CHAPTER NINETEEN
CLOVER
I became vaguely aware of the rumble of voices and the steady rhythm of being in a vehicle. My head felt like stone, my eyes too heavy to open. My tongue felt like a dry slab of useless flesh as I tried to speak. That’s when I realized there was a gag of some kind in my mouth.
My eyes flew open then. Big mistake. Everything spun as I tried to focus. It took several tries to make my surroundings come into clarity.
I was in the back of a van, sprawled on the floor. Both my hands and feet were bound. Two men sat up front, talking and smoking cigarettes. The noxious smell made my stomach turn.
Fear made my body break out in goosebumps. Daire had been right. I shouldn’t have gone to that concert. I’d been so determined to have a good time with Raina that I’d let myself forget how much danger lurked out there, waiting for us to let our guard down.
That’s what I’d done. I’d foolishly believed I was safe with Raina. All it had taken was a few moments for these guys to grab me. I knew who they were. There was no doubt in my mind that one of them was Brady Rollins.
Would I make it out of this alive? I flashed back to seeing Blaze in his hospital bed. How beaten up he’d been. Were they going to do that to me?
My head spun again as I tried to push myself into a sitting position. One of the men turned to find me awake. An evil grin spread across his face.
“Well, hello there, Clover. Nice to finally meet you. My name is Brady. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about me.” He sucked on a cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke toward me. “I’ve been waiting to get a hold of you. Your boys owe me big time. Did they tell you that part?”
Unable to speak with the gag in my mouth, I simply stared at him in wide-eyed horror. Brady was older than the Angels. I guessed that he was early thirties. Dark shaved hair with loads of ugly tattoos. His mouth curved up on one side when he smiled due to a scar. I didn’t like to judge by looks alone but Brady looked like a total creep.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be at our destination soon. Hopefully I can get a good deal for you and get you off my hands. I know those pricks of yours will be looking for you. I had a buyer, but the deal fell through when I asked for more money.” Brady turned back to face the front.
Get a good deal for me? Holy shit, he really planned to sell me. I was nothing but an object to be owned. Not so different from being with the Angels. They’d owned me too. Belonging to them had been different. Hadn’t it?
Belonging to them had gotten me into this situation. How would I survive this?
Raina had to be beside herself with worry. No doubt she knew I was gone by now. Did the Angels know? Were they already looking for me?
I couldn’t see much from my place on the floor. It was dark outside. I had no idea how much time had passed since the concert. There was no way to know where Brady was taking me.
The van slowed as we turned off the road we’d been traveling on. When it didn’t pick up speed, I assumed we’d come to our destination.
As the van rolled to a stop, Brady hopped out. He came around to the back of van and opened the door. A moment later the driver joined him. Together they dragged me out of the van.
We were at a house in the country that seemed to be in the middle of rural nowhere. No neighboring houses. No streetlights or traffic. The house itself was an older two story home with a large tree in the front yard. A wooden swing hung from the tree. The front porch was worn and lacking maintenance. It creaked and groaned under their weight as the men carried me up the front steps.
Brady shoved the door open. Right away the scent of coffee hit me as we entered into a small porch. To the left there was a kitchen closed off from the rest of the house. No open concepts in such an old place. That’s where the coffee smell came from.
On the right I caught a glimpse of a living room. An empty couch facing a TV. A large blanket with a running horse hung on the wall behind the couch like a tapestry.
The men took me straight up a staircase that creaked with every step. At the top of the stairs were three bedrooms, all with the doors closed. Two of them were locked from the outside. What the fuck?
Brady’s accomplice pulled a keyring from his pocket and unlocked a door at one end of the hall. He shoved inside first, barking at someone in the room to sit down and not move a muscle. Waving a hand, he motioned Brady inside.
The door closed immediately behind us. I squinted in an effort to adjust my eyes to the dim lighting. A small lamp on a bedside table sat between two twin beds. A young woman sat on one bed, her hands placed carefully in her lap. She eyed me curiously as Brady dumped me on the bed across from her.
“Try anything and you’ll never leave this place alive,” Brady snarled. “Got it?”
I vigorously nodded. Terror filled me, making my heart pound so hard I could barely hear. I didn’t want to give him a reason to hurt me.
Brady tugged the gag out of my mouth. Then he got to work untying my hands and feet. That’s when I realized my ankle monitor was gone. Only a few scratches remained where it had been. He must have removed it after knocking me out earlier.
