Thrall

Chapter One

A shopping basket hung on Adalyn’s arm, filled with the items the customers didn’t want.

A handful of scrapbooking decorations. Hot glue sticks.

Sewing thread. A watercolor kit. It was close to closing, so she hurried to return everything to its proper place.

Then she finally made her way back to the front, where her coworker and boss, Marilisa, was finishing up a sale.

Two years ago, Adalyn had entered the store with a racing heart and sweaty palms, inquiring about the “help wanted” sign in the window.

She had absolutely zero retail experience, but she desperately needed a job.

Perhaps the bruise on her cheek had painted an ugly picture or maybe it was the way her hands shook.

Regardless, Marilisa had hired her immediately, then promptly became the mother figure she never had.

Offering kindness and support that slowly put her broken pieces back together.

The little craft store had become Adalyn’s salvation, giving her a way to earn money and the means to support herself.

Her half-sister, Lori, loved beating her, and her weapon of choice was the wooden handle of a broom.

They might have shared a father, but that apparently meant zilch because Lori excelled at making her life hell.

The incident that prompted her to seek an escape was when Lori brought home a man who tried to rape her while she watched and laughed.

Adalyn managed to stab the man with scissors, but Lori beat her within an inch of her life.

Playing dead, the ruse had worked so she could get away and run.

That’s when she moved into a local shelter.

The “help wanted” sign in the craft store was like a message from fate.

“I’m done,” she told Marilisa.

“Thank you, dear.” The older woman patted her hand. “If you want, you can head upstairs now. There are only a few minutes left until closing.”

“That’s okay. I’ll stay.”

Marilisa patted her hand. “You’re a good girl. I’m lucky I hired you.”

Gratitude welled up in Adalyn. She didn’t know the words to accurately express her gratefulness, so she hugged Marilisa. Then, the door opened, and in barged two large, brutish men. Adalyn doubted they were shopping for a craft project.

The one in front had a Mohawk with piercings everywhere.

Nostrils, eyebrows, ears, lips. Tattoos decorated about eighty percent of his face.

His cold, dead stare landed on her, and a salacious grin lifted the corner of his mouth.

The second man was almost a carbon copy of the first. Malice radiated from them both.

“May we help you?” Marilisa asked.

The leader pointed to Adalyn. “She’s ours.”

Fear filled Adalyn, her gaze bouncing between the two men. “What? N-no.”

“Listen, bitch. Your sister owes our boss a lot of money, which she claims she doesn’t have, so she told us we can have you.” The man grinned, showing his teeth had been filed into points. “A deal is a deal, so you’re coming with us.”

“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Marilisa said firmly.

The leader took a step closer and the leather he wore creaked as he moved. “You don’t understand, cunt. She now belongs to our boss.”

“How much?” Marilisa said, lifting her chin.

Adalyn was so scared she couldn’t say a word. Couldn’t even breathe. She didn’t want anything to happen to her friend, but she wasn’t able to form any words.

“Much?” the man asked.

“Yes, how much does her sister owe this boss of yours?”

“Fifty grand.”

Marilisa inhaled sharply and shot a quick look at her before focusing back on the man. “If you get your money, will you let her go?”

“You expect me,” he pointed to himself, “to believe this skinny-ass slut can come up with fifty grand? Or, do you have it, Granny?”

“No, I don’t.”

“What if I sent my man here on a shopping spree and he accidentally destroys everything. Would you have it then?”

“No, I wouldn’t, but I’ll guarantee you’ll get the money. Isn’t that more valuable than her?”

“How about this,” he said. “She gets the money by ... let’s say, tomorrow night and I don’t burn this fucking store to the ground.”

Marilisa lifted her chin. “Deal.”

The man shot an evil grin at Adalyn. “You run. You hide. If I don’t get the money the next time I’m here, she’s dead. Understand, bitch?”

Adalyn nodded, unable to say a word.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Granny. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Right before they exited, he turned. His forked tongue snaked out, flipping it salaciously at her like a deadly snake. A shudder of revulsion swept through her.

Marilisa hurried to lock the door and flipped over the closed sign on the door. Then she marched back to Adalyn and took hold of her hands.

“All right, we have to get you packed and out of the city.”

Adalyn blinked. “What?”

“You need to leave. I have some money upstairs that I can give you—”

“I can’t run, Marilisa,” she managed to force out. “You heard them. They’ll burn this place down and kill you.”

“I can handle them.”

“No, you can’t,” she said, shaking her head. “They weren’t bluffing.”

Panic caused the edges of her vision to blacken.

“Easy. Come on, breathe with me. In and out. In and out.”

She watched Marilisa and forced herself to follow along until the darkness retreated, leaving her feeling hollow and hopeless.

“I’m not going to let you take the brunt of my sister’s ugliness. There’s no running for me. I just don’t know how I’m going to get that much money in a day.”

The answer whispered in back of her mind, but she tried to ignore it.

They stood there for a moment, in silence.

Remorse filled her because she brought this mess to Marilisa’s doorstep.

Her sister sold her out. Gave her away like she was chattel to discard.

If those men took her, she knew they’d rape her over and over until she was dead, or too broken to care if death came for her.

Marilisa placed a hand on her arm. “I took you in because I saw the innocence in your eyes. The desperation. You ran to escape that fate, and unfortunately, you have to run again. This time, however, I’m going to send you to an old friend of mine far away who’ll protect you.”

“Only if you come with me. We can start somewhere new together.”

Marilisa cupped her face, smiling at her gently. Adalyn knew right then she wouldn’t leave this place behind.

“I’m an old woman,” she murmured. “I can’t leave.”

“It’s not worth your life! Please, Marilisa,” she begged. “You’re the only family I have. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

Again, the answer swept through Adalyn’s mind.

Marilisa sighed. “You’re not going to run, are you?”

Adalyn shook her head, and came to a realization that she would do anything to protect this sweet woman who took a chance and enveloped her with warmth and affection. With her decision, a sense of peace came over her.

“I’ll fix this.”

“How?” Marilisa asked. “You’re not going with those evil men. If you’re still alive after what they intend to do with you, they’ll start making money off your abused body.”

Adalyn had already come to that conclusion. She’d rather kill herself before being passed around, but if she did that then Marilisa would suffer. She’d never understood the term stuck between a rock and a hard place until now.

Her plan solidified. “I can’t let you be hurt. I don’t care about myself.”

“You should, because I care about you.”

“You mean the world to me,” Adalyn said, hugging Marilisa. “I know how I’m going to get the money.”

“How? You only have until tomorrow and I can’t liquidate this place that fast.”

“I’m not taking your money.” She licked her lips, almost scared to say it aloud. “I’m going to The Crimson Den. The vampires pay a lot for virgin blood.”