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PAIGE
My nerves were frayed, ever since the night of the fucking live stream, even the slightest movements made me jump. Blaze tried everything he could to reassure me there’d be no repeats of that fucking shitshow, I just had trouble believing him. I’d tried numerous times to reach out to Damon, yet Madden always answered and kept saying it wasn’t a good time, then would go on to ask what had happened.
No matter how many times he asked, I couldn’t find it in myself to discuss, hell even I was having trouble coming to terms with it. Damon had told me to do what I needed to, and I had to a certain point. I had no idea how far I’d have to go, and when I realized the gravity of it all, it was too late by then. The room was full of people, guards had guns, I had just retreated into myself and tried to block it out.
Thankfully Blaze had left me since, having sensed that I was not in the mood to talk to him, at this stage I’d convinced myself I had been stupid to blindly follow along. Rationally speaking I knew he was right when he’d told me there had been no way out of the events that night, and I wanted to believe him when he told me that he’d have done anything to stop what had happened from going ahead, but there was a small part of me that kept me from fully believing him.
That doubt was still present as I sat here now, listening to him go over the course of events for this evening. Tonight was the obligatory weigh-ins, Alexander was also using this to show me off albeit in a gilded cage. I assumed they were also giving the participants a chance to size up their respected competition. I was under no delusion that by now Alexander knew that Damon had entered, which meant they also knew my family would have full knowledge of what was going on.
“Paige, are you even listening?” Blaze questioned, a concerned look washed over his face as he knelt down in front of me. I’d seen it once or twice over the past few days whenever he would look in my direction, which wasn’t all that often. I tried to convince myself that it was because he was ashamed of what he’d done and allowed others to do that night, but I could have been wrong. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but I need you to just hold it together for one more night. I’ve spoken to Damon already and there will be an opportunity for you to be able to speak to some of them tonight but for the most part you need to keep your composure. No matter what you see and hear tonight.”
“I don’t understand what you want, or what you think may happen tonight,” I replied flatly, pulling my legs to my chest, wanting this nightmare to end. He’d left me in our shared room to get ready for this dreaded soiree. The dress I was being made to wear tonight was long yet still revealing. I was wrapped in my robe, holding myself, just staring at the teal sequin covered dress.
“Alexander is gonna test us all tonight, one of his contacts hasn’t been in contact with him for almost two weeks now,” Blaze confessed, his concern earlier had now become clearer for me. It wasn’t me he’d been concerned about, moreover it was his cover and whether or not it had been blown. “I can almost certainly guarantee he is going to do something to either get a reaction out of you, one that will allow him to exert some sort of power that could possibly land both you and those you care about into trouble.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I’d asked incredulously, I’d have known if there had been a mole within my team. Every one I’d recruited to help me, I’d known for years. Hell they’d worked for my family for as long as I could remember. There was no way any of them would have betrayed me.
“I’m going to be honest with you Paige, Ducane had been able to obtain information on you that we couldn’t, he had known you were watching him for longer than we did.” He paused as I took in what he was saying. I wanted to deny what he was saying, my team weren’t just people I worked with, they were also some of my closest friends. He had to be wrong. “Damon was able to find out who and neutralized the threat for the time being, but it has caused a ripple effect, one that you and I know Alexander will not let slide.”
“Are you seriously expecting me to believe that one of my own has double crossed me and my family?” I retorted, unwilling to believe that what he said may have had a small fraction of truth. Blaze’s body language changed as he realized I was on the defensive. My family's line of business was full of shady ass people, but we vetted our people and paid them well for their loyalty and service. There was no way this could be true.
“Whether you believe me or not, unfortunately it’s true. My people could never find out where Alexander would get his information from, even after we realized you were his intended target,” Blaze was candid now, probably telling me more than he should have in an attempt to have me believe him. He leaned over resting his hands on his knees. “We tried everything we could to find out who it was and take care of it ourselves but they were good at hiding, so we had to revise our own plans and accommodate for the eventuality of your arrival.”
“Say what?” I didn’t know what to say at this point. Yes I was shocked that it was all coming out now, angry that he kept insisting that someone I knew had actively helped set out to fuck me over. “Are you telling me that the FBI knowingly allowed a fucking skin trafficker to get his hands on an innocent person?”
“I’m saying that we had to devise a plan on short notice to make sure we could keep you as safe as possible,” He clarified, trying to make sure not to say anything that could incriminate his superiors or put them on my family’s radar any more than they were. “We figured if you were in my hands, we could keep you safe, maybe even persuade you to help us in the process.”
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” I countered, made my way over to the dress, and took it off the hanger before heading into the bathroom. “You thought that making me a captive against my will was safer than reaching out to either myself or one of my family members, which would have allowed us to put something into contingency to ensure my safety?”
I looked at myself in the mirror, the physical scars from the other night had started to fade, yet the dark circles from the lack of sleep were still evident. I had lost a little bit of weight since being taken captive, but a lack of food and appetite would do that to you. It wasn’t enough that it would be overly obvious but I could see it. After slipping off my robe, I pulled on the dress. It didn’t surprise me one bit when I realized that while it was floor length, it was still revealing. It had two long slits up either side, a plunging neckline and an open back.
“In hindsight we should have found a way to extract you before it got this far, but we really believed that it was the right action to take at the time,” Blaze spoke up again, from the sound of it he was standing right outside the bathroom door. Hearing him admit they’d messed up still didn’t do anything to quell the unease that had lingered since the live stream.
“Don’t worry about me Blaze, I know where I stand in all this now. I’m nothing but a pawn for you to use in order to make sure you achieve your main objective.” I said as I made my way out of the bathroom, stopping in front of him only to add. “I’ll play the role of the good little submissive, I won’t blow your cover."
What I didn’t tell him was that while I played my role, I’d make sure to get the message out that no one involved in that night was to get out of this alive. We wouldn’t be able to do much about Blaze but I could sure a hell make sure the others met their makers. Tonight it was game on.
