18. Eighteen

Joey

I wake up alone in bed in a clean pair of underwear and it takes a while for the events from last night to come flooding back to my mind. In some way it"s almost like Carlos is still touching me. It"s as if his hands had imprinted on me somehow and nothing about what we did felt wrong when it should have.

It'sbecause you were doing what you had to do to survive.

Thinking about Isaiah only has my stomach tying in more knots. He"s the only one who"s supposed to set my body on fire. Last night I'd played a part so well that at the end I forgot it was only an act.

I rub the sleep from my eyes, releasing a yawn so wide my jaw aches. My throat is dry and my body aches all over, especially my left arm.

"Good morning, Little one. Did you rest okay?" The deep voice has me settling against the headboard instead of jumping up in bed like last time. "Yeah, I just hurt everywhere and could use some water."

He turns around, opens the fridge, and pulls out a bottle of water. I immediately take it when he hands it to me, and the cold water is soothing down my throat. I swallow down a few more large gulps of water. "Last night—"

"Don"t worry. It shouldn"t have to be repeated. I"m sorry it had to come to that and if there was another way—"

I shake my head, clutching tighter to the bottle. "I know. It"s just…if we have to do it again…" My words trail off as I struggle to finish the sentence. The truth is if it happens again, I"m not sure I"ll be able to stop myself and keep from wanting it again. What"s happening to me?

Isaiah and I had invited a few men to our bed many years ago, but they never meant anything more than a bit of fun. Neither person was ever missed or given a second thought. In the end it was always me and Isaiah. After the third one, we'd never visited the idea of having others join us again, because none of them ever felt as right as we felt with each other.

But with Carlos...no…it"s this place. That"s all it is. I am not developing some type of attraction or affection for my husband"s old lover. I barely know the guy and yet we'd already experienced more together than most people would have in a whole lifetime.

His long fingers running through my hair don"t help with the war I"m having with myself. "Don"t worry, Little one. I think they will be leaving us alone from now on. If anything, it got me invited to an earlier slot in the auction which I"ll be attending alone."

My eyes grow wide. "It worked?"

"It did." He sighs. "But it"s also caused us a small problem too."

"What kind of problem?"

"With Cornel, Mr. Williams. He is doing anything he can to try and sabotage the remainder of our stay. I saw his goons trying to break into my car this morning."

"Did they—"

He cuts me off before I can finish my question. "No, and even if they did get into the car and went through it, they wouldn"t find anything. I got rid of the maps and any other type of evidence that led me here. There"s nothing in the car. My other weapons are buried out in the woods across the way. They will only find a gun in the glove box which isn"t out of the ordinary for a man like me to have and we won"t be completely at a loss if they were to take it. We need to stop wasting time. Look, Joey, about your friends, if we need to come back for them later…"

I nod, staring ahead. "I understand. We will be no good to them if we are caught and killed before getting to them."

"Exactly. Trenton will be delivered today, and you will stay in this room with him, you hear me?"

I nod again. "Yes, and after the auction?"

"I"ll try my best to save who I can, and we will get the hell out of here. My priority is to get you to safety and then to get them to the safe house. Our plans may change depending on today"s events."

"What do you mean?"

He leans in closer to me. "Miguel and Isaiah are making sure one of the delivery trucks doesn"t make it to the drop off. Their auction will be short a few men and women. People won"t be happy about it. Ivan will make sure whoever is responsible pays. The man who"s supposed to make sure everything goes smoothly is the Gatekeeper, the man with the scar on his face. He is one of Santana"s main men and was caught on camera at a few clubs meeting up with Veronica not long ago."

"Veronica"s involved? But why? After all these years you"d think she"d be over it."

"Not marrying you changed her life tremendously and not for the better. Her parents didn"t make things easy for her after you disappeared. Isaiah is more than sure she's involved, but doesn't have proof yet. He is looking more into it, but won"t make any kind of move until we"re out of here, because if he does it could cause problems for us here."

"And the delivery truck being intercepted won"t?"

"No. There"s a plan set in place to make it look like the driver had a change of heart and decided not to turn the truck around, abandoning it at a gas station. If anything, it may offer us the distraction we need and maybe a few of our problems will be taken care of for us."

"Good. So when is this auction?"