“This is where you’ll stay until I find a solid buyer or we can get you into the auction,” he explained. “Don’t even think about trying to escape. You’ll never make it. Also, the woman who runs the house is to be obeyed at all times. Piss her off and she’ll make you sorry. Any questions?”
I had a thousand questions ready to roll off my tongue. I asked none of them. For some reason, my brain refused to communicate at all. I stared straight at Brady and said nothing.
That seemed to annoy him. With a frown, he asked, “Do you understand?”
Again I said nothing. My voice seemed to have failed me. I struggled to comprehend the gravity of my situation. I knew it was bad. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Being here was too surreal.
When I still didn’t speak, Brady shook me until my teeth banged together. He smacked me with a heavy hand upside the head, making my ears ring.
“I asked you a question, bitch. This is not a good time to test me. Did you see what I did to Blaze? I can’t do that with you. Buyers don’t like broken girls. That doesn’t mean I won’t find other ways to hurt you.”
“Okay,” I forced myself to say, my voice quivering. “I understand.”
He patted the side of my face where he’d hit me. “That’s a good girl. Follow the rules, don’t try anything, and your time here won’t be so bad.”
Brady nodded to his friend who produced a syringe and a vial from a pocket. My heart leapt into my throat, choking me with fear.
“This is just a little something to keep you weak and compliant. Hold still for Pete.”
As the man approached with the syringe, I freaked out. Unable to sit there and let him stab me with the needle, I tried to shove off the bed. There was no sense to my efforts. I wasn’t getting out of that room.
Brady caught me easily, shoving me back onto the bed. Grabbing me by the throat, he slammed me down on the squeaky mattress.
“A fighter, huh?” He glared down into my face. “So was Blaze. He didn’t fight for long though. How is Blaze anyway?”
Tears filled my eyes, spilling down my cheeks. Despite my efforts to fight hard, Brady pinned me down with his body atop mine. Pete jabbed the needle into the vein on the inner curve of my elbow.
There was a cool rush through my vein. It didn’t take long for the drugs to hit. My head swam and the room turned. While all of this happened, the woman on the other bed sat there and watched, her expression blank, her eyes dull.
Brady got off me then, leaving me lying there staring at the ceiling. “I’ll give you some time to adjust. Might as well accept your new reality, Clover. It’s not about to change any time soon.”
As Pete and Brady headed for the door, the woman on the other bed spoke up. Her voice was low and tentative.
“Please, I need some more,” she said softly, like she feared raising her voice in any way. “Is it time yet?”
“Turning into quite the little drug addict, aren’t you, Daphne?” Brady mocked with a wicked smirk. “Sorry, babe. Can’t have you getting too strung out now. We can’t sell a junkie. Well, not for top dollar. You get as much as you need. That’s it.”
He opened the door to leave. Daphne leapt off the bed, lunging toward him.
“I need it. I can’t be here without it. Please.” Her voice rose to a shout now. Desperation made her crazy enough to grab Brady’s arm.
He shoved her hard enough to send her sprawling on her ass. That wasn’t enough for him. Taking a step toward her, he kicked her hard in the back.
“Try that again and I’ll have you on your knees swallowing my cock for the rest of the night. Get your shit together. Nobody wants to buy a crazy bitch.”
With that parting remark, both men left the room. The door closed behind them, the lock on the outside clicking into place.
Rolling over onto my side, I noticed then that the window had been covered with bars. This was a prison. A holding cell.
“Are you okay?” I asked, my tongue heavy, my head swimming. “What did he give me?”
Daphne picked herself up and flung her body onto her bed. Face down in her pillow, she didn’t acknowledge me. This didn’t feel like the kind of place where one formed allies. It felt very much like an every woman for herself kind of hell.
I didn’t bother to try again. Instead I laid there and stared around my prison. A basic room big enough for the two beds and a dresser. There was no bathroom. Not even a bucket to piss in. Not that I wanted to piss in a bucket. Still, I hoped there were bathroom visits or this was going to get very bad incredibly quickly.
Whatever drug they’d given me took hold. It didn’t knock me out this time although it did make me feel loopy and confused. I didn’t think I’d even be able to sit up.
Silent tears ran down my face. When Zane had taken me, I couldn’t have imagined anything worse. This was worse. Much worse.