Page 38 of Her Last Audition

I swallow deeply, but follow behind Jaime until we reach a door I’ve never been through before. We wait in a row, six of us, while Mark comes to the front and unlocks the door, letting us all file in. My eyes widen when I take in the new room.

Thisis what I expected a brothel to look like.

The room is a large circle that seems to be draped in fabric, mirrors and low lights. There are at least half a dozen doors around the edges of the room, and in the centre, a large circular seating area with black satin cushions laid out everywhere. Off to one side is a small stage with a pole, enough for only one person.

I can’t tell where it’s coming from, but there’s a subtle smell of incense that doesn’t quite mask the muskier scent of sex and sweat.

The girls move around with familiarity, taking up seats around the room. The door closes behind us and I hear the lock click and realize we’re actually alone.

Jaime walks over to me, taking my arm.

“Well, I don’t know why you’re here, but welcome to The Middle,” she says, leading me over to the seat in the centre. I sit beside her, but my eyes wander about the room, taking in the small details.

“Is this where…” I trail off, and Jaime’s lips tighten, but she nods anyway.

“Yes, this is where fucked-up things happen. They’ll leave us here, and soon enough, the customers will show up. Did they tell you anything?”

I shake my head. “No, nothing.”

She nods, pointing to the other girls.

“This is Reyne, Liz, Terri, and Zee. Reyne and I have been here the longest, almost six months now, and Terri, Liz, and Zee are here for about three. Girls, this is Kinsey.”

They all give me small nods and greetings.

Jaime darts a glance around and I notice her look untoward the corner, and I assume there’s more cameras. Her voice drops to a whisper.

“Are they still going to auction you?” she asks, her hand on my arm a welcoming comfort.

I shake my head. “I don’t know, I think they did already.”

I quickly explain what happened yesterday and watch as Jaime’s eyes widen.

“What?” I ask, not sure what to make of her reaction. “What does that mean?”

She shakes her head incredulously. “I don’t know, girl. I’ve never heard of them stopping an auction before, but the live shows aren’t really new. It sounds like you caught someone’s eye. I don’t know who this Atlas guy is, but...do you know who the other guy who wanted to buy you in the first place was?”

I nod. “His name was Eli.”

I hear a small sound from one of the other girls, and Jaime’s eyes widen another notch.

“You know him,” I accuse. “Tell me.”

Her lips tighten and I nudge her.

“Please,” I beg, “you have to tell me, Jaime.”

Her voice is a whisper I can barely make out.

“There was another girl here before, Dakota. Sweet girl, like you. She was in here with us for a while, but one of them kept coming for her. She started to lose lots of weight, didn’t look good. I could never see bruises, scars or anything else on her, but something happened. That went on for a few weeks; she was like a ghost, until one day, she wasn’t. The guy who was obsessed with her was Eli.”

My body shudders at her words. What have I gotten myself into? Why me?

Time seemsto crawl while we wait for customers and I wonder what’s in store for me. My body feels cold, and I wish I had Atlas’ jacket to wrap around me.

Despite myself, I keep daydreaming he’ll burst through the door and sweep me away from here. He’d take me away from all this, help me save Jaime and the other girls, and we’d run away from the Iron Elite forever.

Stupid girl, I admonish myself.

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