Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
My ears are still ringing. Next to me, Jen’s corpse swings from the hooks that pierce the ceiling.
My whole body trembles as the man in the black suit from earlier storms in.
“What the hell was that?” He glares at Karl, then at us.
His eyes widen and when he turns around, he punches Karl hard across the jaw.
His head snaps back and I hear a satisfying crack.
“What the fuck did you do? Have you got any brains in that head of yours?”
Tears stream down my nose and drip onto the floor.
“What?” Karl holds his nose, blood seeping out. “That bitch wasn’t worth much. Look at her, Vanderberg.”
“That bitch is Ballistic Brooks Paisley’s wife.”
With my eyes fixed on the floor to hide my tears, I bite my lip, trying to stop them.
“And?” He shrugs his shoulders.
Vanderberg places his thumb and index finger on the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. “Do you have any idea why that man is nicknamed Ballistic?”
Karl chuckles and shakes his head.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Get her out of here,” he says to the blond guy and nods at Jen.
“Where do you want her, boss?” He walks over to Jen. I gasp for air when I see his fingers coming up to unhook Jen’s hands.
“In the cooler for now. The longer we can keep him in the dark, the more time we have.” I hear his shoes shuffling across the floor. “Get out of here.”
“Seriously, boss? I just…” Karl responds.
“Get the fuck out.”
I flinch and squeeze my eyes shut.
The sound of footsteps is followed by a profound sigh. “I’m sorry, ladies. Can you look at me? We’ll be done soon and you can go back to your cells.”
Fucking asshole. Trembling, I open my eyes.
I take a deep breath, lift my head, and stare at the ceiling, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
That penguin in his suit walks up to me. “Ah, Layne.” He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. I look past him. “You’re even more beautiful than I dared hope. Connor had excellent taste.”
“Don’t you dare talk about him.” I spit in his face instead. “You don’t have the right.” I clench my jaw, trying to focus on the anger that mentioning his name evokes in me.
He tilts his head, wiping his chin, his blue eyes fixed on me, and I suppress the urge to spit in his face again. “I warned him, sweetheart.” His gaze wanders back down. “Oh, you’ve never seen someone get shot before?” he asks when he sees the moisture seeping through the grate beneath me.
“I’ve seen more than you think.” I whisper the words.
“Is this when you’re going to threaten me with your new boyfriend, Layne?” Meanwhile, his finger wanders from Norah’s throat between her breasts, then he wraps his hand around her right one. She whimpers and looks at the ceiling. A tear rolls down her cheek.
“I’m talking about my father.” I sound defeated, but I don’t care. It’s exactly how I feel.
He turns around abruptly, puts his hand over my vagina, and I gasp for breath. “But why would you bring your father into this? As far as I know, he’s dead.” His thumb caresses my labia, causing me to silently scream in my mind.
“That’s right,” I say haltingly.
“Your boyfriend can’t do much. The rules of the MC are clear: a slut’s problems aren’t the MC’s problems.” He grins at me with a sickening smile and he presses his thumb deeper into my vagina. His nail scrapes along my opening.
I whimper. “That’s right,” I choke out. “But I’m not just a slut.
” That’s all I say. Instead of words, only tears come out as I break down in front of this bastard.
Not that he cares. The only words flashing through my mind are: I hope this is over soon.
And I mean everything. If I can’t get out of this, I’d rather die.
Hopefully, Kyler will keep Rebel safe for me.
The penguin moves on to the last girl, who was in Jen’s cell. He grabs her upper body. “Virgin?” he asks her, and she swallows. His hands slide down and when he puts one between her legs, she squeezes her thighs together. “I bet you are.”
She sobs and gasps for breath at the same time as he moves his hands to her breasts. He grabs them and rubs her nipples. “You’re going to be worth a lot, girl.” Then he licks her jaw and walks out of the room.
The girl exhales the breath she’s been holding, and the hiccup is clearly audible.
“Hey,” I whisper. “What’s your name?”
She turns her head, her long white-blonde hair falling down to her buttocks. She’s beautiful, with creamy white skin and freckles on her nose. “Isobel, but everyone calls me Bel.”
“Okay, Bel. Everything will be okay, got it?” I say in a voice that doesn’t convince anyone.
She chuckles humorlessly. “No one’s looking for me. You might be okay, but me…”
“Don’t give up,” I whisper, just before the blond man enters the room again.
“Okay, I’ll untie you. You’ll get a dress to wear. No funny business. You saw what happened to your friend.” He nods at me.
All three of us nod half-heartedly, and then he lowers the chains.
As soon as the ropes are off my wrists, he throws a gray gown—like a hospital one, but without the opening at the back—at each of us, which I quickly pull over my head. Anything’s better than being naked.
Then he points to the door. Norah walks toward him first and grabs my hand. I do the same with Bel. One behind the other, our hands intertwined, we walk in front of him through the stuffy hallway, back to the room with the cells.
When we reach Jen and Bel’s cell, we’re told to stop. “You,” he says to Bel. “Over there.”
She tries to break free from my grip to do as she’s told, but I don’t let her. “Can’t she just stay with us?” I ask softly, squeezing my eyes shut. I probably know the answer, and I don’t want to see what’s going to happen.
I take a deep breath and then I hear him say, “Fine, but then the three of you will have to share that mattress.”
I let out the sigh I’d been holding in.
I squeeze Norah’s hand to signal that she should keep walking. There’s no way I could leave Bel there alone. Together, we walk into our cell and the man closes the door behind us.
As I sink down onto the mattress, I let out a deep sigh. I pull my knees up, put my arms over them, and let my head fall onto them.
Shit, shit, shit. Jen…
All I can see is her lifeless body. What the hell are they going to do to her? That guy mentioned a freezer. Are they really going to…
I don’t want to think about it, I can’t think about it.
Brandon… He’ll never… I cry quietly. My shoulders shake and I startle when a weight presses against my side.
I peek through the gap between my arms and see that Norah came to sit next to me.
She doesn’t say anything, just sits there with red-rimmed eyes.
Jen’s gone.
And what on earth is going to happen to us?
Through the window, I see dusk falling and the door creaks open.
Someone enters with a cart. The wheels squeak like nails on a chalkboard.
An older woman walks in, hunched over. She stops at the first cell and slides a plate across the floor.
A strange smell grows stronger the nearer she comes to our cell, causing my stomach to growl. Are we really going to get food?
When she appears in front of the bars, my mouth waters.
This is the first edible thing I’ve seen since they took us, and the hunger is overwhelming.
The steel plate is pushed in, and on it are three portions of something that resembles macaroni.
Honestly, I don’t care what it is, as long as I can eat something.
Norah and Bel crawl to the tray, and we silently eat with our hands.
When we’re done, I sit back on the mattress.
The girls join me on either side without saying a word.
This creates a strange feeling of solidarity.
All the carbs I consumed make me sleepy, and I give in to it. I close my eyes for a moment.
“GET UP!”
I wake with a start to a loud roar and all three of us jump to our feet.
What on earth is going on? My gaze wanders to the small windows high up on the wall.
It’s still dark outside. My heart’s pounding in my throat as I survey my surroundings.
It’s Baldie who shouted. He’s walking through the room with a few other men, opening cell doors.
They’re all holding clubs and swinging them around menacingly.
The movement makes me feel sick, but I do my best to swallow it down.
“Listen carefully. When your cell door opens in a moment, walk to the door at the front. Don’t think you can escape, because one of our men is guarding that door. Once we’ve gathered everyone, follow him.” He stops in front of our cell and looks at the three of us. ”Understood?”
My legs shake as I nod in obedience.