The hours that follow fade into a blur. I wish I could lose consciousness as man after man rapes me, stealing pieces of the woman I will never be able to find again. At first, I fight, screaming with every thrust, but as my voice begins to crack from hoarseness, I find a deep, dark place within myself—a place I never knew existed. I hide in the welcomed darkness.
"She's all yours," I hear the most recent man say as he leaves the room.
I steel myself for yet another round of filth, but as I open my lids, I meet the chocolate-brown eyes of Marcus. My body relaxes, but bile creeps into my throat when I remember what his turn means.
"Shut the f*cking door!" he shouts over his shoulder while unbuckling his pants.
I squeeze my eyes closed, preparing for the worst.
Surprisingly, my hands are immediately untied. I should run or at the very least fight, but I'm too weak. I haven't eaten since I was brought here, not even to mention that I'm a third of his size. I’m well aware that there is no sense in trying to fight him, but I have to give it at least one shot before giving in to the culminating darkness once and for all.
I barely even move my arms before he grabs them and flips me over. My legs are still tied and my ankles cross as he spins me to my stomach, pinning me against the bed.
"Scream," he whispers in my ear with a low rumble.
I shake my head, unwilling to give him what he wants. I might be powerless in every way, but my voice is my own. I won't give him that.
"Erica, scream or you get us both killed."
I'm startled by the use of my name. I turn my head over my shoulder to meet his gaze, and finally, I'm not the one pleading.
"I'm not the bad guy. I need you to scream and make it believable."
His eyes flick to the door, and I give it everything I have left. I let out the blood-curdling sound I have been holding in since I gave up on myself. But I only do it because, for the first time since he took me, I have hope. It may be a horrible sound to others, but to my ears, it's a rejoice.
"I'm going to let you go. Don't make this difficult. I will do whatever it takes to subdue you, even if that means hurting you." He looks down at my bruised and battered body, shaking his head with disgust.
I nod, acknowledging his words. But I’m confused and not completely certain I can follow his orders.
He unties my legs and drags a blanket from the chair to cover my nudity.
"Here." He pulls a protein bar from his pocket and places it in my shaking hands. "Eat. We don't have long." He grabs a water bottle off the nightstand next to the bed and drops it in my lap.
"Are you going to kill me?" I ask, but he doesn't respond as he begins to quietly pace around the bed. "Please just let me go. I won't tell anyone."
"Eat," he gently urges while sitting down on the edge of the bed.
I'm starving. And even as my stomach threatens to revolt, I know I need this. Who knows when I will see my next meal? If ever. I unwrap the bar and hastily devour it.
"Here." He pulls a small tube of lube from his pocket.
At the very sight of it, I jump away as if it were a weapon. Pain rips through my tattered body when my legs painfully close together.
"No. I won't touch you. I just need you to take this and rub it all over your ass. You need to make this look legit. Go ahead." He turns his back to me as I sit frozen, holding the lube. "Erica, please! I don't have time for you to figure this out. Do it!" he growls, never turning back to look at me.
Completely unsure why I'm following his directions, I open my legs and carefully apply the lube. "There."
"More," he says, still not looking. "Rub it all over your ass, cover as much as you can reach. If you were fighting me, that shit would be all over the place. Rub it on your hands and touch places on your body, including your breasts."
"What's going on?" I ask while squeezing the lube into my hand. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because I'm going to help you. It may not seem like it now, but I'm here to help you," he whispers, facing the wall.
"I'm done." I cover myself again with the blanket.
"You tell anyone about this and I will kill you on the spot. No questions asked. No help. You understand?" He turns to face me, and suddenly, my savior disappears and the dark man who put me here returns.
Unsure what else to do, I nod.
"Lie back down. I need to retie you."
"No!" I shout as terror consumes me.
He grabs my arm, and even though I kick against him, he easily slips back on my restraints.
"There's just one more. I'm sorry," he breathes, pushing my hair out of my face.
"No, don't leave me. Please. I can't go through that again. Marcus!" I scream louder than I've been able to muster all day.
"Not one f*cking word."
"I can't take it again. You said you wouldn't kill me, but that is what you just sentenced me to. I can't take one more man. I don't have any pieces left to give." I barely squeak out the words over the dry heaves.
He moves back to the bed, leaning forward on his knuckles to speak directly into my face without so much as even a hit of an accent. "I want to tell you that you'll be fine, but I can't do that. I don't think anyone will be fine after something like this. However, I will not let them kill you. I give you my word on that." He holds my eyes, begging for me believe him.
The tears stream down my face as he unzips his pants, tugs them down his hips an inch, and walks away. He tosses the lube on the floor next to the bed and opens the door.
"Marcus, please!" I scream after him. He's not much, but he's the only hope I have.
"Looks like somebody likes my cock," he laughs, walking out the door.
"About f*cking time," I hear a man with an accent growl from outside. "We killing this one?"
"Yes, sir. But I'm doing it myself. Dom, gave her to me."
"Well, you don't mind if I have a little fun first? Right?" He walks into the room with Marcus hot on his heels.
