“Please. I’ll make sure I’m close by. No worries. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you.” He looks so serious when he says it, and I almost believe it. He kisses me on the cheek as I turn toward the bar. He lingers back for a bit, and once I sit next to the girl, I notice him moving. Nobody else would notice him; nobody is aware of him. He’s being stealthy, and now I understand how he was so successful with the Vitalis.
The girl turns toward me but doesn’t say anything. Up close, I know I was right. She is terrified. “Hi,” I say. “My name is Amanda.”
She looks around to see if anyone is watching. “Hi,” she says meekly. She doesn’t give me her name, but that’s okay, for now.
“Are you here by yourself?” I know I sound like a mother hen, but I’m worried about her. She is so young, maybe seventeen or eighteen. How in the hell did she get into a club like this in the first place?
She shakes her head. “No, I’m waiting for…” Her voice trails off as she looks around the room.
I reach for her hand. “Are ya all right, sweetie?”
She jerks her hand away.Oops, not the touchy-feely type, I guess.
She turns back toward me. “I’m fine really, but you must go before he arrives.”
“He? He who?” I prod.
“The Master. I’m waiting for him.”
Now she has me looking around. “Who is the Master?” I can’t help but ask. I need to find out as much as I can beforehearrives.
“He runs the club. I am his selection this week. It’s an honor.” She sounds like she believes what she is saying, but I don’t know, something seems off here, so I continue to prod.
“Why is it such an honor?”
“Because each week he chooses one girl. If chosen, you are whisked away to a distant land and you live in luxury.”
Holy fuck, this girl is delusional. They are trafficking, and she is their next victim. The realization hits me, and I know Sainte knew. This is why we are here. I look over at him and nod for him to come over. He does.
When he gets to us, he doesn’t say a word. He grabs a napkin, and I see him write the clubhouse address on it. He turns toward the girl and hands her the napkin. “Darlin’, you don’t know me from Adam, but I’m telling you get out now while you can. Go to this address. Tell them Sainte sent you and you need to speak with Ice. Do it. It’s the only way you will get out of this unscathed.”
She looks at me as if she is studying me. Perhaps she is trying to determine if she can trust me or not. Her stare lingers, and I feel like she wants to trust me. Maybe a little encouragement will help her decide.
“He’s right, sweetie. The guys here will protect and help you. Please listen to him.”
She nods, grabs her purse, and runs for the door. I watch as she leaves, and I thank God she’s leaving without any hesitation. Hopefully when she gets upstairs, they let her go.
I turn toward Sainte. “Why didn’t you tell me about the trafficking?”
He shakes his head. “Not here.” He takes my hand, and we walk toward the dance floor. It is well after midnight, and people have started to migrate toward the private rooms. As we walk by them, the curtains to the rooms are wide open. These people want to be watched. And I can’t help but watch them. There is something so erotic about watching perfect strangers having sex. This is not like watching porn. No, this is different. It’s personal, and it’s making me so fucking hot.Damn. This is not why we are here.
I lean back against Sainte and moan.
He wraps his arms around me and whispers in my ear. “I promise to take care of that when we get back to the clubhouse.”
I moan again.
“Right now, we need to go downstairs and check out that dungeon.” He kisses me on the cheek. “And if you can think of a way to get into that private locked room over there, I’d be forever grateful.”
I giggle. “Maybe we should get back to the clubhouse and make sure the girl gets there?”Damn, I didn’t even get her name.
“I want to check out the dungeon first at least. Let’s do that and then go.”
I nod.
We walk toward the dungeon door, and when we get there, we proceed down the spiral staircase. When we get to the bottom, I have to admit, I’m not surprised at what I see. Actually, I expected worse. The room is completely padded, walls and floor, and is divided into four sections. The room is dark and inviting and oddly smells faintly of popcorn. In one corner, I spot a large bed with a TV above it. Porn is being broadcast on it, and there is a large vibrator next to the bed.
In another section of the dungeon, I see a St. George’s cross and a spanking bench with restraints. A masked man has a woman lying over the bench, restrained. He has a whip in his hand, and he cracks it on the floor several times and then across her ass. She cries out in pain. He repeats this several times, and I have to look away. It is very hard for me to understand that she wants him to do it.
