“If you ever dare to lay your hands on me again, I’ll send Bruce in here to teach you a lesson you won’t soon forget.” She lets out a soft laugh and straightens her shirt. “He likes you. I told him he couldn’t touch you because you’re a virgin, but after tonight you won’t be one, so maybe I’ll let him have a little fun.”
I wrap my arms around my legs and rest my forehead on my knees, wondering how in the hell my life has come to this. After Ruby leaves, I stay on the floor for what feels like hours before finally forcing myself to shower. I ignore the breakfast tray and the lunch tray, knowing I’ll just throw it up. My heart starts to race when I hear my door being unlocked. I take a step back and cross my arms over my chest when Ruby steps in. She’s wearing a red dress that shows off her amazing curves, and the diamonds around her neck make me want to strangle her with them. She’s clearly not hurting for money. She’s just greedy and willing to use us to make her bank account grow. I hate her in a way that surprises me, in a way that I hadn’t thought I was capable of.
She runs her eyes over the jeans and T-shirt I’m wearing and grimaces. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. He paid a million dollars for tonight, and you’re going to greet him like this?”
“I don’t want to do this,” I remind her. “You’re forcing me to do this, and now you expect me to dress up for my impending rape?”
“Oh please,” she says, walking to the small closet beside my bathroom. She opens it and starts looking through my clothes. The sound of metal hangers scraping along the rod works on my last nerve as she roughly shoves aside things that don’t make the cut. Finally, she grabs a black dress that I’d bought on a whim but never worked up the courage to wear. It’s silky and strapless and falls to mid-thigh.
“Put this on and do your hair and makeup.” She shoves the dress at me and points at a pair of black heels at the bottom of the closet. “Wear those too.”
She leaves after I’ve turned to follow her orders. My mind flits around while I get ready, desperate to latch onto anything that might even remotely resemble an escape plan, but all of them are unrealistic. A tiny spark of hope still lives deep within me, though, some desperate belief that something miraculous will happen to get my ass out of this mess. Maybe guilt will eat at my dad and he’ll change his mind and come get me, maybe I can reason with whoever this man is and convince him to let me go, or maybe I’ll be able to kick him in the balls and somehow make it past Bruce.
By the time my door opens, I’m dressed like Ruby wanted, but I’m shaking so badly I can barely stand. She walks in, eyes running over me, appraising me like I’m her prize cow at the county fair. I expect her to yell at me to get myself under control and stop shaking, but she only smiles and runs a finger up my arm.
“He’ll like how scared you are. Please him and you might even earn yourself a tip.”
I don’t say anything. I’m too damn scared to speak.
“Here are the rules,” Ruby says, standing in front of me and hooking a finger under my chin to roughly jerk my face up so I’m forced to meet her eyes. “They can do whatever the hell they want to you, but they’re not allowed to hurt you so badly that you can’t still perform your duties for me.” Her eyes narrow. “If they don’t wear a condom, I want to hear about it immediately.”
I try to jerk my head away, disgusted that that’s the only thing she cares about, but she tightens her grip on me, holding me in place.
“You’ll do better if you just accept that this is your home for the foreseeable future. I can see the hope in your eyes, Nina, but it’s only going to bring you heartache and hurt you all the more.”
“Why the fuck do you care?” I ask, fighting like hell to keep from crying.
She raises a dark, manicured brow at me. “How the hell do you think I learned how to run a place like this?”
My eyes widen at what she’s saying. “You used to have to work in a place like this?” When she doesn’t deny it, I grab her wrist and push her hand away. “You make me sick. You know exactly what you’re putting us through, and you’re still choosing to do it.”
Ruby shrugs, not even attempting to look sympathetic or remorseful. “I swore I’d get myself out of that hellhole and that I’d never let myself be in the position where I would ever have to go back. I’ve built a name for myself and a reputation, and I have enough money to guarantee I’ll never have to be the one spreading my legs ever again.”
She steps closer, crowding my space. “So look at me like that all you want, Nina. I don’t give a fuck. If the choice is between you or me, I’m choosing me every fucking time.”
Without another word, she grabs my hand and pulls me from my room. “Where are we going?”
“He prefers a larger room that’s more private.”
She pulls me down the hallway. I look back and see Bruce manning the door with a smirk playing at his lips. He reaches down to grab his crotch, and I quickly turn away from the disgusting sight. I hadn’t realized the hallway is L-shaped, and when Ruby drags me to the right, I almost fall because I’m too busy looking at all the doors on either side of me. Mindy had said there are twenty of us. The thought sickens me. Twenty other young women being held here against their wills, and all of it taking place right in the heart of downtown while families walk along the sidewalk right outside the fucking door.
Ruby brings me to the last door on the right and opens it before pushing me inside. “He’ll be here soon,” she says, shutting and locking the door in my face. I turn and eye the room she’s brought me to. It’s twice the size of mine with a king-size bed and small sitting area in the corner with a loveseat and chair. I let out a soft groan when I step closer to the bed and see the restraints that are already attached to the bedposts, just waiting to be used.
My heart speeds up when I hear the door open behind me. I’m shaking so badly my hair is moving. I’ve never been more terrified in my life, and no matter how hard I scream at myself to move, I can’t. I’m frozen in place, feeling more exposed than I’ve ever been. I hear his footsteps behind me, slowly coming closer. A whimper escapes when I feel his hands on my hair, gently brushing it aside so my neck is exposed. When he leans closer to kiss my shoulder, I feel rough fabric and turn my head just enough to see a black ski mask.
“Oh my god!” I scream, trying to lunge away from him, my whole body going into fight-or-flight mode. I can’t think straight. All I feel is a fear unlike anything I ever knew could exist. His fingers dig into my arms, holding me tightly in place.
“Trying to run away so soon, Nina?” His voice is low and deep, and he doesn’t seem at all fazed by the fact that I don’t want this and am trying to run away from him.
“Please,” I beg. “Please don’t do this. I don’t want to be here. They’re keeping me here against my will. Can you please help me?”
His laugh is cruel and mocking, and it kills every last shred of hope I’ve been desperately clinging to. He brings one hand down, flattening his palm against my stomach and pulling me tighter against him so I can feel how hard he is.
“Keep begging, sweetheart. Can you feel how much I love it?”
Tears fall down my cheeks as I struggle harder to get away from him. He laughs and spins me around, pushing me onto the bed. I run my eyes over him, trying to get some idea of who he is. He looks like he’s average height with a muscular build, and the ski mask covers everything except a mouth that could belong to anyone and a pair of brown eyes that don’t look familiar and I doubt I’d be able to pick out in a line-up. He’s being very careful to make sure I can’t ever identify him.
He grips my thighs, spreading them, and when I try to claw at him, he growls in frustration before roughly pulling me further onto the bed and straddling me while he ties my wrists to the restraints.
