“No bruising, Carlos.” Luis finally turned his attention away from the girl and got to his feet in a fluid motion. For the first time since she’d met him, Tomi flinched when he drew near. He traced her cheek with the back of his finger, exactly like he’d done to the girl on the couch mere seconds before. Her stomachrolled.
“You are precisely what I’ve been looking for. François has been begging for someone like you. I really am sorry about this. My son truly cared foryou.”
“Then let me go. I won’t tell anyone. We can go on, like before.” Anything to get her out of here,now.
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that. These girls will be sold tonight, and next week, so will you.” Luis flicked his hand and Carlos dragged her even deeper into the subterranean room. They passed a low stage, lit by yellow lights arranged at intervals across the bottom. Five women swayed on bare feet. The thin silver cuffs clasped over their bare ankles were their onlycovering.
“You heard the boss. You’ll be on that stage soon enough, puta.” Carlos yanked her to his chest and roughly pawed her ass. “Maybe I will be the one to buy you, eh?” He shoved her away with a rough laugh, holding on to her arm as he continued to pull her behindhim.
Then they were in a dark hallway, lit just enough to highlight their feet. Finally, he shoved her through a door at the end. Tomi landed on the floor, taking the brunt of her weight on herside.
She scrambled to her feet, horror rolling through her as she took in a giant bed draped in chains and metalcuffs.
Carlos shut the door and then turned to her, an evil grin spreading across his scarredface.
Tomi threw up her hand, blurting out the only sensible thing that came to her mind. “Luis said not to hurtme!”
“No, puta, he said no bruises. Believe me, I can hurt you without leaving a mark.” He shrugged out of his suit jacket as he spoke, the action casual and unhurried. “Luis doesn’t mind if I sample the merchandise every now andthen.”
Suddenly, he dove for her. Tomi launched to the right out of instinct. Carlos flew past, but his arm shot out and slammed into her chest, throwing her back with him. She hit the floor with agrunt.
Carlos got his arms underneath him before she could drag in a breath. Blood blasting through her veins, Tomi rolled to the side and up to her feet. She spun to face him, chest heaving. “Let mego.”
“You’ll regret that.” He dove again, grabbed her arms, and threw her across the room. She hit the wall. Pain blasted across her left shoulder and she slumped to thefloor.
Tomi tried to get to her feet, but as soon as she shifted, white-hot agony sliced across her shoulderagain.
Carlos advanced on her with a gruesomesmile.
Tomi retreated in the only direction she could—toward the bed. When her knees hit the back, she stopped, desperately searching for anything to use as aweapon.
“You’re making my life much easier. I might not hurt you for that.” He took another step, shrinking the distance between them by another foot. “Maybe.”
She couldn’t think. Everything was happening too fast. Tomi tried to move her left arm again, but it wouldn’t budge. As if sensing her weakness, Carlos lunged. On instinct, Tomi grabbed the heavy chained cuff on the bed behind her and swung. The metal connected with his temple in a dull thud and he dropped at her feet, outcold.
Weak-kneed with relief, she bit her lip, fighting through her terror to figure out what to do. If he woke up it was over. She would die. No, he probably wouldn’t kill her at first, but he’d make her wish she was dead—she knew that much without question. Tomi gulped air in deep, heaving breaths. He’d almost raped her. Luis wanted to sell her. This was an auction. Oh my God, she was stilltrapped.
2
Think,think, think, Tomi. But her brain wasn’t capable of it right now. Forget about formulating a plan, she could barely get her numb fingers tomove.
How could she have been so blind? She’d naïvely accepted everything Luis had told her about being an electronics millionaire. Now that she knew the truth, there’d been signs. The secrecy. The nights he’d insisted she leave the property. His frequent trips. But his son, his sweet, innocent son, had sold her on thejob.
If she didn’t get out of here, though, she would literally besold.
Tomi drew in a deep, steadying breath that did absolutely nothing to calm her racing heart. Before she could talk herself into hiding like a coward under the bed, she forced herself to her feet, dimly aware of the lurid red plush carpet sinking beneath her tennis shoes. This room was everything she’d ever imagined a slave bordello would look like, handcuffs and chains included. And out there, the music continued to drum with grotesquesexuality.
And that was her only way out, back through the throngof naked women and the well-dressed men holding their leashes. Her T-shirt and khaki shorts would stand out like a flame in a darkroom.
On shaky legs, she went to a huge hand-carved wooden Armoire in the corner and pulled the door open. She nearly collapsed with relief when she saw multiple garments hanging inside. Tomi fingered a scrappy black silk get up, not garments really. Garments covered people and these things were meant to reveal. She swiftly moved from one skimpy piece of lingerie to the next, growing more desperate as she searched. She couldn’t wear something that would so fully expose her. Hell, she’d worn skimpy outfits to the club, but they’d always covered the essentials. The thought of a stranger seeing her in something like this made her stomach dive to herknees.
But the other contents of the chest reminded her of the stakes. A row of thin canes lined the back behind the clothes, arranged in descending order from longest to shortest. Three coiled black whips hung from brackets on the inside of the right door, each one looking scarier than the last, and a set of gorgeous knives with what had to be hand-carved opal handles hung from the left. Their beauty belied theirugliness.
Tomi glanced over her shoulder at the unconscious guard on the floor, knowing that he would’ve eagerly used these devices to cause her pain and torture had Luis not ordered him to leave her withoutbruises.
Her eyes flicked back to theclothing.
But what choice did she have? If she walked out there in her clothes, they’d nab her before she took two steps into the room and then where would she be? She’d be strapped right down to that bed, completely at the mercy of the guard who’d no doubt make her scream in pain for knocking him outcold.
