I fought through my hangover to wake up. Remnants of the previous day drifted through my head like debris on a city sidewalk. I saw myself bent over the washing machine and swept the image aside only to have it replaced by my phone sliding across the bathroom floor, and me too drunk to react as it slipped down the broken heating vent. It had been hours since texting Griff to get me out. He hadn’t arrived yet. That had to mean I’d never hit SEND, which in turn meant he wouldn’t be arriving until sometime tonight. We had no plans in place regarding how he and John would come into OK and today when he texted me to set it up he’d get no response. How he’d react to that was up in the air. He could panic, assuming (rightfully so) that something had gone wrong and come right away or he’d wait to hear from me. The question was, how long would he wait?
The door opened. Rose stood framed in slanting rays of sun reaching through the bedroom window. “It’s late. Where’s breakfast? Isaac will be coming in from the cafeteria any minute. You better get your ass out of bed if you know what’s good for you. You royally fucked up yesterday by not making dinner. He wasn’t pleased to say the least. I’ll be damned surprised if he doesn’t ship you out of here today. Only thing that might save you is his party tonight. You better plan on bringing in some money.”
I rolled away from her and stared at the wall. Just today, I thought. If Griff was coming then I only had to make it through today, twelve hours, fifteen at the most, but it was a big if. Head hammering and mouth so dry I thought my tongue might crack in half I swung my feet to the floor. My stomach threatened to revolt at the thought of food. I went into the bathroom, took the picture of Kira from the top shelf and slipped it into the pocket of my kimono. Kneeling on the floor, I pulled at the grate beneath the sink hoping my phone might be within reach. The cover screeched like an angry cat as I yanked it free of its metal base.
“What the fuck are you doing in there?” Elizabeth yelled from her bed, half asleep.
“I dropped something,” I called back.
“Well shut the fuck up. I’m trying to sleep.”
Setting the cover on the floor beside me, I lay on my stomach and slid my arm into the hole as far as I could reach, grasping and pleading, but coming up empty. The bathroom was directly above the bar. If there was a heating duct above the liquor cabinet, chances were good that my phone was sitting inside of it. There was no way I could get to it there. It was as good as gone.
The living room was empty when I crossed the threadbare Oriental rug and stepped into the alcove that housed the bar. Checking the ceiling I saw what I’d hoped I wouldn’t. Running the length of the ceiling was a heating duct. There was no chance the phone could have slid all the way to the basement where I might have been able to retrieve it. It couldn’t have made it past this ductwork. Fucking stupid, I reprimanded myself fighting back tears.
In the kitchen, struggling against my panic over losing the phone and nausea from last night, I brewed the coffee and lined up boxes of cereal on the counter. Ruth came through the backdoor at eight-fifteen as if on queue.
“Rough night?” she asked after taking a look at me.
I didn’t respond. Instead I took a mug from the cupboard and poured her coffee.
“Thanks,” she said. “You look awful.”
I sat down across from her at the table and wiped away one lone tear that hit my cheek with the back of my hand. “Your father. He called it my initiation.”
She stared at the wooden surface for a minute before speaking. “I tried to warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“In the store. The first day, I yelled at you to get out when he was pumping gas.”
I nodded remembering. “You screamed at me, but it was because I’d dropped the bottle and made a mess.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t give a crap about the mess. I knew what was going to happen and I wanted you to get out before he took you.”
“You were warning me?”
“Not very successfully.”
“You’re not loyal?”
“To that bastard? Are you kidding?”
“He’s your father.”
“First and foremost, he’s a bastard.”
“Why do you stay?”
“Where would I go? I run the store and stay out of his way.”
I felt the picture in my pocket, stood and walked to the counter to get myself coffee, stalling. I should be setting the table with silverware and cereal bowls. Have bread browning in the toaster for Isaac and the girls who would soon be wandering, bleary-eyed into the kitchen looking for breakfast. But I didn’t want to squander the moment. Who knew when I’d get another one and Ruth wasn’t going to turn me in to Isaac, not after what she’d just said. I filled a mug for myself and returned to the table setting a plate of toast and strawberry jam between us.
