“I failed, Yury.”
“Stop!”
“You broke me.”
He rushed me and began kissing me all over my face. “Give me a chance to make this right.”
I had no more chances to offer, nor kisses. They had been stolen when he offered my body to others. I whispered, “You have to let me go.”
“Fire. Please.”
Feeling blood smear against my skin, I whispered, “I can’t stay here anymore.”
He nodded, his forehead rubbing against me. “That’s why I’m here. We’re leaving.”
Leaving was the best start I could’ve hoped for. If no longer contained within the four walls, I knew I had a chance to find my way back to Link. Without questions asked, I let Yury hold my hand to lead me to freedom.
In the hallway, I should’ve shrieked seeing three dead bodies on the cold floor, but I was far past reacting appropriately. They had been shot. One of the bodies was Aiden. After the rape, I was in such shock I never heard one bullet ring through the air. Now, the only sound that could be heard were keys jittering in a lock. I blinked as I watched Yury open a door.
In the room identical to mine, a naked young man was on the floor, knelt in his servitude position. Yury barked, “Rise. I am setting you free.”
I couldn’t place the slave’s accent, but I knew it wasn’t Russian when he replied, “Master?” while following directions as if extremely confused. Cautiously, he stood.
I cringed, realizing Yury had been training this young man.
To say the slave was beautiful was a gross understatement. He looked as if perfectly sculpted. I had never seen anything like him. It wasn’t that I was attracted to him; it was that I knew why he had been abducted. “How much, Yury? How much were you going to get for him?”
Grey eyes peered at me from under shiny black hair. They were begging me to know my place and not get punished. His haunted expression told me of all the abuse he had already endured. Had he been raped like me?
My eyes closed when I realized he had not one flaw, not one visible bruise or scar caused by Yury. This slave had not been starved. He was practically glowing with good health. My months of hell had me shaking. I growled, “How. Much?” Were my thoughts rational? No. Not in the slightest. It would be some time before I had sound thoughts again.
Yury stared at me, knowing I was catching on, then finally exhaled. “One point five million.”
My eyes opened to stare at the scar on my leg, the reason I had become disposable. I held no anger for the innocent slave. It was all for Yury. His selfishness allowed me to be irrevocably violated. Slowly, I peered up to my captor. “I’m going to smack you now.”
I was full of rage for two reasons:
One: I was now a rape victim on top of everything else I had been put through.
Two: I was heartbroken to still care for the man to blame.
I don’t think Yury nodded with regret because he was in fear of my small hand. I think it was because he realized anything that had been built between us was fading away, minute by minute, and it was all his fault.
As hard as I could, I slapped Yury across the face.
The slave’s sharp inhale echoed against the bare walls.
Yury held out his hand to the slave. “Take these keys and open the closed doors. There are two more who need to be freed.” As the slave left the room, Yury stared at me while exhaling defeat. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
So angry to want the kiss, I made fists. “It will be the last time.”
Again, he nodded, then solemnly pressed his lips to mine.
In the hallway waited the slave plus one more. The other slave was a black man with the bluest eyes I had ever seen. His dark skin was so smooth it glistened. It was easy to recognize he was new. Naked, he kept readjusting his stance. “Where the fuck am I?”
My eyes widened. Another American.
The slave with grey eyes stood at an open door.
Yury observed the situation then asked, “Where is she?”
Nervously, Grey Eyes stared at the floor. “She doesn’t believe me.”
In his Master tone, Yury demanded, “Jewel. Come.”
My stomach rolled when a gorgeous young woman came scurrying from the room. Her long blond hair had been fully done, she had on makeup, and she had been freshly waxed. The hall light shimmered off the gold chain around her neck and waist as she knelt before Yury. “Master.”
Lightheaded, I fell back into a wall. “You claimed her?”
Yury helped her stand while answering me. “No. She was to be delivered tonight.”
“But you trained her.” Breaking into a cold sweat, I felt I was losing my mind all over again. I leaned sideways to rest my cheek against the cold wall in an attempt to calm down. I wasn’t sure what was making me so ill. Were my irrational thoughts of self-preservation to distract my mind from the trauma experienced only an hour earlier? “Why am I so jealous?”
“Because I have been training you to view me as a life source. Any other slaves of mine are a threat to your survival.”
He was right. I didn’t even know how to eat without him.
“May I speak, Master?”
I ignored Grey Eyes as my pulse raced. “Pretend Whit?”
Sighing, Yury opened a small door and reached into a hall closet. “Gone.”
Feeling woozy and dizzy, I watched as he retrieved back robes, handing them to the slaves. It was beyond ironic and made my nausea intensify. As he approached me with one, I could only picture Shelly’s rape. My mouth barely formed the words, “W-What does ‘gone’ mean?”
He half-helped, half-forced me into the robe I didn’t want touching my skin. “Fire. Stop.”
“Master…” tried Grey Eyes again.
I found myself rolling along the wall again, like when in the cell, trying to think clearly and breathe properly. “Please. What does… gone mean?”
Yury took hold of my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “She committed suicide.”
“Master.” Grey Eyes sounded closer.
My ears began to ring as I swayed on my feet. “W-What?”
Concerned, Yury tightened his hold. “I found out when I returned.”
As leftover semen slipped down my inner thigh, I took it as a sign that I deserved what happened to me. “I am as guilty as you.”
“Catch her,” demanded Grey Eyes.
When my knees gave, Yury scooped me up. He yelled at the slave, “Leave us be!” His head caressed mine. “Nothing could be farther from the truth.”
“Master, she is in shock, and not only the mental kind. Her pupils… All signs are showing medial shock. Her lips are so dry. Most likely dehydrated.”
I didn’t know how Grey Eyes knew all this medical information, nor did I have the energy to care.
Distracted, Yury nodded. “She may not have eaten well since I’ve been gone.”
My neck, incredibly weak, couldn’t hold up my head. Limp, I laid in the arms of my abductor. He told the slaves, “Follow me.” As he walked, the hall lights on the ceiling held my blank stare. He gave out more instructions that my spinning mind couldn’t fully comprehend. “We will take my car. I have a jet waiting…”
Trying to ease the ringing in my ears, I let my head fall to the side. It was a mistake. As we passed another room, I saw two bodies. Blood was spread to the point I knew their deaths had been gory. Moaning, I looked away and rested my cheek to Yury’s chest. The blood on my face, from Yury’s kisses, were my rapists’. I tried to find satisfaction in the revenge… but there was none to be found. The tragic circumstance was now heinous.