Chapter 15

SCARLET

15

"Thank fucking Christ, I've been so worried!" Noms high-pitched voice was a welcome sound as I huddled on my bed, having showered and cleaned up.

I was still trying to come to terms with what had happened when Tyrone had waltzed in and handed me my phone, telling me to make my call before he strode straight back out without another word.

Had he felt anything? Did he get some twisted delight from it?

"I'm fine, mostly," I muttered as I patted the tabby cat, grateful he'd stayed in my room. "How's Ray?"

"He's in recovery, he'll even be back at work in a few days. Got a decent payout for his injury, and he's a bit too scared to try to leave now," Noms said, and I could picture her chewing her nails the way she did when she got uneasy.

"That's good, I guess."

"Are you sure you're okay? Have they hurt you?" Her tone was beyond stressed, and I wondered if she'd struggled to sleep worrying about me. I would've been tossing and turning if the cards had been reversed.

"I'll be fine, a little bruised. I'm pretty much their sex slave," I said, lowering my tone in case anyone could hear me. Then again, my phone was probably bugged after Tyrone had had it.

"That's fucked up," Noms spat.

"How is it all that different from the back room stuff for you?" I mused, smiling down at my furry friend when he looked up at me with lidded eyes, still purring away happily.

"I choose my clients, and they're not allowed to cause us any harm. Not to mention we have a bodyguard outside who will step in if we call for them. It's completely different," she retorted.

She had a point there.

"Well, at least there's a cat here," I stated, and Noms made a soft sound of surprise.

"They have a cat? Didn't picture them as cat people."

"Same here, you don't expect hardened criminals to have pets, maybe scary dogs, scar-cover pitties, but not a friendly little cat." I scratched under his chin and his purrs increased at the touch.

"Well, I went into the diner, got that sorted for you, so you'll still have a job once you're free," Noms said.

"What'd you tell them?"

"You're attending your grandmother's funeral and dealing with her estate along with your estranged parents, so you'll be out of state for a month. It was very sudden and took you by surprise, hence you not calling in."

That'd been thoughtful of her to do, but I snorted. "She died when I was twelve."

"They don't know that."

I shook my head, grateful for her quick thinking on my behalf at least.

"Did you try to call anyone other than me?" Noms asked after a moment.

"No. All my numbers have been wiped, all I have is yours and I'm assuming their numbers," I muttered darkly. I'd scanned my contacts, finding only four numbers in my phone now, and I'd lost the ability to text. Whatever Tyrone had done to my phone was both impressive and frustrating as hell. Would he put it back to normal when my month was up?

"Wow, they added their numbers?" Noms' disbelief had me sighing in joint frustration.

"Seems that way."

"Are you coping okay, Scar?" Noms sounded uneasy, her tone dropping with real concern. I knew we may play every horrid thing off in our lives, but sometimes we needed a real check-in.

"As good as one can in this situation."

"I wish I could get you out of it."

"It was my dumb decisions that got me here, guess karma has finally caught up," I said with a sharp laugh, causing my furry friend to glance up at me.

"It'll be over before you know it."

"I hope so."

"I thought you could only have a five minute call? We've been on here for ten."

As if summoned by her pointed remark, the door swung open, Tyrone's towering frame filling the doorway. I guess knocking was not a requirement in this place.

"You know, most people knock," I commented, but shut my mouth when his jaw ticked. Best not to poke the great white shark in my room. Even if he had a killer dick that still bothered me.

"You've gone over your time." His tone was more fact than accusatory, and I chewed my cheek at the way he was staring at me with those dark, dead eyes.

Definitely a goddamn shark reborn.

"I thought you'd come and tell me when my time was up," I lied through my teeth. I'd hoped I could speak with Noms for longer, so hadn't bothered keeping track.

"You're an adult, you can manage that. Although if you can't, you'll lose access to your phone completely save for the calls. I'm being generous in granting it back to you."

Yeah, with so much child-lock on it that it was practically useless.

"Okay, got it. Noms, I gotta go," I muttered.

"Take care of yourself, Scar. You've got this. It'll be over before you know it."

"Love you."

"Love you more."

With that, I ended the call and set my phone down.

"How do you know I won't call her again?" I dared to ask.

"You can only make one call every two days, I've altered your phone so you can't do any more than that. And 911 is blocked. All numbers are blocked save for the ones added into your phone at this time."

