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Thirty-Six
Jamie
Back in the house, Jay and Rick have managed to find some clothes for Natalia to wear, and Rick is on the phone. I approach her slowly so as not to startle her.
“Natalia?” She looks up at me, and I can still see she’s terrified. But she has a strength and fieriness about her too. One I’m pleased to see hasn’t been completely stamped out. “Do you mind if I sit?” I ask, pointing to the empty seat beside her. She gives a small, concerned shake of her head.
I take a seat, making sure to not touch her, but facing her so she can see I’m no threat.
“Who are you?” she asks, flicking her eyes between us all. I can imagine that being surrounded by three large males hasn’t been a good experience for her in the past.
“I’m Jamie. This is Jay, Seb, and the man on the phone is Rick. We are here to help.”
“What’s in it for you, huh? Nobody in this world does anything for free,” she snaps.
There’s that fieriness I was talking about, and it brings a smile to my face.
“I get why you might think that, but there are actually still some good people left in the world. Not everyone is out to take what they can and use you.” She humphs under her breath, and I look over to Jay, who shrugs. “I think perhaps we should all get some sleep and tomorrow we can talk more. Is there anything I can get you? Call someone, maybe?” She doesn’t answer just goes back to staring at her hands as she twiddles with the hem of the t-shirt she’s now wearing. Realising she’s not just going to open up and tell me everything I want to know, I go to get up, but her hand on my arm stops me.
“Don’t go,” she says, voice quiet and strained as if it hurt her to show her vulnerability. I look to Seb, and he just shrugs. For fuck’s sake. Men are useless sometimes.
“Okay. I can stay a bit longer.” I settle back on the sofa, getting comfortable and putting my legs underneath me. Jay and Seb sit too, and when Rick gets off the phone he looks around before doing the same.
I don’t know how long we sit in silence for, but suddenly out of the blue, Natalia begins to talk.
“I don’t know who took me. I don’t even know how I got here. I just woke up in some house with lots of other women. Some of them weren’t even woman, but girls. At first, they helped us, got us clothes and a job at Tempest. Then…they wanted us to sleep with the men that come to the club. Many of us refused, but one of the girls, they took her one night, and she never came back. I’m not stupid. If someone disappears, there’s a good chance they are dead.” I watch as the guys all share a look, but I keep my eyes on Natalia. “One of the…” She hesitates as if she’s not sure she should say whatever she was going to say.
“It’s okay, Natalia.” I nod my head to reassure her it’s safe for her to say it.
“Tank, you know him, yes?” she asks, directing her question to Seb. He nods, and she carries on, “Well, he helped me one night after a man… You get the picture. He’s not like the rest there. He was nice to me. After the night you two stopped that man, I managed to run, and even though Tank tried to help me, they found me two days ago. That’s how I ended up at the auction tonight. As punishment for running, and because the man I ran from wanted what I owed him.”
“He was the man who I was bidding against, right?” I ask, and she nods. “Well fuck him.”
Natalia laughs at that. “I saw what you did when you won the bid, but he will not be happy. He is good friends with the man that owns Tempest.”
“Mark?” Seb questions.
“No.” She shakes her head. “He isn’t the owner, just runs the club and manages the girls.”
“So, who does own it then?” Rick asks.
Natalia shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never met him. At least I don’t think I have. He comes to the club, but nobody knows who he really is.”
“Well, that explains a lot,” Seb says.
“What are you going to do with me now?” Natalia asks hesitantly. I’m certain she still believes we aren’t allies.
“We are going to look after you and make sure those men can never hurt you or any other girls again,” I state determinedly.
“Yeah, right,” she scoffs. “You have no idea what you are getting involved in. This is much bigger than just Tempest. The owner has huge connections to the cartel, and these people will kill anyone that gets in their way without a second thought. If that man hadn’t wanted me, I’m sure I’d be dead already.”
I feel the truth of her words bone deep and finally realise just how dangerous the whole situation is. I look to Seb, who is already watching me, and now I understand why he was so pissed at me.
“I’m sorry,” I say to him, even though we have an audience. I need to say it and for him to hear I mean it. His eyes close briefly before he opens them again, winking at me.
There’s a knock at the door that makes me and Natalia jump, but the guys are all relaxed, so I assume they were expecting whoever it is.
Seb’s the closest and gets up to let them in and comes back a few seconds later with a guy I’ve never seen before. Seb introduces him as Dean, the guy who gave us the recording devices for tonight.