“Thanks.” She picked up a slice, slathering it with lumps of red jam.
I thought of the welts on Eve’s back and my stomach turned then I reached into my pocket for the picture of Kira. My hand shook as I laid it on the table in front of her and prayed that this gesture wouldn’t seal my fate.
Ruth looked at it and then at me. She didn’t speak.
“Have you seen her?” My words came out in a whisper though there was no one else awake yet. Ruth stared at the photo, but still said nothing. I wondered how much longer before my heart beat a hole through my chest.
She took another bite of her toast washing it down with coffee before she opened her mouth. “Why?”
“She’s a friend of mine. I’m trying to find her.”
“Why would you think she was here?”
“She’s been missing for a long time. Her father got a postcard that he thinks was from her. It led us here.”
“You cops?”
“No. Like I said she’s my friend. I’m just trying to help her dad.”
“Why didn’t he call the cops?”
“He doesn’t want trouble. He just wants to find his daughter.”
Ruth finished another slice of toast and drained her mug. After pouring herself a refill, she came back and sat down. Lifting the picture in front of her face, she pursed her lips looking almost wistful. “Yeah, she was here.”
I was afraid to speak, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Something that would make Ruth stop talking, walk out the door and go get Isaac. “Where is she now?”
Ruth lifted the picture again, looked at it and then at me. There were tears in her eyes. “I wish I knew,” she said. She set it back on the table. “Isaac will punish me if he knows I’m talking to you like this.”
“I just want to find my friend. Do you know where she is?”
Ruth shook her head. “She tried to get out, more than once. The first time she just started walking down the driveway. She was in plain sight. It was winter. She’d been out in the field cutting trees. Isaac saw her going. He called to her, but she just kept walking. I knew what he’d do so I started to run after her, to bring her back. Better me than him. But then he pulled up beside us in the pick up. I was arguing with her to turn around. He got out and hit me. He broke my nose. Then he shoved her into the truck. That’s when she moved from the dormitory to the house. I didn’t see her as much after that.” Ruth wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
I was getting the feeling that Kira had been more to Ruth than one of the farm workers. “Were you in love with her?”
“It was mutual.”
I wondered if that was the truth or if Kira had also pegged Ruth to be the weak link and a possible way out.
“What happened after she moved to the house?”
“Her clients built fast. She was beautiful and young and…” Ruth’s voice trailed off. “She was one of his best, but she was difficult. She didn’t want to be here and wasn’t afraid to tell him.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
Ruth sighed. “About a month ago. But Stebbins was here last week. He and Isaac were in the kitchen. Stebbins had a picture of her, said someone was looking for her. Was that you?”
“We went to Stebbins first.”
“We?”
“I was with her dad and a friend.”
“What’d he tell you?”
“Nothing much, but that doesn’t matter. No one cares what’s going on here. We just want Kira.”
“When Isaac told her she was leaving, she refused. All she’d wanted since she got here was to leave and then when he told her she was, she didn’t want to go. Can’t blame her, you never know how much worse it’ll be somewhere else. But refusing only got her a beating, a bad one. He had to wait a few days for her to heal. Clients who like bruises want to inflict them themselves, not start out with tainted goods. Most of the girls were out with Isaac the night she left. The ones that were here were high, oblivious as usual. I went up to Kira’s room. She was in bed and I lay down with her. I just held her. She liked that. She had a scrap of cardboard that she’d written OK on. That’s all it said. On the other side was an address. She asked me to mail it for her.”
“And then she left?”
“And then Isaac came into the room and saw us. He threw me across the room. I hit my head on the nightstand and was knocked out. When I woke up it was hours later, Kira was gone and the postcard was torn into pieces scattered across the floor.”
“And you taped it back together and mailed it?”
Ruth nodded. A tear rolled down her cheek. “But I don’t know where he took her.”
“Would he have given her to Lucas?”
