Page 27 of Voracious

Chris tightens his hold on my hip. “No.”

For some reason, Chris tells them to fuck off again and doesn’t laugh at their jokes or pay attention to anything they say. He’s stroking my side with his thumb, turning his head to whisper in my ear, “I changed my mind – consider your punishment done. We’re leaving.”

“Ten grand?”

Chris glares. “No. This was a mistake bringing her. I’m taking her home.”

“If you do that, I’ll leak the videos you sent us of her. I’ll even add in the other girls you’ve abused. How many is he at now, Phil? Twelve girls? Thirteen?”

“Fifteen victims, I believe,” Phil – I assume – replies, sniggering. “One click andpoof, all of those incriminating videos out in the world.”

My stepbrother freezes. “You wouldn’t. You all took part.”

“We can easily blur our faces.” The first one smirks, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He’s older, bald, a groomed ginger beard covering most of his pale face, his eyes beady and haunting. I remember the feeling of him on top of me when I was a teenager, him asking if the blood smearing his cock was virginal. Little did he know that I’d lost my daughter a month prior. “Twenty grand. Thirty minutes. That’s all we’re asking for. You sold her to us before – what’s the problem now?”

“We’re leaving.” Chris holds my waist, and I slip my arm around his shoulders for balance, since the room is starting to spin.

I hate him, but he’s currently saying no to them. He’s never said no to them sharing me.

“Come on, Fieldsy,” the ginger one says, glancing at his friend beside him. “Fine. We’ll all chip in and raise it to a hundred grand. Surely you can’t pass up that kind of money? It’s not like we haven’t fucked her before. You’re being a spoilsport.”

“Chris,” I whisper, seeing the change in his expression. “Please take me home.”

He closes his eyes. “You send the money now, delete everything you have on me and you can have two hours.”

My insides freeze.No.

The ginger one grins. “You have a deal.”

I won’t let them touch me. I’ll fight. I’ll fight until they have no choice but to kill me.

Phil leans on his elbows and points to the pole. “You can dance. Keep us entertained until I book us a room.”

I look at the pole – it reaches all the way to the high ceiling. I don’t feel like I’m in any position to refuse. If they can manipulate someone like Chris – scare him into selling me – then they’d do worse to me.

They’re violent. I was barely lucid when they attacked me before, but I remember the way they brutalised me until I was barely conscious. There were six of them then, and it’s a little warped that I think myself lucky only the three are here tonight.

“What song would you like on?”

I glance around the room, and my breath hitches when I see the bar, and I quickly need to look away before I make it obvious. Kade is sitting beside Barry – they’re talking.

I haven’t seen him since he forced me onto the jet. Did they hurt him? Did they punish him for rushing me out of the country?

Do they know I’m here? Can they see me? Is Barry here trying to save me? What if Archie Sawyer sees me?

My heart is beating so hard in my chest, I’m shocked none of them can hear it.

“‘Spiracle’,” I say, gulping through my nerves. “By Flower Face.”

Chris points to the pole. “Are you in any state to dance on that?”

I ignore him. I’m not – I already feel whatever he gave me in my system.

When I get to my feet, I nearly lose my balance.

The metal of the pole feels so cold against my clammy, sweating hand. The world blurs together for a few minutes, and I silently beg my heart to stop beating – for my lungs to give up and let me die. If I fall and hit my head, I could pass out – maybe even make myself brain dead from the force of the fall.

Kade is watching me – I can feel the heat of his gaze on me. Chris is too in his own head to realise he’s so close to us. He’s mad that his friends have fucked him over, and he keeps asking the ginger one if he’ll call off the deal.

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