I was completely asleep when I felt my cap move on my head. Someone was turning it, pulling it away from my forehead to reveal my face.
My brain immediately snapped out of its unconscious state. I couldn’t afford to be robbed when I barely had anything to get by. My eyes snapped open, and I saw a man a few years older than me grinning into my face. He wasn’t a bum, judging by his nice clothes and expensive watch. But his smile was deceptive because there was nothing pleasant about him.
I kicked him in the knee and pushed him back. “Get off me.”
His heavy body fell back to the ground, and he brought his knee to his chest. “It’s her. It’s the bitch from the lingerie show.”
They recognized me.
The man behind him lurched at me. “Talk about an easy million.”
Now keeping my stuff wasn’t important. My bag would just slow me down, and my life was more important than the clothes off my back and the pictures I brought along. I dashed to the right of him, determined to get out of there no matter what.
He grabbed me by the elbow and yanked me back. “I don’t think so, Lingerie Bitch.”
I twisted my wrist out of his grasp then threw the butt of my palm into his nose. I struck with as much force as I could muster, the adrenaline giving me an extra push. I heard the crack and felt it at the same time.
“Fuck!” He stumbled back, covering his nose as the blood squirted everywhere.
I sprinted again, running for my life. The second they called me, “An easy million,” I knew exactly what they were and what they intended to do with me.
Ain’t gonna happen.
I sprinted down the alleyway then turned right to the street. The second I reached witnesses on the sidewalk, I would have more protection. At one in the morning, there wouldn’t be many people out, but it was better than staying in that alleyway.
Knuckles crossed my path then glanced down the alley in my direction. His shoulders were relaxed and he was on the phone, so he obviously hadn’t been expecting me to emerge right under his nose.
His six-foot-three frame was chilling, even at this distance. He was all muscle and flesh. Built like a monster because he had the soul of the devil, he was a bull that had been provoked. “Call you back.” He hung up and shoved his phone into his pocket. “Hey, sweetheart. How was your run?”
I turned back the way I came but saw my earlier assailants coming my way. This time, their guns were drawn. I suspected these two groups had no connection. I was just the unlucky woman stuck between the two.
I knew exactly what would happen if I turned to Knuckles. He would rape me in brutal ways until I begged for death. He would torture me every day, getting the most mileage out of me before he finally crushed my skull the same way he did to Nathan.
With the other guys, I would be sold to someone.
Chances were, he would be better than Knuckles.
So I made my choice.
* * *
I was tied to a dirty cot in the corner. My hands were secured behind my back, and my clothes were stripped away. Even my panties were removed. The men hadn’t tried to force themselves on me yet—thankfully.
Fuck, this was a nightmare.
I ran away from home in the hope of starting over in a new place. But I got stuck in the same position I was in before. I would never be free again because I would always be a slave to whatever man had the most power.
Lying there naked only infuriated me. My rights had been stripped away just like my clothes, and my only crime was being attractive. Men preyed upon me so they could sell what was between my legs—even though they didn’t own me.
It was disgusting.
I’d been on this cot through the night, not allowed to drink or eat. They didn’t even let me use the bathroom. I was treated like a dog at the mercy of her master. I didn’t sleep because I refused to close my eyes. The last time I slept, I’d let my guard down. That was how I ended up there.
The door opened, and a man walked inside. With dark brown hair with crystal-blue eyes, he had features that almost made him handsome. But that disgusting grin on his face wiped away any attractiveness he had. “The woman everyone has been talking about…” He moved to the edge of the bed, far too close to my legs. “I would ask why you were sleeping by a dumpster, but I don’t care enough to hear your answer.” His hands moved to the top of his jeans, and he started to unbutton them.