“It’s the highlight reel,” Duke says, throwing his head back and taking a long draught of his beer. “Faulkner’s favorite porn stars, if you will.”
“Where did you get this?” I ask.
“Baron paid for it and screen recorded it,” he says, setting his empty on the floor and belching. “It’s totally worth it. Preston gives you a big old cream pie in the ass in a minute.”
“Turn it off,” I snap, squeezing my eyes closed.
“Was that Harper screaming?” Gloria asks, her voice faint.
“Nah,” Duke says. “But that’ll come back around in a second. Baron did a good job editing the clips together, but it’s only like ten minutes. Don’t worry, you’re on here, too, Lo.”
“Turn it off,” I say again, louder this time.
“Oh, I can’t,” he says, flicking on a lighter. The flame dances around the end of the blunt he’s holding. “I don’t know how to work the projector. Plus, we’d have to go up to the booth, and I need a minute to chill. Here, come sit down. I’ll smoke you out. I might even eat you out if you suck my dick first.”
“Fuck this,” I say. “I’m leaving.”
I turn just in time to see the door swing closed behind me. I leap at it, crashing my shoulder against the surface, but it’s unforgiving and solid. I hear a click outside, and I know that bastard just locked us in.
“Let us out,” I demand, banging my fists on the door.
“Just sit down and watch,” Duke says. “Ten minutes isn’t that long. Just long enough for me to smoke a blunt, bust a nut, and maybe finish a beer or two.”
“Why are you doing this?” Gloria asks, her voice shaking.
“Look, he’s fucking her ass now,” Duke says, a cloud of smoke billowing from his mouth. “Hold on, it’s so good when his cum runs out and he goes from ass to cunt.”
“Let me the fuck out,” I say, stomping up the aisle to where Duke is sitting, halfway to the screen.
“Come on, baby, don’t you want to see what we have on you?” he asks, grabbing my hand and pulling me down on his lap. His iron arm wraps around me, holding me around the middle, and he pushes his erection up against me. It’s almost exactly how Mr. Dolce held me, and my skin crawls just as much this time as it did then.
Duke grips me with one arm and puffs on the blunt for a few seconds.
“What do you want?” I ask. I can get away from him when I need to, but cooperating for a minute can get me answers.
“Feel how hard I get watching him take that ass,” he says. “You know, I never got to do that. Only Baron got anal. Want to fix that tonight?”
He offers me the blunt, but I push his hand away. I want to be clear right now, as tempting as taking the edge off is. My muscles are shaking, a sick feeling churning in my stomach. I don’t want to go back there, don’t want to slip into the horrors of my trauma.
“I can’t figure you out,” I say, swallowing past the trembling in my throat.
“So stop trying,” he says. “No one else ever has, and you won’t be the first.”
“Are you in on whatever Baron’s doing, helping him keep us from finding Royal?” I press. “Why would you do that? Royal fucking loves y’all. He’s sacrificed himself for you.”
“We’re just having a little fun with you,” he says. “Look, this is the best part.”
I try not to be sick watching the last few seconds. I like porn as much as the next girl, but this isn’t porn. It’s me. At the time, I knew what Preston was doing, but it didn’t feel real. I just lay there with my head in the pillow, too numb to care. Now, seeing him fucking me when I was basically comatose, makes me want to hunt him down and rip his fucking throat out—especially because he sent those videos to these assholes.
There I was being so thankful for what he bought me, and he was probably using the money from these clips to do it. He really did make me a whore. I didn’t even want those clothes, and I sure as fuck wouldn’t have traded them for this. If he made me a whore, he did it without my permission. I want to forget the nightmare of those months, but it keeps coming back.
The clip ends with a mutter of “good girl,” from Preston.
Duke groans and squeezes me tighter. “See, I always knew you were nasty as fuck, but Royal wouldn’t tell us shit. Preston did, though. I was right about you all along. I get you, Harper Apple. And you’re the only one who really gets me.”
I laugh at that. “Sorry, you’re wrong. I don’t get you at all. I don’t know if you’re stupid, or if you know Baron’s pushing you aside, but you’re just pretending that’s not what’s happening because it hurts too much for you to admit it. You’re just a distraction like the rest of us. Do you even know what he’s doing out there?”
The video changes to a girl lying tied to a bed, lifting her head while a guy stands over her, his back to the camera. It’s grainy, like a security camera took it. I don’t stick around to see if this is where the screaming came from. I stomp on Duke’s foot, and when his grip loosens, I slam his elbow down on the arm of the seat. He curses and releases me, and I twist from his grip and back to my feet.