That penguin in his suit walks up to me. “Ah, Layne.” He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. I look past him. “You’re even more beautiful than I dared hope. Connor had excellent taste.”
“Don’t you dare talk about him.” I spit in his face instead. “You don’t have the right.” I clench my jaw, trying to focus on the anger that mentioning his name evokes in me.
He tilts his head, wiping his chin, his blue eyes fixed on me, and I suppress the urge to spit in his face again. “I warned him, sweetheart.” His gaze wanders back down. “Oh, you’venever seen someone get shot before?” he asks when he sees the moisture seeping through the grate beneath me.
“I’ve seen more than you think.” I whisper the words.
“Is this when you’re going to threaten me with your new boyfriend, Layne?” Meanwhile, his finger wanders from Norah’s throat between her breasts, then he wraps his hand around her right one. She whimpers and looks at the ceiling. A tear rolls down her cheek.
“I’m talking about my father.” I sound defeated, but I don’t care. It’s exactly how I feel.
He turns around abruptly, puts his hand over my vagina, and I gasp for breath. “But why would you bring your father into this? As far as I know, he’s dead.” His thumb caresses my labia, causing me to silently scream in my mind.
“That’s right,” I say haltingly.
“Your boyfriend can’t do much. The rules of the MC are clear: a slut’s problems aren’t the MC’s problems.” He grins at me with a sickening smile and he presses his thumb deeper into my vagina. His nail scrapes along my opening.
I whimper. “That’s right,” I choke out. “But I’m not just a slut.” That’s all I say. Instead of words, only tears come out as I break down in front of this bastard. Not that he cares. The only words flashing through my mind are: I hope this is over soon. And I mean everything. If I can’t get out of this, I’d rather die. Hopefully, Kyler will keep Rebel safe for me.
The penguin moves on to the last girl, who was in Jen’s cell. He grabs her upper body. “Virgin?” he asks her, and she swallows. His hands slide down and when he puts one between her legs, she squeezes her thighs together. “I bet you are.”
She sobs and gasps for breath at the same time as he moves his hands to her breasts. He grabs them and rubs her nipples. “You’re going to be worth a lot, girl.” Then he licks her jaw and walks out of the room.
The girl exhales the breath she’s been holding, and the hiccup is clearly audible.
“Hey,” I whisper. “What’s your name?”
She turns her head, her long white-blonde hair falling down to her buttocks. She’s beautiful, with creamy white skin and freckles on her nose. “Isobel, but everyone calls me Bel.”
“Okay, Bel. Everything will be okay, got it?” I say in a voice that doesn’t convince anyone.
She chuckles humorlessly. “No one’s looking for me. You might be okay, but me…”
“Don’t give up,” I whisper, just before the blond man enters the room again.
“Okay, I’ll untie you. You’ll get a dress to wear. No funny business. You saw what happened to your friend.” He nods at me.
All three of us nod half-heartedly, and then he lowers the chains.
As soon as the ropes are off my wrists, he throws a gray gown—like a hospital one, but without the opening at the back—at each of us, which I quickly pull over my head. Anything’s better than being naked.
Then he points to the door. Norah walks toward him first and grabs my hand. I do the same with Bel. One behind the other, our hands intertwined, we walk in front of him through the stuffy hallway, back to the room with the cells.
When we reach Jen and Bel’s cell, we’re told to stop. “You,” he says to Bel. “Over there.”
She tries to break free from my grip to do as she’s told, but I don’t let her. “Can’t she just stay with us?” I ask softly, squeezing my eyes shut. I probably know the answer, and I don’t want to see what’s going to happen.
I take a deep breath and then I hear him say, “Fine, but then the three of you will have to share that mattress.”
I let out the sigh I’d been holding in.
I squeeze Norah’s hand to signal that she should keep walking. There’s no way I could leave Bel there alone. Together, we walk into our cell and the man closes the door behind us.
As I sink down onto the mattress, I let out a deep sigh. I pull my knees up, put my arms over them, and let my head fall onto them.
Shit, shit, shit. Jen…
All I can see is her lifeless body. What the hell are they going to do to her? That guy mentioned a freezer. Are they really going to…
