Page 17 of Sinners’ Appetite

“We’ve got them,” I hear a muffled voice say from inside the car.

Is that…Nolan?

I can feel the blood trickling down my face as I try to move.

I have no idea where Sammi is. The last thing I remember is being whacked in the side of the head by something heavy, causing me to collapse to the ground.

My ankles and wrists are bound by a thick rope and by the looks of it, I’m inside someone’s trunk, unable to move an inch.

My mouth is covered by a thick layer of duct tape, rendering me unable to make a single sound.

A few seconds later, I feel the car come to a sudden stop.

“Get her out first,” I hear Nolan say. “Whack her again if she’s awake.”

I hear a car door open and footsteps walking along the side of the car. I close my eyes, pretending to still be out to avoid getting hit again. I don’t think my head can handle any more injuries at this point.

I just want to know if Sammi is okay.

The trunk opens with a heavy click and next thing I know, I’m being picked up and thrown into another vehicle. Shit—he drove us out here in Sammi’s car.

“I turned their phones off,” Nolan confirms. “Let’s see how long it takes for her little boyfriend to call the police and file a missing persons report. By then, they’ll be on their way to Las Vegas. At least—that’s where most of the bidders take their winnings.”

Bidders? What the fuck is he talking about?

The other person laughs, slamming the trunk closed. The very second he does, I open my eyes, hoping to figure out a way that I can remove the rope from around my wrists. If I can manage that, I can untie the rope around my ankles and kick a tail light out from the inside.

A few moments pass before I hear a phone ring.

“Yeah?” Nolan answers. “They’re a little rough around the edges, but I’m sure we can get them cleaned up in no time,” he says confidently.

“Tell them we might try out the merchandise before handing them over…” The other person accompanying Nolan laughs.

Nolan chuckles. “I know for sure that one of them can suck dick like there’s no tomorrow.”

Fuck . There’s no way in hell that I’m letting them lay a hand on Sammi.

I’d give my fucking life just to make sure of it.

“We’ll be there by nine. The car might have to be cleaned. The one in the very back bleeds a lot,” Nolan confirms, presumably ending the call.

“So—are we really going to fuck them up a little before we hand them over?” the other person asks Nolan.

“Not gonna lie, I miss Nikki’s pretty mouth.”

Just the thought of being near Nolan’s cock makes me nauseous. I swear, if he even tries anything, I’ll bite his fucking cock off.

“You can take her and I’ll take the bitchy blonde,” Nolan’s accomplice groans.

“She almost knocked your ass out back there, Paul.” Nolan laughs. “I wonder when she’ll wake up. The sedative usually only lasts for a few hours.”

Sedative? They fucking drugged her?

Who the fuck is Paul?

“Then we’ll give it to her again, right after I skull fuck the brains out of her,” Paul says.

Panic starts to set in as the tears roll down my cheeks, mixing with the existing trails of blood that are starting to dry onto my skin. I know damn well—if I start to make any noise at all, I’m toast.

I close my eyes, trying my hardest to think of anything better than this, and my first thought is Malachi.

I picture him behind me, cradling me just like he was last night.

I can almost feel his hands wrapped around me, comforting me as he nuzzles his face into my hair.

His warm breath against my skin—the tone of his alluring voice sending chills up my spine.

Before I know it, I finally start to drift off.

“For fuck’s sake, Paul. She woke up!” Nolan hollers from inside the car, waking me from my dream and forcing me back into a living nightmare.

Just then, I hear muffled screams right above my head. They clearly put Sammi in the backseat.

“I’ll take care of it,” Paul replies. A short moment later, I hear nothing but silence.

“What are you doing back there?” Nolan asks.

“Occupying her mouth,” Paul chuckles.

“Christ, you couldn’t wait until we got there?”

“Look, I’m keeping her quiet. Just focus on the road, pretty boy.”

I’m barely able to hold myself together, knowing that there’s nothing I can do for Sammi. I have to figure something out, quickly.

“That’s right, doll, open those pretty eyes and look at me,” Paul moans, making my blood boil as the adrenaline builds up inside me.

I manage to roll onto my back and curl into a tight ball, placing one of my feet through the tight space above my bound wrists. When my leg slips through, I repeat the same process with the other, somehow flawlessly placing my arms in front of me instead.

I know I don’t have long before they open the trunk again, so I move as fast as I can, feeling all around me for something, anything to help me get the ropes off. When I don’t find anything, I bite down into the knot and pull as hard as I can.

Finally, the rope starts to loosen and I pull it the rest of the way, freeing my wrists. Now—I have to remove the rope around my ankles. Only, for some odd reason, the rope around my ankles are thinner and tied into multiple knots.

There’s no way for me to untie all of them in time.

“Should we stop for gas?” I hear Nolan ask Paul.

“How far are we from our destination?” he asks, still residing in the back seat with Sammi.

I tell myself that he’s done with her, trying to ease my mind enough to stay focused on our escape, but just then, I hear her whining, followed by a sickening gurgle.

“Don’t you dare spit that out,” Paul growls.

“Tilt her head back and rub hard along her throat. It’ll have her swallowing in no time,” Nolan suggests.

I don’t know what I ever saw in him. I wasn’t with him for very long, but clearly—there were a lot things I didn’t know about him.

Seconds later, Paul lets out a satisfied moan. “Worked like a fucking charm.” He half-laughs.

“Okay, I think she’ll stay quiet now. I need you up here,” Nolan demands.

“What if I’m not done with her yet?” Paul replies. “She has plenty of holes for me to fill.”

“Get. The. Fuck. Up. Here.”

“You’re just jealous,” Paul chants. “You’ll have your turn soon enough.”

“I don’t want that one,” Nolan insists. “Nikki has no idea what’s coming to her in—roughly an hour.”

“Can I watch?” Paul asks, making my stomach turn.

“I might even let you pick a hole to occupy at the same time.”

“Fuck yeah! It’s my lucky fucking day!” Paul cheerfully hollers out.

When I know Paul is sitting back up front, I rip the tape off my mouth and sit up, pressing my ear against the back of the back seat, listening for any indication of Sammi being close enough to hear me if I say her name.

“Sammi?” I say, unsure as to whether she can even hear me or not.

Just then, the car stops and I hear someone open the gas tank cover on the outside of the car.

“Sammi? Can you hear me? Elbow the seat twice if you can hear me…” I say, hoping that only Sammi can hear me.

Seconds later, Sammi elbows the seat, just enough for me to feel the vibration against the hand I have resting on the back of the seat.

I breathe a sigh of relief. She’s alive.

I’d say she’s okay, but—I know she isn’t.

She’ll never be the same.

And all of this—is because of me.