Page 88 of Their Cruel Love

She doesn’t sound like a threat.

“Sure, if you can unlock the door. Sorry, but I’m all tied up right now.” I’m making jokes again. Hasto be a good sign.

A second later, the door clicks and starts to swing open. How did they open it so quickly? And…they asked permission but is this this really a woman? What if they brought someone to speak for them? What if…

Aimee enters.

She is the submissive who was getting pierced and laced up at the pool. Her red hair is even more startling up close. She waves in a half-circle. “Hi.”

“Uh. Hi.” I jiggle my ankle, wondering if she can do her trick on this, because the door must have an even more complex lock? “Can you?”

“Sure.” She springs over like a happy spaniel and gets to work using a set of lock picks. “And why have they tied you to the bed?”

“A longish story, though mainly they just wanted to go off and do something without me.”

The cuff pops open, and I rub my ankle—mostly to let myself think. I was careful not to yank on the cuff. She seems harmless. I bounce off the bed and grab a pair of shorts, bra, a top, and a light jacket to fend off the mosquitoes that fly around here some nights.

“What are you doing here?”

Aimee adopts a serious expression, which still looks way cute on her with those rosebud lips. She’s shorter than me by several inches. I would never have imagined her a lock-pick expert.

“I’m here as an intermediary.”

“Long word. Your thievery skills intrigue me too.” As I drag on shorts, I eye the cuff where it hangs off the bed.

“Long word, and it’s a long story too, I guess. Like yours. A man wants to talk to you about the unsavory things going on here. He’s waiting down at the jetty.”

She tucks her lock-picks into the pocket of her black Lycra shorts. Her shirt is black also…which makes me wonder if she plans to blend into the night. Everyone is camouflaging themselves, tonight, and here I am in black shorts and a pale blue top. I’m half night-camouflaged.

Who is this girl? She knows this resort is doing criminal things, but does she know they may be making snuff films? I’m not sure I should mention that. Unsavory could mean many things.

Why is she really here?

I’m wary of trusting after being grabbed and gagged in the bathroom, hustled out and locked into that apparatus, ready to be violated. If Marcus hadn’t been prepared to pay…

That was on me.I got us in too deep.

The risk-taking is all on me. I cannot make things worse, can I?

I swallow and switch back into the now.

“I’m not sure I feel going down there at night is safe. Especially if I’m to meet one of these…”Assholes.“People.”

“Yeah. He thought as much, but if he wanted to do bad things, he could be in here doing them.”

She is probably correct, except Marcus and Razor might return and spoil anything nefarious, if it were happening. And she has freed me. She looks too nice to be evil. Not a smart way to judge, and how did this man choose her to speak for him? There is more beneath the surface of this. Sharks might be lurking.

I sigh and choose the riskier option.

“Let’s go then.” I push my feet into a pair of gym shoes and tie the laces. “Not sure why I’m trusting you,” I mutter as we pad down the corridor toward reception.

She only sends me a half-smile and keeps going, silent asthe plague, or is that deadly as the plague? I’m still rattled from earlier and probably not making wise decisions or good similes. We take a turn away from the main door, and Aimee unlocks a side exit. I’m definitely thinking Aimee is a ninja.

My logic may suck, but my instincts are saying, go there, talk to this guy. Right now, we are stuck here. An ally could be highly worthwhile.

And Aimee is what? “Are we friends now?”

“This question is a little too early to decide, yes?”

---