Chapter 2
TINLEY
Itraced his movements, keeping him in my line of sight. Not going to let him or anyone else sneak up on me ever again. I wrapped the blanket around me more and tucked it under my legs. I couldn’t keep from shivering.
I did it. I was free from those guys. The man sitting near me gave me an escape, but was it into another prison?
At this point, I didn’t care. At least he wasn’t hurting me.
I reached up and felt the knot on my forehead.
It had stopped bleeding. My tongue snaked out and tasted the dried blood on the corner of my lip.
When he said the word cheeseburger, my mouth watered.
I rubbed at my bottom lip to make sure I hadn’t drooled.
It had been so long since I had a cheeseburger or any type of meat, really.
My meals, when I was forced to eat, consisted of rice and a piece of bread on special occasions.
It reminded me of the show where they sent a group of people to see how long they would last on a desolate island.
They ran them through challenges to win immunity or a reward.
I guess my challenges were the men I was forced to spend time with.
Some were nice and gave me rewards, but most were challenges I had to endure and survive.
I sipped my water slowly, not wanting to spill any more.
I studied the man next to me. His legs were long and crossed at the ankles.
He wore a dark gray suit and an expensive-looking tie.
His shoes were dressy athletic. I wondered how much they cost. He had removed his suit jacket and was now rolling up his sleeves.
The smattering of hair on his forearms caught the light and shined golden brown. The muscles in his arms flexed.
He looked back at me and then faced forward again.
“My name is Josh.” He sipped his water. “Josh Burroughs.”
I opened my mouth but closed it when he turned back to look at me.
I hadn’t spoken in a few days, or was it weeks?
I never spoke around them. When I spoke, bad things happened.
I learned to keep my mouth shut. Plus, when I spoke, it gave them some power.
Whether I spoke or not was the last semblance of control I had to hang onto.
Especially with the men. They always wanted me to tell them how much I wanted them. How much I liked it. How much it hurt. I screamed, cried, even laughed at them on the inside, but they never heard a peep out of me.
I let out an occasional squeak or grunt, but words and emotions, nope, those were for me.
I used to whisper to myself when I was alone.
Until I discovered they always had a camera and a microphone on me.
My last stop has been with a man who had kept me for three weeks.
He treated me well as his baby girl. He dressed me in frilly dresses and tights.
He had someone come in and braid my hair.
He held me and fed me a bottle for all my meals.
He dressed me in a diaper and made me use it but then would get upset with me for using it.
He would yell, which wasn’t so bad. At least he didn’t hit me like some of the others.
He said I was going to stay with him forever. I had resigned myself to the fact. He wanted a nonverbal baby who he liked to fuck hard every night. I could deal with that for the rest of my life. I wasn’t going to live long anyway.
But then they showed up a couple of days ago, killed him, and dragged me back to the hell I’d been living in for months.
Heck, it might be years. I wasn’t sure about the timeline.
Only knew by the changes in season. I wasn’t sure where I was until last night when I caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower when they brought us into the hotel.
We rode up to the twelfth floor, me and six other girls.
We were ordered to shower, get dressed, and get some rest. We would need it.
Ronda, our caretaker for lack of a better title, threw a slinky dress to each of us and told us to get dressed.
We’d be entertaining a group of men here on vacation in a few hours.
These parties were the worst. At the last one, I was humiliated and degraded and it left me catatonic for days.
They sent me on dates and to auctions, but I wouldn’t engage. Didn’t sell myself, Rhonda had said.
Ronda left us alone. That was when I took the opportunity to escape. I was going to get out of here or die trying. After all this time, death sounded really appealing to me.
A knock at the door caused me to jump. Josh stood and crossed the room. I craned my neck but couldn’t see.
“Hi, Mr. Burroughs. Can I set this up for you?”
I scrunched down.
“No, that’s okay, I’ll take it from here,” Josh said.
“Very good, sir. Have a great evening.”
Josh wheeled a cart into the room, past me and toward the table on the other side of the bed.
It gave me a better chance to look him over.
He had dark brown hair with hints of gold near the temples.
His face had a short line of stubble across his chiseled chin and his hair cut close to the scalp and styled.
He had a soft expression, but with dark eyes. Eyes staring at me.
I chirped and turned away, but the smell of the burger hit me, and my mouth watered again.
“You want to sit at the table?”
I said no in my head, but I couldn’t move.
