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“Eli went into the Iron Elite brothel and killed at least one of the girls there, don’t know which one. That’s why they didn’t let you in earlier.”
I watch a litany of emotions cross the man’s face, but honestly, I don’t really give a shit right now. Apparently, I’m not the only one around here falling for the Iron Elite’s ‘women’.
He exhales deeply.
“Okay, tell me everything you know. And we’re gonna need help.”
I nod through the knot of anxiety in my gut.
“I have a few people in mind.”
40
Kinsey
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
I don’t knowwhy I’m surprised by the relative ease with which Eli manages to toss me into a van outside one of the busiest malls in LA.
It’s funny how you hear stories about human trafficking, about kidnapping, and question how such things could possibly happen. I don’t question those things anymore.
My hands are falling numb from how tight he tied them, and my back is sure to have a huge bruise from him tossing me in. I wiggle my fingers to get some feeling back in them, but it's useless.
Some kind of operatic style music is playing at full blast on the stereo, and I can barely hear myself think, but the image of Phil falling to the ground won’t leave me. It happened so suddenly, but I can still see his eyes on mine as he fell. I didn’t know him well, even so, his death saddens me.His sacrifice. Tears sting against my eyes and I close them shut, trying to imagine myself anywhere but here.
Every so often, Eli glances at me through the rearview mirror, and I can’t help but notice how haggard he looks. He’s still wearing his usual suit, but instead of being perfectly pressed, it looks wrinkled and worn. His usually sleek hair is messy and the bags under his eyes speak of sleepless nights.
I catch his eyes in the mirror and see a grin creep up on his face when I don’t look away, meeting his eyes steadily. He leans forward and turns the oppressive sound down.
“Ha! My little Vixen is growing some balls,” he says. “Maybe your time with that miscreant wasn’t a complete waste.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “He’s going to kill you for this.”
In the mirror, I see his brow raise.
“Seems she cares for the monster, after all. Forgave his sins even? Hmm, no matter. Trust me when I say, I have many more sins for you to fall for, my Vixen.” He winks at me, and I look away.
I have a bit of a view of the windshield, but not enough to tell exactly where we’re going, and it seems to take us a long time to get there. After a while, the road turns bumpy and I see glimpses of trees through the window. By the time we pull up to a stop, it’s starting to get dark out, which means we’ve been driving for many hours now. My shoulders and neck are completely cramped, and my legs have fallen numb from where they are stuck under me.
Listening to the crunch of gravel, my body tenses while I wait for my captor to come around. The door opens a moment later.
“Come, Vixen, I have such sights to show you,” Eli says, and I shiver, immediately getting the horror movie reference. He leans over and hikes me up by my hands and helps me stand on my unsteady legs. I glance around and frown when I realize we’re in a forest of some kind.
A cabin sits in front of us, clearly unused in some time, and other than the clearing of trees and dirt road, everything is close-knit green around us. The air is still, and it almost feels like the entire forest is holding its breath, waiting for something.
I let my gaze go back to the cabin and feel a shiver up my spine.
I could run, a little voice tells me.My feet aren’t bound, I could just run and run until I find help.
Another less welcoming voice pipes up.
“Don’t do anything stupid, my sweet, silver Vixen.”
It takes me a moment to realize Eli’s just said it, seeming to pluck the words from my memory. A firm hand grips my elbow and leads me toward the door, and it isn’t until we get to the first step that I start to struggle, realizing that if I go into that place…
“Let me go!” I shriek against him, thrashing as best as I can with tied hands. He laughs, but it quickly turns to a frown as I shove him to the side, smacking his head against the frame. His humor changes to anger in a flash, and a fist comes out and strikes my face before I can react.
I hit the ground, dazed, my head swimming from the impact.
