12. Amorette
AMORETTE
I knew that man in the hallway wasn’t as altruistic as he wanted me to believe.
Not that he’d actually wanted me to think better of him.
He had told me flat out I wouldn’t make it far, that he’d see me again.
The way his eyes had flashed with delight and his mouth continuously tried to curl into something close to sinister amusement should have given away that he was a fucktard.
Then right before I ran, he warned me which way to go. I knew he was most likely toying with me, enjoying the sick way he held power over me. I had hoped, even if this was a trap, that I’d be able to get away. That I was smart enough to outwit whoever I’d come up against.
Only, I’d barely made it ten feet before colliding with an even bigger man.
Even in his apparent shock, he gripped me to his chest. That had been my one advantage and these men were too well-trained to screw it up.
Now he pinned me to the floor after showing how easily he could deflect my attacks.
Sweat dripped from his shirtless torso, down onto the top band of his red workout shorts.
Every breath I took burned my lungs as he stared down at me, his erection standing tall between us.
The one consolation was that he didn’t seem to want to hurt me, no matter what vile words he said.
I’d seen evil. At the other warehouse, I’d become intimately acquainted with it. This man, who towered over me as he restrained me, didn’t have the same stink about him.
He’d only hurt me when I hurt him first.
Even in my worked-up state, I could admit that.
That truth alone eddied through my mind, forcing me to view him in a different light.
Now that I’d stopped fighting against his hold, he wasn’t moving.
The flimsy t-shirt I wore was bunched up at my waist, leaving me on full disgusting display and he wasn’t gawking.
Oh, he’d looked. His eyes had darkened as he’d allowed his gaze to roam over my bare skin, but after the initial examination, he’d locked his gaze with mine.
Although he was still turned on. He was still a man from here . Here being the keyword. He was still my enemy, whether a devil or a saint. Everyone in this place was suspect, and I’d be a fool to believe otherwise.
For quite a few minutes, we studied each other. I cataloged everything about his appearance, committing him to memory like all the other men I’d come into contact with.
His partially wet, dirty blond hair fell in his face, obscuring part of his eyes.
The tattoos spread across his chest and down one arm.
His long, brutal face matched his long, lean body.
He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than me, yet danger clung to him in a way that said he’d been telling the truth.
He liked pain, and he craved violence.
Only, he wasn’t trying to hurt me.
As my heart stopped racing, the sweat I’d shed while trying to escape him cooled on my skin. Low tones of electronic music carried through the place—gym—making the room seem bigger than it probably was.
I’d heard music like this before. It wasn’t popular. But similar to techno, maybe, only with a deeper base and a more primitive sound. No words, only providing an atmosphere for a hard workout.
The entire time I studied him, he scrutinized me from the neck up. I wanted him to see a survivor, a fighter. I wanted him to know that I’d escape this place. Maybe not now, or soon even, but eventually. And I’d do it with my spirit intact.
He nodded to the silent conversation between us, then lithely jumped to his feet. Another wave of shock trembled through my body as he extended his hand.
Hesitantly, and against my better judgment, I accepted his offer, allowing him to pull me to my feet. Even though I’d already determined he wasn’t like those other men or even the one in the hallway.
His hand didn’t let go as we continued this ridiculous staring contest. Maybe my strategy should be different with him. Running wasn’t working. I could admit when I was at a disadvantage, and in this place, that was all I had going for me.
Like that man in the hallway said, escape from this place was impossible .
Unless I had someone on my side.
The thought was ridiculous. The chances of convincing him to help me were slim. But the devastating frustration that welled inside of me was so foreign. I felt more helpless here than I had in that warehouse. Pitifully ironic considering the nightmare with Randall. I almost laughed but held it in.
There in the warehouse, I knew I was caught. I’d never believed fighting against them would save me. Instead, it was cathartic, practically soul-freeing to not willingly give them what they would so cruelly take.
Here, however? I had several chances to get away. Small, almost non-existent opportunities. Yet every time I was stopped, it hammered powerlessness into my psyche.
