Page 53 of Tess, Property of Blaze

“Just give it a little longer, Blaze. I promise you I won’t let anything happen to him,” Prez says, and I grind my jaw, anger and frustration flooding through me. I just turn back to the screen, though. Prez knows what he’s doing, and I trust him.

“I didn’t mean no disrespect. I’m just sayin’, I’m good.”

All of a sudden, Viper begins to laugh, then slaps at Tracker’s cheek. “I’m just messin’ with you. Come with me,” he says, then turns and begins to walk away. Tracker doesn’t follow immediately, and Viper stops and turns back around, narrowing his eyes at Tracker. “Are you turning down my invitation?”

“To where exactly?” Tracker asks, and I lean toward the screen, not wanting to miss any details of their next movements.

Viper places his hands on his hips. “I have a new girl. She’s young, has a body like a kid, if you like that kind of thing?”

I sit back again, feeling sick. Just the thought of a young girl being used as a sex slave is all kinds of fucked-up. To have it confirmed is horrifying. “These guys are fuckin’ savages,” I growl at Quill and Hawke. I turn and meet their narrowed gazes; they’re close to exploding, fuckin’ angry, just like me.

Viper continues, pointing a finger at Tracker. “But, she’s still intact, and you won’t be fuckin’ her tonight, because that, my friend, is paid for in full. But she can still make you feel good, isn’t that right, Snake?”

Snake looks at Viper, then at Tracker. There’s something about that look, something about Snake’s vibe—call it a gut feeling—that makes me think he’s not all bad, like this is sickening him too. What’s your deal, Snake?

He agrees with Viper, though, flashing a clearly forced leer. “That’s right, Prez.” Then he glances at Tracker and says, “You won’t be disappointed.”

There’s a bit of movement, and then Tracker’s following Viper and Snake down a hallway. I fist my hands again when they pass several closed doors, wondering if Tess is in one of those rooms. Where are you, Tess? Are you okay?

They stop at a door near the end of the hallway, and Viper pulls out a key and unlocks it, swinging it open. Viper walks in first, followed by Tracker, and Snake possibly behind them.

“Here she is,” Viper says. There’s the scratch of a match being lit, crystal clear over the inbuilt mic on the transmitter Tracker’s wearing, now there’s no music playing, and then a flare of light. Viper lights an old-fashioned lamp sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, and slowly the surrounding area becomes clearer. A young girl comes into view, her skin pale and her blonde hair all over the place, like she’s been running her hands through it. She’s sitting on what looks like a mattress in the corner, topless, and at a guess, I’d say she’s just a kid. I swallow hard and try to push down the anger and heartbreak at what they’ve done to this poor girl. All I want to do is run in there and save her, get her the fuck out of her, take her to a safe place.

“Nicky, get up.”

We watch as Nicky gets slowly up off the floor at Viper’s command, then stands in front of him in just some white underwear. She has her arms wrapped around herself, and she’s visibly trembling.

“Fuck!” I growl.

Quill’s clenching his fists next to me, and I know he’s thinking the same as me. He has a daughter, so does Hawke—he has two, twin girls. This must be fucking with their heads something bad as well.

Viper motions for Nicky to walk to him, and she does as he asks. As she gets closer, we don’t miss how she can barely walk straight, and it hits me that she’s fucked-up on some kind of drug.

“You see this man over there,” Viper says, pointing to Tracker. She nods clumsily with a smile but is struggling to keep her head up straight. “Now what can you do for him?”

“I can make you feel real good,” she slurs, her mouth having difficulty forming the words, and it looks like her lips are covered in cold sores.

“Um, I’m all good. Thanks for the offer, though,” Tracker mumbles.

Viper whips his head toward Tracker and growls, “Are you saying no to a gift I’m offering you.”

Fuck, Tracker, just say yes.

“No, man, it’s not like that, it’s just….”

“Just what?”

“Nothin’. Sure, I’ll accept your gift.”

A loud slap echoes in the room, and the young girl steps forward. Must have been Viper’s hand hitting her skin, most likely on her ass. He leans in and whispers in her ear, and she nods and smiles, but she’s so out of it that she can’t keep herself straight, and has no idea what’s going on, or what she’s agreeing to.

She steps closer to Tracker, looking so tiny and frail standing next to him. She must fall to her knees, because we can no longer see her, and then we hear the sound of a zipper being undone. Tracker’s, if I’m guessing correctly.

“Fuck me!” I snarl, moving to get out of my seat, but Hawke grabs my arm firmly.

“Just wait, let’s see what happens next. We have to trust Tracker here, he’ll have a plan,” Hawke says.

We watch as Viper smirks and rubs his cock through his jeans. “I’m gettin’ hard just thinkin’ about you suckin’ him, girl. Get to it,” he commands, his voice booming in the stark and bare room.

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