“Sold, you mean. They’re all sold. When the locals get tired of them Isaac rotates stock. He takes farm workers he’s designated for the house and moves them up or brings in new ones off the street, like he did with you. I think most of them go over the border.”
“With Lucas?”
Ruth nodded.
“He sells them in Canada?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s what I’ve overheard.”
The kitchen door swung open and Isaac walked in. “What the hell are you doing here?” He checked his watch. “You got a store to run. Get moving.”
I slid the picture back into my pocket and Ruth walked her coffee mug to the sink. As she passed him, he gave her a shove landing her hard against the counter. The mug fell from her hand and shattered on the tile floor. Ruth bent to pick up the glass.
“Leave it,” Isaac said. “What do you think she’s for?” He motioned to me, and Ruth slipped out the backdoor.
I gathered the pieces of Ruth’s mug from the floor while Isaac watched. “Not for long,” he said.
I sat back on my heels and looked up at him. “Not for long, what?”
“Where were you last night? Where was dinner?”
“I…” I started to explain, but he held up his hand to quiet me.
“I know where you were. Passed out.”
The last thing I recalled was lying on my bed after dropping the phone. My hand went to my stomach and I winced remembering the pink plastic razor, a vice I hadn’t used in years.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “After…after…” I couldn’t say it, couldn’t say, ‘after you raped me in the basement.’ The words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.
“I told you if you don’t follow my rules then there’s no place for you here.” He walked to the table and picked up the plate of toast and jelly I’d given Ruth. “What’s this? You fed her? Feeding the pig is not the job I gave you.” He threw the plate into the sink. It smashed against the porcelain. “No dinner and now no breakfast. Was that what I asked of you?”
I shook my head.
He stood in front of me. I was still kneeling on the floor, holding the broken pieces of Ruth’s mug.”
“Answer me,” he said.
“No,” I managed.
“Good, then we understand each other,” he said. Placing his boot against my shoulder, he shoved me backward.
I landed on my side and saw Rose in the doorway. Our eyes met and she smiled.
“You’ll do exactly as you’re told today and you’ll entertain my guests tonight and then you’re gone. I have no use for an ungrateful, drunken whore who can’t follow the rules.” He turned toward Rose. “She can leave sooner if need be.”
Rose nodded.
He walked past her and disappeared down the hallway.
As soon as I heard him leave the house I went upstairs and lay on my bed condemning myself for dropping my phone. It was all I could do to focus on what needed to be done today and keep my mind off yesterday. I could fall apart once I was out of here. He’d keep me for tonight’s festivities, which gave me the rest of the day to figure out what to do. I was sure that Griff and John would arrive tonight. But by the time they got here Isaac could have already sold me. If that happened I could end up over the border like Ruth said. They’d never find me. I could risk waiting to see if they showed up in time or devise an alternate plan. I was on my own.
Everyone but Rose had missed my debacle with Isaac in the kitchen so no one knew that this was my last day in the house. It would be best to keep it that way. I could hear her now, busy in the kitchen preparing food for the party. Like every other day the girls were drinking in the living room. If I tried to slip out the front door I’d be noticed. But if I offered to help Rose and she left the kitchen even for a minute, I could go out the back door, pass by the barn and make it to the tree line before anyone realized I was gone. Isaac was another matter. If he caught me, his recourse would be to beat me and sell me, but since that was the plan anyway, what did it matter. I’d rather go out belligerent than complacent.
I spent most of the morning on my bed, the girls drifted through the house in silence, but for the clinking of ice cubes in their drinks. No one shared Isaac’s excitement of the impending party. As Ruth had explained, it would be a more dangerous night than usual for them because of the clientele and they were in no rush for the festivities to begin. But Isaac was becoming obsessed with the preparations. His voice rose from downstairs barking orders at Rose.
I’d almost dozed off when Rose wrapped her knuckles against my door.
“Lunch,” she said. “Get it started.”
I was boiling water for pasta when Ruth came in with bags of groceries.
“He’s even crazier than usual,” I said as she set her purchases on the counter.
