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The truck started to slow and came to a sudden stop. Her shoulder slammed into the side and she swallowed the added pain. She could have braced herself but her arms were fixed around her sons and that’s precisely where she would keep them. No matter what. A heavily scarred, familiar hand skimmed down her hair and tucked it behind her ear. Her skin itched with revulsion yet she held herself still. She refused to give him any reaction.
“I’m leaving you now. Don’t be too upset, you’re going to be seeing me again, soon. Maybe we’ll get to know each other better this time around.” His hand skimmed around her neck and held her nape tightly. “Don’t give my men any hassle or I’ll be sending that baby to Duke in pieces.” Wrath spoke above her before patting her on the head and quickly tearing her vest off her. The small amount of comfort she had from wearing it disappeared.
The truck door opened and closed. Nicole prayed that he was gone. His last words rumbled through her mind. She could still feel his touch on her, she shuddered and her stomach rolled, repulsed by the images that now haunted her mind. She turned her head to the side just in time to vomit. She couldn’t draw breath. Her lungs were seizing and her body felt too heavy. Dizziness disorientated her. Panic made it worse. Nicole knew she was about to pass out but she couldn’t allow it. Who would protect her babies? With that last devastating thought Nicole slumped away from the vomit, her body and mind becoming too overwhelmed; she blacked out.
******
Nicole woke expecting to find herself still in the back of the truck – this was much worse. It was a cell. Three exposed brick walls and a barred cell door enclosed her. She was lying on a thin, stained mattress on a cement floor that emitted a strong smell of sweat, vomit and urine. A red bucket sat in the corner with toilet paper by the side of it. She oped it was empty. A paper bag sat just inside the bars, she wasn’t ready to explore that yet.
She pushed herself up to a sitting position and closed her eyes again. She hoped that blocking out the view would let her collect herself but it didn’t. Layers of crusted, dried blood stained her arm and her side, her headache thumped loudly and pain seemed to envelope her entire being. She couldn’t stop the sob that escaped her. She ran her hands over her bump, relieved to feel her babies moving around and kicking against her hands.
She tried to distract herself by picturing what she thought they would look like. They would be darker haired for sure as hers was black and Duke’s a rich, deep brown. Maybe they’d have her pale, creamy complexion with his brown eyes. She hoped they grew to be tall and broad like Duke. She smiled at the idea of three stocky toddlers wrestling with Duke as she watched on, loving seeing them play together. She prayed to God that that would come true. The idea of never holding her babies made her heart fracture. She had to get out of here and soon.
Nicole had no idea how much time had passed sitting on the mattress. There were no windows and all she could see through the bars was a corridor with strip lighting, the odd one flickering, irritating her. She’d been listening for any movement but had heard none. The cold wall her back rested on was getting very uncomfortable and she needed to move about. Her body was too stiff. She tried to stand up without making any noise. It wasn’t easy or elegant with her bump and an arm out of commission but she eventually managed it.
She walked slowly towards the bars to investigate beyond her cell. She pressed her face into them and could vaguely see there were two more cells on either side of hers. One end of the corridor was a dead end, while the other had a large steel door. She wasn’t brave enough to call out to see if any of the other cells were occupied. She hated the idea of being down here alone; she could be forgotten and just left to die. Her thoughts were turning more and more morbid. She had a feeling she was underground. The air was stale, warm and heavy. All manner of disgusting smells continued to assault her nose. She felt like she was in a horror movie and was just biding her time until the monster showed itself, in this case, Wrath.
She bent to pick up the paper bag and was surprised to find a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of water. At least they didn’t intend her to starve. The crinkle of the bag sounded thunderous in the silence. She ate quickly, her aching stomach protested but she knew she’d need the energy at some point and who knew when the next meal would come, so she forced it down.
A small sound caught her attention. Nicole strained her ears, sure that she’d just heard something. Suddenly, the sound of crying and a bolt being unlatched rang through the air. She stumbled away from the bars and pressed herself tight to the back wall. The corridor door opened and slammed into the wall, letting in a new stream of light. The crying was loud and clear now and just heart wrenching to hear. It was definitely a woman and she sounded in a lot of pain. A huge bald man wearing a Riot MC cut dragged a small blonde woman by the hair swiftly past her cell. She wished she could call out or help in some way but she couldn’t. Terror had frozen her in her position and her chest was heaving to pull in air. She didn’t want the man’s attention to waiver to her.
“Shut it bitch! I don’t wanna be listening to your wailing the rest of the fucking night. Don’t make me join you in there and give your mouth something better to do.” The woman’s sounds were reduced to a quiet whimper. She heard a cell for clang chut and a few heavy footsteps. He appeared at her door and rested his hands on the bars, leering at her. His eyes looked dead and rotten teeth showed through his twisted smile. “Don’t think we’ve forgotten about you, Duke’s whore. You’re mighty fucking fine even with that bastard’s spawn growing inside you. I might just take my break with you.”
