Page 45 of Tess, Property of Blaze

I slam my mouth shut then look at Snake. “Well, weren’t you taking me somewhere?”

Viper laughs, which turns to moans of pleasure as he holds her roughly and increases his thrusts.

The sight is making me physically ill, so I turn around and flee, passing Snake and calling out, “Shall we?”

He follows, reaching me quickly with his long strides. “This way,” he says, and I drop back so I’m behind him as we head down a dark corridor. The music starts blaring once again, and I notice some of the other bikers still staring at me. Some I remember—actually, I remember most of the ones I come across, their stares radiating pure hate. These bikers aren’t like the Blood Brothers, though. Most of these guys are fat, with yellow or missing teeth, and they stink of sweat and tobacco, unlike the Blood Brothers, who all take pride in their appearance, work out every day, shower, and look after their women. They don’t treat them like whores.

“Down here,” Snake says, looking over his shoulder at me, his eyes expressing something like pity.

“What did you mean when you said ‘the other girls’? What girls?”

“Don’t ask any questions, Teresa, if you know what’s good for you. Just get down there and try not to talk to the other women, it won’t do you any good.”

I go to ask him more questions, but he turns and heads down the stairs. I hold on to the cold metal rail as the stairs take us down to a dark hallway. It’s barely lit, with only a single light bulb hanging above.

I grasp Snake’s arm. “Please take me back up, please. I’ll be good, I’ll just stay in Viper’s room. I promise.”

He shakes his head. “Sorry, Teresa, Viper’s now our president, and what he says is word. We must obey his every demand. If you know what’s good for you, you will too.”

He turns once again, and I panic when we reach a door and he takes out a key, unlocking it. He opens the door slightly, and I swallow hard, the smell of damp and urine hitting my nose as I slowly walk through the doorway.

I turn to Snake. “No, I can’t go in here. Please, Snake, surely there’s somewhere else.” I look around the room again; it’s cold and damp, and dark enough that I can’t see anyone else in there. “Wait, did you say there are other women in here?”

Snake takes out a small flashlight from his back pocket and shines it around the room. The bright light falls on a young girl sitting up against the back wall of the room. She has dark-blond hair, which I think could be lighter, but it’s obvious she hasn’t bathed in a while. Her hand covers her face, the light irritating her eyes, until it moves on to the back corner of the room where another woman is crouched down, her head lowered to avoid the glare. She has brown shoulder-length hair and is slightly older than the blond girl, and looks tough, has a strength in her I recognize and admire. She looks us both straight in the eye, strong defiance written all over her face.

But what shocks me most is that these girls are not women—they look as young as sixteen.

“I need your phone and your bag, Teresa.”

I turn to face Snake. “What? Why? How long am I staying here for?”

He shrugs. “Won’t be long. I’m sure Viper won’t be able to keep his hands off you for too long.”

Fear fills me when I picture Viper laying his hands on me. I’ll probably throw up at his touch. I hand Snake my bag and the phone in my back pocket. “Other phone, too, Teresa.” I raise my eyebrows. “Yes, Viper told me about the second phone.”

I sigh and hand him that one too. Moaning comes from inside the room, and I move in closer. “Hello?” I say, walking to the middle of the room. Suddenly a loud bang sounds, and I turn around to see that Snake’s no longer behind me, then the scrape of a key in a lock on the other side of the door. I quickly run to the closed door and bang my fist on it, yelling, “Open up! Let me out!” I call out over and over again, until my hand is sore and the sound of Snake’s steps can no longer be heard.

“Hello?”

The sound of a young girl’s voice comes from behind me, and I turn around, wondering which one it belongs to. I try to adjust my vision to get a glimpse of the girls once again, and with the moon shining brightly through the single window situated up high against the back wall, I can make out a silhouette to my right. I take slow and steady steps toward the shadow. “Hello? What’s your name?"

I take a few last steps then kneel in front of her. A match flares brightly, and I can see that the girl in front of me, the one with the dark hair and the defiant look, has eyes a beautiful shade of green. “Hi, I’m Tess, what’s your name?”

“I’m Samantha, but my friends call me Sam.”

“How long have you been here, Sam?” I ask, reaching out and moving her hair out of her face with my hand, tucking it behind her ear. She flinches when my fingers make contact with her skin, and I pull back. “I’m sorry,” I say quickly, not wanting to make her feel threatened or uncomfortable.

“It’s okay, it’s just… my cheek is bruised, from when they hit me.”

My breath catches in my throat. “I’m so sorry, Sam. Are you badly hurt?” The match has died out and I can’t see any of her features clearly.

She shakes her head. “No, it’s just tender, and I’m sure it’s bruised. They tried to drug me, with this stuff that makes you out of it, but I fought them. But Amy over there…. She’s so tiny, she couldn’t hold her own.”

I look over to the girl in the corner. I can’t see her clearly, but I can make out her slight frame, still huddled against the wall. She does look alarmingly small and young from where I’m seated.

“Why are you here?” I ask, not exactly sure why they have girls locked in a room.

I hear her sniffle and realize she’s crying.

---