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I’m pretty sure there’s a huge hole in the floor. I’m lucky I wasn’t killed. Or am I? Maybe death would be better than whatever these criminals have in mind for me.

No one is hearing me. All I can see is the inside of this metal space. A small row of windows runs along the top on both sides. It’s enough to keep me from being in pitch darkness, but they’re too high for me to see anything from here.

I drop onto my bottom and pull the blanket around me. I’ve been kidnapped, taken from my owner, my Daddy, my life partner.

That’s what he is. My partner.

Even though I’m certain our bond is the direct result of the injection I was given, it’s real, and I feel my heart dying the farther away from Daddy I get.

Is he even alive? I gasp and pull my knees to my chest as I consider the possibility that these men killed him. Maybe they killed Kalvo and Longi, too. No one has come to my rescue. There has to be a reason.

The van drives for a long time. I don’t know how long. I have no concept of time on this planet. I don’t know whether the days are longer or shorter. I know there is nighttime, but is the rotation of Venkoria the same length as Earth’s was? Doubtful. No two planets would be exactly the same distance from their suns.

Suddenly, the van lurches to a stop, so hard that I tumble forward and hit my head on the bars. Blood drips down my face. I cut my forehead. Using a corner of the blanket, I dab at the wound.

Wincing, I don’t have time to ponder how deep the cut is because the doors open, and I spin around to see out. The two men who kidnapped me reach in to grab my kennel.

One of them glances at me and then looks at the other and shouts, “Fuck. She’s injured. We’re supposed to deliver her unharmed.”

“I can’t help that the stupid bitch wasn’t holding on to the bars. Obviously, she’s not as smart as the buyer believes,” he snorts.

I grab the blanket and pull it around my body again, not wanting these strangers to see my breasts. I’m not wearing a diaper, either. All I have on is my elaborate harness. Daddy said no one could remove it, but he also believed no one could break me free of the bolt in the floor.

These men are not careful. If they’re supposed to bring me uninjured to someone else, they suck at doing so. I’m falling back and forth, slamming into both sides of the kennel from the careless manner in which they’re carrying it.

The next time I’m tossed to one side, my bicep bangs into a bar. It hurts so bad that I reach up to rub it. That’s when I remember the implant. There’s a tracker. More than one. There’s definitely a tracker in my collar, and one in my arm. It’s possible there’s a device somewhere on my harness, too.

Daddy can find me. He said so. But is he alive? What will happen to me if these evil men have killed him?

I can’t stop the tears that fall. My fear is mounting. I can’t breathe right. I start to get lightheaded from panting.

Finally, the men drop my cage onto a flat surface. I’m so grateful to no longer be tossed about that I let out a long exhale. But where are we?

We’re not outside. I’m surrounded by concrete and metal. A warehouse or hangar. There’s no natural light.

Men start speaking again. All at once. It’s hard to hear what they’re shouting about.

“What the fuck, asshole?” a new voice says. “The boss is going to have a coronary when he sees all that blood.”

I dab at my forehead again. Am I bleeding that badly?

“It’s just a small cut,” says one of my kidnappers. “She’s not going to die. She’s an animal. Surely, she’s resilient.”

I find myself growling like the animal they think I am. My pacifier fell out of my mouth a long time ago. It’s dangling between my breasts. I clasp it as I hold the blanket around me, but I don’t lift it to my lips. I won’t risk missing an opportunity to call for help. I need my mouth empty.

“How long before the boss gets here?” one man asks.

“Not long. Chill. What’s your fucking hurry?”

“Don’t be a dick. I did my job. I want my pay so I can get the fuck out of here.”

“You’ll get your fucking money,” the new man shouts. “Don’t be a pussy.”

I wince. Pussy? It dawns on me that he’s using the word in a derogatory fashion. Did he just use the female sex organs as an insult?

Another word I’m hearing a lot is fuck. I’ve heard Daddy grumble it on occasion when he’s frustrated. He’s also used the word to describe claiming my pussy with his shaft—his cock. He says those filthy things to me sometimes while he’s tormenting me with his tongue.

I wish I knew English curse words. I just don’t, so I’m sure they’re being translated, but I don’t know them well enough to identify them.