Dark Boundaries(33)

“Let’s go, Kris.” I take hold of the leash and as she drops to her knees, I take hold of her arm, stopping her midway. “You can’t crawl in that. Just stay behind me.”

She straightens back out and when I turn around I feel her right at my back. I meet Justin, Warren and Bill at the van and load Kris into the back with Riza.

“This is it boys,” Bill chuckles and I struggle to smile along with him. “Tomorrow is pay day. Let’s get the merchandise to the auction. Follow behind us.” He points a thumb to Warren and I’m just glad they’re not squeezing into the van with us. There’s only so much space.

We take the long drive back to Vegas, and reach the club just after midnight. We park at the back. I watch a girl being taken inside and excitement starts to bloom in my chest.

“Andrea can already be here!” Justin says, sounding just as excited. “If she is, we grab and run.”

I shake my head. “Don’t act too fast. We don’t want to endanger her. Let’s see how it all plays out.”

We get out and let the girls out of the back. “I feel like a kid in a candy store,” Bill says behind us, rubbing his chubby hands against each other. “Let’s get the girls to the room, then we can go book in for the night. I want to rest well for tomorrow. You never know. I might spot a slut I want for myself.”

We follow him in with Warren tailing behind us. There are two bouncers standing outside the room the girls will be kept in. I just look at them. When we walk into the room my eyes immediately dart from face to face. My hope starts to dwindle as I look at vacant face after vacant face, and then my eyes land on a skinny girl at the back. Her chestnut hair is longer, her brown eyes bruised with all she’s been through these past years. She stares ahead at the wall, not even glancing our way.

I swallow hard on the pain and rage. I want to kill every man here and those who dared to touch my sister. Justin takes a step towards Andrea and I’m shocked back to the now when Kristine grabs his arm and holds him back. “Which one? I’ll sit with her until the time is right.”

I look at her in awe. After all I’ve put her through she’s still willing to help me. She’s fucking amazing. I nod my head in Andrea’s direction and whisper, “She’s the one with the pale blue dress.” Louder I say, “Get your ass in the corner.”

I let go of her leash and mouth, “Thank you.” I grab Justin’s arm and drag him out of the room with me, leaving our girls in the hands of bastards. I can only pray nothing happens to them.

~*~





Chapter Twenty Four



Kristine~

I pull Riza to the back of the room and sit down beside Andrea. She doesn’t even look up at me. I wait for the door to close behind the men before I dare to talk to her. “Andrea?” She doesn’t respond to me. She just keeps staring at the wall.

When I reach out to her, I notice how my hand is trembling. I touch her hand and I’m relieved when she doesn’t pull away. I hold her hand tightly in mine. “You’re going to be fine. It’s all ending tomorrow,” I whisper to her. I can only hope she hears me.

The night is long. They keep bringing in girls until we’re all squashed in the room like sardines. The air grows stuffy and hot, but no one complains. No one makes eye contact. These girls are in a much worse state than me and Riza. One of the girls is sitting with her back to us and I can see angry welts crisscrossing over her back. She’s wearing a red dress that has an open back. I get the feeling they want the men to see the marks. How can men be turned on by seeing how she was beaten?

Sitting on the hard floor is a killer, but I don’t dare stand. I don’t want to draw any attention to us. I try to shift a little to ease the pain in my backside.

A huge man comes in and starts to count how many we are. I listen to the number climb until he reaches sixteen. How can no one miss sixteen girls? Some are so young? The girl on the other side of Riza looks like she’s barely thirteen.

I close my eyes to try and escape the room. I let my mind drift to Garrett. I wonder if he’ll take me with him. I hope so. I don’t want to be forgotten. I don’t want to become a nobody to a man like Warren.

I don’t know what time it is when the door opens again. A different man looks at us with a bored expression. “Get off your lazy asses. Form a line down the hallway. If you step out of line, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

We all get to our feet, not one of us making a sound. As soon as Andrea is standing she drops her eyes to her feet. I notice how everyone keeps their eyes down and I do the same. We form a line and the three of us land at the back. It’s me, then Andrea, and Riza is last.