Chapter 21 Laynie
We finally arrived at Alek’s home, and I couldn’t wait to lie down and sleep. The small bursts of sleep I had gotten the past few days were catching up to me and I thought I might just collapse before we even entered the house.
Alek seemed to be in a good mood, despite the circumstances of what happened at his club. A good mood usually meant less torture.
Entering the home, it was quiet. I was used to having at least 5-7 girls here. Maybe they were asleep. Something unsettling came over me, thinking of being the only girl in his possession. The pain and anguish between 7 of us seemed to be divided equally, whereas being the only one to endure his sick fantasies was terrifying. I tried not to let myself show fear and kept my head down, being the good little submissive girl he loved. I wanted to vomit in my mouth for thinking that.
The walls of the living room were red, not clown red, but a deep red that reminded me of pain. I hoped he would let me sleep in the guest room, the one with the sunflowers. I had stayed in that room so many times I couldn’t count. He rarely allowed more than a couple of girls to sleep in his room, so it was always a privilege to not be chosen. I honestly wasn’t sure what was worse, being with Eddie at the warehouse or Alek here. Until a couple days ago, I would have said Eddie, but now I wasn’t so sure.
I waited in the living room for him to tell me what to do. He started unloading his pockets from his suit and took off his jacket. I snuck a glance when he wasn’t looking. He wasn’t an ugly man, but his soul was ugly and I couldn’t see past that. Everything about him radiated fear and disgust for me. His black hair was sprinkled with gray specks, revealing his age, and his jawline was hidden by his gray beard. Everything about him made me tremble.
I was thankful for the warmth that his house brought, and I could feel my body adjusting to the temperature.
He tossed his jacket to the side and turned to look at me. He walked close, and I closed my eyes. The slap came hard. I should have expected it. Another followed, but this time I lost my balance by the sheer force. I stood up but kept my head down. He hit me again and again. I felt blood rushing down from my nose. He eventually stopped but was rolling up his sleeves to his button-up a shirt, as if preparing for more. I felt like I had died a little inside. So much for being able to sleep. Maybe he would be done with me soon. I knew he was mad at me about Linc. He grabbed my face with one hand and shifted my head up to look at him.
“You’re going to remember who owns you.”
As if I could fucking forget.
“Go to the basement,” he ordered.
I could feel my legs shaking beneath me as I walked through the living room and slowly towards the entrance of hell. The stairs were concrete, and the light was off, so I used the metal railing to walk down without falling. I felt the little chips of paint coming up from the railing as I slid my hand down. When I reached the bottom, I stood there with my head down, waiting, as I hadn’t heard him following me. I wondered what Linc was doing right now. Was he asleep? Was he thinking about me? Did he look for me? I wish he would burst through the door right now. I imagined it in my mind. Linc beating the fuck out of Alek and storming into this basement. He would see me and hold me in his arms. He would ask me if I was okay and kiss my lips. I felt a smile forming but immediately disappearing when I heard the basement door open. I had been in this basement before but not often. While I was here, I never became the target, but I witnessed a girl being murdered down here. They wanted to show us what happened if we tried to run away. She was a new girl. She was terrified and looked for every opportunity to run. Eventually she got away, but Alek’s men caught up with her. They dragged her back here and hung her up. I watched them brutally torture, then eventually murder her. My desire to die was similar, but not in the way she did. I was not brave enough for that, so I never tried to run. I had never seen a girl be successful, so what was the point?
I looked down at my hand and could see it moving uncontrollably from the fear of what was to come.
Alek unbuttoned his shirt all the way, and I could feel him watching me. I watched him turn over a 5-gallon bucket and place it underneath more rope hanging from the ceiling. He was going to hang me like Eddie. My shoulders were still sore and I couldn’t even lift them above my head without pain.
“Come here.”
He made me stand on the bucket as he fastened the rope around my wrist. I winced, lifting my arms back into that position, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. After he finished, he kicked the bucket from under me and gravity jerked my body down, but the ropes caught me. I hung there like a pig at the slaughterhouse.
“Listen to me carefully, Alayna. I am going to ask you questions and if you lie, don’t answer, or even look like you’re lying, I will take these pliers and rip your fingernails off one by one. If we have to, I’ll move to your toenails.” He stared at me with his head tilted to one side. “Do you understand?”
“Yes sir,” I said. Just kill me now, I wanted to tell him. I was trembling.
“Good girl, and I will know when you’re lying, so don’t try it.”
I nodded again.
“What happened at Linc’s apartment?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant and didn’t want to answer incorrectly. I answered in the best way I could. “H-he was n-nice to me when I was there. H-he didn’t h-hurt me and we just slept and ate.” I was shaking with fear.
“Did he rape you?”
I was afraid to answer this. “He didn’t rape me, but we had sex.”
“So you wanted it?” he asked, and I could hear the anger building.
“Y-yes.”
“Is it rape when we have sex?”
I knew this was coming. He was comparing himself to Linc and how I felt about each of them. “Yes,” I whispered so quietly, I barely heard myself.
He laughed, but it was an evil laugh and left no space for humor. “Did he make you cum?”
I closed my eyes. “Yes.”
I heard him suck on his teeth before asking the next question. “Did he tell you he was going to rescue you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you believe him?”
“No,” I said. It was the truth.
“Good girl.”
“Who is he? What does he do?”
“All he told me was that he has businesses and property. He wasn’t specific.”
That answer seemed to satisfy him.
“Who is the girl that was at the apartment?”
I tensed, and he must have sensed it, because he started smiling. I hesitated. J.C. would become a target and I couldn’t have another person on my conscience.
“Alayna,” he sang, “who is she?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. That was the first time I saw her.”
He shook his head at me in disappointment. “And to think we were doing so well.” He picked up his pliers and grabbed my finger.
“I’m not lying. I don’t know who she is,” I pleaded, while trying to wiggle out of the rope.
“Shut up! How dare you lie to my fucking face, you bitch!” He grabbed onto my thumb nail and ripped it off in one quick motion.
I screamed. The pain felt unbearable. It felt like every pain receptacle in my head was going off. I twisted and turned in the ropes but I couldn’t get free. I felt the blood dripping down my hand and then arm.
“Now I’m going to ask you again. Who is she?”
I shook my head again, and he repeated the process, but this time with my middle finger. I screamed again, begging and pleading with him to stop. It wasn’t until he was about to rip off my pinky nail when I had said her name. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was such a coward.
“J.C.” he repeated. “Who is she to him?”
“His sister,” I whispered. I was out of breath from screaming and fighting against him and the fucking ropes holding me captive. The blood dripping down my arm was extensive now. I could feel my entire hand was soaked with it. The throbbing was coming now, reminding me of the pain in each finger.
“She’s a sweet little something, huh?”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t want him to know anymore information about her.
He asked me more questions about Linc, but I felt like I was weaving in and out of a consciousness that I couldn’t focus on what he was saying.
“Stay with me, little lamb. I need you to do one more thing before you pass out into the oblivion. We are going to call your boyfriend and you are going to tell him if he continues to look for you or fuck with my business, not only will I rip off all your nails on the rest of your hands and feet, but I will make sure J.C. becomes mine.”
My eyes widened.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I rasped.