Dr. Gardner.
“What did he do to you?” Dr. Gardner snarled as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his hands around the metal bars, the only thing that separated them now. “You're notpresenting, you're looking at me, you must have gotten the key and let him out. He broke you.”
“He put me back together,” she whispered before she could stop herself.
“Did he now?” If Dr. Gardner was shocked to hear her voice for the first time, he didn't show it. Instead, a slow smirk curled his lips up. “Put you back together and then left you to fend for yourself. Did you really think there was only one key?”
Reaching into his pocket, Dr. Gardner pulled out a key identical to the one still clutched in her hand. His dirty, lecherous, evil gaze never left hers as he moved to the door and slid the key into the lock.
Maya moved backward as the door swung open, but the cage was small, and three steps later her back slammed into the wall.
“My guards are going to tranquilize them the same way they did when they brought you here. They’re going to bring me my team of soldiers, and we’re all going to disappear together. I'm going to get my sister back, and my lead scientist, and my only other surviving test subject as well. Then we’re all going to be together again. I bought you, fair and square, didn't I, my pretty toy? That makes you mine. They’re mine too. I created them, I own them. I own the girl, too. I bought her from her parents, she had no right to turn against me. Present.”
Shaking her head, Maya pressed further back into the wall, wishing it would open up and swallow her whole.
“Present,” Dr. Gardner ordered. “You need to be taught a lesson? Need to be punished for being a bad girl? Have you forgotten your place? Forgotten who you are?”
For the first time in a long time, she was actually remembering who she was. Who she had been at least, and who she wanted to be.
“Present,” Dr. Gardner screamed it at her this time as he advanced on her.
Body trembling in fear, she was fighting against half a lifetime’s worth of conditioning. Brainwashing. Presenting would get this over with quicker. Dr. Gardner might hurt her, but it wouldn't be as bad if she just gave him what he wanted.
“You really want to be punished, don’t you?” Master snarled as he reached her and wrapped a hand around her neck.
There was nowhere to go.
Nowhere to escape.
“They’re not going to save you. No one is. You're mine. I bought you, I own you, and I'm not ever letting you go.”
The pressure around her neck increased as he held her in place and kicked her legs apart. With his free hand, he unzipped himself and reached into his boxers to free his length. It jumped out, hard and erect, standing at attention and ready to invade her body.
Closing her eyes, she went limp, stopped fighting against the inevitable.
It was stupid to believe fate had anything better in store for her.
These last few weeks had been wonderful, though, not perfect, anything but, yet the past couple of days in particular, she’d felt almost normal, like she wasn't completely ruined and damaged, and that maybe she stood a chance at building a meaningful life going forward.
Clinging to those memories, the feel of Thunder’s strong arms wrapped around her, the woodsy smell of his cologne, the groans he’d make as he slid inside her.
She did her best to imagine it was Thunder and not Master now pushing his way inside her body. Thunder making love to her instead of Master raping her.
Don’t give up, babydoll. I'm coming.
The words whispered through her mind as clearly as though Thunder were standing right beside her at this very second.
Maybe he wasn't right beside her, but he was there. He was coming for her. Delta Team wasn't going to be outdone by a few guards. The only reason they’d captured Thunder was because he’d let them.
Her life was hers, she was in control of it, and she didn't want this man touching her, much less inside her.
Dredging up every last bit of strength she had, Maya didn't bother trying to fight off the larger body of Dr. Gardner. He wasn’t as big or strong as Thunder and the others, but he was still bigger and stronger than her. If she wanted this to stop, she had to fight smart, not hard.
With the hand around her throat and his hips pinning her in place as he thrust into her unwilling body, Maya worked with what she had. Reaching out, she gouged her fingers into his eyes, ignoring the sickening way his eyeballs squished under her rough touch, and refused to pull back. Not even when Dr. Gardner screamed and jerked backward, releasing his hold on her neck and sliding out of her.
No longer held in place, Maya didn't bother trying to take the man to the ground. She wasn't going to be able to do that, and she didn't have to. All she had to do was get out of this room and find Thunder.
Leaving the screeching man behind her, she turned and ran.
