything to help these girls. I can barely do anything to help my damn self.
I drop the washcloth in the bucket of water, reach out for the girl’s hand, and slowly, so as not to startle her, I begin smoothing the washcloth over her hands, then up her arms. “What’s your name?” I ask, keeping my voice as soft as possible.
“Megan,” she answers.
When Megan stretches her leg out, I gently run the washcloth over the bruises and welts on her ankle where the thick, steel cuff has rubbed against her skin. “How did you end up here?”
She shrugs and drops her head to her bent knee. For a long minute, there’s nothing but the sounds of sobbing girls coming from the main room.
As though she can no longer stand the silence, Megan says, “I was out with my friends, we went to see a movie. I had to go to the bathroom and when I walked in, someone grabbed me.” A lone tear falls from the corner of her eye. “I woke up here. How about you?”
“They put me in a car and put a bag over my head,” I say, which isn’t a lie.
Without warning, Megan lets out a pained cry and clutches at her belly before her eyes roll back and she falls to her side. Dark, crimson blood flows from between her legs as though she’s hemorrhaging from the inside. When she starts convulsing, I panic and scramble to my feet to call for help. “I need help in here!” I scream.
Raul and Diego rush toward me, both scowling. “What the fuck, Isa,” Diego says, shoving me aside.
“She—she’s hemorrhaging.” My hands shake as I reach out to comfort the girl who’s in the middle of a full-blown seizure. “Oh god, what did you do to her?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Raul growls.
Wracked with shivers, I tighten my arms around myself, tears streaming down my cheeks as I watch Diego slap Megan’s face a few times.
“She needs a doctor… the hospital,” I shout. “You have to help her.”
Diego’s blank stare tells me everything I need to know. When he nods to Raul and says, “Get rid of her,” I know Megan’s fate is sealed.
“No!” I screech, leaping forward and shielding the girl with my own body. “No! You can’t be serious! She needs help!”
Strong, firm hands grab me and pull me up before I’m thrown over Raul’s shoulder. He marches me toward the door while I pound my fists against his back, screaming and shouting at him to let me go.
Before Raul makes it to the door, it opens, and my worst nightmare appears on the threshold.
“Drop her,” my father commands.
And Raul does just that, dropping me unceremoniously onto the concrete. I land on my side and let out a painful wail as my hip and elbow slam into the concrete.
My father looms over me, a dark, menacing shadow. “Have you forgotten your place, my sweet daughter?”
“You can’t—you can’t do this, please father, please let them go.”
In one swift movement, my hair is twisted around my father’s hand, and I’m yanked up until my face is level with his. “You dare to tell me how to run my business, Isadora?” He spits in my face, lets out a sinister laugh and releases his grip on my hair. With one kick to my abdomen, I’m put in my place. I remain silent as I’m hefted into Raul’s arms and dumped into the back seat of the BMW once again.
Chapter 6
Demon
I cross Lorenzo Garcia’s name off my list.
