Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Using a small lock-picker he had under his robe, he let himself in as silently as possible.
Inside it was as he had feared—Kara’s clothes and belongings were scattered around the suite but she was missing. There were no signs of a struggle though—in fact, everything looked exactly the same as it had when he’d been here earlier.
J’orn frowned. Did that mean she’d been taken—if she’d been taken—almost right after he left her? But he’d been gone for hours! That was a long time—plenty long enough for terrible things to happen to the woman he loved.
Oh Goddess, no! he prayed silently. He hated to think of what might have happened but he knew for certain she hadn’t checked out—she wouldn’t have left all her belongings behind. Therefore something must have happened to her.
Luckily, he had taken precautions. He pulled the mini transponder from under his robe and activated it. It was tuned to the tracking device he’d placed in her pocket earlier when he hugged her. It would show her general location, which should give him an idea of where she was in the city.
Of course he could have checked it earlier—he could have just looked at it instead of coming all the way back to her suite. But he’d wanted to see her again—to look into her big brown eyes and hear her soft voice, J’orn admitted to himself.
When he pressed the button, a holo-map was projected from the end of the transponder. It included a single flashing red dot that indicated where Kara was.
J’orn’s heart fisted in his chest when he saw where the dot was located. It was right in the middle of the Red Light District—the place where all the brothels and sex clubs were located. Kara never would have gone there on her own—especially at night. Someone had kidnapped her and taken her there and the Goddess alone knew what might be happening to her right now!
He ran his fingers over the holo, which was touch-sensitive and it expanded until he could read the label over the building where the red dot was located. The Exotic Beauty Lounge, read the tiny words.
J’orn felt like his heart might burst! The Exotic Beauty was one of the worst offenders in the city when it came to accepting kidnapped girls and women and forcing them into a life of sexual slavery. They would have been shut down if not for the extreme corruption running rampant in the Paradise Prime government. Unfortunately, every single one of this planet’s elected officials was for sale so the lounge was still open and even thriving, despite their disgusting and illegal practices.
J’orn felt the beginnings of Rage creep over him as he considered what might be happening to the woman he loved. His first impulse was to rush over and ransack the club—to kill anyone who had hurt Kara or even thought about hurting her!
But he recognized that he couldn’t do that. He was one male alone and he didn’t have time to call for backup. There would be plenty of guards to protect the club—he couldn’t fight them all and get Kara safely out at the same time.
No, he was going to have to do something different to get to her—he was going to have to pretend to be a legitimate customer. Then, once he found her, he could offer to buy her and get her out of there.
He just prayed to the Goddess he could get to her before she was hurt or raped…if she hadn’t been already.
“Goddess, protect her,” he murmured under his breath as he left her suite and took off down the hall at a run. “Let me get to her in time—please!”
25
KARA
Kara came awake in a dim room lit with red glows that hovered in the corners. The eerie lighting made her think she was in Hell for a moment…and her next discovery didn’t exactly dispel the idea. Looking down, she discovered that she was naked and tied to some kind of a frame with her arms and legs spread wide apart. She was sagging in her bonds but once she straightened up, a voice said,
“Oh good—she’s beginning to come ‘round. Finally—I was sure you’d given her too much.”
“I never give them too much—I know my dosage charts!” a second voice answered. “She’s humanoid and weighs exactly five and ten clinks—that’s why I gave her—”
“I don’t care about the fucking dosage!” the first voice exclaimed. “The main thing is that she’s finally awake. And we’ve already got a customer for her.”
Two shadowy figures came forward to stand in front of Kara. One was tall and the red light glinted off his golden skin—he must be a Paradisian, she thought. The other was short and squat with a shock of black hair that looked like a Mohawk on his bald head.