Page 11 of Monster

“Understood,” I murmured.

She smiled. “Good. Now, to wipe off my mistakes so we can try again. I suggest you hold still this time.”

She gripped my chin and wiped at my face, taking with it the makeup she had put on previously. Then, she pulled out her brushes and her pallets and started over.

“A word of advice?” the woman asked.

I snarled. “What advice could you possibly give me?”

She giggled lowly. “No matter who bids on you, keep a smile on your face. No matter what they do. Because if you can work up a reputation for being one of the good girls, the kinder men will bid your way.”

I blinked. “I’m sorry, can you run that by me one more time?”

She wrapped her hand around my throat. “You ruined my eyeshadow with your talking.”

“Pretty sure you don’t put eyeshadow on li—oh, God. Fuck.”

She squeezed tightly. “Three strikes and you're out. You’ve got one more shot before I’m authorized to put a bullet between your eyes.”

Authorized?

So, she wasn’t the one in charge. But, who was?

She loosened her grip. “Good girl. I see you learn quickly.”

I licked my lips. “This won’t end well, for you and your boss. My absence will go unnoticed. My mother is a high profile attorney in the city. She has friends in high—.”

The woman started wiping at my eyes. “Another word of advice? Everyone here thinks they’re important. Someone will always miss someone else. Someone will always have some sort of power they can lord over someone else’s head. Close your eyes.”

I did as instructed. “Well, it’s true this time. And when they come for you, they’re taking down this entire operation. Piece, by piece.”

The woman laughed softly. “You keep telling yourself that, number four.”

I paused. “Four?”

“Open your eyes.”

Again, I did as instructed. “Why did you just call me number four?”

She pulled out a shade of red I’d never dream of wearing myself. “Because that’s your number for the stage.”

“Stage? What stage?”

Her eyes finally found mine. “The auction stage, you pretty little thing. You’re going to be entertaining company tonight.”

My jaw dropped open in shock and she quickly started painting that loud-ass color on my lips. But, I was too shell-shocked to do much about it. An auction stage? All of us were about to be sold off to someone?

“Permanently?” I asked.

The woman capped off the lipstick. “Roll your lips.”

“Are you selling us all off permanently?”

She pulled out some eyeliner. “The good girls stay. The bad girls don’t.”

And while I had no idea what the fuck that meant, I knew I had to dig down deep. If I wanted to survive the night, that meant surviving whatever was about to come my way. I sat there like a lifeless doll as she painted me with so much makeup I felt like a clown. Then, she put her pallets and brushes away before helping me to stand.

The woman pointed towards the door. “Go get the next girl and bring her to me. If you do without so much as a sound, I can put in a kind word for you.”

I paused. “I couldn’t so much as pee without that man watching me, but you’re willing to let me out of your sight? Why?”

She grinned. “Call it a test of sorts.”

“A test? What kind of test?”

Her eyes leveled with mine. “A test to see whether you’re good… or bad.”

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