Page 24 of Seductive Secrets

The guy sighed as if severely put upon. “Lady, all of our postal boxes are by code only. A customer chooses their code and, as long as they pay the rent on the box, no one messes with the code. So no,” he reiterated impatiently. “That key doesn’t unlock anything in this store.” He then moved over to help the next customer.

James and Angela went into the hotel next door, asking the same question. No luck. They did the same thing for the next ten stores and hotels and no one recognized the key.

Frustrated, they stopped for coffee. While waiting for their drinks, James leaned against the counter and asked, “Would you mind explaining why your guys are so protective of you?”

The irritation at the lack of progress during the past hour evaporated, replaced with nervous tension. She licked her lips and turned away. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Their coffee orders were called out and James stepped forward to take them. As Angela put sweetener in her coffee, James continued. “Yes, you do. They watch over you protectively. It’s almost as if they think that you might break.”

She scoffed, but deep down, knew he had a point. Her guys did watch her carefully.

Angela glanced up and down the street. “It’s…complicated.” She pointed to the next store. “Let’s try that one next.”

They walked in silence as they made their way down the grimy sidewalk. There were other people hurrying to their destinations, but Angela was lost in her own thoughts now. In the past. In the horrible, painful past.

“Hey,” he said, touching her arm just as she reached for the door handle. She paused, looking up at him. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry. I’d just like to get to know you better, Angela. And it feels as if there is a big secret that only you and the other men know about.” He shook his head. “You don’t need to tell me. It’s your secret. And I apologize if my question made you uncomfortable.”

They stepped into the business and asked about the key. No luck. Back out on the street, Angela tugged her cap down lower and sighed as they continued walking. She turned toward the shop windows, but she didn’t see the colorful displays in the boutique windows or notice the expressions on the strangers they passed.

Angela was lost in the past, remembering that painful time.

“I was sold,” she blurted, surprising both of them.

James froze. The people behind them stopped impatiently and muttered as they moved around them. James grabbed Angela’s hand and led her into the relative isolation of an empty store alcove. “What does that mean?” he asked softly.

Angela gritted her teeth and she looked around to make sure no one was listening. She wondered why she’d said that, but she couldn’t take the words back now, so she figured she might as well tell him the whole story. Still, it was hard. She had never discussed her past with anyone before. So it took her a long moment to work up the courage.

She stared down at her shoes as she explained, “It means, my uncle sold me. I was literally sold to a stranger for about five hundred dollars.”

She heard a hiss, but she was trapped in her memories. She continued, ignoring the tightening in her chest. “I wouldn’t give in to my uncle’s demands that I…” she swallowed hard, blinking back tears. “I wouldn’t…service him,” she finally forced out. “One morning, I was getting ready for school and he dragged me out of my bedroom by my hair. Before I understood what was happening, my arms were already bound.” The words were stilted at first. But as she spoke them, they came more easily.

“When I tried yelling for help, he gagged me, then slapped me so hard, I saw stars. He tossed me over his shoulder and hauled me out of the house. There was a man waiting outside, behind the house.” She took a long sip of her hot coffee, needing the comfort of the familiar flavors. She looked down at the lid, her free hand tracing the plastic ridges as she thought back to that day. “I was tossed into the backseat of a car. When I was able to sit up, I saw a stranger hand money to my uncle.” Her lips trembled for a moment, but she inhaled deeply, steadying herself. “My uncle saluted me with the cash as he wentback into the house. The stranger got into the driver’s seat and drove away with me.”

“Where did this person take you?”

She smiled wanly. “I lived in a small town. The man took me to an old, abandoned house in the city. The man who delivered me there proceeded to explain that I would obey him or suffer the consequences.” She paused again. Angela wanted to look up at James, to see his reaction to her story but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to see the revulsion in his eyes.

“You don’t have to tell me anymore, Angela.” He breathed in a harsh breath and slowly let it out. Because she was looking down, she saw his hands clench into fists. “But I’d like to hear the whole story someday. Or whatever aspects you are willing to share with me.”

His words, spoken so gently, but with that familiar voice that she was growing to lo…care for…she nodded, comforted by his gentle strength and continued. It was such an odd place to spill her sordid past, but it felt right, somehow. The place, as impersonal as it was, surrounded by strangers passing by, oblivious to her pain, was similar to how she’d felt all those years ago. Others had seen her, bound and gagged in the back seat of a non-descript sedan. They’d ignored her then, just as they ignored her now.

“The driver took me to a house, but he didn’t go inside with me. Two more men came out and, in broad daylight, they each grabbed one arm and hauled me into the house.”

“Did they…?” he started to ask, but couldn’t finish.

Angela wanted to feel his arms around her. But just as she’d felt back then, she was alone.

“No. They didn’t rape me. I was to be sold off to the highest bidder for the privilege.”

Suddenly, his armswerearound her, and she sighed gratefully as she leaned into his strength. Angela hadn’t realized how badly she’d needed his arms around her until that moment. It felt so right, so warm and wonderful to have him hold her.

“What happened?”

She shuddered, closing her eyes momentarily. When she opened them, she noticed the sunshine, felt the warmth slowly heating her face. She took another sip of her coffee, and stayed in the circle of his arms. “There were more girls in the house. We were all imprisoned in a small room in the basement. I don’t remember how long I was there, but a few of the girls were taken out for ‘special events’. When they came back, they were dressed in tiny outfits, their makeup smeared everywhere, and their hair, which had been curled and sprayed before, was a tangled mess.” She was quiet for a moment. Remembering. “They’d been taken to various parties around town. At one party…” her voice cracked at the memory and it took a moment before she could continue. “At one party, the girls had been handed out as door prizes to whichever lucky frat boy answered a trivia question correctly.”

She heard his muttered curse and smiled faintly, pressing her cheek against his chest. Angela could hear his heart pounding furiously and was oddly comforted by the sound.

“Did you ever have to attend those parties?”

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