I was in more danger here than in the warehouse—just a different kind of danger.
“Who are you?” I whispered. This man could be the key to helping me escape, but I needed to know more about him to confirm he wasn’t in the same league as the others.
Realistically, I knew I could be seeing what I wanted to, but I had to try. Because this ugly knot of anger strangling my heart felt more like defeat than I wanted to admit.
I never gave up. It wasn’t an option. I just needed a new plan. A better thought-out strategy. Damned if I knew what that was yet, but I couldn’t keep acting out of desperation. That would be what got me killed.
And I damn sure wasn’t going back to that warehouse.
I’d thought about it.
The guilt that I’d left those women there was a bitter pill to swallow. Then I contemplated death. Only for a minute. Except that was the coward’s way out.
My destiny was to help women. Do my best to save humanity. I had to remember that.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, forcing the wild, whipping emotions clinging to the surface of my mind back into a box. Those feelings would only cloud my judgment. Instead, I focused on the now.
This man wasn’t trying to hurt me. He wasn’t trying to toy with me. Out of the men I’d met, he seemed the steadiest. The most normal.
In order to survive, to find a way out, I needed to understand who I was dealing with and where I was. That had been my mistake. I had allowed myself to operate on fear and adrenaline and not enough on logic and research.
I wanted to slap my forehead. My entire career was built on research. You had to look at a problem from all angles and make your case knowing every argument that would try to tear away your credibility.
Only, I hadn’t done that. I was so, so stupid.
“I think the better question is, who are you ?” The glare this man leveled on me sang with suspicion. That was laughable in itself. Like I was the threat.
Apparently, the people around this new place didn’t communicate. That was clear. Maybe I could use that to my advantage.
“I’ll give you my story if you give me yours.” I held my breath. He could just as easily beat the truth out of me and be done with it, or lock me up until he spoke to Lafe.
Was he one of the brothers, too? If he was, how many were there?
He smirked, tugging on my hand until I shuffled a few steps closer. A couple of feet still separated us, but the heat of his body was so intense, I shivered. I glanced down and froze at the visible truth that he was still very much turned-on.
When I thought he would close the small gap between us, he only squeezed his fingers around my hand as if in warning. “What makes you think you have any power here?”
“I’m not the bad guy.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I realized what I’d said.
He laughed, tossing his head back. His white, straight teeth were on display with his humor.
Something popped into my head. These men, between him, Addict, and the asshole who had let me run, all had an aura of wealth.
Different than what I would have expected of men wrapped up in sex trafficking.
Or maybe that was exactly what I should have expected?
I never looked into this horrible industry past the statistics and training I’d attended through the years.
My career had been built on locking away wife beaters and child abusers, draining their hard-earned savings.
Filing that bit of knowledge away for later, I waited for the end of his laughter. Which lasted longer than it should have. He eventually sobered and stroked his thumb over the back of my hand.
“Ah, but, mamí , we’re all bad here.”
My heart stuttered to a stop. I knew that. He wasn’t revealing any crucial piece of information I hadn’t already figured out on my own, but to hear him openly admit it…
Shit, maybe he wouldn’t be the one to help me escape.
“How about,” he began, acting as if he was about to offer me some unexpected mercy.
“I’ll take you to my rooms. I’ll give you some clothes, so you’re not flashing your pussy every time you fail to run away, and you can tell me how you got here.
And, most importantly, who brought you.” Then more quietly, as if to himself, “Yes, who is most important.”
Why was every question, every decision taxing so hard on my brain? I’d never had to think so much and that meant something, given most of my life revolved around school and books and building strategic knowledge.
I barely took a minute to decide, even though it seemed like eons as I ran through any options I might have had. The truth was, I had no options. Not really. The long game was necessary here.
“I accept.”
“Good,” he said, his voice deepening as a sly look slithered through his gaze. He was smug, probably enjoying the fact he had me cornered.
He kept a hold of my hand as we left the gym. Now that I wasn’t racing through the halls, avoiding every tiny sound or suspicious movement, I took the time to learn the layout. We headed back through the central part of the building.