I frowned at him, wondering how on earth such a thing was even possible. Then again, money could get you a lot, they probably had a damn hacker on their payroll.

"Who is this little guy?" I asked as I patted my furry companion once more, grateful for his company beyond anything.

"Kenny. He's Julian's." His gaze fell to the cat, and then he turned, not offering me any other words or bringing up what had happened at the table as he strode straight back out.

Leaving the door wide open, of course.

I sighed and shook my head at that, knowing it was just a small sign of his power here.

Whatever. He could keep his God complex to himself. Prick.

I stared down at my phone, flicking through all my apps to see just what had been altered.

My social media was locked, no access to messaging services, and the entire comment feature was gone, like my keyboard settings had been removed. I could scroll social media and like things, but that was it.

Tommy. Had he blocked me on social media? I was using an alias name on there, something I did whenever I broke up with a crazy ex. I'd delete socials and make new ones. I only really followed a few people, so it wasn't a big hassle.

Tommy's profile was now locked. Guess the bastard had deleted me, and he'd blocked me on some.

I pondered on how I truly felt in regards to him losing a hand. What had Julian done with it anyway? Did he have it stashed somewhere as a trophy like the damn tattoo on the wall at their other place?

"How can he be so sick and yet have you?" I wondered aloud to Kenny as I scratched his neck.

I frowned as a text came through.

Come tend to me, pyro.

I scowled at the message, the contact saved as only J. Julian, of course. I could only assume he meant tend to him sexually, and my skin crawled at the thought.

You either come to me in my room and I'll make it quick, or I come to you and pin you down and take what I want.

I stared at the second message, moving my jaw unhappily. I wanted to tell him to shove it, but I knew that was pointless. He'd probably shove something inside me where it didn't belong in all honesty just to be an asshole.

But honestly, my body needed a break from the roughness of them all. I was still tender, and Tyrone's use of me had made me even more bruised down there.

"Guess I better just get it over and done with, right?" I stroked Kenny's back, taking what little comfort I could in his purrs.

I rose and headed out of my room, glancing at the three other bedrooms on the floor.

Only one of them was open, so I padded over and glanced in. Sure enough, Julian was seated at his desk, playing on his phone.

He smirked as he noticed me and dropped his phone on the desk.

"Come in, pyro, close the door behind you."

I did as asked, pausing as I shut the door to draw in a deep breath before turning to him.

"What do you want?"

He snorted, a wretched sneer spreading across his face as he trailed his eyes over me like he was surveying his next meal.

I gritted my jaw at the wicked intensity of his gaze, those dark eyes returning to mine.

"Strip and bend over the bed. That little show on the table, damn, pyro, you make it hard," he clucked as he cupped his dick. "Makes me want to fuck you raw."

The thought made me grimace. I was already sore, and I prayed he had some lube or something.

I had a feeling that was unlikely.

"Now, pyro." He flicked his head to the bed, and I begrudgingly complied, stripping down as I moved. I dumped my clothes beside the bed and bent over, hoping he made this quick. I vaguely noticed the cat tower in the corner of the room overlooking the city, food and water on the floor beside it. I'd noticed he was the only one who left his door open, so it must've been for Kenny.

The sound of rustling clothing as Julian shed his pants was followed by him moving behind me.

Disgust swept through me as I heard him spit into his hand before smearing it through my folds.

What was with men thinking spit sufficed as lube?

It disgusted me.

"You know, real lube works better," I muttered.

"I'm sure it does." He didn't waste any time as he pressed the tip of his dick between my folds, working his way inside my tight, dry walls as I clutched the bed sheets.

I closed my eyes as he fucked me, the friction not pleasant in the slightest. At least I seemed to be a little lubed still from Tyrone's session despite my shower. I'd be grateful for that.

Thankfully, Julian didn't take long before he was yanking out and coming on my ass.

"Fuck, you got a nice pussy, pyro," he said with a satisfied sigh. "You can go now."

I scoffed and straightened as he moved to spread out on the bed after dismissing me like a damn maid.

That despicable smirk on his face made my blood boil, but I just snatched up my clothes and stormed back to my room. I'd have to shower yet again, and I hoped I put their water bill through the fucking roof. Maybe I'd be spiteful and leave some taps running.

Yeah, that sounded like a worthwhile thing to do, although, realistically, it'd not bother their rich asses in the slightest. But it would please my petty little heart just a little.

So that's exactly what I did.