Page 24 of Savage Desires

"It's easy enough." I take the guard's gun out and hand it to her. "All you do is point and shoot. Keep the gun steady on him. If he so much as twitches, shoot him. Can you do that?"

She looks uncomfortable with the gun in her hand but also looks determined. "I can."

I push the guard to his knees so he's facing Willow. I watch as she raises the gun and points it at his forehead with a steady hand. My cock hardens at the sight. She's really something else. I can't wait to see what else she's capable of.

"I'll be right back."

CHAPTER EIGHT

WILLOW

I never thought I would be in a position like this, but here I am, holding a gun to a man's head and willing to pull the trigger if he so much as blinks. I trained as a fighter and with knives, but I've never held a gun before. My hand is steady while my insides are shaking. For one quick second, I almost protested taking the gun from Kisten. Shooting a man feels wrong, but then I look at the guard and remember who he is and what he does. I immediately know I wouldn't hesitate to shoot him.

The longer I hold the gun to his head, the more powerful I feel. Maybe I should learn how to shoot. I want to hold onto this feeling. Really, learning to shoot is just another form of self-defense. I wasn't afraid of learning how to fight with knives, and those are lethal. The only difference is that knives are up close while I can keep my distance with a gun. Considering the size difference between me and most men, a gun would level the playing field.

It feels like Kisten has been gone forever, but it can't have been more than a couple minutes. Each second that passes ratchets up my anxiety. What happens if he doesn't come back? What if he's hurt? How will we get out of here? They will punish us for what we've done tonight. I'd rather shoot myself than go back to the life I've lived the past six years. I can't do it after having freedom dangled in front of me like an ooey, gooey triple chocolate brownie.

I'm nearly in a full-blown what-if spiral when the door opens, and Kisten appears. I gasp when I see the blood on his hands and splattered on his face. I rush to him; he takes the gun and returns it to the small of his back as I run my hands over him, checking for injuries.

"I'm okay, beauty. It's not my blood."

I take a deep breath, calming my racing heart.

"We need to move before someone sees the guards outside," he says.

He stands the guard up and pushes him out the door first, using him as a shield for potential attacks. I wait for the girls to file out after them before I follow. My feet sink into soft grass for the first time in so long, and my throat tightens. It's cool and refreshing. When I am free of this place, I will spend days outside. I can imagine the warm sun heating my skin during the day and the cool night air ruffling my hair. It will be heavenly.

Lexis leads us through an immaculate garden to the back of the property, where there's a copse of trees. The entire time, my heart is pounding from anxiety, adrenaline coursing through my veins at the thought of being caught. I relax slightly when we finally reach the trees and aren't out in the open.

"The road isn't far from here," Lexis says. "Maybe a twenty-minute walk…"

Kisten looks at us with indecision. I can tell he doesn't like the thought of us separating. Frankly, I don't either. I feel safe with him here. Seeing the four girls that came to the mansion with me huddled together, terrified, makes me even less happy to be separated from Kisten. I don't want to have their safety on my shoulders. It was one thing to watch their backs and keep the guard at gunpoint. It's an entirely different thing to keep them safe while walking through the woods in the dark as we escape our prison.

Kisten takes the gun out again and approaches me. Even covered in blood, he's the most handsome man I've ever seen. I should be scared of a man like him. He's huge and menacing, but there's something warm in his eyes when he looks at me. I can't forget the gentleness with which he touched me at Mecca. When I attacked him earlier tonight, he could've hurt me, but he simply restrained me. Then there's the fact that he's helping six women escape sexual slavery at best and death at worst.

"Lexis will lead you to the road, and I'll pick you up there. I need you to be brave for me a little longer, okay?"

I swallow thickly, willing myself to stand tall, not throw myself at him, and beg him not to leave me here. It's completely irrational because if he doesn't go get his car, we can't escape. There's this cold pit of dread in my gut that tells me if he leaves us here, I'll never see him again. The thought is abhorrent.

"You can do this, my beautiful fighter."

His words warm my insides and bolster me up. He's right. I can do this. I'll do anything to gain my freedom. This is the last step to leaving this place. I take the gun from his hand and step away.

"Be safe," he murmurs, studying my face like he's committing my features to memory.

"You too. See you soon?"

"I'll be waiting for you, Beauty."

"Okay."

Kisten watches us until we're deeper into the trees before he leaves with the bound guard. The trees and undergrowth are thick. Lexis leads us on a winding path for what feels like an eternity. I start to worry that she doesn't know where she's going. It's dark among the trees. The moonlight doesn't penetrate the thick canopy.

Lucy and Stacia cling to each other, complaining and crying the entire trek. I've had to threaten bodily harm to make them be quiet. I remind them not too nicely that they aren't free yet and that any unnecessary noise will draw attention to us. I'm not surprised they are the two complaining and whining.

Reghan is walking closest to Lexis. She was never talkative during our time together at Mecca. I'm not sure how she came to be in this life, only that she'd been at Mecca for almost as long as Georgie. She's the perfect slave, though. Anytime I've been in the same room with her and a client, she's like a perfect doll. Never questioning, never fighting back. Completely subservient. My only guess as to why she was brought to the auction is her age. She's in her late twenties, and even though she's still beautiful, she's past her prime in sex slave years. It's sad, but there is an expiration date for people like us.

Tabitha is only a couple steps in front of me. She took one of the knives when we first entered the woods and has been on high alert with every step away from the mansion. I can see the same determination to survive that I have. She's ready to do whatever it takes to get out of here. Of all the women, including Lexis, she's the only one I can see holding her own in a fight. It's probably terrible of me, but I'm glad she's closest to me. I'd rather have her determination near in a fight than Lucy's sniveling.

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