Stay (8 page)

I spun around and stared at him. “I don’t care.” I twisted back around, bare feet squeaking on the cold tile floor. The lie cut into me and my eyes twitched as I fought the tears.
 

Don’t cry.
 

I did care. In fact, I cared a hell of a lot, and I hated myself because of it. I cared about my body and myself. I cared about my safety. I cared enough to feel my constantly racing heart and painfully tense muscles.
 

And I had cared about helping a crying stranger in an alley just a few days ago.

CHAPTER NINE

A PUFF OF steam rose from the curling iron as Rochelle unwound my hair. She took a step back and blasted the tendril with hairspray. Three days had passed since I had been taken upstairs to fill in for Rochelle. I hadn’t left the basement since.

“There.” She set the curling iron down and gently fluffed the curls. “You almost look hot.”

I moved my head up and down and stared into my green eyes in the vanity mirror. I should have been offended by her backhanded compliment. But I wasn’t. All I could think about was the next client.
My
next client. I stiffly moved off the stool and went back to the cot.
 

I turned to Lily. “It’s in the woods?”

“Yeah.” She pulled a dark blue dress off a hanger and held it up to herself. “Like five miles away. It’s
such
a long walk.”

Phoebe shook her head. “It not that far.”

Lily pressed her full lips together. “Well, it
feels
that far. I hate walking through the woods in heels.”

I chewed on my lip. “Why is it hidden in the woods?”

“Some people are paranoid,” Lily explained. “They like don’t want their cars seen at the house, so Nate put a trailer in the woods.” She shrugged and put the blue dress back, trading it for a low cut, black sequined tank top.
 

“How do they get there?”

“I don’t know.” She went to the dresser. “They’re already there when I get there.” She extracted a neon green push-up bra. “There are plenty of toys in the cabinets above the bed. Use them,” she suggested.

My head moved up and down but nothing actually processed in my mind. I slowly blinked, trying to rid myself of the residual dull headache that had clung onto me since I woke up. I flattened my sweaty palms on the tight shorts I was wearing. The fabric was stiff and itchy, and the waist was a size too small. It dug into me every time I took a breath.
 

Along with doing my hair and makeup, Rochelle had dressed me again. She picked out a pair of white, tight shorts and a midriff-showing black tank top with a pair of over the knee, black high-heeled boots to complete my ‘outfit,’ but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get her size seven shoes to fit my big feet. She gave up and tossed my sneakers at me, saying it didn’t matter since I was going to take my clothes off anyway. My makeup was layered on to the point where I could scrape it off with my fingernails. I resisted the urge to wipe it off with my hands.
 

My heart skipped a beat when the deadbolt shot back. All four of us looked when the basement door opened, waiting to see who would emerge at the bottom of the stairs. I counted each heavy footstep that reverberated off the wooden steps. Jackson stopped at the base.
 

“Adeline.” His eyes landed on me.
 
I knew that was my cue to get up, but I couldn’t move. I just sat there, perfectly still, yet internally screaming. “Adeline?” he repeated.

Someone moved behind me. I startled when a hand landed on my back.
 

“Go,” Phoebe whispered. “I no want you get hurt.”

I nodded again, thinking she meant Jackson would hurt me, and looked at Jackson. I didn’t want to get hurt just as much as I didn’t want to go to the trailer. I knew I had to, one way or the other, and I’d rather walk than be dragged. My legs shook. I pushed my shoulders back, trying to hide the fear, and crossed the basement.

We excited the house from the family room, emerging onto a large patio. Lights in an in-ground pool gave off a murky glow beneath the crystal clear water. Wicker lounge chairs with fluffy, red cushions surrounded an outdoor bar, and a built-in fireplace and grill occupied each corner of the patio. Like the rest of the house, it seemed to have been cut and pasted out of a
Better Homes and Garden
magazine. Though it was still early in the season, red and white flowers spilled over stone planters, leaving me to believe that someone had spent a lot of time and money having this place landscaped, manicured, and groomed to perfection.

But why?