“There’re dollar signs in his eyes. For the most part clients are inconsistent. Some nights he gets the big money, some nights not. It depends on who wants what and when. Who’s having a late night meeting, who’s got business people coming from out of town, whose wife is out for the evening… Tonight, this party is by invitation only. It’s all the heavy hitters.”
“He mails out invitations?”
Ruth laughed. “Word of mouth. He has his mules. Two legged ones.”
I went to the counter and began emptying the bags Ruth had brought. There was a shrimp platter with cocktail sauce in the center, a plate with an assortment of cheese and crackers, marinated mushrooms and meatballs. My stomach churned.
“Put everything in the fridge,” Rose said sweeping into the room, a cigarette clamped between her teeth. “I’ll handle serving and arrangement. You just unpack.”
She turned to Ruth. “Where’s the booze?”
“I have to go pick it up.”
“Then what are you doing standing here? Go.” She shooed her away with a flick of her hand.
Ruth glanced at me and rolled her eyes. “Back in a couple of hours,” she said.
“Are you coming to the party?” I asked.
“Not a chance,” she said and closed the door behind her.
“Get this stuff put away,” Rose said and went into the hallway. The vacuum roared to life.
I placed the last item, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, on the counter and folded the empty bag. Something rattled inside and I opened it to see what I’d missed. At the bottom, lying against the brown paper was the watch Griff had given me. The one that I’d told Ruth was my mother’s when she’d taken it away that first day at the dormitory. I lifted it out and hugged it to my chest, overwhelmed by the emotions it triggered. I was getting out tonight, one way or another. I slipped the watch over my hand and pushed it high on my forearm hidden under the flimsy satin sleeve of my robe.
“If you’re finished putting things away, go upstairs and put some make-up on,” Rose said coming into the kitchen. “I’ll finish here.”
I felt sick as I turned to do as I was told. I climbed the stairs and felt the watch on my arm. Very soon it would all be over, one way or another.
Elizabeth was in the bathroom leaning over the sink, a wand of mascara in one hand and a bottle of Jack Daniels in the other.
“Starting a little early aren’t you?” I asked.
“Fuck-off,” she said. “Like you should talk.”
“So tonight’s the big night?”
She turned to look at me. “Lots of money, important people. We don’t have to sit in some dick’s car and freeze our asses off. Tonight they come to us.”
“Isn’t a john, a john?”
She took a slug from the bottle. “Not always. Tonight it won’t be just anyone who has fifty bucks.”
“Ruth said the more they have to spend, the more they want the unconventional.”
“Ruth doesn’t know shit.”
“The girls don’t seem too excited.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Isaac tries to pair us up with who we deserve.”
I lay back and looked at the ceiling wondering who would be coming through Isaac’s door and if any of them would be leaving in the back of a police cruiser.
“It’s all yours,” Elizabeth said coming out of the bathroom. She walked to the closet and selected a turquoise halter-top slit to the waist and a short, white leather skirt.
I’d never been much for make-up and had no experience with the array of products Rose had supplied. Give me a lipstick and mascara and I was good to go, but in the bag before me lay an array of eyeliners, eye shadows, blush and concealers that I had no idea how to apply. Seeing my quandary, Elizabeth laughed.
“You need help?” she asked.
“If you have the time.”
She did my make-up, tossed a black silk mini skirt and silver sequined tank top on the bed and took a pair of black patent stilettos from the closet. In fifteen minutes, she had me looking like I belonged there. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. But Isaac seemed pleased when we came downstairs dressed and ready for whatever the evening would bring. I followed her to the bar and accepted the shot of Smirnoff’s she handed me. A little fortification might counteract the adrenalin ricocheting through me.
By six-thirty everyone had a heavy buzz on board. Even Isaac had come in early from the barn and downed a couple of shots, a rarity. He was upstairs changing out of his work clothes. In the living room, the girls were subdued. Rose was rattling around in the kitchen like a pretentious hostess. Since most of the food Isaac had bought was pre-cooked and pre-arranged on platters, she was doing little more than moving plates around the counter.
