Chapter 37
I try to work on remembering the map layout, walking through the mansion until I come up on a hallway set to the right that I slightly recognize.
I look down it, noticing how dark it isa single light on the side of the wall is lit halfway down.
Checking my surroundings, I take off, not seeing one door in sight.
Where the hell is it? I get past the light and am almost to the end when I see a door at the very back of the hall.
The doorknob glistens in the barley there light surrounding it.
I rush forward, twisting the knob.
It does no good.
I snag a bobby pin out of my updo and begin tweaking the lock until I hear the satisfying click.
Slipping in, I descend on to a set of stairs.
I’ve at least walked down fifty steps before I make it to the bottom.
As I walk into the room, the stench of urine and feces assault me, causing me to almost vomit on the spot.
I look up to study my surroundings.
The space is dimly lit in a faded blue light.
Cages line the room.
It’s practically a jail cell down here. I spot a camera on the wall facing me, the red light on it lit up.
“Shit.”
I make my way to grab the chair at the desk against the same wall.
Walking toward that end of the room, I take in the cages.
My breath is almost knocked out of me.
The cages are filled with women girls, looking to be as young as nine.
Tears form in my eyes, but I wipe them away as fast as I can.
I have to be strong right now, I can break down later.
Ratted white gowns, cover their emaciated bodies, no shoes or socks on their feet.
They’re all covered in filth and I couldn’t tell you the last time they’ve been fed or bathed.
A small girl, with long greasy hair, leans against the cage bars. Her eyes look up to mine. Dirt covers her face, bruises around her neck. These motherfuckers.
I slip my phone out of my bra only to find I have no service.
“Damnit, Elijah better have vans here and ready when we’re done,”
I mutter, rushing toward the chair again.
I drag the chair to sit under the camera.
Once I’m standing atop it, I pull the switchblade I stuffed in my bra out and flick it open.
Getting a good hold on to the camera, I take the knife and stab the camera repeatedly, until it shatters and the glass from the lens falls to the floor.
“Look out!”
Before I can turn around I feel something stab me in the side of the neck. My head grows groggy, my sight turning blurry until everything goes black.
“Not again…”
I wake up to liquid being splashed into my face.
It’s freezing and instantly has me shivering, chill bumps immediately cover my skin.
My eyes come into focus, I’m in another room that looks similar to the basement I was just in.
Except this room has no cages.
A table of different tools sits to the side of me. My arms hurt, my right feels like it’s been pulled out of its socket. I glance up, and I’m hanging from a hook, my wrists handcuffed and locked onto the end of the chain. Fucking hell.
I hang my head low, the water they splashed on me slowly circling, going down the drain directly under my feet.
Thankfully they left me in the strapless red bra and lace panties, I was hoping to sport for Aaron and Blaze later.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
a gruff voice speaks, sounding rough from years of cigarette smoke. I look up to see a man dressed in the same security uniform the guards were wearing at the door and eye him with a hateful glare.
“If you don’t let me go right now asshole, you’re going to regret it,”
I spit at him.
The guard rounds on me, slapping me across the face, saliva spewing from my mouth,
“I like them feisty, but I like to break them more,”
the guard chuckles.
Another guard enters the room.
“Hey Pete, I know you’re not starting the fun without me,”
he teases his partner.
“We were just getting started, aren't we beautiful?”
Pete asks.
He comes closer, grabbing a fistful of my breast and squeezing.
“Get off me, you pig,”
I scream, attempting to kick him.
The other guard rushes me from behind, pulling me by the back of my head until his face is pressed against mine. His disgusting breath wafts through my nostrils. The stale smell of tobacco and cheap beer.
“Just wait until the boss gets here. We’re going to have a real good time,”
he growls, his free hand to palming my pussy.
Blaze, where are you?
I hated letting Cea go off to do recon alone, but I have to trust she will be okay. I slipped up the stairs unnoticed, following my mental map to where Richard's office is. I come to the top of the stairs, spotting Richard walking down the third hallway off to the left. I quietly follow him from behind at a safe distance, checking my surroundings again, happy to see no one around.
Taking the hallway Richard took, I spot him entering the last door at the end. Quickly unsheathing my gun, I cock it back, making sure it’s ready at a moment's notice. I ease up to the door, pressing my ear against the wood, listening for any other voices, but it’s deadly quiet.
I turn the knob and gently push it open. I barge into the room, gun raised and ready, only to come up empty.
“What the hell?”
I mutter, lowering my gun.
I take a step toward the desk sitting in front of a line of bookshelves. Something hard hits me in the back of the head, causing me to lose my balance and fall to my knees.
I reach up, touching the spot I was hit, my fingers coming back covered in blood. I wince from the pain when a booming voice speaks up.
“Mr. Valentino. I didn’t plan on us meeting this early, but I’m so delighted we could.”
Two guards swiftly come to the sides of me, knocking my gun out of my hand and zip-tying my wrists behind my back. They force me to my feet, spinning me eye to eye to face Richard.
“Elijah really needs to up his game if he wants to beat me so easily. Did he really think I didn’t know about all the information he gathered? Hell, I practically put it into his hands, just so I could play this game with him.”
He lets out a low chuckle, stepping closer to me. He takes a strand of my hair, twirling it and I spit on him. He looks down at his shoes in disgust, then snaps his fingers. A guard walks up, punching me in the face, snapping my head to the side. “I will say the show you and your lovely lady friend put on early was quite enjoyable. Maybe I’ll hire you both for future entertainment if I decide to not kill you two. I bare my teeth at him and he replies with a malicious smile. “Although, she may already be damaged goods by now.”
Anxiety and worry fill me along with rage and guilt. I knew I shouldn’t have let her go off alone and now he more than likely has her in his grasps.
“You better have not fucking touched her or I swear to God—”
“Swear to what? Mr. Valentino. I have the upper hand and if I were you, I’d be polite and mind my manners. We wouldn’t want you to regret anything,”
he chuckles.
“The only thing I regret is not killing you sooner,” I spit.
One of the guards hits me in the head again with the butt of his gun.
“He will learn. They all do,”
Richards' words echo as everything goes dark.