Page 13 of Luka

Tall scans the screen before a large grin stretches across his face. “Oof. Terrible timing.”

“Fuck you,” Arseni spits, then starts grumbling in the language they spoke earlier.

Tall is still smiling when he replies, and Arseni waves him off, stomping to Piper’s vehicle as he mutters. He looks annoyed instead of angry. Defeated.

He isn’t taking me.

My eyes widen as I struggle to get to my knees, my heart racing when Arseni climbs in the car and drives away.

Tall walks up behind me. I can’t summon enough bravery to turn to him.

“Looks like it’s just you and me,señorita.”

4

LUKA

“My name is Lucia,” the girl sputters as I tie her other wrist to the opposite bed post. “I’m nineteen years old. I have a dog named Toto, you know fromTheWizard of Oz.” She chokes out a nervous laugh. “My papá, ordad. You guys say dad, don’t you?”

She pauses like she’s actually waiting for me to respond. It’s cute, what she’s doing. Trying to get me to empathize with her. Trying to humanize herself. It’s like she read the first page of a “what to do if you’re kidnapped” manual.

“Anyway, my dadhatedthe movie. It drove him crazy that I loved it. Do you like movies?”

I move on to tying one of her ankles to a bedpost, noting how forcefully she tries to fight me parting her legs even while trying to make friendly conversation.

So, so cute.

“Your name’s Luka, right?”

Dirt rubs from the bottom of her bare foot onto my palm. They’re filthy.She’sfilthy from sitting in the dirt. I should’ve washed her first.

“I really like that name. It’s strong, handsome. You look like a Luka.”

ThisI can’t help but snicker at. I give her a brief glance before moving onto her other ankle. She struggles, her thighs squeezing while she whines, but her legs fully part without much effort from me. She closes her eyes and cries.

“I’m serious,” she says through a sob when I’m finishing up the knot. “The only reason I didn’t pick you was because you’re so intimidating. Your friend isn’t as—as—asruggedas you are.”

I can’t believe she’s still trying.

I pull the knot tight then take off my shirt.

“Please don’t do this,” the girl cries. “Por favor, por favor.”

When I crawl onto the bed, she tips her head toward the ceiling and sucks in a deep breath to scream. She manages to belt out half the wordhelpbefore I’m on top of her, my pelvis against hers, three fingers stabbed between her teeth. The opportunity to bite me leaves in a flash as I fit my hand into her mouth to part her jaw. Saliva coats my fingers as she breathes hoarsely around them, her frightful eyes staring into mine.

“Now what did we say about screaming?” I ask, my head tipped in admonishment. She whimpers in response. “I like hearing your pretty voice. I don’t mind you talking. But I also wouldn’t mind fucking your corpse, and that’s exactly what I’ll do if you scream again… Should I go get my ax?” I open her jaw wider as a reminder of what had her puking earlier.

She sobs as she struggles to shake her head, but I want her words.

“Hmmm?” I ask, tugging until I know it’s painful.

“No,” she tries to say. “No ack.”

I pull my hand away and wipe it on the side of her clothed tit while she cries with her face turned into my pillow. It takes at least a couple of minutes for her to calm down, her sobs transitioning to stuttered breathing, then finally to loud but full inhales.

Her face is hidden from me, but I’m able to feel everything happening inside of her from her breathing and the tension in her muscles alone. I can tell she hasn’t given up yet. She won’t scream for now, but I wouldn’t trust her for a moment if I left.

“Do you really think I’m handsome?” I ask her, just to see if she’ll keep up her earlier strategy. If she thinks it’s still viable.

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