“We had a deal.” He narrowed his eyes. “You said you would answer and no doctor.”
I shook my head from side to side.
“Okay.” He smiled, and it lit my insides on fire. He picked up a napkin and walked toward me.
“How about we have a little picnic here on the floor then.” He opened the napkin with a flourish and set it on the floor in front of me.
He went back to the table and grabbed the plate with the burgers and fries in one hand and two small ramekins in the other.
He set it all down in front of me. One of the ramekins was filled with a red substance, I assumed ketchup.
The other was filled with a white substance.
“A friend of mine swears by ranch dressing on her burger.” He chuckled. “Actually, she puts it on everything. Give it a try.”
Ranch dressing on a burger. I shrugged and leaned over to smell the plate of food.
Josh turned away and I snaked my hand out and stole a fry. It was warm and salty.
I groaned and Josh turned around.
“Good stuff, huh.” He smiled again and I tried to smile back. I don’t think I quite succeeded because he frowned and then went back to the table.
The smell of the burger hit me again and I forgot all about being scared or showing my cards. I was hungry. I also forgot all my manners as I grabbed the burger with both hands and took the biggest bite.
“Careful.” He set another napkin down beside me. “Don’t want to make yourself sick.”
I put the burger down, grabbed a handful of fries, and shoved them in my mouth.
I half expected him to scold me, but he didn’t. He winked and let me eat.
I managed another bit from the burger before my stomach grumbled. I tried to eat through it. It grumbled louder. Josh turned back and stopped mid-sip.
I dropped the burger and put one hand on my stomach and another over my mouth. My eyes watered. I scanned the room. The two doors on the other side of the room were closed. One had to be a bathroom.
I stood up. The blanket fell around my feet. Josh stood up, too.
I shrank back toward the wall, but he didn’t notice. He shuffled toward the door on the right, stepped in to turn on the light, and stepped out. I gagged.
The smell hit me. I didn’t care if it got me in trouble. I ran for the bathroom and managed to shut the door behind me before I unloaded my dinner into the toilet.
I hadn’t eaten that much, but Josh was right. It was the first solid food I’d had in days. My stomach was not having it. Once I emptied my stomach, I slumped back against the tub and rested on the cool tile. The bathroom was pristine and white. White tiles, white fixtures, white towels and rugs.
A flashback of the hotel Damon booked for us in Paris popped into my head. I pushed it away and cried instead.
A soft knock at the door made me sit up. I rubbed the tears from my eyes.
“Are you okay?” Josh poked his head in. He held out a bottle of water and set it on the floor. He also held a T-shirt and shorts. He dropped them. “I thought you’d like something to change into.”
He stared for what felt like a minute. What did he think of me? I got good at reading people. I knew what they wanted from me. With Josh, I had no clue. Why would he help me?
He looked down at the clothes and then back at me.
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” He nodded and shut the door.
I grabbed the bottle of water, washed my mouth out, and spat it in the toilet. The smell hit me, and I groaned.
I flushed the toilet and pulled myself up.
I tried not to look in the mirror. A toothbrush kit sat next to the sink.
I ripped it open and brushed my teeth vigorously.
We only got to brush when we were going on a date.
I hadn’t been to a dentist in over a year.
I went to a doctor when I was first taken and given an implant. Pregnancy wasn’t good for business.
I giggled. The sound made me nauseous.
A dry heave hit me, but nothing more came up. I finished brushing and rinsed my mouth with the faucet water.
I sat on the toilet, but before I could release my bladder, my eyes spotted the door. More specifically the lock on the door. I hadn’t locked it.
I attempted to get up but then sat back down.
The flow had started and seemed like it wouldn’t stop.
I watched the doorknob. I was sure it would move but willed it not to.
I had been in many embarrassing situations in the past two years, but if Josh walked in on me on the toilet, I would die. I was sure of it.
But he didn’t. I cleaned up and then jumped toward the door. I locked it but then felt bad. Was I being rude? I walked back to the shower and turned it on. Then back to the door, picking up the water bottle on my way.
I exhaled and unlocked it.
I poked my head out. Josh sat in a chair at the desk. He turned toward me. I reached out and handed him the empty bottle. He took it. Our fingers touched and a spark ran up my arm. I dropped the bottle, but he’d caught it.
I nodded and backed into the bathroom.
“You’re welcome.” He grinned and turned back to the computer.
He had a nice smile.