These women were forced to stand naked so all the pigs in the room could see exactly what they were buying. But a woman in lingerie was far sexier than one in the nude. The thin material hugged her body perfectly, accentuating her flaws. It made her nakedness the grand finale.
The girl I was there for stepped forward, a complete mess. She cried during the bidding, her wrists secured behind her back. She was over eighteen, but far too young to be sentenced to such a horrific death. Watching her cry made me think of Ten.
She would never cry. Even if she were buck naked in a room full of assholes, she would still keep her dignity.
Fortunately, no one particularly wanted this girl, so I got her for a good price.
When they took her off the stage, she sobbed even louder.
There was nothing I hated more than a crier.
* * *
She was fully clothed once she was handed over, wearing jeans and a t-shirt so she wouldn’t draw suspicion on the street. But once the men escorted her to my car, she started to wail louder.
I couldn’t tell her what was really going on, so I shut her up in the best way I could.
I slapped her across the face. “Keep crying and see what happens.” I became the monster they thought I was. I kept up the charade so they would believe I was a perverted bastard who didn’t possess even a quarter-inch of a heart.
She shut up instantly.
I got her in the passenger seat and drove away.
For fear of being bugged through my phone or car, I didn’t tell her the truth. I drove to the building I owned near my studio, parked in the garage, and then forced her into the elevator until we reached my space on the top floor.
By the time we arrived, she was crying again.
I cut off her bindings then set my phone in a different room.
When I returned, her arms were wrapped tightly around her body with her knees pressed together. She obviously expected me to rape her right then and there.
“You can calm down, Anastasia. I’m not going to hurt you.” I poured her a glass of water and made a sandwich for her at the kitchen counter.
She didn’t move an inch, her eyes watching the way I handled the knife when I sliced the sandwich in half.
I returned to her with the water and the sandwich. “Come on, I know you must be hungry.”
She still wouldn’t take it.
I set everything on the coffee table. “Long story short, your father paid me to buy you at the Underground. The Skull Kings are a psychopathic group of criminals that capture privileged women from their rich fathers and sell them for cash.”
It was the first time she’d taken a real breath since she’d stepped inside my apartment. She covered her mouth with her hand as tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. “Daddy…”
“So, you’re safe now.” I sat on the couch and patted the seat beside me. “Now, eat.”
She finally approached me with her guard down and took a drink from the glass. “So, does that mean he’s going to pick me up? Are you going to take me to him?”
“No. This is the shitty part. In order for my cover to be legitimate, I need you to work for me for a short while.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a lingerie designer. I need you to model for me a few times. That way, the Skull Kings will think that’s what I bought you for. After a few weeks, they’ll forget about you and move on to their next project. That’s when I’ll take you back.”
She grabbed the sandwich in both of her hands but didn’t take a bite. “How long will that be?”
“A few weeks. Maybe a month.”
Her happiness immediately died away. “Oh…can I talk to my parents?”
“Of course. Tomorrow. It’s not safe to do it right now.”
“Okay…I can wait until tomorrow. What will I do in the meantime?”
“You’ll stay here with me. I have a spare bedroom with a private bath.”
“Thank you… That’s really nice of you.”
I didn’t want her gratitude. “Your dad paid me ten million dollars to get you out. I wouldn’t risk my own neck for nothing.”
“But still, I’m so glad to be out of there. Those poor other girls…”
I didn’t want to think about their fate. “Did they hurt you?”
“Pushed me around a bit…hit me a few times.”
“But did they…?”
“No,” she said immediately.
I nodded. “Help yourself to whatever you want in the house. I’ll take you to work with me in the morning.”
“What should I say to people?”
“That you’re a new model I discovered. You were eating in a coffee shop when I noticed you. That’s all you need to say.”
“Alright…I think I can do that.”
I left the couch and moved away from her to give her some space. Even though I admitted I wouldn’t hurt her, that didn’t mean she was comfortable around me. I was a complete stranger—and I was a man.