Chapter 1
Harlow
Five years later....
“Is everything good to go?” I ask Evie as she leans into me, trying to avoid the handsy men of the overcrowded club.
Today is the day. The day every girl in this place has dreamed about. The day that all of us girls in this club, who have been held against their will, either forced to dance or forced to be fucked by monsters, will be free.
Let me tell you, this was not easy. It will be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I know that this is just a raindrop in all the oceans of things I'll be doing to survive from this day forward.
For the past five years, I’ve been here at the Diamonds Nightclub. I’m Triver Berk’s personal girl. Because of my appearance, I was saved from being sent into the sex trafficking ring that they’re running out of this place, but that only meant I was a showpiece for the club instead. Forced to dance almost every night, and when I wasn't dancing, I was auctioned off to the highest bidder for the evening. Over time, as these despicable men bought their turns to have their way with me, I’ve learned to numb myself. At first, I cried, but that only got me locked up in a tiny, dark room for days. With how lonely this world already was, I hated it. If I had to be locked up, I'd rather it be with Evie than be forced to relive every horrible thing that's happened in my life repeatedly in my mind, all the screams of my younger self echoing in my head.
Over the years, I’ve become more and more popular, and eventually I became the most requested girl. In a normal strip club, the other girls would be beating my ass for taking the spotlight away because they would be losing money, but here, it was the best thing for them. Normally, they dance and then go back to their cells, and if they were lucky, they would only get called on once or twice a week. Me? I was called on two or three times aday. Triver would talk me up like a prized pony, getting all the men to fall for my curvy hips, big breasts, and delicate features with my icy blue eyes and raven black hair. I was every man's fantasy.
After a while, I morphed into someone different.Somethingdifferent. I’d been beaten and raped plenty of times as a child, and somehow that never truly changed who I was. But these past five years? I guess everyone has a breaking point. So, I put on an act. Did what he wanted me to do and took it like a good little girl because what else could I do?
That was, until last week. I overheard Triver talking to some important members of the corrupt society that he entertains, who were planning to hold their annual gathering at the club this year. Apparently, once a year, some of the richest men with the most sick and twisted minds would get together and have one of the largest sex slave auctions in the country. They make a whole show of it. Prance the prettiest girls around and show them off. Make the dancers put on an extra special show.
This year, it is expected thatwedo just that. But I have a plan, one that will hopefully get us out of here, all of us... the girls, I mean. The men? Yeah, they won't be so lucky if things go as planned.
“Yes, the girls all know what they're supposed to do,” Evie says, giving Roxy, the bartender, someone's order. She knows it’s time.
“I feel bad asking them to do this,” I say, looking out over the crowd.
“They are okay with it. They know this is the last time they have to do anything like that, so if it means their freedom, they are more than willing to do this.”
I turn back to Evie. “Dancing and flirting, that’s all they need to do until it's time. I don't want any of them to go into the back rooms, or that will fuck up the entire plan. They need to be out in the main part of the club, ready to go.”
Evie nods. “They know. They will do whatever they can to keep the men talking with their buddies to keep them distracted.”
“Good. Where's Triver?” I ask, feeling a little giddy about this, but also scared as fuck because if this plan fails, we’re all as good as dead.
“He’s getting ready for the show and plans on being front and center. He's been bragging about showing off his prized possession to everyone,” Evie says, rolling her eyes. She means me.
“Do you have the laptop?” I ask, ignoring that last part.
“It’s tucked behind the trash can by the elevator. Tommy is standing guard, ready for his part in all this.” Tommy is one of the club’s guards. In all the years he’s worked here, he thought this place was a normal strip club. He and his friends were the only ones who didn't know what this place was really about. I guess Triver needed some men to know as little as possible as a backup plan. They found out the truth by walking in on one of the dancers getting fucked against her will. Luckily, no one saw him, but he came to me, and I told him the truth, which he then told his friends. So, when I came up with this whole plan of escape, they were willing to jump on board. They will help keep up appearances, all the while making sure everything goes as planned.
“Don't leave that behind, Evie. Our chances of survival depend on that laptop and the magic you can work on it.”
She lets out a little laugh. “Have I ever let you down, Low?” She smiles. No, she hasn't. She's become my everything and the only person I know I can count on for anything, even if it's just providing me with a bit of normalcy by laughing and talking about nothing in particular.
“Never.” I smile back. She nods and we both down the shots that Roxy has placed down for us on top of the bar. I give Roxy a look as if to ask, “Ready?” She nods her head and puts her hand under the bar where her gun is hidden. Both Tommy and Lucas were able to sneak in a gun each for tonight, and they were given to the girls who would not have access to the men here. Roxy, because she works at the bar, and Evie because she isn't dancing tonight. Triver also uses Evie to do some of his paperwork. Dumbass thinks he’s scared her into never betraying him because she’s been sucking up to him for a while now, when really it had been a ploy to get access to his computer. See, Evie is a genius hacker. She could have gotten us out of here years ago, but Triver has backup plans in place, and if we tipped anyone from the outside world off, Triver would just have the ring shut down and the girls shipped off, never to be seen again.
So, when Evie finally got her hands on his computer, we had a talk with the other dancers. As much as they wanted to get out of here, they didn’t want to risk putting a death sentence on the girls not lucky enough to just be kept in the basement at Diamonds. What she did was collect as much info on the men involved as she could find so that once we get out of here, the first thing we do is to take them all down, as well as do our best to locate and save any girls who haven't been sold. What Evie doesn't know yet, is that I also plan on finding each of the men who have ever bought a girl and killing them myself.
I haven't killed anyone, yet, but all the hours I’ve spent planning and visualizing slicing the throats of every man who ever laid their hands on me, will be more than enough incentive to carry through. To me, finally getting to bathe in the blood of my enemies will be like a little kid getting surprised with the trip to Disney World that they have dreamed of for so long.
“Showtime,” I say, forcing a smile, even as I feel my stomach drop.
Evie hugs me tightly. “We’ve got this, Low, we're gonna make it.”
Oh, Evie, Doll Face, I hope you're right.
IHEAD INTO THE BACKto get dressed for my dance routine. The girls from the last set are getting changed into their normal clothes. They won’t be sent back to the basement until after the end of the event. They are required to wait here, in case one of the members wants to buy them for the night.
That works in our favor because Max is ready for his part in all this. His job is to get these girls out on his way back out from freeing the ones still locked in the basement. Thankfully, there are not that many being sold tonight, but unfortunately, some sales have already gone through. I plan to get them back as soon as possible. Lucas's job is to get the girls who are working in the main room of the club out safely, and Tommy’s is to provide a clear path to the elevator, which is the only exit out of here, and help them all get to safety.