Prudence sat in the room watching as the girls dwindled down leaving just her and Cindy.
Her heart pounded inside her chest. The drugs only made her body feel sluggish.
“They’re coming for us,” Prue said.
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe this. James will come for me. I’m sure of it.”
“He doesn’t even know where you are,” Cindy said.
Sitting away from the girl, Prue covered as much of her body as possible to stare at the girl before her.
“James is a powerful man. He loves me, and he’ll come.”
Cindy chuckled. “Henry is a powerful man. People don’t stand against him. His father before him was untouchable, and so is he. He taunts me with his power daily. He’s got police and wealthy people in his pocket.”
Prue stood on unsteady legs.
“What are you doing?” Cindy asked.
“I’m not going to be sold like some cow. I’m going to fight.” She looked around the room. Her footsteps were all over the place as she made her way around each part of the room trying to find something to protect herself with.
There was a mirror on the far side of the wall.
“You can’t do that.”
Footsteps echoed off the walls. Panic filled every part of Prue. She’d never been a person to go down without a fight. There was no way they were getting her onto some kind of platform without her putting up a fight.
Using the ornament on the bedside table she smashed the mirror and pulled a shard of glass as the door opened. One of the men pulled Cindy roughly against them. Daren came towards her. His face looked evil as he sneered at her.
The men had the advantage of being sober. Her limbs felt like she’d drunk way too much alcohol for her own good.
“Well, it has been a pleasure knowing you,” he said.
She reacted and slashed out the glass. The broken shards embedded in her palm. Prue gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out.
“Where did she get the f**king glass from?” Daren asked the other man.
“There’s mirrors in the room, Boss. None of the other girls would dare to try something like that.”
Prue didn’t take her eyes away from Daren. Blood poured from the wound on her hand. She felt the droplets dripping down.
“You’ve got no chance of winning, Prue,” Daren said.
“I don’t care. You’ve got no chance of coming out of this unscathed.”
The light caught the cross hanging around his neck. The anger consumed her. Images of waking up at Ravage and being taken by him filled her mind. The way he tried to get James to comply by hurting her. The many times he’d lashed out hitting her. Henry took his place, and finally Prue snapped.
She charged at Daren wanting to sink the glass into his neck. Prue needed him to suffer and to hurt like he’d made so many women hurt over the years. He may have never raped a woman, but he’d done this with plenty.
The glass cut his shoulder and chest. She didn’t get chance to embed the tip into his flesh. Daren caught her, wrapping his arms around her chest. He forced her to drop the glass.
“Don’t bruise the merchandise,” the other man said.
“Don’t tell me what to f**king do.” Daren grunted as he squeezed her in his arms. Prue cried out as the pressure made her think he was crushing her body. “Move them out.”
Daren fought with her every step of the way. She ached all over, and the drug stopped her from really fighting back. She wanted to cry at the unfairness of it all.
He spun her in his arms. “It’s about time someone put you in your place.”
Wrapping her fingers around the necklace she tugged until the chain snapped. “That’s mine.”
Daren pushed her through a room, and she was on her own looking at her reflection surrounding her.
****
James parked the car in front of the large building. He opened the door then moved to let Lucas out. To go with the image, Lucas handed him a briefcase, and together they made their way up the steps.
“This is where it can get tricky. Don’t back down.”
They were stopped at the reception area by a guard. From the look of him, he didn’t look anything like your run-of-the-mill security guard.
“You’re going to have to find somewhere else to sleep. This hotel is fully booked.”
Without looking back at Lucas, James punched the guy in the gut then kneaded him in the bollocks with his knee. “How dare you disrespect my master? Mr. Sanchez was personally invited today.”
Another guard came out only this time to greet them and escort them to the buying room.
“Don’t say a word,” Lucas said, taking a seat at the table. James took the opportunity to look around them.
“What’s going to happen?”
“You’re about to see what it means to be a criminal.”
A door opened up several minutes later, and a girl was shoved inside. She wore a sheer robe with heavy makeup. The way she kept stumbling James knew she’d been drugged.
On the screen in front of them, the bidding started. James wanted to bid on the girl to save her, but Lucas forced him to stop.
“We’re not here to save them all. We don’t know how many they have, and Prudence may not even be here.”
Biting back his retort James saw the glass was clear between each booth. The men could see their opponent in the bidding war, but the girl couldn’t see them. She was taken for over a hundred thousand.
On and on the bidding went as many girls came out. Some were larger than others, and others wore their innocence like a crown. The virgins got the most money while other girls went for a few thousand.
His stomach turned at the disregard for the girls. No one cared about them. They had family or someone who loved them back home. These men would use them and then pass them on.
When Prudence stumbled onto the platform his heart literally stopped beating. Her hand was dripping blood onto the platform.
“Why is she bleeding?” James asked.
“I don’t know, but keep your f**king voice down.”
“Buy her, Lucas. I f**king mean it. Put every cent I own on her.”
He saw the cross necklace he’d given her dangling from her fist.
The screen before them flashed as money started being placed on her. Prudence turned in a circle. Her hand went to her head. She’d been drugged. The effects were clear to see in the way she moved. She didn’t wear any heels, unlike everyone else.
Blood pounded in James’s head. His fists tightened at his sides. He needed to get to her.