Chapter 51 Collette
“Are you ok?”
Erin asked cautiously, still in the cage next to me.
I wanted to claw my own skin off at the thought of what Segi was planning.
Erin pushed on the door of her cage, and it opened.
She smiled and shrugged. “They left it unlocked one day and I haven’t corrected them.”
Her answer to my unasked question made sense. Unless they’d put her here as a decoy. It felt like she was part of a trap that I couldn’t escape from. I couldn’t really trust her.
Unlocking my cage, she half pulled and half moved me out of the cage. I was no help to her. I was in shock, and I didn’t have the brainpower to make my body function.
She laid me on my stomach flat on the ground and began to wipe away the grease on my back. The cuts there had scabbed over, but the grease softened them and the cuts might start to bleed again.
When she was done she helped me back in the cage.
“Here, I got you some fresh water. You need it.”
She handed a few bottles of water through the cage wires to me.
I hesitated before taking them from her. “How are you able to get stuff and not get in trouble?”
She glanced down, her face going pale.
I shook my head, or at least tried to before the pain stabbed me again. “You’re spying on me, aren’t you?”
She shook her head adamantly. “No, I’ve told you the truth. I worked out a deal with the guys on the night shift. I’d give them blow jobs or sex for an open cage and the ability to get some extras that make it more comfortable than just having hours in the dark.”
Erin stuck her chin up at me daring me to criticize.
“That’s very wise of you.”
It came out as more of a mumble. I was so cold and scared.
Her voice got small, something I never imagined coming from her. “You don’t think it’s horrible to do that?”
“Not at all. Since when is making sure that you survive is a bad thing? I might try it myself.”
I thought making a joke might relieve some tension.
“That makes quite the image in my head. You are trying to suck cock when you can barely move.”
Erin burst out laughing, which was what I wanted.
“Hey, now who’s doing the judging?”
I protested.
It made her laugh, and I felt that she hadn’t had much of that in the past few months. Probably longer considering that her father was a monster.
“If you had that much freedom, then why have you stayed here? You could have snuck out and been gone? They wouldn’t have been able to find you.”
“Well, if I’m here, then my father isn’t sending men to find me. He’s not worried about me here and I might not have the best life, but it’s better than being dead, which is what would happen when he brought me back. Right now, Sergi has rules for what he can and can’t do to me. If I leave, then the gloves come off, and I’m no longer protected.”
“So if someone comes to rescue me, you won’t try to get away?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“No, I’ll go with you. It’s been six months, and it’s time to make an escape. With your help, I’ll be able to hide much easier. Right now, I have no connections or money. He could trace me in a matter of days.”
Shocked, she would trust me to help her. I asked, “How do you know I’ll help you after I get out of here?”
“You’re a good woman. If the things the guards were saying about you are true, then I know I can trust you.”
Erin shrugged. “That’s more than I can say of most men that I know.”
“Just because I love someone doesn’t mean that I’m not bitch.”
I blurted out.
“True, but most bad guys don’t go across an ocean looking for their brother’s killer and try to rescue his girlfriend and baby from the local crime lord.”
“Okay, maybe that could be the case. I could still be a bitch, but super loyal to those closest to me.”
I knew that wasn’t the case, but I wanted to make sure that she had thought this through.
Coming with me might not be safe for her, but it was a much better option than living her life here in a cage. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, honestly. Running for your life wasn’t fun, but with enough money and a few passports, it could be easily done. And I was pretty sure Ian would help out,
Sighing, I tried to sit back, but it only caused me to ringe. “You are welcome to come along if you want. I’ll do what I can to help. I’m going to take your father down. He needs to be stopped.”
“That’s all a girl can ask.”
I could see her smile in the semi-darkness.
“You might pity me for the life I’ve lived, but there are others who have it much worse. If you kill my father, another person will just spring up in his place. It’s like playing whack-a-mole.”
“He needs to pay for the things he’s done. He’ll never make it to a trial and anyone willing to testify against him would just vanish.”
I knew that making a threat like this in my condition felt pointless, but I was going to avenge my brother’s death. And get revenge for whatever he’d carved into my back,
We continued to talk off and on for short little bits until I fell asleep.