“Is that where they made you stay?” Olly asked about the second building they’d seen behind the strip club.
Rose nodded. “It was set up like some sort of dorm. Long hallways with several bedrooms running the length of each side. There were four bathrooms for us to share. Two on each floor. And it’s guarded. Heavily guarded.” She frowned. “You can’t tell it from the outside, but there were always men watching over us. They all carried these really long guns, too. There was a man just inside the front door. One at the back. And then usually two watching over each of the floors.”
Jesus.
“How did you manage to escape?”
The soft question came from Scarlett, whose eyes looked precariously close to tears. Olly wanted to reach for her. To take her hand and let her know it was all okay, now. That her sister was safe. They both were.
But he didn’t. Not because he was ashamed or embarrassed. But because this moment was about Rose and her story. And for now, his focus had to remain on that.
“I tried a few times in the beginning,” Rose began. “But I learned pretty quickly it was in my best interest not to run.”
“Oh, Rose…”
She looked at him and shook her head. “It wasn’t like that,” she told him. “Not for me, anyway.”
“Thank God,” he and Scarlett shared the sentiment at the exact same time.
“I was designated the House Mom. It was my job to help keep the girls in line. Oh, they threatened sexual assault,” she bit out harshly. “If I didn’t do my assigned jobs right or on time. If the girls tried to run or caused problems. But the ones they were funneling through there were younger. Terrified. And more easily intimidated. So when the guards or Pauly…or Vic would threaten to shoot them dead if they talked to customers or anyone else about what was really going on there, they believed them.”
“They kept quiet out of fear for their lives,” Scarlett commented quietly.
“So did I.” Rose nodded. “Only difference was, I continued to plan while keeping my mouth shut.” A stark sadness fell over her then. “So many times, I wanted to say something. I’d see a friendly face in the crowd. Man…woman…it didn’t matter. I even wrote out notes a few times asking for help. But then I remembered Vic saying if I ever got caught trying anything like that, he wouldn’t only hurt me…he’d kill one of the other girls. So I chickened out.” She swiped angrily at a fallen tear. “Shredded every single note I wrote and flushing them down the toilet.”
“Of course, you did.” Scarlett covered Rose’s hand with hers. “You must have been so scared."
Though the two had only just met, Rose gave the other woman’s hand a tiny squeeze as she said, "We all were.”
“So how’d you manage to get away?” Olly brought the conversation back full circle.
“I waited.” She said that as if it explained everything. “I forced myself not to think about what was happening to the other girls. I didn’t think about it when they were taken away.Didn’t let myself care when new ones arrived. I mean, I cared. Ofcourse, Icared, but…” More tears fell.
“You compartmentalized,” Scarlett surmised.
“I had to.” Rose sniffled with a nod. “It was the only way I could stay sane. And I had to keep my head on straight. Otherwise, I knew I’d never be able to plan my escape.”
“What was the plan?”
She brought her green eyes back to his. “To get Vic and Pauly to trust me.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you were at The Mystique, did you notice the big screens mounted on the walls around the club?”
“You’re talking about the ones with the videos playing on loop, right?” Scarlett asked.
Rose nodded. “Those videos are made in-house. One of the rooms in the building out back is set up like a studio. It even has its own separate entrance and exit. The girls in those videos are all regulars. Never…” She paused. “Never the others.”
Made sense. The assholes couldn’t very well plaster the faces of the girls they were trafficking for all the world to see.
Nausea filled Olly’s gut just thinking about it all.
“So you got Vic to trust you enough to put you in charge of the videos…” Scarlett pressed.
Rose blinked then sat up a little straighter. “Right. Sorry. Anyway, uh…since I was put in charge of shooting this month’s video, I was given access to the camera and the computer.” She pulled something from the front pocket of her jeans and held it out for Olly to take.
When he looked down, he realized it was a flash drive.