Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 148397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 742(@200wpm)___ 594(@250wpm)___ 495(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 742(@200wpm)___ 594(@250wpm)___ 495(@300wpm)
Fucking bastards.
All of them.
They’ll die.
We’ll make sure of—
A loud bang and a shrill scream sounded beyond the double doors to the ballroom, capturing everyone’s attention. Masters quietened. Jewels flinched.
Peter winced and shook his head.
He mouthed something I didn’t catch, then sighed and looked away.
“Good afternoon, my dear friends!” Victor suddenly appeared, arms aloft like a returning conqueror, black suit impeccable, his stride eating up the dance floor with eager, powerful strides. “I can’t tell you how good it is to be home.”
A murmur of welcomes.
A few men stood to shake his hand.
Henri stiffened, his knee touching my shoulder. He smiled when Victor nodded in his direction, but he didn’t wave or clap like some of the others. Throwing his beer down his throat, he slammed his glass onto the table and snapped his fingers for another.
A server placed another ice-dewy glass before him just as Victor finished his parade to the podium and leapt up the steps.
Trim and toned, he didn’t look his age, despite the grey tinsel in his hair. His navy eyes glinted and his skin glowed as if he’d just stepped off a plane after the best holiday of his life.
Sick bastard.
Smirking at the Masters and jewels scattered around different tables, he bowed with a flourish. “Welcome back, everyone. Welcome home.”
“Thanks for the invite, Vic!” A few Masters toasted him.
“Appreciate the second chance.” Another tipped his chin.
“Yes, yes, you’re quite welcome.” Victor straightened and clasped his hands in front of him. “I’m sure you’ve all taken my instructions to heart, and we will have no more mishaps, yes?”
“Definitely.” Two Masters nodded.
“We’ll play within the guidelines from now on, never fear.” Another laughed.
“Good, I’m glad.” Victor bounced on the balls of his feet, brimming with energy. “In that case…I have gifts for you. But first…how has everyone been?”
“Better now we’re all back, Vic!” someone said.
“Come on, show us the new stock, mate!” Another snickered. “I caught a glimpse of them when you arrived, and a couple looked right up my alley!”
Oh God.
My skin pebbled with frost and fire.
How many?
How many had been trafficked into this hellhole this time?
How many more do we need to save?
Another bang in the foyer followed by a pitiful cry.
Sickness crawled up my throat.
Henri stiffened.
Peter rolled his shoulders across the room, knowing better than I did what was coming.
I’m no longer the new girl…
“So impatient.” Victor laughed. “But…seeing as you’re all so keen to see what I’ve brought you, fine. We can catch up over dinner later.” Clicking his fingers, he raised his voice. “Bring them in.”
The floor beneath my knees turned into an arctic tundra as two guards shepherded eight new faces into the ballroom.
Eight?
The room swam.
God, eight?
Peter sucked in a breath, his stare snagging mine with matching horror.
The past month of preparing for a jail break seemed utterly pointless as six girls and two boys were prodded at gunpoint toward the stage.
Even if we managed to claim our freedom in four months, the amount of abuse these poor souls would endure. The terror they’d feel. The pain—
A sharp gasp ripped my gaze to Mollie. She kneeled beside Roland’s polished shoes, her hands balled on her bare thighs. We just nodded at each other. Our plan had to work. There was no other option.
I couldn’t exist in a world where men like Victor got away with using people like throwaway toys. Even if we got out, I would never stop hunting others like him, doing my best to prevent anyone else from living this awful, awful nightmare.
Henri inhaled sharply, his knee digging harder against my shoulder as if he needed to touch me. Needed that connection so he didn’t do something ill-advised.
Glancing up at him, I flinched.
His jaw clenched so tightly, the tendons in his throat popped like ropes beneath his skin. Sweat glittered on his temples. His slightly longer hair curled a little over his forehead, making his hollow cheeks all the more severe.
“And here they are, gentlemen. It has been a successful hunt, I must say.” Victor chuckled as the eight new jewels all shuffled and sniffled, herded at gunpoint through the ballroom.
Jittery steps, wet cheeks, wild eyes.
The flash of newly fastened collars and cuffs.
The stench of terror and dismay.
All naked.
Clapping his hands again, Victor waited until the sounds of appreciation and wolf whistles had silenced before beckoning the guards to march the new jewels onto the stage.
“Aren’t they precious?” Victor ran his fingers through the blonde hair of the closest girl. “So pretty. So young.”
“Where did you find them, Vic?” asked the brown-bearded guy currently running his fingers over Peter’s hunched shoulder.
“Oh, I’ve been all over, mon ami,” Victor replied, eyeing up each new jewel as the guards ushered them into a trembly line. “I do hope you like them.”
“Pass one here, and I’ll tell you if I like them or not.” An untoned, dark-skinned man laughed.