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Giselle
After the doctor finished, I was returned to my cage, where I witnessed three more sunrises. Every agonizing moment was filled with thoughts of Zayne and Ashley.
I hadn’t seen my sister since they’d hauled her away. I kept lying to myself, trying desperately to convince my brain that she was safe and sound, had been merely used to scare me into submission. But I knew better because the drugs that had coursed through her system were evidence against that.
The other girls and I would occasionally talk about hometowns, jobs, school, and anything else that kept our minds occupied. I was definitely the oldest at twenty-six. We were supposed to have our entire lives ahead of us, but not anymore. In mere seconds, each one had been taken while walking down the road or after hitching a ride with a stranger, then dropped here with no fucking clue they were entering a life of slavery.
High heels scraped against the cement floor, and I peered through the glass and down the hall.
My mother strolled in my direction as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Her hair was tucked into a tidy bun, and she looked stunning in her red blouse and beige slacks. If only people were aware that her soul was coated black with evil, her beauty only skin-deep.
She paused at my cell until the tall, dark-haired man escorting her unlocked the door and escorted me out.
“All your tests are clear, Giselle. Just in time for the auction tonight. You, along with nine other girls, will be prepared. I thought I would come say goodbye.”
I ground my teeth together. “Where’s Ashley?”
“Still the caring older sister, I see. She’s fine, don’t worry. It will give you wrinkles.” She gave me a tight-lipped smile. “Hopefully, whoever buys you will treat you well. I know that you haven’t experienced kindness very often from men.”
I jerked back as though she’d slapped me. “You think? I mean, you and Father basically got pregnant in order to sell me for sex most of my life.” Disgust twisted my muscles into knots, and I clenched my hands into tight balls. “Do you even realize how fucked up you all are?”
Mother shook her head. “There you go, being dramatic again. I swear, Giselle, after everything we’ve done for you, I don’t understand how you don’t have an ounce of gratitude. We paid for your ballet, fed and clothed you—”
With my free hand, I reared back and slapped her face as hard as possible. “You bitch. How dare you.”
Mother gasped, her fingers flying to her cheek. “I’m the bitch?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m glad you’ll be gone once and for all.”
I smirked at her. “See you in hell. Tell Father the same.” A sharp stab to my chest had me realizing that the parents of my youth were just a mirage.
Mother spun around and marched away, leaving me with the oaf of a man that was digging his fingers into my biceps.
“Move,” he ordered.
Instead of taking me back upstairs, he led me in the opposite direction. I nearly groaned as I spotted the door. I hadn’t been that far from it the entire time. He pushed it open, and the sunlight spilled in, temporarily blinding me. I shielded my eyes as Oaf ushered me up a set of outdoor steps mounted into a dirt hillside and hidden behind a brick wall covered with vines—Mother’s cherished flowers were never to be touched when Donovan and I were little. The cells were literally underground.
I struggled to adjust to the daylight as we climbed the last stair. I peered around, realizing we were behind my parents’ home. They had been running an illegal operation under our noses all these years.
A large white van was parked in front of us. Oaf opened the back and promptly lifted and shoved me inside. I stumbled, breaking my fall with another girl sitting on a bench. I glanced across from me, noticing the others on the opposite side.
Sweat beaded down my spine as I sat in the only spot available. The doors slammed shut, then the engine started. We all stared at each other, and I wondered if they understood what was about to happen. In order to calm my fears, I allowed my imagination to wander to Zayne. If he were still here, he would be hijacking the van and killing the motherfuckers that were driving while I peeked through the back window, ensuring it was safe to help the girls escape. The thought made me smile. I bet he’d been amazing in action.
Had been.I rubbed my chest where my heart hurled itself against my ribs. Fear, adrenaline, and shock fueled my palpitations as I thought about how my life had turned out. How had all this happened? One minute I was with the man I loved. The next, I was riding in a hot-as-fuck vehicle to God only knew where.
I leaned against the van’s wall and held my tears back. Crying wouldn’t help me now.
* * *
It wasdark when we arrived at our destination. As soon as the doors opened, cool air rushed in, and I sucked in a big breath. We were ordered to exit, then guards escorted everyone to a large building that would have covered several city blocks.
More armed huge men were at the entrance, all with guns trained on us—too many to ever be able to escape from. We walked past them and into a foyer with white tile floors. It almost reminded me of some of the auditoriums I’d danced in when I was younger.
The men led us down a long hall to wooden double doors. The ones in the front pushed them open and the ones behind us forced us into a large conference room. At least twenty women milled around in workstations outfitted with chairs and mirrors, talking in hushed tones.
“Ladies, you’ll shower, then receive a haircut along with manicures and pedicures. You will be clothed and fed, then at ten this evening, each of you will be presented for the auction. The women you see before you are armed, so if any of you consider escaping, think again. Two men will be stationed right outside. Don’t get any big ideas, or you’ll be sorry.” With that, a broad-shouldered man who seemed to be in charge of this group of jailers stepped forward. He spun on the heel of his black boot and marched across the room and out the door.
One of the girls standing nearby grabbed my hand. “Why? What is happening?”
My heart dropped to my toes as I looked at her. She wasn’t as worn and dirty as the others, and I wondered if she hadn’t been in the cells as long. Some of the girls in the van I hadn’t recognized, so I suspected there were more places Mother and Father had them held as prisoners. “Hon, we’re being prepared to be sold to wealthy men as sex slaves. Let’s just hope we don’t end up with monsters.”