“What do you want?” she asked when I came into the room interrupting her fantasy.
“Do you need any help?”
She laughed. “A little late for that don’t you think? You’ll be gone tonight.” She untied her apron and tossed it onto the counter. “I need to change my clothes. I’ve been stuck in this kitchen all day.”
The martyr, I thought. “I’ll keep an eye on things out here. Go ahead,” I said, seeing my moment materialize.
“I won’t be long. Keep the girls out of here.” She disappeared up the back staircase.
It had to be now. There was nothing I needed to take from this place. I opened the backdoor and under a dim watted bulb slipped outside onto the porch, down the steps and across the side yard toward the barn. The only other light was on the front of the house illuminating the driveway. At the barn I stopped and leaned against the outside of the far wall, listening. Nothing. I was shaking from fear or the frigid air, either way I had to keep moving. I slipped the watch out of my shoe and onto my wrist, then headed for the trees. Two feet from the pines, I heard the backdoor slam. I dove into the shadows, tearing the skin on my forearms as I brushed heavy pine boughs out of my way. I could still barely make out the back door. Isaac was coming down the steps. He wasn’t moving fast. He seemed to be looking for something on the ground. He stooped, picked up a bucket and went back inside.
I held onto the tree beside me until my breathing returned to normal and my heart slowed, but I couldn’t wait for long. Sooner or later Rose would be back in the kitchen asking where I was. I took off running deeper into the woods. The moonlight was both a blessing and a curse. The driveway was to my right and if I stayed in a straight line parallel to it, I’d eventually reach the road. But ducking branches and avoiding fallen trees had me unsure if I’d veered off course. I stopped again to listen. It was dead still around me and with a mix of crusty snow and brittle leaves underfoot there’d be no way anyone could sneak up. I took off again but didn’t get more than ten feet when I tripped over an exposed root and went down hard. A sharp pain shot through my forearm and I couldn’t move my wrist. Struggling to my knees, I wrapped my right hand around my left wrist holding it tight against my chest. The watch from Griff was gone. The clasp must have broken in the fall. There was no time to search for it. Back on my feet I was running again. I’d completely lost my bearings and didn’t know if I was still moving in the direction of the road or back toward the house. It was slower going having to hold my arm and the jolt of each step increased the pain.
Ahead of me, through the trees there was a light. I stopped and watched. If it moved, it meant I’d reached the road. If not, I was back at the house. It moved toward me and became two. It was headlights. A car was coming. I felt delirious and forgetting the pain in my arm, ran headlong toward the road. I had to reach the car before it passed.
I stepped onto the road and waved my good arm moving as far toward the center of the hot top as I dared. The car came to a stop in front of me and I bent forward at the waist ready to collapse. Tears of relief poured down my cheeks. The driver’s door opened and a man stepped out. As he came toward me I recognized Sheriff Stebbins.
“Well, well, well, don’t you look all banged up. Come outta them trees, huh? What’re ya runnin’ from? A bear?” He started laughing and looked me up and down. “I know where you belong and lucky for you I’m heading your way. Bet Isaac will be damn pleased to see who I’m bringin’ home. Don’t you think?”
He grabbed my arm and pulled me to the cruiser, opened the back door and threw me in. Once in the driver’s seat, Stebbins hit a button and all four locks clicked into place.
My arm throbbed, but I could move my wrist. Not broken. I leaned back against the seat. Stebbins had met me before, but he didn’t seem to remember. That might change once we got inside Isaac’s house and he saw my face in the light.
Stebbins pushed me through the door ahead of him. Isaac was standing in the doorway of the living room. The look on his face when he saw me was what I’d like to call priceless, but that would indicate that I found even the slightest bit of enjoyment in the moment. I didn’t. He took a step toward me and the next thing I knew, I was on my knees from a backhand I’d never seen coming.
“You’re gone,” he said. “Tonight. And what I’ll recommend for you will make you regret every minute of your insolence.”
