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We walked side by side down the hallway, following the crowd of other captives as they lined up at the door that led into the club. It was freezing out here, and as much as I wanted to wrap my arm around myself and ward off from the chill, I physically couldn’t move.
Horror and flashing images of what they did to me shot through my mind as the door opened. The lights were dimmed this time, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t remember what had happened in there—what they’d all done to me.
Seven’s hand squeezed mine harder, almost as if she knew what was going through my mind. “Take a deep breath,” she whispered.
I did as she said, but it wasn’t enough to calm me, not before we were being ushered inside the room.
The tables and chairs had been moved, leaving only booths sitting on the edge of the room. A man at the front of the line directed us to stand in the middle, making one big circle. We stood side by side, only a small light shining on us.
I couldn’t see anyone else in the room, but I couldfeeltheir eyes on us. They were watching us, evaluating us, seeing which one they wanted to spend money on. Shivering, I tried to keep my eyes open, tried not to let my thoughts overtake me, but it was so damn hard when I could see the X frame that I’d been tied to stored away in the corner.
How had I not noticed that before? Had I been that oblivious to what was happening around me?
It was only then that I glanced at the circle of people I was standing in. Eight women, three men. Not a single one of us could have been over the age of twenty-two. And we all kind of looked similar. Slim builds, not too short but not too tall. We looked…average. The kind of average that would blend in with the crowd.
And maybe that was why we’d been taken. Maybe that was the tactic behind the people he chose.
I was too busy trying to take everything in around me—trying to be more observant than I ever had been before—that I missed what was being said. Seven jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow. I winced, the sharp pain causing all of my other aches to come to the surface. She mouthed sorry as she tilted her head to the side, signaling for me to look toward the front.
I wished I hadn’t. I wished that I’d kept my attention anywhere else because now I was staring directly at Mr. Pozzi. He stood tall and broad, his white shirt and black pants sticking to him like a second skin. He looked…sleazy. Even his hair was slicked back with that wet look. I gagged, hating the reaction I was having to him.
“Gentlemen,” he announced, grinning as he spun around. His back was to us now, and as he turned, my gaze moved with him, squinting through the dimmed lights to make out bodies sitting on chairs. “The evening will commence with Johanas.”
Blinking, I dipped my head to see who stepped forward, but when no one did, the guard who had brought us out here pushed one of the men out of the circle. He didn’t stop there though, the stick he was holding whipped right into his groin, eliciting a painful scream from Johanas.
His panicked gaze met mine, pleading for help, and for the first time since I’d last been in this room, I wanted to scream and shout, I wanted to yell at them to stop, to let us go. I’d never spoken to Johanas before, but he was just like me, trapped here, his freedom stolen from him.
I opened my mouth, not having a clue what would come out, but a pinch in my side stopped me. I hissed, rubbing at the spot, then gave Seven a death stare. “What the hell?” I whispered.
“Don’t make a scene,” she murmured back, her eyes flitting to me, then back to Mr. Pozzi. “Don’t make it any worse for all of us.”
It was a warning, one that hit me right in the gut. If I did anything right now, I wasn’t just putting myself at risk, I was putting everyone else at risk too, and I just…I couldn’t do that. I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t have anything. It was just me against all of them, and there was no way I’d win.
I’d lost the moment I’d been ripped off the streets.
I felt like a nobody. Like I didn’t matter in the world. And maybe I didn’t. Maybe I’d given myself a false sense of hope, but as Johanas was pulled away from us having been sold, I realized that Iwasa nobody. I didn’t matter, not to any of these people. I was just a dollar amount. I was just a slave to whatever they were creating.
“Next up is one of my favorites,” Mr. Pozzi said, bringing my attention back to him. “Some of you have had the pleasure of touching her.” I shivered, my shoulders caving in as he turned and pierced me with his gaze. “Come, Bailey.” Two words—the first time he’d used my actual name. A command that I wanted to ignore, but my body refused to do what my brain wanted as I took a step forward on wobbly legs.
Don’t make a scene.The words repeated over and over again.
My head spun, threatening to take me out altogether, but I managed to stay upright until I was right next to him. My stomach rolled at the smell of his aftershave and the memories it evoked. The last time he’d gotten me alone, the last time he’d degraded my body like it was his to do what he wanted to. I hated that smell. I hatedhim.
“This one is special,” he started, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I tensed, freezing on the spot at his touch. “Aren’t you?” he asked, looking down at me, his face so close that I could taste his breath. He leaned closer, his lips hitting my ear as he threatened, “Do as I say and act like the good little whore that you are, otherwise I’ll take you out the back, fuck you with the knife I’ve got attached to my ankle, then slit your throat with the same blade.” He pulled back, just enough to look me dead in the eyes. “And remember, no matter who you are sold to, you’llalwaysbelong to me.” He paused, his dark eyes swirling with so much evil it was hard to look at. “Got it?”
I couldn’t form words, my throat too dry, so I clipped my head in a single nod.
It didn’t matter where I went, he’d still be there, watching over me, looming, the threat a constant. And for a brief second, I wished he’d kill me, at least then I could escape his clutches and be free.
* * *
ROMEO
The club was packed, more so than any other time I’d come here. There was a buzz in the air, the lights more dimmed than usual—I was presuming that was for anonymity. The men here were excited, talking animatedly about all of the options available for purchase tonight. They were acting like this was an art show and they wanted to buy the latest piece from a well-known artist.
Only it wasn’t. This was the lowest of the low. This was depraved. This…was pure evil. An evil that I wanted to eradicate. An evil that I wanted to torture for days on end and cause the worst kind of agony.
I gritted my teeth to keep my mouth closed as I slowly weaved in and out of people in the crowd that was forming. I was on edge, fury thrashing through my veins at lightning speed, but there was nothing for me to do to get rid of it. Tonight was about one thing—one person. I couldn’t do what my brain was screaming at me to do. I couldn’t yank my gun out and fire off bullets between Gio’s eyes.
