Page 57 of The Devil In Disguise

“My best friend, Nina, and I got invited to a party by her boyfriend. I didn’t even want to go, but I did and at the end of the night we were shoved in the back of a black car and that’s all I remember. I have a family I love, I can’t abandon them.”

Party? Why do I feel like she’s referring to Renato’s party?

The whole party was a fucking set-up.

My eyes shut on their own volition, pushing away those emotions. Now is not the time, we have bigger issues. She keeps her eyes focused on the task at hand while she speaks, and by the end of her rant, my hands are free. I rub my raw wrists as I mull over her words.

Guiding her to stand with me, I whisper in a broken voice of my own. “We will get out of here. We have to.”

The look in her eyes tells me she doesn’t fully believe me. Fuck, I am trying real damn hard to believe it myself, but I refuse to give into my doubts. I’d die before ever giving up my freedom.

We make our way to the other girls and as I’m helping the third girl I see, tires pulling into the front of the place pull my attention to the large double doors on the far wall. Several car doors slam shut and it acts as an unspoken cue for us all to get back in our places.

Bright sunlight momentarily blinds me as the doors open wide and men start piling in one by one, each with at least two guns on them. There’s eight of them total, all but one of them start walking towards a different girl. Presumably the leader is the one who stands in the middle and speaks.

“Rise and shine, ladies. It’s time to go.”

My eyes are scouring the ground near me for any sharp object, but I come up short. As swiftly as possible, I grab the rope that held my hands together and loosely tie my hands together again, or at least make it appear that they’re still bound.

“How the hell did you get loose?” Sweat breaks out all over my body. My heart hammers in my chest as my eyes track the voice to find the main man from the middle walking towards a guy hovering over Bailey.

Fuck.

His dark eyes sparkle with malicious intent. The fucker is genuinely is enjoying this. The leader lowers his voice, but it still carries through the silent barn, dark and foreboding. “That deserves a punishment, don’t you think?” Silently, she shakes her head slowly. “You girls will learn how to do as you're told. I find examples are the best way to really learn something. We’ll start with you. Stand.”

All color drains from her face. On shaky legs, she stands, pleading once she’s face to face with the ringleader. “Please, please don’t do this. I-I can give you money if that’s what you want. You can take every last penny, please. Don't…do this.” Her voice shakes with her words.

A rough voice calls from my left. “Boss, there’s another one here. Bitch probably helped the girl out.”

The owner of said voice shoves forward the girl in the blue dress. Nina. She looks even more shaken up than Bailey does, turning her head down and closing her eyes as a stream of tears falls down her cheeks.

Ringleader turns his attention to the friend and laughs darkly. “Ah, now it makes sense.” He walks over Nina, pulling her chin up. “Open your eyes. There we go. Your fear and tears look beautiful on you.”

Shoving her face away, he stands up straight and addresses his men. “Round them up and take them all to the car, sedate them if you have to just get them there.” Making his way back to Bailey and the man beside her, he announces, “Yellow is coming first. The rest will follow.”

A shorter, stocky Hispanic man approaches me and yanks me up by my upper arms. “Let’s go, puta. Walk or I’ll make you,” he sneers. Some of us file out like prisoners heading to sentencing while others wait for more men to return. There’s more of us than there are of them, I think I counted ten.

I’m three girls behind Ringleader. He walks behind Bailey and his friend walks next to her. At just a few feet from the four waiting cars, she pivots and takes off as fast as she can. But she doesn’t make it far before Ringleader shoots her backside, near the center of her chest.

Unadulterated fear threatens to paralyze me at the scene. Crimson red is quickly spreading over the innocent yellow of her dress, as the last of her life bleeds out. All she wanted was to go home to her family.

Get it together, Amaris. We have to stay strong and play smart if we want to make it out of here alive. My chances of being found or escaping are getting even slimmer by them moving us to a different location. Dread twists in my stomach, my panic spiking when the thought that no one will even look for me surfaces.

It’s very possible, I’m basically already missing. After the way I left things with Kylo, he’ll likely think I’m just mad at him and left him. Unless…He was in on the whole scheme, too?

No. I refuse to believe that. He is an asshole, and a liar, and a manipulator, but this is low, even for him. Right? Either way, he might be my only hope. Who knows if he’ll be able to find me in time. That gives me all the more reason to fight my way out of here. I’m the only person I know I have.

What I won’t admit, is how much a part of me hopes Kylo does save me from this nightmare.

Ringleader only looks bored with a hint of annoyance. “And then there were eleven. Damn, I was gonna have fun with her.” We all stopped walking, waiting. Turning to Nina, he winks. “More for you, my dear.” Then, he’s back to addressing the men. “You know what to do, we’re going back for the rest of them.”

Three of us get in the backseat of each car. I commit any detail of this place to memory before they cover our heads with old sacks. “If any of you move a muscle or try to take it off, I will shoot,” one of them says.

Anxiety forces me to focus on my breathing during the ride, the only thing I have control over. A bump in the road has my hand grazing something solid on my leg. Papa’s dagger. Relief and hope spark in my chest. I have a weapon and as long as I play my cards right, this can be my one way out.

The car comes to a stop after some time, I tense when the front doors open and close. Both back doors open a second later and the harsh voices are back.

“Get the fuck out. Watch your step, let’s go.”

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