He stepped forward and raised his hand again.
“Hold on, hold on,” Sheriff Stebbins said putting his hand against Isaac’s arm. “She might as well earn you something before she goes.”
A slow smile spread across Isaac’s mouth. “And I know just the client. Go clean yourself up.” He nodded to Rose who was hovering in the hallway. “Go with her. Watch her.”
I stood and moved toward the stairs.
“Wait a minute,” Stebbins said. He took my elbow and turned me to face him. “Don’t I know you? You look awful familiar now I’m gettin’ a good look.”
I shook my head. “I’ve never seen you before. I’d remember your pencil dick.”
He sneered, but I could see the wheels turning. I had a limited amount of time before they clicked into place.
In the bathroom I ran cold water over my wrist and held a cloth to my cheek then I sat on the toilet and wiped dried blood from the scratches on my knees and shins. I wanted to lie down and cry, but giving in to my desperation only made it more real.
Terror doesn’t come close to describing my feelings as I followed Rose down the stairway. If Stebbins remembered where he’d seen me Isaac would erupt realizing a raid was imminent. The doorbell rang and Rose went to answer it. I tried to blend into the furniture while I watched the girls travel up and down the stairs with an array of clients on their arms, sometimes two at a time. I glanced out the window and prayed for headlights. Someone sat beside me and I turned to see Rose.
“Hiding?” she laughed and sucked hard on the cigarette between her lips.
I didn’t answer.
“That was a stupid move,” she said. “You’ll pay.”
“Do you know these men?” I asked wanting to change the subject. I couldn’t think about what was coming if Griff didn’t show soon.
“Most of them,” she said. “They’re Isaac’s elite.”
“From St. Bart?”
She pointed to a bearded, broad shoulder guy leaning across the bar toward Elizabeth. “That’s Dr. Roth. He takes care of STDs, birth control, even unwanted pregnancies when they occur. It’s rare but it happens.” Next she nodded toward a rail thin man sucking on a cigar, his eyes shifting constantly around the room. “That’s our Chief of Police.”
“Stebbins.” “You know him?”
“Not until tonight,” I said hoping it was a smooth recovery.
She nodded and started to point out another, but Dr. Roth stepped in front of us and blocked our view.
“Rose,” he said pulling her to her feet. “How about getting the old doc a drink and maybe a little something else?” He curled his palm over her butt and propelled her toward the bar. Had they been anywhere else they would have looked like an ordinary couple.
I glanced again out the window yearning for headlights. When I turned back to the room Isaac stood in front of me. He lifted me by my hair until I was standing in front of him. “Another drink?”
He took my elbow and steered me to the bar. Stebbins looked up and studied my face. I turned away from him. Isaac grabbed the Smirnoff’s and topped off my glass. “I have someone I want you to take care of,” he said. “Come with me.”
I followed him from the living room down the hall and into the kitchen where a different sort of party was going on. A couple of the girls were naked and dancing on top of the kitchen table, slow and evocative, running their hands over their breast and between their legs. Elizabeth was straddling a fat, bald guy. Her white leather skirt hiked up around her waist. She rocked back and forth on top of him while he sucked on a cigar and watched the girls dance.
Eve lay at the foot of the back stairway. Blood dripped from a gash on the side of her head onto the tile floor. Isaac lifted her by one arm and propped her against the wall. She pressed her palm above her ear then studied her hand as though it was something foreign. Dabbing at the rivulets on her cheekbone, she smeared the blood like a drunken face painter.
“Sorry for the problem, Edward,” Isaac said pushing me toward the man who stood at the foot of the stairs. “I have something else for you.”
The man Isaac spoke to was dressed in a suit, an ascot in his pocket and a gold pinky ring on each hand. His hair was dark and thick and slicked back over his head except for one stray, greasy strand that hung above his right eye.
“Something special, Edward. Something very special and almost untouched.” He winked.
Edward took a step toward me and slid his eyes over my body. “She’ll do.”