"In a few hours. It"s already late in the afternoon. You"ve slept a lot of the day away, but you clearly needed it."

"I did," I agree, shoving the covers off my legs. "I could use some food and a hot shower to help me not feel worn down."

"I"ll have food sent up before I head downstairs to close out my other purchase. They wanted to make sure everything was cleared with the doctor first. I told them I wouldn"t sign the contract until they did. I"m more than sure the kid"s arm was dislocated, and his ankle was in a bad way. It could slow us down if he isn"t able to keep up with us. We never know when we"ll need to run."

"Maybe you should skip it then."

"Skip what?"

"The auction. We can always leave as soon as Trenton gets up here."

"They will know something is up if we suddenly leave and I decline my invitation at the last minute. I"ll have to continue with the plan and attend the auction."

"Okay," I say, fumbling with the blanket.

Carlos picks up the room phone and orders food while I enter the bathroom. I turn on the shower and the warm water washes over me. I close my eyes, hoping this won"t be my last bit of normalcy after today. What happens to us if we get caught? There"s no doubt they would stick me in a worse place and make me suffer more than I already have. I dry off and put on another pair of clean underwear, accompanying them with a long T-shirt this time. I inhale Isaiah"s familiar scent as it slides over my body.

Carlos is sitting at the table, laying the food out when I walk out of the bathroom. He picks up a sandwich and takes large bites, swallowing each one so quickly I wonder if he even had a chance to taste the food first. We eat with only the sounds of our movements filling the room.

The more I watch his hands move, the more I think about the way they'd touched me last night and how soothing each stroke of his hand was down my back. My mind is racing all over the place and my heartbeat is erratic, feeling like it could break through my chest. I close my eyes, inhaling deeply before exhaling.

A large hand slides over mine. The weight and warmth are automatically comforting. "We"re going to get out of here. I have never failed a job before and I won"t fail this either, especially since these assholes have now made it personal. I"ve always considered Isaiah family and since you"re a major part of him, that includes you too. No one fucks with my family." He stands up and grabs his coat, sliding it on and I already miss the heat of his skin on mine. "I"ll be back to drop off your friend. Make sure he eats and make sure you"re both ready by the time I"m done. I need to make a trip to the woods before the auction."

"I"ve left the cuffs attached to the bed frame, in case anyone decides to come in when I"m not here. Even though they swear up and down they don"t enter guest's rooms without permission, I don"t trust the assholes. Their word means nothing to me. I"m to have you restrained at all times now that your bracelet has been removed."

"Don"t worry, I"ll be okay. Go do what you have to do."

He smooths out his coat and grabs the hotel card. "Be good, Little One. Try not to get into trouble while I"m gone." He walks out the door before I can say anything in response. I relax back in the chair and keep my eyes on the door for what feels like forever. The room is too quiet. I hate how I can hear my own breathing and heartbeat. It reminds me how alone and vulnerable I am. Being in this place for such a short time has changed me. They say what doesn"t kill you makes you stronger, but never have I felt so weak.

The knob twisting open has me jumping in my seat and I"m not sure how many times it"ll take watching Carlos come through that door until I no longer react this way. I quickly get to my feet the moment I see Trenton walk in behind him with his hands tied and a blind fold over his eyes. The door jabs shut and I run toward my trembling friend and pull him into my arms. His soft sobs grow louder. "Shhh...it"s okay, I"m here. We"re in this together." My words have his body settling against mine and I know if he could, he would wrap his arms around me. "Help me get these binds off his wrists," I say in hushed tones to Carlos.

He sighs and pulls out a pocketknife, cutting the binds from his wrists. Once his arms are free, Trenton yanks down his blind fold and stares at me with red rimmed eyes. "Joey, you"re really here and it"s not just my imagination."

I nod, smiling softly and sweep his hair from his face. "I"m here and I won"t let you out of my sight this time, I promise."

"As touching as watching this reunion is, I"m afraid I can"t stay long. Make sure you"re both ready to go when I return again. We will have to be out of here as quickly as possible and we may not be able to leave quietly which is why I brought you this." He hands me a loaded gun. "Just in case."

Trenton stares between us blinking in confusion. "What"s going on, Joey? Who is this man?"