My eyes swept the lawn. The entire thing was lined with a tall white iron fence. I knew right away that I wouldn’t be able to climb it fast enough to get away. I was outside … so close to freedom. I had to do something. I was out of the basement—out of the
house
. The open air and distant buzzing of crickets reminded me that there were other people out there. Other people who could help me. My shoes scuffed the cement patio around the pool as I slowed. I looked at the surrounding land. There was nothing, absolutely nothing but untended land around the yard. I felt trapped all over again.

“Could you take any longer?” The sound of Zane’s voice sent a jolt through me.
 

I ground my teeth and pulled my arms close to my body. Zane was standing off to the side, concealed by shadows. He gracefully pushed off the shed he was leaning on. “Hurry the fuck up, you slow-ass whore.”

 
“Don’t touch me,” I said through gritted teeth when Zane grabbed my arm, yanking me forward. I pulled my arm back, trying to break his hold. I wasn’t strong enough. All I ended up doing was causing the first layer of skin to twist and tear.
 

Zane laughed and jumped in front of me. His fingers tightened on my arm, the pain biting into me until I was sure blood pooled under the half moon marks left by his fingernails.

“I like it when you fight,” he groaned. With his free hand, he reached up and took a fist full of my hair and stepped closer, brushing his waist against mine. Jackson turned around, face blank. He didn’t care what happened to me.
 

Then Zane let me go. He laughed and turned his back to me, purposely flashing the silver gun tucked into his pants. My heart was in my throat. Nerves tingled throughout my body, and my teeth chattered.
 

“Come on,” Zane ordered and paced ahead.
 

I looked at the ground, blinking back tears. Jackson waited until I was a few feet in front of him to follow. The invisible wall of the cage closed in on me. I was sandwiched between Zane and Jackson. Their body heat suffocated me. Mixed with the humid air, it was nauseating.
 

We crossed the yard and stopped by a gate. Jackson dug a key from his pocket and unlocked it. He pushed it open and stepped aside. Zane took a hold of my arm again, forcing me to walk close to him. A gravel path cut into the forest, which started just several feet from the white fence.
 

The gate slammed shut behind us. A useless sense of hope fluttered through me. I wasn’t fenced in. I
could
run away.

And get shot.

There was nothing I could do. There was no escape. I felt like I was walking to the end of a plank, precariously hanging over shark-infested water. When I jumped, sharp teeth would rip into me and the cold water would steal my breath away. The monsters would take everything from me, leaving me shivering and naked in the water. The only difference was that tonight I would be pulled from the icy darkness and forced to do it again. There would be no release from death, only pain.
 

Thinking of a plan of escape, I closed my eyes and continued to move forward, my pace subconsciously slowing down. Lily had said that Jackson and Zane would go back to the house while I worked. I had to run then. What other choice did I have?
 

Zane jerked me forward. The toe of my shoe caught on the uneven path and I stumbled and tripped.

“Seriously?” Zane huffed under his breath.
 

My throat tightened with fear and I blinked back tears. Zane scuffed his shoe, sending a cloud of dusty dirt into my face. I coughed and turned my head. He stepped away, laughing.

Jackson stopped next to me and extended a hand. I traced my eyes up from his fingers. He had a bruise just below his elbow in the shape of a large handprint, as if someone had grabbed him and twisted his skin. Did he do Nate’s dirty work and that was why he was always injured? Maybe he collected unpaid money and got in a lot of fights. The black t-shirt he wore was faded and worn, and his dark eyes glazed over, hiding back his emotions. The emptiness on his face frightened me.

Ignoring his offer, I put my hands on the ground and pushed myself up. Jackson’s eyebrows pushed together and he studied a vine of poison ivy that twisted around a maple tree. He stepped away from me and bit his bottom lip. Zane grabbed my arm and pulled me forward again. I didn’t fight him. Really, the sooner I got into the trailer, the sooner I could put my plan into action. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself.

Just like Lily said, it felt like we were miles away from the farmhouse by the time we reached what was called ‘the trailer.’ Really, it was a brand new RV, and it must have cost a lot of money. Yellow light spilled from slats in the mini blinds. An old blue Cadillac was parked behind it.

