Think, Lilly.
My mind is fuzzy, the image is blurry.
A star. He had a star.
I remember when I first started, the team told me what the different tattoos meant, especially on the women. They told me that if I saw a man with a ten-pointed star that they were Bratva or Russian mafia and to be very careful.
Oh shit! I’m in a truckload of trouble.
Panic begins to take over.
My chest tightens, the binds around my wrists begin to cut into me.
Keep it together, Lilly.
Keep it together.
After what seems like forever, the truck finally stops. The crunch of boots on gravel echo around me, then the screech of the truck doors opening gain my attention. Someone yells at me in a language I don’t understand. When their hands land on me, I jump. I still have the bag over my head and can’t see a thing. Whoever they are pull me up and drag me across the truck, then throw me off the edge. Fucking hell! Someone catches me before I can hit the ground.
The men chuckle at my screams.
I’m righted once again and dragged along the gravel, which I’m assuming is a pathway. The gravel turns into concrete or stone, I’m not sure. The sound of stomping boots is all around me. There’s no way I can escape. I don’t even know where I am.
The temperature changes from the frigid cold of the harsh winter to tropical heat. We must be inside now. I’m pushed hard in the back, my feet tripping over each other, and I land on my knees hard, scraping them through my jeans. Momentum has me falling forward, my forehead hitting carpet.
It’s going to be okay, Lilly.
Trying to calm myself down, I tell myself, you’ll be okay. They need you for something. Then they are going to let you go again. You just need to survive. Do as you’re told, then you can go home and put this whole mess behind you.
There’s shouting suddenly, then the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Squeezing my eyes shut, I attempt to block the dreadful sounds by tensing. The next moment, the rope around my wrists has been cut, and my hood is being removed.
It takes my eyes a while to adjust as I slowly sit up on my heels. Blinking a couple of times, a man’s face comes into focus. He’s smiling while holding out a hand to me. He has slick black hair, bright blue eyes, and a scar that runs down the right side of his cheek with a square jaw and the start of some stubble. He’s dangerously handsome which is very off-putting. Bad guys aren’t supposed to look like GQ models. He’s dressed in a black dress suit, the sleeves rolled up his thick, tanned arms covered in intricate tattoos.
“I’m so sorry that my men have treated you so poorly. Believe me, they’ll be dealt with accordingly. They disobeyed my instructions,” he says with a thick Russian accent.
My eyes widen because I can hear the undercurrent of a threat in his words.
“Please…” I shake his outstretched hand, which is surprisingly warm, and then he helps me onto my unsteady legs. They falter for a moment, but his strong hands are wrapped around my hips, a little too closely for my liking. Now that I’m standing, I realize how tall and broad he is. He could break me in two in seconds if he wanted. I don’t think I should be reassured by his good looks. He is, without a doubt, a very bad man.
He takes a couple of steps away from me. “Here, drink this.” He hands me a bottled water, and reluctantly I take it.
Is he going to drug me?
I stare at the plastic bottle not game enough to take a sip.
“Drink, you must be thirsty,” his deep voice commands.
Still, I stare at the bottle debating if I should or not.
His blue eyes narrow at me, then he realizes what I’m thinking.
“Miss, I assure you no harm is going to come to you under my watch.”
Yeah, whatever, I’m not convinced. I’ve seen his face now, so what’s to stop him from killing me? Isn’t that what usually happens in the movies?
He takes the bottle of water from my hand, opens it, and takes a sip before handing it back to me. “See, okay?”
Reluctantly, I take a small sip.
He reaches out suddenly and grabs my wrists checking the rope burn. His thumb runs over the bloodied marks. “I’m sorry. This should not have happened.” He continues to touch me, making me feel uncomfortable, so I pull my hands away from him.
“Why am I here?” The question sounds timid on my lips.
“We need your help.” Those blue eyes of his stare at me intensely.
“Why did you kidnap me if you needed help?”
“Because it was the only way to buy your silence.” Crossing his large arms across his chest, he raises a dark brow.
“I took an oath as a doctor that no matter what, I’ll help anyone and do no harm.”
He stares at me. “Can’t take risks in my job.”
“If I help, are you going to let me go?” Stupid question. Of course, he is going to say yes. Otherwise, you won’t help him if you know you’re going to die.
“Yes. I promise you. My word is law around here.”
“Okay, then.” Taking another sip of the water to steady myself, I say, “I don’t care about anything else except helping people in need.” I’ll make sure to take in every bit of detail and information there is about this place, just in case I need it.
“Very good. Follow me.” He turns on his heel and walks out of the room. I follow behind him hurriedly because of his long strides. We head down a long corridor, and he opens the last door on the left and indicates for me to enter.
Everything stops.
There is row upon row of girls in a makeshift
