52. Violet
52
Violet
I knew something was wrong before I even opened my eyes. Where I laid was too hard. The sounds were unfamiliar. Cold crept through my bones. There was the stench of water and dirt.
Slowly, I lifted a single lid to examine my surroundings. It wasn’t the expensive, but vacant closet Simon had stuck me in. Or the comfortable house I’d lived in with the guys. Or any place I knew.
Fear slithered through my veins as I took in the dirty stone floors and cinder block walls. A small amount of light filtered in through a window above my head. It had wire woven through it like in a school or warehouse. A door across the room was steel with the same kind of window.
But what really had my heart tumbling in terror were the cages. They filled the space, lining the walls. It resembled a kennel, but there was no sound or scent of animals. And I was lying on the ground in one of them.
“Open your eyes, dear sister.” My head jerked up as I heard my brother’s voice.
“What the hell?” I yelled at Craig as I shot to standing. He sat on the only furniture in the room. A chair in the center that seemed out-of-place as if it had been put there so someone could watch what was in the cages. Who was in them. “Where am I?”
“That’s not important right now. Tell me where you’ve been.” He leaned forward as if he was eager to learn. But his hands hung limply between his legs, like it didn’t matter.
“This isn’t funny.” The floor was cool on my bare feet and I wondered what had happened to my shoes.
I walked through the cage towards the door, shoving my palm into it. Instead of giving way, it rattled in place. My fingers curled around the chain-link as I shook it harder, certain it was a mistake. But it only sent vibrations up my arm.
This had to be some sick joke. Or a dream. But the metal beneath my hands felt real. And the pounding of my heart certainly was.
“Seriously. Stop playing and let me out.” My voice was shrill as panic spread through my veins.
“Who’s playing?” The chill in my bones reached my heart, stilling it as Craig smiled at me. But it wasn’t the cheerful smile I remembered from our childhood. It was cold. Vicious. “Where the fuck have you been for months? How did you get away from Simon? Who’s after me?”
“After you?” My mind spun, sending me off balance. He wasn’t making sense. Where was I? Why wasn’t he letting me out? “I have no idea what—.”
My words cut off as he hurled from the chair. He crossed the distance between us before I even processed what he was doing. His hand shot out, yanking mine through the hole in the fencing.
“Craig! You’re hurting me.” I shouted in terror as he twisted my wrist until I felt the muscles tightening.
“That’s the point.” He wrenched harder until my body bent to stop my bones from breaking. “Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused by escaping?”
“Oh god, please.” There was a snap and blinding pain. Bright lights burst behind my eyes as they jerked shut.
My scream echoed off the walls as he released me as quickly as he’d attacked. My whimpers of agony fell on deaf ears. He didn’t say a word as I maneuvered my mangled wrist back through the cage, sending more shooting pains up my arm. It didn’t feel broken, but it was definitely injured.
My face dropped in shock as I stared at the deep red marks from his fingers. I never thought he could hurt me. He was my younger brother. My family.
But the man standing in front of me wasn’t the one I remembered from months ago. He was harder. Harsher. Meaner.
Pieces of a puzzle I hadn’t wanted to look at were forming in my mind. Him telling our family I was on vacation. The fact that our parents weren’t worried about his safety.
“You knew?” I needed confirmation even as I cradled my damaged wrist.
“Of course, I did. I was the one who arranged it.” His mouth tipped into a smirk that sent my stomach plummeting. “I gave you to him in a sign of goodwill.”
“Goodwill?”
“We could hardly join their business without proving how serious we were.”
“Business?” All I could do was repeat what he said because none of this made sense. How could he give me to Simon? What had they gotten into?
“Sex trafficking.”
The words were barely out of his mouth before I retched. I hadn’t eaten in hours, but cloudy liquid still came up, spilling at my feet. It splashed across the concrete floor and my bare legs. But I had other things to worry about besides a little bile.
This is what the guys meant about not being safe. They knew. They knew my brothers had sold me into sex trafficking. Even I hadn’t known. I thought he was a crazy ex boyfriend. I’d never imagined my brothers would be responsible for my pain. My trauma.
Another thing they’d kept from me. Another lie.
More vomit rose in my throat and I couldn’t keep it down if I wanted to. Craig just stared as I choked and gagged. Oh god. Did my father know? Is that why he gave me their number? The idea was too horrible to even consider.
I swept the back of my hand over my mouth, wiping away the spit. Staring at the floor, I tried to understand. “You sold me to build trust?”
My words were slow and measured because I still refused to believe this was true. It was a nightmare and any second I’d wake up. I’d open my eyes, and I’d be in Connor’s arms or Maverick’s. Or back at my parent’s house.
Fuck, I’d even take waking up at Simon’s. At least then my own flesh and blood wouldn’t have betrayed me. This was just a drug fueled hallucination I’d made up the last few months. My rescue. The guys. None of this was real.
“Technically, no. I didn’t make any money.” I sucked in a sharp breath as my brother gestured at me like I was an object. “You were a gift. If I’d known how valuable you were, I might have held onto you for a little longer.” Another wave of nausea rolled through me. “I guess you’ll prove your worth now.”
