Somewhere along the way, someone had scooped Olivia’s soul out, leaving her a hollowed-out shell, which was probably exactly as Madame Moirai preferred.
There seemed only one answer for that kind of programming.
“You were elevated, weren’t you?” I asked, circling back around to the question I asked the other day that she sidestepped. I didn’t wait for her answer. “Was your buyer kind? Was he a gentle lover? Someone you didn’t mind whoring for? My guess is that he didn’t assault or beat you. Otherwise, why would you agree to elevate when you could’ve walked away with a fat check and free of this nightmare?” I paused a minute before asking, “Do you ever think of the life you were forced to leave behind? Did you ever actually get paid?”
“We aren’t talking about me,” Olivia snapped, showing real emotion for the first time. She curled her palms into fists as she took a minute to compose herself. After a heartbeat, she met my gaze with her narrowed one. “It would seem that you haven’t had enough time to consider what an honor Mr. Benoit is offering you. I was premature in rewarding you. That won’t happen again.”
“Well, actually, according to my contract, I get to go home today so no more oatmeal for me,” I reminded Olivia. “Or has that changed, too?”
Olivia rose and took my platter from me. I wasn’t finished but that was all I was going to get. “I’ll return when you’re ready to talk sensibly.”
She left my room and it locked behind her, presumably by a guard.
“Psycho bitch,” I muttered. Who had Olivia been before Madame Moirai turned her into this sex trafficking auto-bot? It was pretty obvious by Olivia’s reaction, she’d been an auction girl at some point, too. Boo-hoo. I couldn’t whip up enough empathy for the victim Olivia had been once because she was now working side by side with the devil and that made her just as evil.
No matter my stubborn defiance, they had the upper hand.
I went to the small window and peered outside. The gray skies mirrored the fear threatening to sour my resolve. It was a long drop from the window to the ground. There was nothing but trees for miles. We were somewhere in the middle of fucking nowhere.
No one to hear kidnapped girls scream for help.
I pressed against the cold glass, closing my eyes, seeking some kind of reserve strength. Panic and despair were the enemy. I couldn’t give in to either. The girls were relying on me to get them out. I opened my eyes, trying to memorize every small detail I could see from my limited view. A subtle break in the tree line caught my eye. That must be the road, I realized. It wasn’t exactly close but if there was a road, there was a chance out of here. I craned against the glass, trying to see more but I couldn’t.
It’s okay, I told myself. The road gave me hope. I knew the direction we would run when we busted out of this place tonight. Having a plan, even a vague one, was enough to calm my racing heart and quiet the fearful whimpering in the back of my head.
I wasn’t going to die here and I wasn’t going back to Henri.
That monster could choke on a dick for all I cared. He deserved far worse but I’d settle for something embarrassing that still got the job done. The reality was that I’d probably never get the justice I craved but there was some comfort in imagining it happening.
Just thinking of Henri made my skin crawl. I pushed away from the window and went to the shower, turning it on full blast and hot enough to burn.
I welcomed the needle-like pain of the spray as it pelted my body. I braced myself against the wall, letting the water wash over me. There wasn’t enough water in the world to wash away the horror of what he’d done to me but when I thought of Dylan and the horrific bruises all over her body or the haunted look in Jilly’s eyes, I knew somehow — as shocking as it was — I’d gotten off light.
Henri could’ve done so much more to me. That closet of horrors came back to jeer at me and I knew without a doubt that Henri had probably killed someone for fun at some point. Somewhere there’s an auction girl who hadn’t gotten the version of Henri that he played with me and had died at his hands.
Henri had paid the fine and then, signed up for a new auction.
Girls like me meant nothing to people like Henri — we were throwaways.
Tears pricked my eyes. Someone would miss me if I never came home, I told myself. Lora would cry for me.
But even as I desperately clung to the hope that Lora would press for answers, I knew she’d never ask the right questions because she had no idea what I’d done to put myself in this situation. Fuck, I should’ve told her. I should’ve swallowed my pride and told Lora, even as a fail-safe but I didn’t.
If I didn’t come home, eventually, she’d assume I ran away and she’d let anger override her grief. Then, I’d become just a footnote in her life, a troubling but distant question that was never answered.
I let the tears fall down my cheeks. I sobbed quietly beneath the spray, needing to purge some of this rage and fear if I were going to have the strength to do what needed to be done tonight.
Tonight, we would either get out or die trying.
At this point, I wouldn’t accept anything less.
Henri — or anyone like him — was never touching me again.
18
Just as I expected, Olivia didn’t return with my belongings and a stiff goodbye because the fifth day came and went with no change in my circumstances. Also, I didn’t even get oatmeal for dinner.
Olivia through she could starve me into compliance. Good luck with that, bitch. I pulled my bobby pins free from their hiding spot and quickly and quietly picked the lock. I was getting pretty damn good at it by this point. The house was still, which made me wonder if Olivia even stayed here with the chattel. This house wasn’t a residence, it was a holding arena.
I popped into Dylan’s room. She was awake and ready. “You think it’s no accident that they don’t give us anything but soft booties for our feet?” she said. “Joke’s on them, I’ll walk on glass to get out of here.”
I nodded, agreeing. “I’m going to check on Jilly, then make another sweep for Tana. If I can’t find Tana…” I gulped at the implication “We’ll leave without her.”
Dylan understood. “Be careful,” she warned, not because she was overcome with emotion for me but because she knew I was her only way out. I accepted her advice and slipped from the room.
I did the same for Jilly. Like Dylan, she was wide awake and ready to run. She practically vibrated with nervous energy. “What if you can’t find Tana?” she asked, the fear in her eyes reflecting my own. “What are you going to do?”
“We’ll have to leave without her,” I answered. “But I’m going to do my damndest to find her. I’m going to check the other levels.”
“Oh my God, that’s so dangerous! You might get caught! Please don’t. If she’s not on this floor, she’s probably not even here,” Jilly said, chewing her fingernail. “If you get caught, we’re all screwed.”
“I won’t get caught,” I assured her. “I’m pretty good at getting around without being seen. Trust me, okay? Just be ready to run when I come from you and don’t make a fucking sound.”
Jilly nodded and I left her room. Even though I knew Tana wasn’t in an unlocked room, I checked them anyway. The rooms were exactly like the rest, a bare-bones room, devoid of luxury but serviceable. They were also empty. However, given that there were six rooms on this floor, I was shaken by the realization that at some point, all the rooms might’ve been filled with desperate girls.