“Nikita won’t be coming to save you this time. He’s got no army, no allies. And I don’t think he’ll waste whatever he does have coming to rescue a slave.” Gino taps his chin with his index finger. “Tell me, darling: why did he let you go?”
My eyes widen at the question. Gino must suspect that I mean something to Nikita. Why else would he have kidnapped me. But maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t know that. So, I shrug and look out the window. “Said I was a bad lay.”
The Italian’s high, cold cackle makes my skin crawl and my body tremble.
“Nikita fucks so much I’m sure every pussy feels the same to him,” Gino says as he flips his wrist in the air. “The man didn’t need another slave. You were just another power play, another way for him to rub in everyone’s face the money he has, the control he has. Or rather, thought he had. The Lavrin accounts are looking rather bare these days, though. And that’s why the council didn’t care when I made my move against him. Because Nikita Lavrin is finished in this city.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat and stare out the window, worrying about Nikita.
The car drives through the city and toward the water. I know my journey is coming to an end when the warehouse is in front of me. I should have expected it. The houses gave way to barren industrial territory a full twenty minutes ago. Old machinery lines the road, covered in dirt, like metallic skeletons of huge, ugly beasts from thousands of years ago.
A warehouse beckons in the distance. It has the curved roof of an aircraft hangar and the walls are corrugated tin surrounded by a chain-link fence.
The driver pulls up to the west end of the lot and two men push open a gate to let us through. The car pulls up to the side of the warehouse and stops. A couple of men come out and open the door, helping Gino out. I follow and when I look up, I spot a familiar face standing next to Gino. A face I had prayed I would never see again.
Augustin.
“So happy to see you again. But from the look on your face, I’m going to guess the feeling isn’t mutual,” Augustin says. He smiles, and for a moment, I’m transported back to the nightclub. This smile was where it all began. Take a shot with me, he said. If only I’d thrown it in his face instead. Maybe this would all be different.
The men surround us and cut off any hopes I had of running away. Not that I would get far, but a girl can always hope. I watch everyone without turning my head. My heart is hammering but I keep my gait casual with no hint of hesitation. No sense in showing my fear. I won’t let them get the best of me twice.
Augustin and Gino instruct most of the men to stand guard at different places and then head up a flight of metallic stairs. Two guards escort us to the top of the staircase, then take up stations there. Only Augustin and Gino continue inside with me. Augustin stands behind me. I straighten my spine in an effort to pretend I’m not afraid of him. Gino opens the door to the room.
I pause on the threshold. If I go in here, I might not make it out. Chances are pretty good that I’ll die in this godforsaken dump.
But Augustin doesn’t give me the time to reflect. He shoves me in the back and I stumble inside into Gino’s arms. The men laugh cruelly as Augustin pulls the door closed behind me.
“You must’ve had a lot of fun with Nikita. How many times did he fuck you?” Augustin crosses his arms and waits for me to respond.
“According to the girl, she’s a bad fuck. That’s why Nikita let her go,” Gino sneers.
Augustin shakes his head. “No way. Not for a quarter of a million dollars.”
Gino takes his jacket off and sets it down on a chair. “You don’t really think I bought her story? My men told me that he went out of his way to protect her on the rooftop of his penthouse. That told me everything I needed to know. The girl means something to him. Why do you think she’s here?”
Augustin and Gino grin. I’m the bait they’re using to lure Nikita into a trap.
I have to find a way to let him know. He can’t die because of me.
Gino steps into my space and I back up until I bump into a table. When I turn around to try to maneuver around it, Augustin is there. He grabs my wrists and pulls so that I fall flat against the table. Oh God.
“That’s right, Annie. When I said I’d make sure Nikita was a distant memory, what I meant to say was that I’m going to fuck you until you don’t remember what he feels like,” Gino says.
“And I think I’ll fuck that pretty little mouth of yours so you forget what he tastes like, too” Augustin says as he yanks my hair.
Please, dear God, please make it stop. Maybe if I tell them I’m pregnant, they’ll stop, I think. Then I look at Gino’s scowling face and realize that it might just make him punish me more.
Gino kicks my legs apart and I scream. But his hands hold my hips in place. I can’t go anywhere. I bite the inside of my cheek and prepare for the worst. I hear the metal sound of a zipper being undone and the rustle of clothing moved aside.
“Look at me, darling,” Gino barks. Augustin forces my head up to see Gino waggling his cock between my legs like some hideous snake. He starts to
