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Bushy Beard’s words echoed in my head. The idea of being sex-trafficked appeared more real by the second. I’d preferred being murdered over being a sex slave to someone.

The recent news on TV about the missing people in Texas blazed through my head. Indignation rose in me, blocking out my warning to stay calm and cool.

“You’re responsible for all the missing people, aren’t you?” I glared at him, wishing my eyes could shoot out fire into his chest.

A smirk slithered onto his face, irritating me even more. “Your perception’s gonna get you killed, pretty girl. Now shut up and keep moving.”

Olivia gripped my hand, reminding me she and I had to escape safely. I needed to be more careful and stay quiet, no matter how much I hated these people.

The dim hallway opened to a spacious floor of an industrial building. The massive room had high ceilings. Stacks of cardboard boxes lined one wall. What was in them? Probably something illegal. The space reminded me of a wholesale store with rows of stacked merchandise on palettes. The opposite side showed a series of metal doors with numbers on them. An office was occupied by men dressed in black working on several computer screens. Bo and Bushy Beard greeted the men.

A lanky guy with creepy eyes walked over from his desk and surveyed me and Olivia. “Looks like we’ll be making bank tomorrow night.”

“Yvette’s got a good eye for girls,” Bo said.

Another guy said something to Creepy Eyes, who sat down and resumed working. The multiple computers made me think of stock traders managing a lot of money simultaneously. Was that what they were doing?

Could these people be part of that crime organization Remi and Forrest had spoken about? I wished I’d paid more attention to their discussion during gatherings.

A litany of fear swarmed in me.

Bo stopped by door number fourteen, opened it, and shoved Olivia and me into the room.

I wanted to say something, but I feared for our safety. So I bit my tongue and imagined hurting him in other ways.

“Rest, shower, and food will be delivered.” He raked a gaze down my body. “Act up and you’ll regret it. Don’t make me have to hurt you, because I won’t hesitate. The last girl who misbehaved died, and her body parts were burned to cinders.” He smiled as though he was talking about the weather. Then he winked at us and shut the door.

What an evil asshole.

A surge of violence overcame me, which was better than fear. Fear made me feel helpless, whereas anger made me want to do something. I wanted to claw that smile off his face. I wanted to poke out his eyes with my nails and cut off his hands for groping and slapping me and Olivia.

“God, Kiera, did you hear him?” Olivia’s lip quivered, and the blood from her face drained.

I hugged her. “He’s just trying to scare us. He’s supposed to make sure we’re in ‘pristine’ condition, remember? Do as they say and we’ll be fine for now.” I rubbed circles on her back, soothing her and myself. “Let’s check out the room.”

It had two beds, each flush on opposite walls. A couch sat on the side with a coffee table covered with fashion and lifestyle magazines. The irony of it almost made me laugh. What kind of fucking lifestyle did they think this was? No woman would want to give up their freedom to be controlled by a group of fucking insane men. There was also a bookcase with all kinds of books, a side table with a lamp, and a TV screen attached to a wall. The room didn’t have any windows.

The comfortable atmosphere didn’t comfort me one bit. Did they think the fake prison would make me or Olivia comply? A camera blinked from the top corner of the room.

I turned to Olivia and whispered, “Camera. Let’s pretend we’re behaving. We need to preserve our energy to survive.”

Olivia met my eyes. “Okay.”

I didn’t know where I was getting this adrenaline from, but I was wired, and survival mode made the body do all kinds of abnormal things.

Where did they take the other women who had arrived after us? Were they in the adjacent rooms? Were there more rooms in other parts of the building? What was happening tomorrow?

“This is insane,” Olivia whispered. “What do they want with us? I’m scared, Kiera.”

“Me too.” We sat down on the couch and turned slightly so the camera didn’t have a full view of our faces. No lip reading for them. “How did you meet Yvette? What does she look like?”

“I’ve only spoken to her on the phone. I saw a modeling job advertised in a social media beauty group. We chatted via text before the actual phone call. She has an AI avatar and said she knew Bruno, so I assumed she was a coordinator like him.” Tears streamed down her face. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

Wanting to wash the filth off of me, I got up and walked to the stack of clothes on the bed. A long white T-shirt, underwear, and no bra.

I walked over to where Olivia checked out her clothes and leaned in. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but we have to stay alert. Be extra careful and pray that help is on the way.”