Page 32 of Haze of Obedience

"Yes, sir."

"No. Wrong answer."

Oh no.

"Yes, Señor Gómez."

"No. You will call me Master. That is what slaves call their owners. And you, Zoe Diego, are mine. You shall entertain my men or myself whenever I demand it. There will be no complaining or hesitation. Do you understand."

I close my eyes, but the waterworks won't stop.

"Yes," I whisper.

"Yes, what?" he screams in my face.

My eyelids fly open. I cry out, "Yes, Master."

Santiago's face turns arrogant. "Get her out of here."

His thug drags me away as I plead with Santiago not to send me back to the cell.

Terror consumes me, and I don't realize we're going upstairs and not down. He opens a door and pushes me in before slamming it.

At first, I bang on it.

"Zoe," Penelope's voice rings in my ears, and I freeze.

When I turn, she tugs me into her arms, and I sob.

There is nothing left of me. My life is over, and I'll never escape the grasp of Santiago and be me again.

You lost you a long time ago.

Reality slaps me over and over. Time passes quickly when Santiago's thug comes back into the room and throws a formal dress on the bed. He points to Penelope. "That's for you." He hands me a pair of six-inch stilettos. "This is your outfit tonight."

My gut churns, and I don't need to ask. I already know the answer. "Where're my clothes?"

"You don't get any. You both have forty minutes to get ready. Don't make Santiago wait." He slams the door, and the lock clicks.

Penelope quietly says, "Come on. We need to get ready."

"Is this all we are to be?"

She blinks, then leans to my ear and whispers, "For now. But my daughter is out there, so somehow, there has to be a way out. Tonight we play his game. Let's go." She takes my hand and leads me to the bathroom and helps me with my hair and makeup.

"I don't want to sing naked," I whisper and try not to smear my makeup.

"Shhh. You can do this. You used to go on stage with hardly any clothes, right?"

I sniffle, "Yeah."

"So pretend that's what's happening."

I inhale deeply and nod. "Okay."

The man comes to get us.

"Head up, rockstar," Penelope mumbles.