Nothing would. I hadn’t eaten in three fucking days.
I grimaced when he grasped my upper arm and yanked me off the floor. I stumbled before finding my footing. I kept my head down but followed where we were going, making note of it in my head. We turned down multiple halls before he pushed open a door and shoved me through.
Smooth, wooden boards creaked beneath my feet, echoing in the auditorium I was now standing in. Fear like I hadn’t felt yet crawled through my veins, almost bringing me to my knees.
I was beingsold.
Tears slid down my cheeks, mixing with the cum on my face as the announcer I couldn’t see began to call for bids. The lights were too bright for me to see the audience.
But I didn’t need to. Wasn’t even sure if I wanted to.
Instead, I prayed to Damien that he’d help Miles find me. I begged him.
My life couldn’t end like this.
6
Hayley
“Sixty-three-thousand dollars going once, going twice… and sold!”
My fate was sealed.
Swallowing my tears and any pride I had left, I allowed another stranger—this one a woman—to lead me off the stage. She was silent the entire time except for when she spoke to people in passing in a language I assumed was Russian. We stepped into a room, and she pointed to a door. “Shower,” she said, her accent extremely thick, making it hard to understand her.
I nodded, showing I understood, and stepped into the bathroom, turning on the light. When I moved to shut the door, she held it open, shaking her head at me. Blowing out a soft breath, I turned the water on and stepped inside, jerking at the cold water. But I didn’t want to wait for it to warm up. I needed to stay on everyone’s good side as much as possible, and waiting for the water to heat might agitate her.
I quickly bathed and washed my hair, and then, I sat extremely still while she came in and shaved me. After, I got out and dried off, and she pointed at the white dress on the low dresser. After slipping it on my head, she handed me lotion and gestured all over her body, so I made sure I lotioned myself everywhere.
And then, she braided my hair back before handing me a toothbrush and toothpaste.
A knock sounded on the door as I was rinsing the toothbrush. She opened it to reveal a man in his mid-thirties. He had dark hair and a sharp, angular jawline. His eyes were just as dark, a cut slicing through his brow and running down his left cheek.
“You, with me,” he ordered, looking at me.
I nodded and quickly moved toward him. He grasped my upper arm and led me out of the room and down multiple hallways until we were outside. It was dark out, but there was a helicopter in front of me. Tears burned in my eyes, but I held them back.
Miles was never going to find me. If I didn’t lose our baby, she’d be sold into slavery, too. William would lose his mother.
I wanted to scream, cry, rage. But I did nothing. I just continued holding it all in as the man led me onto the chopper and proceeded to strap me in. On the off chance Ididget saved, I would keep my mouth shut, head down, and follow orders.
* * *
Russia was fucking cold.And having no jacket and bare feet made it even fucking colder. But thankfully, we weren’t outside long. As soon as we landed, I was dragged into a car, the heat already on full blast. And the walk into the man’s mansion was even shorter than the walk had been from the plane to the car.
It was when I was dragged into what was clearly the master bedroom that I began to panic.
“No!” I yelled, fighting against his grip. My heart was racing in my chest now that I was actually faced with what was about to happen. “No!”
The back of his hand crashed against my face, and I fell to the floor, my cheek on fire and throbbing. Tears sprang to my eyes as black spots danced in my vision.
He used my moment of weakness to throw me onto the bed, and when I thrashed, he pinned me down before tying me to the frame.
My scream echoed off the walls as he thrust inside of me.
7
Miles