Page 50 of Tess, Property of Blaze

I hear a moan from my lap, and Amy turns over and looks up at me. “Where… where am I?”

I cup her cheek gently. “Amy, I’m Tess. Did they give you something to drug you up?”

She nods, then says,” It hurts, it hurts so much.”

“What does, hon?”

“My stomach, it’s cramping up.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Amy, have you eaten since you’ve been here?”

“No,” she says quietly. “Well, I don’t think I have. I can’t remember.” She then begins to cry. “Oh God, they’re going to kill us.”

“Shush, it’s going to be okay, I’m going to get you out of here.”

“But—”

Amy’s words are cut off when the door is unlocked, then Viper comes walking in with a flashlight, shining it directly at our faces.

“I see you’ve met the others, Teresa. These girls are going to bring us in some good money.”

Sam wraps her arms around me and shudders. “Please don’t let him take me, please.”

I lean in and whisper in her ear, “Trust me, okay?”

She looks up at me, and with the light coming from Viper’s direction, I get a good glimpse at her face. She has dark smudges under her eyes and mascara trails down her cheeks. Her bruise stands out starkly and is turning an alarming shade of purple. Her lip has a cut on it, blood crusted around the edges, but underneath all that damage, Sam really is a pretty girl.

I glance quickly down at Amy, who is now in a fetal position on the ground and crying.

I look up at Viper. “You need to let these girls go.”

His laugh is loud and echoes around the bare room. “You’ve been back for two seconds, and already you’re giving orders. It seems to me you need reminding of where your place is here. Get up!” he shouts, startling us all. Amy shuffles over and puts her head back in my lap.

“Don’t leave us, please.”

“Remember, trust me,” I say quietly to Sam, and she looks up at me and finally nods. I lift Amy’s head off my lap and place it gently on the floor, then remove the jacket I’m wearing and tuck it under her head to support it.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

“Hurry up, Teresa, I don’t have all fuckin’ day.”

I get up slowly and make my way to Viper. As soon as I’m close enough, he grabs me by my waist and pulls me up against him. I cringe when I feel his hard cock pressing against my stomach. “Give me a kiss, Teresa.”

I do as he says, not wanting to anger him, and slowly kiss him. He pinches my cheeks together with one hand, causing my mouth to stay open, and then he does something that almost makes me puke on his boots—he spits into my mouth. I gag violently, but he doesn’t loosen his hold. Then he covers my lips with his, sucking mine into his mouth. I don’t move, I don’t kiss him back. I can’t. His mere touch makes my skin crawl.

Finally, he pulls back and slaps my ass. “Let’s get out of here.”

“But… what about them?” I say, pulling on his hand.

He looks behind me to where the girls are huddled together against a wall. “Don’t worry about them, they won’t be here for much longer. I’ve already got a buyer for them.”

“You need to let them go, Viper.”

He turns fully to face me, and then with no warning, he slaps me hard with the back of his hand. I fall to the floor and cup my cheek, tasting copper in my mouth, and my eyes tear up with the sting of the slap. “You’ve been gone too long, wifey, it seems you need reminding of who’s in charge here. Now get the fuck up.”

I slowly get up off my knees and stand facing him. I can hear the cries of Sam behind me, and vow right there and then that I will do whatever it takes to get them free.

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