I tried to bring air into my lungs, but the movement sent a stab of pain through my body. My chest refused to expand. Refused to believe this was happening.
“How could you do this to me? I’m your sister!” It came out in a choked sob. I felt the tears making track marks down my face, but I couldn’t stem the flow.
For a brief moment, I thought about what Ivette would do in this situation. Or Maverick. They wouldn’t cry. They would fight.
But I wasn’t them. I was weak.
His eyes were almost black as they flicked over me. His lips twisted into a bitter smile. “You think I care about you because we have the same blood in our veins?” He closed the distance between us until he was gripping my cage. The metal rattled, but he was calm. “I don’t give a shit. Stop living in a fantasy. The only one I care about in this life is me, because nobody else will.”
The cage shook again as he pushed away. My hands replaced his as I begged him to see me. To understand. “I cared about you! I protected you!”
I’d let Simon lock me up to keep him safe. Because just the threat of him being harmed hurt me. I could never imagine inflicting pain and suffering on him like he did to me.
“Oh, please.” He waved his hand in the air, dismissing me. “So you had to fuck him a few times. Get over it. You might as well put that pussy to good use.”
“He locked me in a closet! Drugged me!” My brother wasn’t affected by my outrage. My agony. I clutched my injured wrist to my chest as I backed away. “You’re a monster. I hope they destroy you.”
His gaze darkened with a predatory gleam that had me putting more space between us. “Yes, ‘they’. Who are they?”
My spine hit the cinder block wall. I couldn’t go any further, but I refused to tell him anything. I wouldn’t let him hurt the guys.
My teeth clicked together as my jaw clenched. But Craig wasn’t my little brother that could be deterred with the silent treatment. My chest rose on an unsteady breath as he took a key from his pocket. I watched as he opened the cage and stepped inside.
My eyes darted around for an escape, but he was too big. His larger frame forced me to cower against the wall. Even if I got away, I still had no idea where we were. There could be more people here. More men who wanted to hurt me.
A scream died on my lips as he punched me in the stomach. It was so quick. So unexpected. The air whooshed from my lungs as I fell to my knees.
He fisted a chunk of my hair, yanking my face to look up at him. I clawed at his arm, but it was like a kitten fighting a tiger. He didn’t even flinch. I managed to shove up a shirt sleeve and the ink of a tattoo caught my eye. It was a centipede. He didn’t have it the last time I saw him.
“Connor West. Maverick Smith. Reid Turner.” Horror and fear stilled my movements as he sneered their names. “I’ve known for a while. Ever since, they did a background check on me. I have a trace on my name. Instead of getting the information they wanted, they got a virus that told me exactly who they were. I just wanted to see how loyal you were to them.”
I swallowed a whimper as he jerked my head because he could. To prove I was weak. Defenseless. Nothing.
“I’ve been waiting for you to freak out. To run away like you’ve done with every problem in your pathetic life. And now you’ll lead them right to me.”
“I’m not what you think.” I tried to reason with him. “They’re not coming for me.”
“They’ll come because we’ve taken their little doll.” I flinched as he brought his hand to my face.
His fingers swept over my cheek. Before tonight, it might have felt like a sibling gesture of affection. Now it sent a sliver of fear through me.
I gasped as he gripped my chin roughly. “You thought Simon was bad. You’re the fucking slut. I know exactly what goes on at Eros. What a dirty whore you’ve been for them.”
I tumbled to the ground as he released me. My knees hit first, sending a jolt of pain through my whole body. My hands skid across the concrete, leaving cuts and bruises behind.
“They will fucking kill you.” I grunted into the grimy floor.
Maybe I just wished it to be true.
“No. little sister, that’ll be me killing them.” I stared at my brother’s retreating frame, watching as he locked the cage again. “Unless they pay up. Don’t worry, they’ve done a lot for you already. I’m sure they’ll buy you back. God knows I wouldn’t be able to sell you to anyone else after what you whored yourself out to them.”
“They don’t do that!” I screamed, trying to get him to understand. They wouldn’t pay a sex trafficker. They weren’t coming after me.
I was nothing to them. They’d lied. I’d left. It was over.
His laugh sunk into my skin. Heightened the fear that was throbbing through my veins. “You have no idea who you’re fucking. They’re criminals.”
“Not like that.” Not like him.
My eyes closed, trying to hide from the enjoyment on his face. He was fucking insane. He enjoyed watching me suffer like this. Why hadn’t I seen this side of him before? How could I be so blind?
“Why do you think Simon never came after you? What do you think happened to him?”
I’d wondered about that. In the first few weeks I was with the guys, I’d excepted him to come, but he never did. Simon had me so brain washed I would’ve left with him just to protect the man in front of me. The one who was now the cause of my pain.
“He disappeared. Poof. Gone. Because of them.”
The guys said the same thing. But I thought that meant he went underground. Not that he was dead. I saw the truth in my brother’s joyful eyes.
My head shook involuntarily as the horror washed over me. My legs trembled as I stumbled into the cage. Desperation had my fingers curling into the metal as I whimpered.
“No. No. No.” My chest ached. Not for Simon, but for me.
How could I have been so wrong about everyone? I was a fool. And alone.