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Oh no. Oh fuck.
I thought Alexander could be bad, but whoever Mr. Pala is sounds so much worse. My stomach twists at the thought. I can’t do this. I can’t just let a bunch of vampires think they can do as they please with my body. Alexander’s clients could be pushy, but up until the Greys, it’s been more social. This sounds like it’ll be my job to let a bunch of wealthy vampires fuck me one after another.
I clench my jaw, a million thoughts rushing through my mind. Tightening my hands into fists, I bite my nails into my palms. “I understand,” I whisper, feeling as if my world crashes around me.
Twenty-four hours. I have to live with this for twenty-four hours a week. I can...I can’t fucking do this.
I summon my bravery and jerk my gaze from the floor to peer around. I’m about twenty feet from the archway to the lobby leading to the exit. If I make a run for it—what the fuck am I thinking? I’ll never make it. If I try, he’ll do something to me. I know it.
So I start sobbing. I can’t help it.
Tears burn my eyes, and I gasp in breath after breath. What have I done to deserve this? It seems like I’m asking myself that question more frequently. My voice echoes over the music, drawing even more attention. A couple vampires leave their seats at the slot machines and shift closer, treating me like I’m a spectacle for their entertainment. And technically, I am.
“Aw, baby. Whatcha crying about? Come to daddy. I’ll give you something to truly cry about,” a gruff, older-looking vampire says. Streaks of gray highlight his black hair. “It seems like you got yourself a naughty girl, Perry. Do you want my belt? She looks like she needs it.”
Another vampire chuckles. “I’d love to see that. I’d pay for it.”
What? I can’t believe what they’re saying. It’s like the room of vampires turn into sadists, now getting off on the idea of seeing someone beat me.
“Gentlemen!” a booming voice yells through the air. “Come one, come all. You look like you’re enjoying the sneak peek of our upcoming show.”
Someone whistles, the ear-piercing sound ringing through the air. “Fuck yeah!”
A short, bald vampire pushes through the crowd, using a glittering, jewel-encrusted cane like a scepter. He grins, his fangs extending, and his gaze narrows on me. I recognize him. I’ve seen him before at the Aris Hotel. I might have even participated in a private dinner with this vampire.
And what I can recall of him, I know he’s a perv and was always expecting more than just blood. I’ve fortunately never been in that position with him. Garnet has a thing for men like him and always volunteered.
“I’d love to introduce you all to Nasty Natalie, our bratty, in need of punishment, little bitch who needs to learn her place and how to be your good girl.” Mr. Pala steps closer and towers over me, meeting my gaze.
My heart falters the second I realize what’s happening. He captures me in his manipulative gaze and leers, showing off his fangs. My muscles seize under his eyes, and my whole body screams to look away, to fight, to do anything to see to it that he doesn’t get into my head.
“Stop crying,” he mutters under his breath, his command stealing my freewill and replacing it with his own.
My eyes dry as my tears stop, and though agony clutches my chest and I still feel like I’m on the verge of dying, my body doesn’t give it away.
“Now, now, Nasty Natalie. Our guests want to see you punished for your bad behavior. We’ve welcomed you into our beautiful home, and you don’t appreciate everything we have to offer. Nasty girls get the cane. Do you understand?” Mr. Pala’s sadistic grin widens, and he releases his hold on me, sending me sprawling to my knees.
I don’t get a chance to brace myself as something hard smacks my ass, and I fall forward onto my hands. Laughter and hollers fill the air, the crowd going wild. Mr. Pala pumps his fists and twirls his cane, pretending to swing it like a bat. I can’t cry or do anything, my mind foggy despite him releasing me from his manipulative glare.
“What do you think? Was that good enough?” he asks the crowd.
“No!” the crowd shouts. Men laugh and play fight each other, moving in closer and closer to me.
Mr. Pala thuds his cane to the floor in front of me and touches it to my chin, forcing my head up. “You heard them, Nasty Natalie. They want to see you punished real good.”
Shaking my head, I try to crawl backwards and away from Mr. Pala, but there is nowhere I can go to escape. I’m surrounded within a circle of assholes, shouting obscenities and wishing for Mr. Pala to do monstrous things to me with his cane.
I want to die. I’ve always feared death until this moment, but I don’t want to survive another second of this brutality and humiliation. I don’t want to find out what twisted things Mr. Pala can think up next to entertain the men in his casino.
“Who wants to see how red I can make that ass of hers?” Mr. Pala asks, strolling behind me.
Oh, God. Please, God. I whisper my prayer under my breath, hoping that something, anything, manages to grant me mercy in this universe. My mom used to pray with me before bed before she was drained, and it used to help me then. But now? Nothing can even hear my pleas over the raucous crowd.
I squeeze my eyes shut and dig my nails into the carpet. I expect to get my ass beaten with a vampire’s strength at any moment. I expect the crowd to join in to feast on my blood. I hope if they do that they’ll drain me so I never wake up to live through this again.
Gunshots ring through the air, the quick pops startling me, sending me to the floor. Blood splashes over me as the crowd of onlookers gets ravaged by bullets spraying everything in their way.
“This is a hostile takeover!” A familiar voice shouts before gunfire rings through the air again. It’s not someone I want to hear, but Walcott’s interruption just saved my ass. “If you’re caught running, you will lose your legs. If you’re caught hiding, I’ll gouge out your eyes. If you don’t fucking get on the floor and bow down to me, you’ll lose your heads. Do you understand?”
