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“It’s not like I did anything. You know Madame Teaslee is always hungry for a newbie. Offered her a sneak peek at the new submissive. Worked. Maybe I need to get the hell out of here too. It’s getting old.”
“You think Maxi’s gonna let you go? We signed our lives away when we took these jobs. We are in so deep with the Delacroix family, we might as well be blood.”
“That’s the fucking point, Coop. I’m worried about Ari. She’s not returning my calls or texts. You said it yourself. They are not going to just let her walk free.”
Cooper stood, patting Dylan on the arm. “You’re overreacting. Ari’s just pissy because you caught her in a lie. Do you really think they’d do something to a reporter? Come on, that’s asking for the Feds to come and raid this place. They wouldn’t risk that.”
It sounded reasonable. Cooper always had a level head, thinking things out before reacting. It was Dylan who jumped all the time, headfirst into the emotional deep end. And always to the extreme, which was what got her in so much trouble as a kid. As hard as it was, she’d let Ari be.
Dylan would go out, live a little, and find someone to mend her broken heart, even if just for the night. “Hey, wanna go stir up some shit over at The Pendulum? I could use some stress relieving chaos.”
With a solid man-size hug, the two butches patted each other on the back and headed out of the club to finish the night at another one.
Chapter 23
The excruciating pain pounding within her skull was unlike any pain Ari had felt. Just turning her head caused a violent, nauseating rumble in her stomach. She fought through it and lifted her head toward the dull red light in the room’s corner. That movement triggered panic once she realized there was something around her neck.
With blood pumping to her head, her first instinct was to grasp it and tear it away from her body. When her heavy arm rose, so did the steel cuff and rustic chain attached to it. As her senses rebooted, Ari squirmed to free herself. Her wrists, ankles, and neck were all bound. Rusty metal shackles attached to heavy chains restricted movement of all four limbs. Naked and alone.
A scream scratched her throat like a shard of glass, which turned into a coughing wheeze as she struggled to catch her breath in the humid chamber. The reflexive grasp of her chest met with more wretched pain when her hand scraped over her nipple, igniting a searing sting.
Thick metal rings pierced her tender pink flesh. Chains hung from both and trailed off below the bed, as did the rest of her restraints. Each attempt to maneuver herself caused the chains to strain on her sore buds. Again, the bloodcurdling cries of her dreadful state echoed in the small chamber. She rushed as much as she could and traced along the chains to a box under the bed, a conductor of sorts, much like a generator with a hum emanating from it.
Instinctually, she reached for it and found there were no buttons or cords. The severity of the situation hit her, and a floodgate of tears opened.
“Help! Let me go! Please! Help! Dylan? Anyone!”
Again, she coughed, straining to breathe through her heightened anxiety.
The haunting chime of The Silo’s elevator rang in her mind. It was the last thing she heard before a needle stabbed her arm. Ari rubbed her biceps as she pulled herself back onto the bed, careful not to tug on the chains dangling from her breasts.
Someone injected her with something, which might have been why the room spun while sitting still. With a racing pulse, she scanned the room. The padded walls seemed like a scene from a movie set in a mental hospital. Beside the bed, there was an old clawfoot bathtub and a toilet in the corner. It wasn’t a large room, from what she could tell. The walls were dingy and bare. A single door was the only exit.
In between her sobs, her brow furrowed at the sight of two security cameras mounted on the wall. One opposite the foot of the bed and the other near the door, aimed at the toilet and tub. Her mind raced to Dylan’s office and the security cameras.
“Dylan, if this is some sort of joke to get back at me, it’s not funny. You can stop now. I’m sorry. Come on. Let me go. I’m serious!” Ari said as loud as she could, praying this was some sick declaration of love. Deep down, she knew this wasn’t a joke, but she needed to cling to hope.
With careful movements, Ari twisted to the edge of the bed and placed her feet on the cold cement flooring. A wooden trunk, more like an old pirate’s treasure chest, sat on the floor next to the bed. Like any curious reporter, Ari lifted the lid. Inside, she found velvet pouches of different sizes, each with a letter embroidered on it. As she bent down to grab one, there was a tug on her chains, as if someone had pulled them.
She glanced behind her with a squint, peering into the dark corners. Something, or someone, moved.
“Hello? Who’s there?”
No one answered. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness the longer she had them open. The glow of the red lights above each camera shone dimly.
With meticulous steps, she tested how far she could move through the room. The chains were long enough for her to walk, albeit not very far. They let her reach the toilet, though she cringed at the idea of needing to use it. The tub was also in reach. Though, if death was upon her, bathing seemed moot. There wasn’t much more to the room. Cameras were at ceiling height, mounted and pointing down at her. Whose eyes were on the feed was a mystery.
She crossed the room, knowing if she could reach one side, then she could reach the door on the other end. Not that she’d get far with steel shackles, but maybe she could open it and call for help. Just as she reached for the handle, a sharp tug on the wires attached to her nipples made her gasp as she backed up. Her hand rose to her chest, protecting her nipples from the onslaught of torture.
“No. No. No,” a voice boomed from the far corner of the room.
Ari twisted her head to figure out where the feminine voice came from, then she heard it again, coming from the other side of the room. Her body and eyes darted in a circle.
“The door is for me, not for you.”
“Who are you? What do you want from me?” Ari asked, elevating her tone like she needed her voice to carry.
“So many questions. I’m sure you have more than two. I’ll answer one of them. That sweet little ass of yours is what I want.”
