Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
By the time they turned into a long driveway, Ally was utterly exhausted.
They’d been traveling for around twenty-four hours, and she just wanted to get to wherever they were going and find a place to curl up and rest. Right now, she’d happily take the concrete floor of a cell as long as it meant she got a couple of hours to herself to close her eyes and get some much-needed sleep.
Who knows, maybe by the time she woke up, her rescue team would even be here.
Chances were, she wasn't going to be put in a cell when they got to their destination.
So far, the man she knew only as King, seemed to be all in on the treating her like a princess thing.
Turned out Henry was right about that last costume change, it had been what had drawn in the man still sitting closely beside her, his hand on her thigh.
Although he no longer tried to play with her, he seemed to have lost interest in that after the arousal gel wore off and she was no longer wet and needy.
Throughout the two long plane journeys, he’d stayed by her side, fussing over her like a mother hen.
He’d hand-fed her fruit, which even though she hated eating it from his fingers, was the most delicious thing she’d eaten since before she was abducted.
He’d tucked blankets around her when goosebumps broke out on her exposed skin as her temperature dropped.
He ensured she had plenty of water to drink, and she wasn't chained, or cuffed, or bound in any way to her seat, so she was allowed to use the bathroom whenever she wanted.
Maybe the next few hours wouldn't be so bad, and Mateo should have long since gotten the information on who bought her to his boss, so rescue should be on its way.
She could do this.
Even if things took a turn for the worst, she could do it.
There was no other choice.
“Almost there, princess,” King cooed from beside her, smoothing a hand over her messy locks.
“I'm sure you must be exhausted, but as soon as we get to the house, you’ll be shown to your room. You can take a nice long shower or bath, whichever you prefer, and then you’ll be able to get some sleep. I need you fully rested for tonight.”
As nicely as he’d been treating her, she still knew if she asked questions about what was happening tonight when she hadn't been given permission to speak, she’d be punished.
So Ally kept her mouth shut. It wasn’t like she really wanted to know what horrors he’d cooked up for her anyway.
For now, it was easier to pretend this princess game was going to continue indefinitely.
“Ah, there it is, home sweet home,” King gushed as the limo pulled to a stop outside a huge, white, plantation-like mansion. It was beautiful, and the lush tropical gardens were delightful. If she wasn't here as a prisoner, she would have enjoyed wandering the grounds, soaking up the vibes.
But the vibes here were dark and dangerous, despite the stunning location.
“Isn't it a beautiful home, princess?” he asked, and since his tone was clearly begging for compliments, she assumed that was permission to speak.
“The most beautiful home I've ever seen,” she said softly. “I'm lucky to be able to call this place my home now.”
Her words seemed to thrill him, because he reached over and took both her hands in his. “I knew from the moment I saw you that you were destined to be mine. You're perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
One of his staff members opened the limo’s back door, and King held her hand and helped her out.
She still wore the collar around her neck, but the lead attached to it had been removed when they got on the plane and not replaced.
But her momentary hope that they were done with it for good was ended when the same staff member who had opened the limo door stepped forward and clipped a new lead onto her collar.
It was beyond humiliating to be led around like a dog, but Ally did her best to ignore it. Not much longer to go. She could do this.
“Show my princess to her room,” King instructed the older man holding her lead. “Make sure she is tagged, then leave her alone to rest for a few hours. Is everything prepared for her?”
“Yes, sir,” the man replied. “Everything that you asked us to set up for her arrival has been done.”
“Good, good.” King turned to face her, framing her cheeks with his hands.
“I must leave you for a little while, princess. I have a few things to take care of, but your room is prepared for you, and I trust you’ll be able to get some sleep.
Your dress for tonight will be delivered later this afternoon.
Other than that, if there is anything lacking, anything I have forgotten to provide for you, there is a bell in your room.
Please ring it and ask for whatever your heart desires. ”
When he leaned in to press his lips to hers in a kiss more forceful than his generous words implied, she had to fight from gagging. But she stood still and allowed him to shove his tongue between her lips, to plunder her mouth.
