I have to admit that I’m starting to panic.My time is running out, both to find Aislyn and save myself.I have less than twenty-four hours until I think my timeline is up, and once I’m on a ship, I’m not going to have any escape route at all.
I have to get out of here.And I have to do it quickly.
Before I can dwell on that, another man enters the room.Not one of the guards.This one is dressed in some sort of matching shorts-and-shirt outfit that looks like it belongs on a child.The material is bright blue ombre, with a smattering of...
I stare, sure that I must be wrong.
Are those smiley faces?
They are.There are about a million bright yellow smiley faces spread over the blue background.His hair is slicked back, which just emphasizes the fact that he’s going bald, and he’s wearing sunglasses that went out of style twenty years ago.
What.The actual.Fuck.
He stops to speak to a guard and then looks at one of the girls, his expression full of curiosity.I follow his eyes and see one of the weepy blonds, and my body turns hot with rage.He’s a buyer.He must be.The way he’s fingering something in his pocket–a stack of cash?–and staring at the girl like he’s looking at a porn magazine he wants to buy all make it obvious.I don’t know why they’ve left him alone, but maybe this is how it works?They come in and pick the one they want, then the next buyer comes in?
I don’t care.
I.Don’t.Care.
He’s not taking any of the girls I consider my wards.
I get up and walk toward him, taking in his height–he must be around 6’3”–and his weight.He’s heavy, with some musculature but more fat, and I’m guessing he’s dense but not nimble on his feet.Strong but not clever.
I don’t know what I’m going to do with him until I do it.I pull up behind him and slip my hand from the middle of his back down to his ass.“You don’t want her,” I whisper in his ear, making my voice low and dusky.“She doesn’t know what she’s doing, yet.”
He turns to me, half a smile on his lips, but frowns when he sees that I’m not dressed or made up like the other girls.
“What are you, the scullery maid?”he snorts.“You’re not on the menu.”
Oh my God I’m going to kill him.My body lights up with fire at his words and I barely manage to control my tone when I answer.
“I’m not for sale,” I say with a shrug.“I take care of the men while they’re making their choice.”
I don’t know what it means, but it sounds good, and the man seems to take it in stride.In fact, he suddenly looks a lot more interested in what I might be able to offer him.
“Take care of them?”he asks, his tone suggestive.“How do you do that?”
I lean even closer to him, repressing the need to gag at the body odor wafting off him.“I do whatever they want.”
His grin grows as big as a Cheshire cat, and when I slip my hand into his and lead him away, he comes willingly.I’ve been watching the guards long enough to know the hallway outside the room will be empty right now, and I take the man out there, hoping for a bit of privacy.
He doesn’t take long to flip me around, shove me against the wall, and try to shove his hand down my pants, his fingers sharp and grasping.I gasp, shocked and disgusted, and shove him backward.When he trips over his own feet, I take advantage of the movement and jump on his back, then practice my new favorite trick.
It’s called Break a Man’s Neck With Your Bare Hands.I wrap one hand around his cheek and brace the other on the opposite side of his neck, then jerk, using every ounce of strength in my shoulders and arms.I feel a very satisfying crunch and hear him gasp-slash-groan, and he goes limp, falling out from under me like he’s a sack of potatoes.
I land on my feet and grin down at him, far too pleased at how easy that was.Then I realize that I’m standing in the hall with a dead body while men who think they have the right to sell me are in the next room.
“Stupid,” I mutter.
I grab Blue Ombre Smiley Face Man under the arms and drag him quickly down the hall and around the corner, where I shove him into the first closet I come to.Then I go through his pockets for cash and weapons.He doesn’t have weapons, but he does have a lot of cash.
And something even more important: a key card.
Once I’m done I slam the door on him, wishing him a speedy trip to hell, and run for the room we came from, trying like hell to remember where Kate was when I left.
Because I’ll come back for the girls.But I’m not leaving Kate behind.
Lucien
