And then there was all that money he’d paid Dmitri. Of course he planned to do whatever he wanted with her. He’d bought her. She was just another expensive possession to him.
Julie flicked off the screen, and before her brain could catch up to what the rest of her was doing, she raced down the stairs. She practically ran over Annette in the foyer.
“Where’s Gabe?” she demanded.
Annette was taken aback no doubt by the sudden personality shift. “I-I don’t know. Is something wrong? Can I help?”
“No. Where might he be?”
“Well, I mean, h-he could be in one of the play rooms. I thought I saw him going that way about an hour ago. He looked pretty keyed up.”
“And where are these play rooms?”
Annette pointed down a long hallway.
“Thanks.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No.”
“It might not be wise t-to interrupt him.”
Julie’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll be fine.” She wasn’t sure if she would be, but she was at least reasonably certain he wouldn’t shoot her. She hadn’t seen a single gun on anybody since she’d been here. And she’d been looking pretty intently for them.
“O-okay, then.” Annette excused herself and went back to the other end of the house.
After everything Julie had survived, she wasn’t about to cower and huddle anymore. She was done. She’d risked her life more than once to try to escape Dmitri. If she couldn’t escape Gabe and he wasn’t going to treat her like a human, what difference did it make what happened to her now? She wasn’t going to sit around all weak and demure hoping he would have mercy on her. He’d been creeping on her. If he wanted to be a monster, then he sure as hell better be one out in the open. She couldn’t stand the pretense. The uncertainty. She couldn’t stand to sit like a terrified little rabbit, waiting to be his prey.
She poked her head into a few empty rooms that looked like they could be porno sets. They probably were. Then she heard voices coming from the end of the hall. She took a deep breath, grasped the doorknob, and pushed the door open.
It took her a moment to realize what she was seeing. This room looked similar to the others. Like a porno set. There was a professional camera set up in one corner but it didn’t appear to be on. Neither were the bright set lights. On one end of the room was a blonde girl. She was naked and on her knees, tied up, and attached to a machine that was fucking her. Gabe sat in a chair in front of her, looking amused, while she was busy attending to his erection with her mouth.
Julie refused to let herself process it or to decide on an emotion to have about it. She was doing all she could to hold onto the one emotion that made her feel like a normal human being: anger.
There was another large box of toys near where she stood. Gabe was so lost in his own pleasure he hadn’t heard the door open. Before she lost her nerve, she grabbed a dildo out of the toy box and hurled it at Gabe’s head. It missed her target and hit his shoulder instead. She’d chucked it so hard at him, it made a loud thud when it made contact. It might leave a bruise, an idea she found ridiculously satisfying. This sense of contentment did not last long, however.
Gabe rounded on her, his eyes blazing. But she was still too angry and shocked by what she’d walked in on to process the fact that maybe she should be afraid right now. Maybe she should have been demure and sweet and waited and hoped he stayed nice to her. So what if he was perving on her. It wasn’t like it was the worst thing that had happened the past few months. And it was Gabe. He was hot. She’d liked him. Liked—past tense—being the key word, here.
“I can’t believe you would spy on me!” she shouted, more to fill the increasingly distressing silence than anything else.
He stared at her for another moment. Julie paused to consider her options; the smartest one seemed to be running. Maybe she should have put on shoes after all.
“Pam, stop,” Gabe said. The girl at his feet hadn’t slowed down during all this.
She finally pulled back. “Yes, sir.”
Julie started to back away, inching toward the door, while Gabe zipped himself back up. Then he turned off the machine and started to undo the other girl’s bonds. He didn’t look up from his task when he said: “Julie, if you run from me, you will regret it. Don’t move another inch.”
Julie stopped, frozen in place. There had always been something about Gabe. When he told you to do something, you did it. She couldn’t explain why. It still made the most sense in her head to run, but Gabe said don’t move and she found herself unable to go against him. She couldn’t be sure if it was fear, or an emotion far more subtle. She’d always responded this way to him. So despite everything inside her screaming to run, she stayed.
“Pam, you can go. Lock the door on your way out. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Yes, sir.” The girl spared Julie a look on her way out the door that made Julie want to run even more, but Gabe was stronger and faster, and he might not shoot her, but what the hell was wrong with her? Why had she gotten so angry? Because she’d stupidly trusted him. Though she’d known how foolish it was, she’d trusted him when he’d said he would protect her and that he wouldn’t hurt her. But he just wanted to use her and toss her aside like all the others had. He wasn’t going to like sex with her when he did it. She hadn’t been very popular at Dmitri’s house with the other men. She saw no reason why that should be any different with Gabe.
The door clicked shut, and he slowly crossed the room to her.
“Were you aiming for my head?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Be glad you missed. Sit.”
“W-where?”
“My chair is fine.”
Julie crossed the room and sat in the chair he’d vacated. This was so weird. This whole thing was so weird. Sure, she hadn’t thought past the initial thrill of throwing the first thing she found at his head, but this almost business-like reaction was freaking her out.
Gabe paced back and forth and sighed. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but this wasn’t it. For a shocking moment right after the dildo had hit him and he’d rounded on her all fury and shock, she’d been sure he would jump out of the chair and pounce on her like a wild animal. But this calmness was more frightening. It was the behavior of someone who knew he had the upper hand and that he could take his time meting out whatever retribution he decided on. He was calm and calculated like Dmitri and that scared the shit out of her.
“I can’t believe you did that,” he said finally.
Julie stayed quiet.
“Not even going to apologize?”
“I’m not sorry.”
Gabe’s eyebrows rose the slightest bit. “I know you’re not a stupid person, so can I assume you’re really brave?”
Julie’s hands started to shake, and she put them on her lap in an attempt to still them. She shrugged.
Gabe moved closer and put one hand on either arm of the chair she was sitting in. He leaned in so close she could smell his shampoo.
“Look at me.”
She looked up. Some of his anger had melted away. That was something at least. Maybe now she could go back to the be nice and sweet plan and all would be forgotten and forgiven.