No, stay away from my room!
Thought so. Besides, I would like to challenge you one more time.
I’m listening.
D should be busy partying. You know the back alleys in this town. I need you to show them to me. Here’s the addy.
Why? And why at night?
Will tell you later. IM is for establishing comm, remember? You want the rest of the hot stuff, you’ll have to come, sweetheart. Hot Stuff out.
Wait! Wear something hot.
Hawk grinned. She was trying to have the last word.I’m naked now. Is that hot enough?
Amber went offline without a reply. He chuckled quietly. Served her right if she was thinking about his body now. Tit for tat.
He closed the program and, putting the laptop aside, leaned back against the pillows in the bed. He hadn’t flirted with any woman since leaving his SEAL team behind in Asia. His SEAL brothers and he were used to months away from home and especially away from women, and when they were finally back among female company, flirtation came hard and fast as their male libidos bloomed overnight like morning glories.
However, these past few months Hawk had been among female company. Constantly. Dilaver had been checking up on hiskafenasand Hawk had to go along. Female sexual slaves. Most of them were paraded in front of him half naked. Some were even willing.
Hawk had never experienced total rejection of something he loved—women. His natural tendency to flirt and tease had disappeared as he grew colder and angrier with everything he had to witness in thekafenas.There was no chance to relax, not with the feeling of helplessness that sat like a boulder on his soul, and it was a test of his willpower not to just go start a war all by himself. But he had a mission to complete and it had very little to do with these poor girls, some of whom fondled him at Dilaver’s orders. Their attempts to seduce him had made Hawk even angrier as he showed nothing on the outside.
Hawk stared at the high ceiling, tracing the beams crisscrossing above him. No reaction. Until a certain woman dropped out from up there and landed on his naked body, that is. Amber Hutchins somehow made him feel alive inside again, made him feel more like himself. He didn’t understand it yet, but he would love to find out what it was about her that made him regain his smile.
It would be nice to see her later tonight, after going through another session in hell.
It was half past twelve. Amber had arrived early on purpose. She wanted to scope out thekafenaherself. She had never really been inside one while it was conducting business, had never wished to see the things that went under the boxlike flat roofs. The girls she and Lily had saved talked openly about their experiences and their stories made her shudder.
Lily wasn’t home yet and Amber had left her a note. She wasn’t worried. Her friend could take care of herself. She smiled at the thought that Brad might have convinced her to stay for dinner, too. He could lay on the charm when he wanted, if Lily gave him half a chance. Those two—she shook her head at the thought of them together—would be interesting to watch, if they ever really managed to talk their problems out.
She frowned. How ironic. Here she was, in a weird communication game herself. She remembered how it all started, where she had hung a certain message. Ruefully, she rubbed the side of her thigh. His retaliating message was still faintly marking her. And then there were these odd instant-messaging communications. So who was she, to criticize her friend for avoiding talking to a man? The male species was incomprehensibly complicated.
What was Hawk up to, that he needed her to guide him through the back alleys of Velesta? He had kept their conversation humorous to distract her questions, as if he didn’t want to give out all the information. Wise move. After all, nothing online was secured, no matter how safeguarded the link was.
There were several dozen vehicles in front of the short block of buildings. Music blared out into the night air as she watched men enter and leave the different entrances. There were three mainkafenashere. Which one were Hawk and Dilaver in?
Amber moved among the shadows, her dark outfit obscuring her from view as she moved closer. She was to meet Hawk in the rear, but she wanted to first satisfy her curiosity. These faces belonged to men who came in and out of her café, some of whom treated her like gentlemen. Yet here they were, participating in the vilest of crimes—debasing and degrading girls of a tender age.
She was close enough now to hear the lewd comments and loud laughter coming out of the buildings. The weather had warmed up enough to bring the “party” outside, and the windows were opened to let in fresh air. Climbing up the thick ivy grown to one side of the wall, she found she had a good view without anyone looking up at her. They were too busy enjoying themselves. Evidently, they were very sure there wouldn’t be any raids tonight. Even so, she had to be doubly careful. It wouldn’t be good to be caught.
Some of the entertainment had spilled out into the small courtyard in front of one of the entrances. A group of men surrounded what looked like a picnic table, a line forming all the way back through the door. Craning her neck, Amber could make out the white paint reflecting in the light…and someone writhing on top.
It was the naked form of a woman, with her hands and legs spread out and held down by the surrounding men. She was struggling as one of them stood between her open legs and dropped his pants. Amber watched with horror, gripping the vine in her hand tightly, as the man’s naked buttocks started pumping. The girl’s muffled screams cut through the air, making the hair at the back of Amber’s neck stand up. He finished with a loud grunt, and before he had moved away, the next man in line was already between the girl’s legs, positioning himself.
Dear Lord. This was…a gang rape. A victim had told Amber about this, that sometimes it was a free-for-all night for an unlucky new girl, chosen out of a bunch, so she could be initiated into her new job. Usually it was a girl who had been crazy enough to insult her new owners. This was her beginning punishment. Any customer could have her for free that whole night, any way he wanted. The victim who related the incident to Amber had spat at the memory. It was, she had snarled out, the most looked-forward to event by all the men.
Amber was unable to turn away from the horrific spectacle. Her mind screamed at the sight, ordering her to do something, but her whole body was frozen, shut down from shock. She watched as the girl was raped again and again, her gagged screams turning into high-pitched whimpers that were totally ignored by the monsters who shuffled up the line as if they were in a fast-food restaurant. The cries cut Amber to the soul. No one lifted a finger to help.
A raging fury rose like an inferno inside. She suddenly realized that she was aiming her semiautomatic at the crowd below. She had pulled it out without thinking, and her target was the current rapist. Her forefinger rested on the trigger. She had to do something. Take one out. Stop it. Tears ran down her face, blurring her vision.
“Don’t do it.”
The words were spoken softly from below her. The voice was flat, deadly. Amber didn’t look down; her eyes were trained on another man in that courtyard, who was flipping the girl over. She was no longer struggling.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t take out that bastard.” She could hear the tightness in her own voice.
“You don’t have enough shots to kill them all and they’ll find you. Come down, Amber.”
