Page 3 of Merciless Protector

His movement was swift. His punishment absolute. He fisted a hand around my right breast and squeezed. The pain was excruciating. I knew better than to cry out. My only reaction was a change in my expression. That couldn’t be avoided.

“I could give you to my men. I don’t know why I keep you around,” he said near my ear, but the men with guns that stood in his presence heard well enough. They laughed. “I suppose I get a kick out of the headlines. They are still looking for you after all this time.”

Hope flickered in my heart as the double doors to the madman’s throne room opened and his right-hand man entered. The laughter died as the burn of tears threatened to spill down my cheeks.

“Boss,” the man said.

If I hadn’t been chained, I would have rolled to the right during the momentary distraction. I would have barreled into the guard who stood sentry over Ruin and taken his gun. I was a damn good shot and would have taken out at least six of the men in the room before they had a clue what was going on. But I was chained, leaving me zero options.

“You have a request,” the man finished.

He released his hold on my breast. I didn’t have to turn back to know Ruin was pulling out his phone and reading the request. Violently, he yanked my chain, forcing me back. My head landed in his lap.

“This makes me hard,” he said. My eyes were tearing up now from lack of oxygen as the collar tightened around my neck, forcing me to find my breath. I wouldn’t have long. “Suck my cock, pet. Just like I taught you.”

Gagging would be all I knew until his completion. If I ever lost my will to live, I would bite off the head of his dick. But there was still a tiny spark of hope that squashed that idea. My mind went somewhere else as he used my mouth while displaying my body in front of his admirers.

Ruin was perverse and didn’t care who saw the things he did. I was helpless to fight him or the desire he forced on me. I hated him more for forcing an orgasm I didn’t want as he touched me until I had no control over the outcome.

Later, as I lay at the foot of his bed, still chained like an animal, he continued his ruthless pursuit of my mind. “If you weren’t a virgin I could get top dollar for, I’d fuck you just to be your first.”

Ruin’s perversions didn’t run to just women or girls. He didn’t care what was between your legs when it came to his sadistic needs.

I didn’t respond. It wasn’t in my interest to. If I said the wrong thing, it would be a long night. Though he hadn’t fucked me, he’d done just about everything else. And his desires ran dark.

“Someone wants you.” His chuckle was disturbing. “He didn’t quite say it. But the request was too fucking close to your description to be anything but a setup. If he wants to play, he won’t like the game.”

And there it was again. Hope. Had my brother found me? Just as quickly, that thought tanked. I’d seen Ruin shoot a man for bringing him white toast instead of wheat. I may not have love for the brother I’d only met recently, but I didn’t want him dead.

There was a flurry of activity the next day. A woman blindly loyal to Ruin, for whatever reason, came in carrying garments I assumed were for me. As much as I wanted to protest, I’d learned hard lessons early on about the punishments I would receive for noncompliance. All would end with me walking around naked wherever he wanted me to be.

No matter how much it physically and mentally hurt me to do what he wanted, I had to bide my time until I had a clear opportunity for a successful escape. It wasn’t now. When the door had opened to let the woman in, there had been an armed guard just outside. There were likely more. I would survive whatever was happening. I would.

I let her dress me in an Alice in Wonderland getup surely made for a stripper. The simple blue dress was cinched at my waist. The ruffled hem barely covered my ass. And the white bib of the apron lay just slightly above my nipples. I was given long white socks and too-small Mary-Jane black flats. When she proceeded to plait my hair in two braids on either side of my head, I guessed what I was being set up for. Ruin wanted to capitalize on what some had called my baby face. I’d been told most of my adult life I looked younger than I was. The style of my hair would likely make me look even younger.

A rap came at the door, and I was led out into the hallway, where I joined several other girls dressed just like me. My heart raced as a reminder of Ruin’s words came back to me. Someone wants you. Had the time come when I’d be sold? It was both a fear and an opportunity. My guess was that anyone who bought me wouldn’t have the same level of security Ruin did. It could be my ticket to freedom.

Only now, I had a bigger moral dilemma. I’d gotten caught while trying to save my little sister from a predator. The girls lined up with me looked her age, preteen. While it was possible one or more could look young like me, from the fear on their youthful faces, I didn’t think any were of legal age.

As they marched us to the room where Ruin held court, I racked my brain for a way to save us all. Without backup or a weapon, I didn’t think I would be able to do so, and it broke me.

We were filed into the main room of the compound. Gone was the raised platform and throne Ruin liked to sit on. Instead, a table was in the middle of the room. Men sat on either side of it. Without counting, I guessed the number of men matched the number of us females.

Most of the men were older, like my dad’s age, except one. He had dark hair, was clean-shaven, and had eyes as cold as the arctic. Though he was very attractive, he had to be a sick fuck to be here for whatever was about to happen.

It was easy to surmise even if I hadn’t ever seen one; I was more certain than ever we were about to be sold at a human auction.

3

MATT

Plans had been made. Though nothing was certain. When the call came, my brothers-in-arms, the close circle that included the King brothers, Kalen and Connor, Kalen’s best friend Griffin and me, didn’t have a lot of time to account for every possibility. I would go in blind as any who’d attended one of these auctions never spoke a word of it. We had to guess at what to expect.

Because of Connor King’s contacts and my deep-cover Shawn persona, I, rather Rook, had gotten in. The auction was tonight. I had no choice but to be more specific about the description of the type of girl I was interested in than I’d wanted to be. It was a risk, for sure. But I didn’t want to go without being reasonably sure we’d find David’s sister. All other potential human trafficking auction leads we’d gotten had been passed to the FBI anonymously.

What did one wear to an auction for people? Jeans and a T-shirt didn’t seem appropriate. Full FBI riot gear would have been my choice, but it would have exposed my cover. So, I wore a suit. Black because the funeral look was what I was going for. If I happened to kill Ruin, it wouldn’t be the worst outcome.

I rented a car and drove out past the city to docks off the beaten path. The parking lot had few cars in it and the boxy industrial building looked deserted. Only pale-yellow light lit the area just around the single gray door. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that the building wasn’t heavily guarded unless someone had double-crossed me.

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