I smile again with my eyes landing on Carlos. "He"s a friend. He"s the man who"s going to help get us out of here."

Trenton"s bottom lip slips between his lips and his eyes narrow in on me. "Does that mean I"ll get to go home?"

"If everything goes according to plan, then we all will," I say, squeezing his shoulder, wanting more than anything for my words to be true.

The door jams closed after Carlos steps into the hall and I stand in the same spot, holding onto Trenton, scared of what will happen when I let him go. Even with the gun weighing heavy in my hand, it's not enough reassurance. A thousand guns could never make me feel safe enough in a place like this. Trenton pulls away from me, staring at the food on the table. "Is that for me?"

I nod. "Yup and when you're done you can have a shower if you want."

His face brightens and his eyes light up. "With hot water?"

My heart sinks in my chest at how happy he is over something so small. Something he could have anytime he'd wanted before being brought to this place. It reminds me even more of everything that was taken from these boys and all that will continue to be stripped away if I don't get them free from these monsters. Some of Isaiah's words from before plague my ears. "Don't be a hero, Roo."

It's hard not to be when Trenton is taking slow bites of his food, savoring each bite like it may be his last. The more he hums around each bite, gripping on tightly to his sandwich as if it may be taken away at any minute, the more I want to ignore Isaiah"s words.

"Don't be a hero, Roo," I hear them again but this time louder. A loud bang comes to the door and my gaze darts between the bed and a frozen Trenton. The door handle jiggles, and I know right away that's something Carlos wouldn't do. Not when he has the card. Something bangs loudly against the door and a loud gunshot hits the lock. I dash toward the bed, grabbing the gun with sturdy hands. "Get under the bed, Trenton."

He doesn't hesitate and quickly drops the rest of his food, rushing between the window and bed. He drops to the floor and his body rolls over the carpet. Another loud bang goes off. "I know you're in there and I know that lover boy isn't. If I were you, I'd open the door before I have one of my men blow his head off before he arrives at the auction."

I remain where I am, gripping my feet to the floor and tightening my grasp on the gun. The door handle jiggles again and with a loud kick, the door swings open. Cornel is standing in the doorway with a smile on his face, pointing the gun right at me. "He gave you a gun? I guess he's a little smart. Gotta give him credit. I do have a question though, why would someone give a bought slave a gun?"

"I don't know, maybe you should go to the auction where you're supposed to be and ask him yourself. I'm sure he'd be happy to answer any questions you might have."

He sneers, shaking the gun at me. "Lower your gun, boy. There will be consequences if you don't."

"Why aren't you at the auction with the rest of your friends?"

He scoffs. "Because what I want is right here in this very room and I refuse to leave without it."

"Well you're going to have to because I"d much rather have a bullet in my head then have your vile hands touching me again. So if you're going to kill me, then do it already."

He smiles, cocking his head, placing his finger on the trigger and then something loud hits the window, catching him off guard. The loud crack against the glass has him pointing his gun away from me and toward the noise, giving me enough time to take the first shot. I aim the gun to his head, pulling the trigger as soon as I'm confident enough the gun is aimed in the right place. His body goes rigid. As he slowly turns his head to face me again, blood pours from the corner of his forehead and his mouth opens, but he falls forward before anything can make its way out. I rush toward his body, grabbing the gun from his hand and anything else he has on him that could be of use to us. "Trenton, are you okay?"

There's no response at first. "It's okay, you can come out. It's safe now." The last part felt more like a lie than the truth. Mr. Williams may be dead, but we are far from being safe. Any minute, his men will come in here looking for him and they will alert the others to what we've done. Which is exactly why I'll be patiently waiting for them instead of running away with my tail between my legs. When they get here, I will kill each one the same way I did their boss. Then Trenton and I will get the fuck out of here and find a way to get to the hotel Carlos is at.

Trenton pokes his head out from behind the bed slowly, gasping at the dead body by my feet. "Is he dead?"

"Very much so but it's not time for us to breathe and relax just yet."

Two sets of feet come rushing down the hallway and I focus on Trenton's wide, frightened eyes. "You ever use a gun before?"

Trenton gets to his feet, shaking his head. "No…"

I hand him one of the extra guns I had pulled from the creep's body, shoving it into his palm. "Today will be the day you learn."