“I wish I could spend the afternoon with you, princess,” he said, true regret in his voice, and he finally pulled back.
“But tomorrow we’ll spend the entire day together, I’ll take you down to the private beach, perhaps even take you out on the yacht.
Now, go, be my good little princess and do as you're told.”
Giving her a little nudge, she started walking along behind the old man holding her leash.
They walked up the steps and through the front door.
There was no chance for her to look around or get a lay of the land, because the man kept walking.
They went up a grand staircase, then took a right turn, and then a left, and another right, before they stopped outside a door at the end of the hall.
The man opened the door and walked her inside.
It was a beautiful room. Huge, with a large sitting area over by French doors that looked as though they led out to a balcony.
They’d probably be locked, but she’d check as soon as she was alone.
There was an enormous canopy bed, bedside tables, and a bookcase with a rocking chair beside it.
She wasn't sure whether the room had so much furniture because she was going to be confined to it, or if it was because King really saw her as his new princess.
“Bend over the side of the bed,” the man instructed, and when she hesitated slightly, he yanked on the lead as he dragged her to the bed.
Biting back a whimper, she did as he instructed.
Because the skirt of the princess gown she was still wearing was so short, it immediately bared her naked backside to him.
He stepped close, but with her head angled sideways, she couldn’t see him properly, so when he spread her cheeks, she tensed, worrying he was going to rape her back there.
Chuckling, the man pressed the tip of a finger to the tight ring of muscles.
“Not today, princess. Not until I’ve been given permission, but I can't wait to take you there, even if I won't be your first.” As soon as he’d said the words, something sharp pierced the skin of her left buttock, like the feel of a needle sliding through her skin.
“There, now you're tagged. Even if you manage to get out of the house unnoticed, we’ll be able to track your location.”
With that, the man stepped back, and she heard his footsteps echo across the wooden floorboards, then a moment later, the door closed and locked behind him.
Tagged.
Like an animal.
For a long moment, she didn't move, trying to process this new information. How did that work for when she was rescued? Would it mean that the team who came to get her would have trouble getting her out because King and his people would be able to follow her every move? They’d obviously chosen this spot on purpose, because she’d never be able to get the tracker out on her own.
Maybe one of the guys would be able to, but the thought of more strangers—even if they were the good guys—touching her backside left her feeling violated all over again.
Everything was overwhelming.
Whenever she thought she was starting to get her footing, that things couldn’t get any worse, she was shown that they absolutely could. And now, Ally was beginning to wonder if being rescued was the magic answer she’d been praying for.
Maybe she’d get out of here alive, maybe she’d be taken back home, but her life would never be the same. She’d never be the same, and it felt like her world had spun so far outside of her control that she’d never be able to regain it.
August 20th
4:31 P.M.
“We need to get in there,” Mateo growled as he watched the footage from the drone currently flying over a remote mansion in the Vanuatuan jungle.
“We will,” Walker “Trigger” Nelson assured him, his gray eyes full of an empathy that told Mateo that the man had personal experience with seeing someone he cared about in trouble.
“Now,” he added. Because he didn't want to wait another second to go in and get Ally out of whatever hell she’d been living for the last twenty-four or so hours.
After he’d left her in the holding room back in the warehouse, he’d had to walk away before he lost control and started killing anyone who got in his path.
The rage had been too intense, and he’d seriously been concerned that he’d lose control, go on a killing spree that would likely end with him dead.
If he was dead, there was no way to get the name and address of her buyer to Falcon.
Mateo knew now that Nathan had been one of the other men there undercover, and that the man had been tagging women so that Prey could go in and rescue them.
But he didn't know who the other two men were, didn't know if they could be trusted to know that if he had a history with Ally, then she needed to be rescued.
It was likely they didn't care. He didn't know who they were, and they didn't know who he was, so they didn't know that Ally had to be important to Prey through him.