They said something in Spanish that caused a few laughs and smirks around the room. The next thing I knew, my shirt was being cut off me. I tried to cry and buck away from the scissors, but another guy moved behind me to hold on to my torso from behind. His breath cascading over the side of my neck reeked of grease and cigarettes.
Once my shirt was removed, my arms were tied again, this time in front of me. I tried to hide my breasts, but that didn’t last long when they hooked the ropes into the restraints above the bed.
The boss’s eyes zeroed in on my breasts, a dark look crossing his face. “I was told you are a virgin. Are you?”
Until last night, I said to myself. Thinking about Killian made me want to cry. When I didn’t answer him, he lost his patience and moved in front of me. His fingers pinched my chin hard as he ripped the silver tape from my mouth, pulling the skin mercilessly with it.
“You have marks on your breasts. Is your virginity intact?” His face was red with anger. I didn’t know if I should lie or tell the truth. It looked like they were going to confirm either way, but I didn’t know the best course of action, so I stayed silent.
“Confirm it!” he barked when I stayed stonily silent.
They maneuvered me onto the bed.
“No,” I rushed out, hoping that would put them off this examination. “I’m not a virgin.” They stopped briefly, waiting for direction from their boss.
“Confirm it,” he repeated coldly in a low, menacing voice.
The men yanked on my ankles, stretching my feet out and strapping them into stirrups. I tried my best to kick and twist my body against their hold to prevent it, but there were too many of them.
“Why are you doing this?” I screamed and cried, begging for answers, as they anchored my legs in the stirrups and spread them wide as they would go.
“Your uncle took something from me and promised me something in exchange. You will fetch a good price no matter what, but you will not get your full value if you are not pure.”
The man with the scissors went to work again, this time cutting away the rest of my clothes and the last of my hope that I would survive this.
Chapter 27
Killian
“I’ve got your back.” Donovan picked up the Desert Eagle, checking the magazine to confirm it was full, and then slamming it back into the gun. We were preparing for a war. There was no telling how many men Botello had surrounding him. “It’s my fault she took off. What I said—”
“It’s not your fault.” I cut him off quickly. “I should have tried to explain what was going on. In our world, nothing is as it seems and people don’t just believe people they don’t know without proof. My mistake was expecting her to be as jaded as we are.” I shook my head. “It was my plan, Donovan. This shit is all on me.” My voice cracked with the weight of the guilt I was feeling. “Anything that happens to her is on me.”
Donovan didn’t look convinced that he wasn’t to blame for Zoey taking off. “How are we going to do this with just the two of us?”
“Excuse me.” Rowan piped up from the chair behind my desk. “I believe there are three of us here. I may not go in guns blazing like you two, but I’ve got skills that can help.”
