Page 218 of Love Me in the Dark

David

There wasa special corner of hell reserved for me when I got there. I came to terms with that a long time ago. At first, I convinced myself it was a small thing, this little job I took on the side to pay off college loans. I’d been dealt a raw deal, losing my scholarship because of one fucking night with the dean’s daughter.

Getting involved with the scum I worked for seemed like a quick way to pay off my debts. But the sick fuck that I am, I didn’t hate it. Teaching the women that came through my cabin to be good puppies—I enjoyed it. And by the time I was done with them, they did too. What happened to them when they were taken away, I had no idea. And I didn’t think about it. Bad things happen to people; nothing I did would ever change that.

After I carried Gabby back into the house and cleaned her up, I laid her on the bed. Her hair would have to air dry on the pillow. The sedative in the dart I shot her with would keep herasleep for an hour or so. I left her to sleep off the drug while I made my first check-in.

“How’s she doing?” Damien, my only point of contact, asked when I called.

“Fine.” I worked the bolt on the cellar door closed.

“Just fine?”

“Yeah. Hey, do you know who the buyer is for this one?” I asked.

Silence on the other side of the line stretched. I’d never asked before.

I’d never really cared before.

“No. Why? Thinking to buy her for yourself?” He laughed. “She’s that good?”

“She’s just like the rest,” I assured him. No fucking way would I let him know there was anything different about Gabby.

“Good.” I heard him puff on his smoke. “You’re good with the timing? I know you usually get more than just a week, but they’re on a timeline.”

“Yeah. A week is fine for what they want.” Sometimes they wanted more than basic submissive behaviors, those girls had a harder time, and it took longer to get them to accept their fate. They begged and pleaded with me to help them. They offered all the money they had and swore to get more that they didn’t. But it never mattered. Money had already been exchanged.

“I’m working on a deal right now; you may have to take two. Can you handle two?”

I glanced down the hall where I left Gabby sleeping in my bed. I’d left the door open so I could see her. Her chest rose and fell in a steady beat with her breath. The room was a little chilled; her nipples were hard peaks.

“David. Can you?”

“Yeah. I can handle two,” I said, turning away from the woman sleeping in my bed.

“Good. I’ll let you know if the deal goes through and when.”

“You do that.”

I ended the call and slid the phone across the counter, suddenly wanting it as far away from me as possible.

After checking on Gabby one more time, I stalked off to the second bedroom. Scanning the bookshelves of my office, I found the hardcover-bound yearbook.

I slid it out from between other memorabilia from a lifetime ago and wiped the dust off the cover.

River Scouts

Black Bears

2010

I flipped through the pages until I found what I was looking for. Summer camp 2010.

Fuck. Me.

4

Gabby