Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 138334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 692(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 692(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Meiling had seen it happen so many times. In her land, in her neighboring land, the power had always shifted to the corrupt males, those willing to commit violence in order to get their way. She moved to a vantage point above the first hut, where the twenty-year-old women were kept. If she could somehow manage to free them first and enlist their aid, she might have a chance to free the youngest ones in the third hut before tackling the teens.
She wiped the beads of sweat from her face. The sweat was trickling down her throat into the valley between her breasts, which was quite a feat since she was extremely slender. She wanted to laugh, but she knew that was hysteria and she refused to give in to it. The heat, the insects and losing Libby had created a kind of surreal effect she was trying to stave off.
It took her a good half hour to work up the courage to move down the slope and get close enough to the small cabin to be able to count how many of the enemy she would have to contend with. Eight. Eight men coming in and out, laughing and talking in low voices. One was angry, zipping up his trousers and complaining to another, who seemed to be in charge. That man strode into the cabin with an attitude of resignation.
The walls were thin with large cracks in them. There was a small porch. The men smoked. Two drank and passed flasks to the others. Two others she hadn’t seen before came out of the jungle with dogs and stood for a few minutes smoking with the others.
Meiling was grateful for the large plants that grew right up to the hut. Her small body was easy to conceal in the foliage. Fortunately, with the men smoking and the wind blowing in the opposite direction, the dogs didn’t catch her scent. She had sprayed her body with a special chemical that was supposed to keep her own scent from leaking out, but she didn’t know how effective it really was.
Suddenly the sound of voices could be heard coming from the cabin. A man sounding angry. “What do I have to do, babe? He was upset, wanted his money back, and I had to give him a fucking refund. You give the best damn blow jobs in the world, and I have to give the man his money back?”
“But Vahn, this wasn’t supposed to be real. We were playing out a fantasy, between the two of us.” The woman’s voice was low, and she sounded on the verge of tears.
“You love it, Bess, admit it. It’s your fantasy come true. You love having men beg you for it. You’re the best and you know it. You have them eating out of your hand. I did everything you wanted. I brought your friends here. They aren’t so high and mighty and they sure as hell aren’t anywhere as good at this as you are.”
There was a short silence. It sounded as though he was kissing her. “They aren’t very nice to me.”
“Who isn’t nice to you, babe? I’ll beat the holy hell out of her.”
“I don’t want you to do that. Then she can’t work and the rest of us have to work more.”
“That’s true. How ’bout this. You tell me who’s being mean to you, and when I spot a customer who is going to be an asshole, I’ll give him to her. He can treat her like shit, and she’ll deserve it for the way she treats you.”
“Patti,” Bess said instantly. “Patti is always mean.”
There was a murmur of protest among the women, but they stopped abruptly when Vahn spoke.
“I can arrange for several nasty customers.”
Someone—Meiling presumed it was Patti—began to weep softly.
“Okay, babe, the next time I send you a customer, you treat him good, you hear me? I owe money and you’re paying that debt off for me, just like we talked about. That was the fantasy and that was what we agreed on.”
“Yes, Vahn. I will. I’m sorry. I just need you to come in and see me once in a while so I remember why I’m here. Tell me you love me.”
“I do, Bess. You know I love you.”
There was another long silence.
More kissing, Meiling supposed. That was perfect manipulation on Vahn’s part. Bess was so certain he loved her and they would live happily ever after. There wouldn’t be a happy ever after. Vahn would kill her or sell her after he was finished with her. He most likely had another woman or teen in the other cabin as well.
Having a conspirator in the cabin made things even more difficult. That meant Bess would warn Vahn and even fight for him if Meiling managed to sneak into the hut to free the women from the chains. If he had someone in the second cabin, that girl would do the same. Meiling’s head was beginning to pound.