They wanted her to whore for them. To… take men. One after the other. She was close to vomiting from the thought of it.
They'd left her with a bowl of something to eat and some water and then shut off the light, leaving her in pitch darkness. She'd decided right off the bat that it was better to appear meek and afraid.
So far it was working. They weren’t being too rough. And they’d left her untied. That was a bad decision on their part.
She was afraid, that part was not an act. But meek? Hardly.
She used her hands to feel along the concrete floor. There was no way in hell she was going to eat the food they'd left but she needed the water. She was parched. She could tell she was dangerously dehydrated, especially after her parents had trapped her for so long.
Unfortunately, that was the least of her worries.
She was an idiot. She had got herself into this mess, and now she needed to get herself out of it.
It had been the third place she went to looking for work. The first place that hadn't cared that she'd lost her ID and didn't have references. But the joke was on her. If only there were anything funny about it.
The ad she'd found for body work had been a scam. They were running a brothel here, and from what she could tell at least 75% of the girls were unwilling participants in the scheme. She’d met a few of them before she was tossed into this dank room all by herself.
Their accents told her they were from all over the world. Their eyes told her they were beaten and broken. Like her, they were the disenfranchised. No one loved them.
No one would come looking for them.
But she vowed she would make sure this place got raided, the second she got away. These other women weren’t going to be trapped here. Not if she had anything to say about it.
She closed her eyes, berating herself for the hundredth time.
How could she be so dumb?
When she'd walked in the place they'd taken one look at her and seen a gold mine. They'd drugged her. They tried to get her to put on some sleazy lingerie. She'd fought them tooth and nail when she woke but in the end they'd won, holding a cloth over her mouth until she stopped struggling.
When she came to the second time she was dressed in a black satin corset with lace panties, thigh high stockings and black heels.
How anyone could walk in those heels was a mystery. She could, but only because she was a dancer. And now, they’d given her a weapon.
Leaving her the heels was an oversight on their part. If anyone tried to touch her, she was going to stab them with those 4 inch stilettos. She would have already but she'd eaten a few bites of the food they'd brought the first time. It was risky but she'd been so hungry at that point she hadn't cared.
Mistake. Big mistake.
It had been drugged, sending her into a stupor yet again. She'd spent half the day in a dream state, with images from her past and present intertwining.
When she woke up her purse was gone. Not that she had anything in it. Her parents had taken her phone and her wallet.
She knew she couldn't blame them for this mess though. This was all her. Stupid and impulsive as usual. And now look at the situation she was in.
She would not give in. She would not let them force her to do one damn thing!
She wiped tears off her cheeks. At least they hadn't tried to turn her out yet. Soon though. She knew it was coming soon. She'd overheard them saying something about breaking her in before shipping her overseas.
They put girls as far away from the people they knew as possible. Foreign girls came here, American girls went- well, everywhere from what she had overheard.
She knew if that happened she'd disappear forever. She'd never see Kaylie again.
Or Jack.
The thought sent a spiral of pain through her chest. Even if he didn't want her, she'd still like to see him now and then. Even if they didn't speak. Just his presence made her feel safe. Just his existence.
The world was a better place with Jack in it.
She conjured up an image of him. She'd been doing this for almost a week now, ever since she'd been locked in her room and then this hole. It gave her plenty of time to think… to fantasize.
Mostly about Jack.
She imagined what he would do if he found her in this situation. As usual, he was staring at her disapprovingly. He'd be the first one to tell her she was an idiot for getting herself in this situation.
Of course, he wouldn't actually say it. He'd just project it with those steely dark eyes of his. And then he'd smile the teeniest bit, letting her know he was glad she was okay.