A smile formed on his lips, but it looked like a sneer. “You’re a feisty one.” His voice contained an accent. I couldn’t make it out right away, but it sounded Italian. I didn’t have much experience with foreigners. It was embarrassing to admit that I’d never traveled overseas.
“No. I’m a violent one.”
He chuckled, like this conversation was amusing. “Oh, I’ll show you violent.” He walked farther into the room, his heavy boots thudding with every step.
I held my ground until that moment. He terrified me, and my body automatically reacted. I stepped back until I was on the bed, my back against the wall.
He grabbed me by the throat and threw me hard against the ground.
I slammed into the steel, feeling the bones in my body cry out in pain. A train had just crashed into me, and I couldn’t recover. I saw stars even though his push wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
Maybe I wasn’t as strong as I thought.
He undid his belt then moved for his trousers.
That was the best painkiller I’d ever received. The injuries felt negligent compared to the fight that erupted inside me. This asshole was going to rape me. Well, he was going to try to rape me.
I eyed the buckle of his belt, which dangled freely now that it was undone.
My captor watched me carefully, that sneer back in full force. “I’m gonna fuck you in the ass. Then I’m gonna fuck you in the cunt.”
“Good luck with that.” I snatched the buckle and yanked it out of his trousers. His pants immediately fell to his thighs, and I rolled away with the belt in my grip. I tightened it around my hands then jumped on him, using all my strength to kill this bastard. I got the belt around his neck then fell behind him, pulling on it as hard as I could. I kicked his knees and made him buckle to the floor.
He grabbed the leather and tried to pull it off, but it was no use. My grip was too tight, my hatred unstoppable. I yanked harder, having no guilt about killing this rapist.
The door flew open, and two more guys filed in. They saw the pants around his ankles and the blue tint of his face.
The one on the left pointed his gun at me. “Drop him.”
I pulled harder. “Let me go or he dies.”
He kept the gun fixated on me. “Now.”
I tightened the belt and refused to let him go. “If you want your friend to live, I suggest you tell me where the nearest exit is located.”
He shifted the gun to my captor and pulled the trigger.
I heard the sound and felt his body go limp in my arms at the exact same time. My hands immediately dropped the belt, and I gasped, feeling the blood spray onto my face.
The man lowered his gun and entered the room. “Up.”
The other guy grabbed the dead body and dragged it out of my cell.
I stared at the corpse as it slid across the floor, oozing blood everywhere. I’d never seen anyone die. I’d never seen anyone shot. I was in shock, hardly able to breathe.
“Up.” He slapped me hard across the face, bringing me back to reality.
I got to my feet, suddenly feeling weak. My fearsome stunt accomplished nothing.
“He means nothing. You mean nothing. We all mean nothing.” He gripped me by the elbow and forced me out of my cage. He pulled me along a narrow hallway then made a few turns.
I didn’t pay attention because I was still in shock.
We entered an open shower room. Shower heads hung from the ceiling as water sprinkled the tile. Other women were already there, stripped naked for everyone to see. They were marked with bruises from their treatment. Some had dried cuts on their faces.
What was this?
“Strip.” He pointed the gun between my shoulder blades. “Now.”
The shock wore off at his command. I wasn’t getting naked for anyone. I’d rather be caked in a criminal’s blood than obey him. “Fuck you.” I spit on his face, hitting him right in the eye.
A full second stretched, and he left the saliva on his face. It slowly slid down his cheek. His jaw clenched, and his lip turned up in a growl. With lightning speed, he slammed the gun into the side of my head.
It hurt so bad I actually screamed. I fell to the floor, feeling the worst migraine of my life. The gun was solid and heavy, and it nearly crushed my skull. If that wasn’t bad enough, the man placed his shoe against my stomach and pressed down heavily.
I coughed and tried to breathe.
“Strip.” He pulled his leg back and kicked me hard in the ribs. “Now.”
I rolled over and dry heaved onto the ground. My arms protected my stomach, but the damage had already been done.