"Sir, I promised Aidan he was next."
I look up to find Marcus standing behind the new man, his eyes nervously flying around the room. Tears once again make my vision swim as the realization hits me—he’s powerless against this new man.
The older man prowls over to the bed, settling between my spread legs. His hands roam up and down my body. I don't look at him. I can’t. Instead, my eyes stay focused on my evil lifeline silently watching in the doorway.
"Sir, allow me to get her cleaned up for you. The men have been at her all day. Hell, I just f*cked her myself."
"I can see. Lube, Marcus? I didn't take you for such a gentleman."
"I'm an ass man. It’s kind of a necessity." He fakes a smirk and offers a shrug, trying to play it cool, but even I can tell he's uncomfortable.
"I'm sure Dom wouldn't mind if I made this one my own. He knows I love to play with the pretty ones," he purrs.
Marcus's eyes go wide just before the pain erupts over my legs.
A scream tears from my throat as I look down to see him slicing the tip of his knife up the inside of my thighs, over my sex, and down the other thigh. I lose focus and beg for the darkness to take me. The sound of a gun deafens me, and the body of the man who just mutilated me falls lifelessly on top of me. I drift away, praying the light never returns.
"Move, Erica." Marcus’s voice breaks through the ringing in my ears.
I open my eyes to find my hands and feet suddenly free, and the dead man has been shoved off me. I’m covered in blood, but I dive into the arms of the man who was once my captor. The same man who is now rescuing me.
There are shouts behind the door, and he shoves me into the bathroom. He closes the door, but I can’t go back to the dark. I keep it cracked, watching as the bedroom door splinters into pieces. Marcus opens fire on the three men sprinting in with guns raised.
I quickly close the door and move toward the single window, but the searing pain between my legs leaves me unable to walk. I fall toward the window, pushing against it only to realize it has been sealed shut. Panic ricochets through my mind as I try to work out an escape, but I just can't focus with the sounds of gunfire banging from the other side of the door. Finally, with one last pop, the room goes silent.
"Erica, open the door. You can’t get out the window."
My emotions bubble over, and I stumble helplessly back to the door. I don’t know Marcus, but I have no choice but to trust him.
He walks in, throwing the blanket around me and scooping me into his arms.
He carries me from the room, stepping over the bloody mess of bodies. I bury my face into his neck so I don't have to look at the carnage.
"I want to go home," I whisper. The adrenaline fades from my system, leaving me with the shakes and tears I thought I had long since run out of pouring from my eyes.
He puts me down only long enough to snatch a phone from his pocket. "Fourteen Ulrich Ave. I need a pickup. Medical. And a whole team of cleanup. I just killed Darren Wilkes and his top three." He abruptly ends the call and cradles me back into his strong arms. "I’ve got you. Shhh," he whispers into my hair.
We stand for a few minutes in the doorway. He alternates between looking outside and soothing me. Finally, he yanks open the door and carries me out just as a black SUV pulls into the driveway. I prepare myself for more chaos, more pain, and more fear. My heart races even as he whispers, "Those are the good guys."
Three men and a woman jump from the barely parked truck and race towards us.
"What the f*ck did you do?" the first man who arrives barks at Marcus.
"Take her. She needs medical. I have a gunshot wound to the thigh. I think it was clean through, but I’m not positive." He shifts to pass me off, but I scramble to stay in his arms. I have no idea what the hell is happening, but there is only one man I trust right now, no matter how screwed up that may be.
The man pulls me away from Marcus, but I try to hold on like a baby clinging to its mother. My legs are on fire and every inch of my body is sore, but I fight to resume my place in his arms.
"Marcus!" I scream, reaching toward him.
Despite his own injury—I can obviously see that he’s bleeding through his pants—he returns to my side. "Hey, you’re in good hands. This is Agent Greene from the DEA. You’re safe, Erica."
I know his words should soothe me, but they only make me frantic. I’m not safe. I’ll never be safe again, but Marcus made me feel that way, even if for just a minute. I need that right now more than I need the air in my lungs. I need him to give that to me.
He turns to walk away and I lose it, frantically swinging my arms and legs, shaking free of the blanket and the hold the supposed officer has on me. I forget about the pain in my legs and the fear I felt because of this man only hours ago. I rush ahead, slamming into his back as he makes his retreat.
"Please don’t leave me. I don’t understand what’s going on right now. I need you. Please don’t leave me like this. I…" I begin to sob, begging him to stay with me.
He spins around, wrapping me in his arms and pulling me into his chest. "F*ck. Okay. I’ve got you."
"Please don’t leave me," I repeat as my body shakes violently.
"Hey. It’s okay. I won’t let you go until you're ready." He smooths down my hair as I suck in a relieved breath. "But no more Marcus, okay? My name’s Leo James. Just Leo from now on."
I nod against his chest as a blanket is wrapped back around me from behind.
"Clean up is on the way. We need to get you two out of here," a woman says from somewhere nearby, but all I can see is Leo.
"Come. Let’s get you to the hospital." He once again lifts me off my useless legs and climbs into the back of the SUV, cradling me securely on his lap.