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Instead of salvation, they sold me to the highest bidder.
More rough hands shoved me in the direction of the person who bought me. The monster of a man was tall, with cold brown eyes and a smirk that promised cruelty. He was something out of a nightmare, and my plan to pick the right time fled. I couldn’t let him take me.
As soon as I was off the stage, I spun on my heel and ran. The crowd of leering men was thick, but I was fast. If I could just get out of here…
Well, I wasn’t sure what I would do then, but logic had fled. I was too desperate to think this through.
I’d only made it a few feet before someone grabbed my hand and yanked me backward into a hard chest. An arm like a steel band tightened around my ribs. I looked back to see the man that bought me. He didn’t appear angry about my attempt to get away. He stared at me with a heated gaze, as if I turned him on.
Fuck.
Before I could even attempt to run again, a cloth cut off my breath. The strong chemical smell made my eyes water. I could feel all eyes on me as I tried not to breathe it in, but what choice did I have?
Once I inhaled, a wave of light-headedness came over me. It didn’t help that I had so little in my stomach. I couldn’t even try to fight the effects of the chloroform. My eyelids fluttered, becoming heavier with each blink.
My head pounded once I regained consciousness. The thick smell of cigar smoke invaded my lungs, and I opened my eyes to see that I was in an enclosed space with the horrid man that bought me.
The pads of his coarse fingers roamed every inch of my body and I pressed into the hard floor of the vehicle. Nausea tore through my middle as the vehicle made quick turns and I swallowed down the bile forcing its way to my lips. The monster pawed at my breasts, his touch rough and unforgiving. I shrugged off the effects of the chloroform as he shoved a knee between my legs and used his thigh to force mine apart.
No, no, no…
I went wild, fighting like a madwoman to get the big stranger off of me before he could rape me. He probably didn't tie me up because he assumed I would remain unconscious. Or maybe he liked a struggling woman. Some sick bastards got off on that.
Either way, he’d made a mistake because I was in survival mode. Desperation clawed its way through my chest, and I took him by surprise, hitting him right in the nose with my fist.
“You bitch!”
The words boomed in the small space. He lurched off of me, holding his nose as blood came out. I sensed the vehicle was slowing down and knew that this was it. My only chance.
I brought my foot up and landed a blow to the center of the man’s chest, putting every ounce of energy I had behind the action. I hoped he’d go toppling backward, but he let out a grunt of pain and barely moved at all.
My hands fumbled for the door, and I pulled it open just as the vehicle came to a stop. I fell out, landing on my side on the asphalt, but I couldn’t let the sharp pain in my elbow and hip slow me down. I was on my feet in an instant, running.
That was when I realized that someone had put stockings and boots on me while I was unconscious. It was a good thing because snow covered the ground.
I ran like my life depended on it because it probably did. Men like the one that bought me didn’t take kindly to being attacked by a woman they owned. The cold fury in the man’s eyes left me with no doubt that he’d make me pay for what I just did.
So, I ran.
We were in London; I had a good enough idea of where I was and headed for the nearby train station. My lungs burned as I ran, and my head was still killing me, but I didn’t slow down. Not even when I heard a man shouting after me.
People filled the inside of the train station, and I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It would definitely make me harder to find, but trying to get through the crowd was slowing me down. I rushed through the gate, knocking over a man with a suitcase in my hurry. My instinct was to stop and apologize, but I suppressed it. I couldn’t get caught. Had to run.
I went to the first train I saw. I didn’t know or care where it was going as long as it would carry me away from danger and, hopefully, soon.
I rushed through the train, peeking into the cars and finding people in each one until I finally reached the back. This car was empty, so I sat down in the seat by the window, crouching low so that I could look out without being seen.
I couldn’t see my pursuer, but I didn’t relax, sure that he would appear at any moment. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there with tense muscles and my heart beating so erratically that I could feel the pulsing in my ears, but when the train finally started to move, I let out a long breath. He hadn’t found me. I was observing, and I was sure of that.
I watched the scenery go by for a while as I desperately fought the heaviness from my eyelids. My eyes seemed to close on their own and before I knew it, I fell asleep with my forehead pressed up against the glass.
A hand on my shoulder made me jolt and whip around to meet the eyes of an older man dressed in a uniform. The train attendant. I wasn’t sure how long I was out, which was beyond dangerous in my situation.
Fresh fear skittered through me. I didn’t have a ticket. If he alerted the authorities that I snuck onto this train, I’d be back with my captors within hours. They had people everywhere, even in the London police force.
But the old man didn’t say a word to me. He just held my gaze for a long moment before turning around and walking away. I sat there, knowing there was nowhere to go. If he was going to turn me in, there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
When he returned a couple of minutes later, pity filled his face. I sliced my gaze to his withered hands and eyed the bottle of water and the package of crackers. He handed them over with a small, sad smile. I snatched the items as his gaze trailed down my body. The man letting me have this free ride looked so sorry for me, I had to imagine that my appearance was at least a somewhat accurate reflection of what I’d been through.