I raised my glass and drained it. The tinkling ice cubes betrayed my shaking hand. This was Eve’s guy, the one who left welts. He took hold of my elbow and led me up the back stairs and into a room. It was the same one I’d been in with Isaac. I wanted to pull away and tell him he’d made a mistake. I wasn’t one of them. I could promise to get him out of there before the cops showed up. Could he keep a secret? I weighed my options.
“Take off your clothes,” he said.
As slowly as I could, I undressed. He seemed to like my lack of hurry, assuming it was purposeful and that I was building his anticipation. But I was stalling, waiting to hear the door burst open downstairs, waiting to be saved. If I offered this guy an out and Griff never showed up, he’d tell Isaac and I was as good as dead. I dropped my lace thong onto the floor.
Edward looked me over. I wondered if he noticed the make-up on my stomach, hiding the scars. Maybe he’d return me to Isaac as damaged goods. But as I waited, hoping, he removed a whip from his pocket. The kind an animal tamer might use in a circus act, long and thin. He snapped it a couple of times in the air in front of my face. I thought of Eve. I thought of Griff. And I thought I was lucky to be getting whipped and not raped.
“Turn around,” he said.
I lost track of how many times the whip connected with my back. Each time it did, Edward’s breathing got harder and faster. A waterfall of tears fell onto the oriental carpet beneath me. I fell onto my side and curled into a fetal position. The whip caught my cheek and I raised my arm.
“Stop,” my voice cracked barely above a whisper.
“Get up.” Edward stepped toward me. As he did the door opened.
“Get up.” It was Isaac’s voice. “I said get up.” He reached down and pulled me to standing by my elbow. His face was inches from mine. “Stebbins remembered where he saw you. You’re a fucking cop.” He shoved me hard. I landed on the floor and he kicked the side of my thigh with the toe of his cowboy boot.
“I’m not a cop,” I said grabbing my leg.
“Shut up and get your clothes on, now.”
“Edward,” he said, “Get on your way.”
Edward said nothing and left the room.
I reached for my sequined tank top and slipped it over my head. The slightest movement brought searing pain across my back and the thin fabric of the shirt stuck tight to my bloodied skin. I fought the urge to be sick and stood, pulling the pink thong up my thighs. I zipped the black silk skirt in place and then looked at Isaac.
“I’d like to fucking kill you right now,” he said. He grabbed me by the throat and pushed me against the wall. “When are they coming?”
“I don’t know,” I managed as he tightened his grip.
“You know.” He smacked my head against the wall.”
“Tomorrow,” I said. “They’re coming tomorrow.
He threw me out into the hallway and I slammed into the wall.
“Get downstairs.”
The house was empty except for one man who stood framed in the open front door. He was handsome in that lean, chiseled, five o’clock shadow way, wearing tight, black jeans and a black leather jacket. Jet-black hair was combed back from his face and he was one hell of a cut above Isaac. I cursed myself for even registering his good looks and scanned the living room. It was empty. Everyone was gone, even the girls. Isaac must have cleared them out after Stebbins remembered who I was.
“This is Lucas,” Isaac said. “You’re going with him.” He wrapped his palm around the back of my neck and threw me toward the open door. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
My cheek connected with the narrow edge of the open front door and I staggered back from it, holding my face. My breath caught in my chest. “I can’t,” I said. “I promise…”
Isaac took my elbow and shoved me through the doorway onto the front porch. He stepped toward me raising his arm ready to give me one last blow.
Lucas stopped him. “Enough. You’re messing up my merchandise.” He took my arm and led me toward the stairs. I stared down the driveway willing Griff’s headlights into being, but nothing broke the darkness. In Lucas’ BMW I huddled against the door and watched in the rearview mirror as the lights faded behind us and we drove away from the house, the girls, the dormitory, Sarah and Ruth, away from my picture of Kira and my cell phone buried inside it all. We’d driven two or three miles up the road when a string of police cars passed us, lights flashing, sirens blaring. Griff was on his way to get me out and I was within six feet of him, heading in the opposite direction.