Total pages in book: 767
Estimated words: 732023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3660(@200wpm)___ 2928(@250wpm)___ 2440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 732023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3660(@200wpm)___ 2928(@250wpm)___ 2440(@300wpm)
“Who are you?” I asked, watching her warily.
“Lauren,” she replied, as though her softly-spoken name were all she had to offer in response. She hesitated in the doorway, staring at me. I shifted and pulled the sheet up to my chin.
“What do you want?” I pressed. She wasn’t attacking me, but she wasn’t helping me, either.
“He told me to bring you breakfast,” she said, finally moving. She half-turned and directed a small cart into the bedroom. It looked like fancy room service, only, this wasn’t a luxury hotel, and Lauren wasn’t dressed for the service industry.
“Who is he?” I had a good idea whom she meant, but I needed to know the person responsible for sending the food. I doubted Andrés would poison me. He’d been very clear that he wanted to keep me. But I wasn’t at all certain of Cristian’s intentions.
She finished pushing the cart up to the edge of the bed, but I didn’t move toward the food, even though I could smell the delicious scent of bacon.
“Master Andrés,” she explained in the same deadpan voice.
My hand shot out, and I gripped her wrist hard. “So you’re captive here, too,” I said quickly. She must be, if Andrés had broken her and forced her to call him Master. Wasn’t that exactly what he wanted from me?
“Help me,” I urged, tugging at the chain that bound me to the bed. “Do you know where he keeps the keys? They’re probably in that drawer.” I nodded in the direction of the piece of furniture that held the literal keys to my freedom. “I’m a federal agent. If you get this collar off me, I can get us both out of here.”
She blinked at me, then tugged her wrist free from my desperate grip.
“There’s no way out,” she said flatly.
“Of course there’s a way out,” I tried to reason with her. “How do we leave this suite? How many men are guarding the building? You know what, scratch that,” I said quickly, noting her nonplussed expression. I might have trained as a field agent, but I couldn’t get the two of us past multiple guards without a weapon. “If you could just get me a phone, I can call my friends, and they’ll come in and get us,” I hastened on.
“I can’t do that,” she said, her refusal devoid of any emotion. “I’ll get into trouble. Besides, you don’t want to leave this room. You’re safest in here.”
“What?” I spluttered, beginning to question the woman’s sanity. “You see what he’s done to me. This isn’t safe. I have to get out of here.”
“Master Andrés won’t let them dose you with Bliss and pass you around,” she said, something finally flickering in her haunted eyes. “He doesn’t like it.”
“He’s not your Master,” I said vehemently, trying to get through to her. She’d clearly been tormented, warped. If she’d been dosed with Bliss, she would have no control over her body while under the influence. She’d do anything she was told, including begging to be violated. My stomach turned at the knowledge of Andrés’ involvement in trafficking the sick drug. He was ultimately responsible for Lauren’s fractured state of mind.
“All the girls call him Master.” She shrugged. “He used to take care of us. But that was before the Bliss. He doesn’t like it,” she repeated, as though that explained everything.
I reached for her again, but she dodged back.
“Please,” I begged. “I can tell he hurt you. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Give me a phone. I just need—”
“Master Andrés didn’t hurt me,” she said with shocking fervor. “He’s nice to me. And he will be very angry with me if I help you. He told me to bring you food, and I brought it.”
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the bedroom.
“Wait!” I called after her as the door slammed shut.
I threaded my fingers through my hair, tugging at the coppery strands as I struggled to curb my mounting panic.
Master Andrés.
He’d claimed he was my Master now. And he’d proven how commanding and relentless he could be. Did he want to twist me into the same broken, fucked-up state as Lauren? She clearly felt some sort of perverted affection for him, even though she’d obviously been victimized.
I pressed my palms against my closed eyes and struggled to breathe normally.
I’ll get out of this. I have to.
I couldn’t end up like Lauren. I wouldn’t.
Chapter 5
I wasn’t sure how much time passed. Hours, surely. There wasn’t a clock in the bedroom, so my only concept of time was the sun intermittently peeking through the overcast clouds.
I’d never been forced to sit without mental stimulation for so long. Usually, if I wasn’t on my computer at home, I was at work. Even during my short commute, I passed the time on my smart phone. I rarely even watched TV or movies without also playing a game at the same time. My brain fired in too many different directions at once for me to focus on any one thing for long. Only digging deep into a case for the Bureau or a little side hacking just for shits and giggles could fully occupy my mind.