Zane kept a painful hold of my arm as Jackson knocked on the door. The blood drained from my face. It was as if I was waiting to see the face of my executioner, but he wouldn’t kill all of me. Only part of me would die and I would be forced to carry the black and festering hole with me for the rest of my life. It would be a constant reminder of what was painfully taken from me.
 

Just seconds later, the door opened revealing a tall man with shoulder-length brown hair squished beneath a straw fedora. He wore a dark blue Hawaiian print button up over a white undershirt. He looked to be around my father’s age. Wrinkles formed around his gray eyes when he smiled, taking in the sight of me.
 

“I can take it from here, boys,” he spoke, his words slurring together. He beamed at me, his teeth crooked and yellow, and took a swig of something from a silver flask. I felt like I was going to throw up again.
 

Jackson’s shoulder’s sagged and he backed off of the RV steps before turning and trudging down the path. Zane stood to the side, his sky-blue eyes dark in the fading sunlight. His full lips curved into a twisted smile, and he backed away.

The man in the trailer extended a hand as if he expected me to take it. I held my arms close to my body and didn’t move. The man let out a gritty huff and heaved his large frame down the first metal step and snatched my wrist. He gruffly yanked me up the stairs and slammed the RV door behind us, flicking the lock into place.

The walls closed in on me. I rapidly sucked in air, making myself dizzy. I didn’t know what to do. A large man stood between the door and me. How was I supposed to leave? My eyes widened in terror and my hands began trembling. I pressed them against my thighs to keep them steady. I needed to hold it together if I wanted to escape.

The man didn’t even move into the small bedroom. He just turned around and put both hands on my shoulders before pushing me down onto my knees. Little pieces of gravel littered the carpet and dug into my flesh. He unzipped his pants, exposing himself, and leaned back, putting his hands on his hips. I clenched my jaw. Vomit burned in my throat but I was too horrified to look away.
 

I was above my body again, seeing this all play out. I forced my eyes closed.
Keep it together.
It was all happening too soon. Zane and Jackson were too close. I opened my eyes and was back in my body. I took a breath to calm myself.

“Never seen a cock this big before?” he asked with a throaty laugh.
 

I wanted to tell him that his junk was nothing impressive, and he smelled like he hadn’t washed his balls in days. I froze, not knowing what to do. My heart was racing and my fingers trembled. I wanted to spring up, hit him in the face, and run. That wouldn’t work. I swallowed hard and took in a ragged breath, smiling up at the man. I needed a plan, I needed to buy time.

“Before we get started,” I managed to say with minimal shaking of my voice. “Let me put on a show for you.”

The man’s eyes narrowed before he tipped his head up and nodded. I scrambled up and away, resisting the urge to pat my back pocket just to be sure the rusty screw was still in place. I walked as seductively as I could into the section of the RV that housed a cramped bed and knelt on the mattress.
 

I had to play it up, even though I was screaming inside. I blinked, then cast a coy smile over my shoulder and opened the cabinet, pretending like I knew exactly what I was looking for. My trembling hands knocked over a very realistic, and very large, flesh-colored dildo. My eyes widened as I looked it over and I slowly shook my head as terror and dread crept over me. These toys were in here for a reason … the same reason I was in here.

“Ready for me yet?” His gritty voice made me jump, and I knocked over a row of colorful vibrators. I sank onto the bed and swallowed hard.

“Uh … ” My eyes flicked to the curtained window. Nervous sweat rolled between my cleavage. I swallowed hard.

The man plopped down on the bed. His pants were still undone. He let out a deep sigh, his hot, smelly breath wafting into my face. I turned my head and closed my eyes.

“Hey,” he said suddenly. “Put one of those on.”

I opened my eyes to see him pointing at a rack of lingerie and slutty costumes. I sprang up and tripped over my own feet. I internally winced at my timorous movements. I walked around the bed. The man slapped my ass when I moved in front of him. My shoulders stiffened. I clenched my jaw shut and kept walking until I was in front of the costumes.

 
“Who do you want me to be?” I blurted too fast. I smiled again, trying to keep up the façade that I was going to do exactly what I was told. I ran my fingers over the clothes, ignoring the white stains on the fabric. I randomly pulled out a Little Red Riding Hood outfit.