Given the choice, I preferred being with him over the time he gave me to the other man before Ruby’s birth. I now knew the man’s name. It was Adrik, one of Andros’s closest advisers.
As we continued walking, I suddenly worried that tonight would be like that night a week before her birth. My fears weren’t innocent enough to imagine one of his men. My neck stiffened as I imagined many.
Would he do that to me?
I had no doubt that he would.
“Andros, what is my job and what are my qualifications?”
He reached for my forearm, wrapping his fingers tightly around it and pulling me to a stop. “My men acquired what had been the other organization’s spoils.”
“Money, guns, drugs?”
“And women.”
My stomach fell as I tried to comprehend. “Women? You took women?”
“Not me personally, my dear. Now they are here for the pleasure of my men.”
I shook my head. “No. That’s not right.”
Andros’s smile grew as his gaze darkened. “What was your limit, Madeline? Is this it? Do you no longer want to be with Ruby? Irina is very attentive. My men, they sometimes get carried away when they fuck. And taking turns isn’t their forte. The choice is yours, my dear. You will go to these women and calm them, clean them, dress them, and bring them to us, or you will take their place.”
My pulse raced as I fought to breathe. “Andros, I can’t do this. It’s like Miss Warner.”
“Was Miss Warner doing her job to save her child?”
“I don’t know why she…” I had never given her motivation thought. “What will happen to them after…?”
“You will not see them again.”
“You will kill them?” I asked, aghast.
“Not I. And that isn’t your concern. The clothes are in the attached dressing room. Tonight there are only three.”
“How many men…?”
“Fifteen.”
I wrapped my arms around my midsection, trying to quell the bubbling nausea. “Please, Andros. I can’t leave Ruby, but even you know this is wrong.”
“My men deserve to be rewarded. They could have fucked them when they found them. Instead, they brought them here to share. Tell me, Madeline, them or you.”
“I-I…”
He reached for my chin and snapped it up. “Behave and when my men are happy, you will be rewarded.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“You do. You said so yourself. You will be that Miss Warning.”
“Miss Warner,” I said softly.
“Yes, Miss Warner.”
“They were given a bit of heroin to ease their nerves,” Andros said as if discussing a mild sedative. “They’ll be given more. Much of the night they won’t even remember.”
Oh my God.
“If I don’t?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe. “Would you rather not remember your last night?”
My head shook. “Ruby?”
“Will be waiting for you when you complete your assignment.”
As I turned toward the door where we’d stopped, he once again gripped my arm. “Have them ready in two hours. I’ll send someone for you. Then you will present them to my men—their main attraction. This loyalty will show them that you can be trusted.”
I looked up to his dark stare. “I don’t want to do this.”
“Is that a concern of mine? Your wants and desires are comprised of Ruby. Is that not true?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes, Andros. It’s true.”
He shrugged. “These women, they can know your name. They won’t be alive to tell another soul.”
My breasts pushed against the bodice as I gripped the doorknob and turned.
The room was empty except for three bodies upon the floor. All three were without clothes.
I brought my hand to my nose as the stench of their bodily fluids floated through the air.
All three had various bruising that led me to believe the men hadn’t fully waited to share. One with red hair lifted her head. Drool pooled on the floor as her enlarged pupils came my way.
“Help us.”
I went to the side door to the attached dressing room and opened it. Inside was a bathroom with a large two-stall shower. Unlike the opulence of most of the compound, this was very generic, like locker rooms I’d seen on television shows. Upon hooks on the wall were gowns and shoes.
How did they know their sizes?
There was a long mirror with three stools and a counter filled with cosmetics.
I turned back to the women. “I’m here to help. My name is Madeline.”
The other two women were also looking my way. “You’re going to help us?” a blonde woman asked as she slowly sat up. Wobbling, she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
It was the way I remembered sitting in the cell-house basement. I took a deep breath, taking in the stench. “Yes, I’m going to help. First, let’s get you cleaned up.”
Slowly the women began to stand. The heroin must have affected their coordination. I didn’t know anything about drugs. Other than what I’d been given during Ruby’s birth, I’d only once had a glass of wine when Andros brought it to my suite. They teetered as they tried to get their footings.
I rushed to the redhead who had spoken first and offered her my hand. “Let me help you.”
“Are we going to be released?”
The blonde began to cry. “They killed our men. Mine was my husband.”
“I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “You’ll feel better after you’re clean.”
The redhead gripped my hand. “Can we trust you?”
Trust.
I nodded, picturing my beautiful six-month-old daughter. “Yes, trust me. Tonight will be your last night here. After your showers, you will get dressed and apply some makeup. It will make you feel better.”
The redhead wrapped her arms around me. In an instant I was transformed back to the basement within the cell house, the odors, the damp concrete floor—at least they were on what had been clean tile—and the cold hose shower.
I took a step back, still offering my hand. “Come with me. Let’s get the water warm. Warm water makes everything better.”
“Miss Madeline,” Natasha, one of Andros’s staff, said, bringing me back to my suite and away from my memories. “Are you all right?”
I sniffed as I realized I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and around me gowns lay scattered, pulled from their hangers, balled up, and tossed around the bed. “I guess…” I took a deep breath. “I’m sad, Natasha.”
“Why, miss?”
“This suite is all I’ve known and Ruby is next door.”
“Yes, but Mr. Ivanov wants you to move to his suite. It’s beautiful. You’ve seen it, right?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t.”
“Oh, miss, you will be happy there. And in all my time, he’s never moved anyone into his suite. It’s an honor.”
An honor.
My gaze went to the pocket door leading to Ruby’s room. “I’ll miss my daughter.”
“You will still see her. And Irina is moving into this room. Miss Ruby won’t be alone.” She began picking up the gowns from the floor. “I will have these pressed for you and have them brought to Mr. Ivanov’s suite.”