Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
How does this happen?
"Where are you taking me?" I ask.
Steven reaches the door and grins. "To a very, very special place."
WE ARRIVE AROUND EIGHT hours later. At least, that's an estimate. I'm usually quite good at telling the time, and if I were to guess, it would be close to that figure.
Wherever he has taken me, it took a hell of a long time to get there.
Movement above is what alerts me to the fact that we've stopped somewhere. I'm right because ten minutes or so later, Steven comes down into the room I'm in with three other men. He flashes me a smile, and then walks over and undoes me from the bed. Both men are pointing guns at me. Even I'm not stupid enough to try and fight that off.
"Let's go, Zariah."
I swallow, and my legs wobble as they drag me out of the room full of barrels and up to the upper deck on the ship. When we arrive, there are men everywhere, working and cleaning, moving things off the boat. Steven pushes me towards a ramp that leads us down to a dock, and when my eyes clear from the blazing sun flashing in them, I see we're on an island.
Just as we suspected.
I glance around, and there is nothing else to be seen. It's just a singular island that isn't massive, but it's big enough that they have a few structures - a huge house, a warehouse, and a few smaller sheds. It's beautiful. If you were looking at it in any other way, you'd think you had just scored. That's not the case here, though. It's a terrifying place filled with pain and despair.
It reeks of it.
Steven pulls me across the sand, and the two men with guns follow close behind. Even if I could run, where the hell would I go? Into the ocean where I'd likely die before anyone helped me? They've thought this out very well. Nobody is escaping this place. It's a prison in the middle of nowhere.
A beautiful prison.
A lie.
We reach a large three-story house that's fully fenced. It is surrounded by a large yard, with a garden, but nothing else too spectacular. Steven walks me inside, and I don't take long to stare around as he pushes me through the house and out the back door. That's when I see it—the most horrific place I could ever imagine.
A huge fenced lot with cages.
Wired cages.
They're at least eight feet each, with a sheltered roof and wire surrounding them. Each cage is padlocked and electrified. They're covered with concrete floors, and each one has a small foam mattress on the ground, a pan in the corner, and nothing else. It's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life. I wouldn't subject dogs to it, let alone people.
But for people...it is.
Four women are sitting in the cages, laying on the beds, curled onto their sides. My heart slams against my ribcage. It was one thing when Dax was charming and gave them a dreamy life, but this...this is something else entirely. This is a nightmare.
"What..." I whisper, in shock.
"Do you like it?" Steven laughs. "I don't mind it myself. Once Dax did a runner, I decided we'd do it my way for once. These women don't need to be taken care of; they need to be sold. I'm now running the biggest operation you could imagine. Millions a year in sales, with no way of finding out."
"You're a monster," I gasp. "A sick monster."
"Probably," he chuckles. "But I'm damned good at it, don't you think?"
I jerk my arm as if that's going to do anything for me. Steven tightens his grip. "I will shoot you, Zariah. Money is not an issue, and while I will get a good penny for a cop, I'm not about to risk everything if you try to cause a scene."
I clamp my mouth shut even though I want to vomit. I want to rip my god damned stomach out to stop it from twisting and turning the way it is.
We reach a cage, and one of the men goes to a massive keypad and types something in. The buzzing sound dims, and Steven unlocks one, tossing me inside. I stumble backward and turn to charge at the door, but he slams it before I reach it. Moments later, I am forced away from it when they switch the electricity back on.
"There's no point trying to get out, Zariah. Even if you escaped me here, you'd never find a way off this island alive. Accept your fate."
"When?" I gasp, panting angrily. "When are you selling me?"
Steven shrugs. "We have auctions. The next one is in a few days. My highest buyers travel in by boat, we auction out the ladies, and they leave. After that, it's up to them what they do with you."