Page 2 of As Thick As Thieves

“I have a bad feeling that the small party he’s hosting tonight is for people to buy girls, and since he’s insisting on me cleaning you up, I think he intends on you being one of them.”

“Pray I find a decent new owner. I doubt those men exist in his circle, but miracles happen.” I swallowed past a lump in my throat, unsure of my future.

“I always pray for you,” she promised softly as she collected her things, knowing she couldn’t stay longer or Dad would punish me and most likely fire her. “If you ever manage to escape again, try to get a message to me to let me know you’re alright. I live in Briar Falls. Seventy-seven Sale Street. Send me a letter or knock on the door if it’s safe to do so. I’m usually there each night by six, but you can always go around the back and use the key that’s under the pot.”

“Thank you, I will,” I nodded, loneliness filling me as she left the room. It was ironic how the dark felt comforting now, being the only peace I had. If it was dark, he wasn’t down here hurting me.

I tried to nap, it was a little easier now that I felt cleaner, but I never slept for long.

There was a lot of noise upstairs, telling me the party had already started, so I sat in the corner against the wall and waited for what I knew was coming.

Sure enough, Dad thumped down the stairs a few hours later, his voice firm. “Come with me.”

“Can’t I stay here?” I asked weakly, cringing as he grabbed my hair and pulled me closer to him.

“I gave you that option before and you ran off with a bunch of criminals. Get upstairs. Feel free to throw a tantrum and embarrass me, they like their toys wild.”

I wanted to throw up as he escorted me into the brightly lit room, people’s conversations dying down as we passed.

“I have a surprise tonight! My daughter’s looking for a new home. Sorry she’s not dressed up, feel free to test drive her if you want,” Dad said cruelly, shoving me and causing me to stumble and land on my hands and knees. Laughter went around the room but I didn’t dare look up, humiliation burning through me on top of the pure exhaustion.

“How much? She looks like she fucks good,” someone asked, and I closed my eyes as people started bickering over me. I wished the floor would swallow me whole and make it all go away.

“I’ll give you a million.”

“Make it three,” Dad threw back, another man joining in and making people gasp.

“I’ll give you five million cash right now.”

“She’s not worth that,” Dad scoffed, but the man seemed way too keen to take me home. Between the lack of nutrition, sleep, and the defeat, I couldn’t even find the energy to be angry.

“C’mon, I bet she’s got a wild side. She’s been broken in, right?” Footsteps approached me, and I flinched as fingers trailed lightly through my hair. It was all a lie, there was nothing gentle about these men.

“My daughter turned out to be quite the whore apparently,” Dad replied. “You really want to waste five mill on her? She’s a nut job so you’ll have to keep her contained or medicated.”

“I don’t mind paying for experienced pussy, especially if it’s crazy. I don’t like timid girls, they bore me,” the man replied, continuing to toy with my hair as I stared at his polished shoes. “I have the cash on me.”

“No returns,” Dad warned as he stepped closer. I closed my eyes as I heard them clasp hands to shake on it, trading my life like it was a used car.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Hey, go get the cash, dude. I’ll let you play with her on the way home.”

It seemed he had a friend too, and I couldn’t help it as tears fell.

“You really want this one?” his friend asked with uncertainty. “What about the blonde we came here for?”

“Hey, Louis. You’ll let us take the blonde on a discount, right?”

This conversation was making me physically ill.

They haggled for a few minutes before making a deal, and I refused to look up until a gentle hand squeezed my shoulder and someone squatted in front of me.

“C’mon, babe. Let's get you out of here.” I forced my eyes up to find Zavier Lopez in front of me, my mouth opening to speak, but he cut me off quietly. “Fight me a little and play along. You don’t know me, got it?” Relief filled me and I almost burst into tears as he pulled me to my feet, motioning to a guy beside him. “Yo, go get the fucking money. I want to get these girls home for some fun.”

I had no idea what they were doing here buying girls, but I wasn’t going to question it until we had privacy. He was wearing a fancy suit like everyone else, his face hard and void of empathy for the other girls being dragged around the room.

There was no way that he was like my father, I refused to believe it.

His friend ran his gaze over me before nodding, pointing to the blonde girl that was cowering in the corner. “Keep an eye on her too.”

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