“Oh, I’m not going to kill you, Avery Webb.” He exaggerated the Bs in her last name. “And while it’s true, my cousin and I have contacted your family to demand a hefty payment, you and the little blond bitch are going to bring in much, much more.”
What?
Avery’s swimsuit-clad chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” He traced an invisible line down her arm as he walked behind her. “We have customers willing to pay handsomely for a beautiful American woman such as yourself. And the girl”—he chuckled—“well, the younger the product, the more money they’re worth.”
He’s talking about sex trafficking.
Avery thought she was going to be sick. “You’re going to sell us?”
“That’s my cousin’s plan. He ordered us not to touch the merchandise, but for me…well, I know he’ll make an exception.”
“Your cousin…” She swallowed the bile threatening to break loose. “He’s the one in charge?”
“Of this little operation, yes. But he’s nottheboss. That man is the reason you are all here.”
Avery’s head swam with confusion, but she did her best to lock away everything this man was telling her. If by some miracle she was able to get free, she wanted to be able to tell the authorities everything she could about who had abducted her and why.
“Your breasts are so perky.” He reached around and cupped her right one from behind. “So firm.”
A tear fell from the corner of her eye, but she kept her chin up and her shoulders back. As much as she wanted to fight him, she had a feeling things would only get worse for her if she did.
With a rough squeeze, the man released her breast before sliding his palm to her ass. Giving it the same, disgusting attention, Avery worked to control the tremor in her bare legs.
She wanted to kick herself for not packing a change of clothes for the dune buggy ride. Not that it would matter much with this asshole.
He moved around to her front once more, his hand sliding down her body toward the apex of her thighs. Another tear fell down her cheek. And another.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Avery’s bottom lip quivered as she pictured Garrett’s face. She thought ofhishands on her body, instead of this monster’s.
She was about to give into her fear and pull away when the door to the room swung open.
“Marcus!” A man she hadn’t seen before stormed into the room. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Sampling the merchandise.” The man she now knew as Marcus smirked. “What the fuck does it look like?”
“I told you before, she and the girl are off limits.”
Like Marcus, this man had also left his face unconcealed. Both men shared a remarkable resemblance, and she understood why with Marcus’s next spoken words.
“You told the others. But this is me, Cuz. I think I’ve earned a little bonus, don’t you?”
So Marcus and this guy are cousins.
“No, I fucking don’t.”
“Why not? You said it yourself, as soon as we are paid, we ship her and the girl off and get rid of the others. Then you and I---”
“Shut the fuck up!” Salvador got into Marcus’s face. “Have you lost your mind? Boss will be here any second. If he catches you in here with her, he’ll put a bullet in that pea-sized brain of yours without so much as a blink.”
“Relax, Salvador.” Marcus rolled his eyes. “It’s not like the bitch is going to be able to tell anyone.”
“I don’t care. I told you before there is to be no deviation from the plan. Period. That includes getting your fill of the product.”
Product. Merchandise. These guys really were soulless bastards.
“Fine.” Marcus blew out a breath. “I’ll take her back to the room.”