Her chin trembles—but she nods. A small, brave motion that sends a dark, ancient force surging through my chest.
Because in the middle of this filthy, stinking warehouse, surrounded by monsters… I’m the most dangerous creature in the room.
Slowly, the guards file out one by one, boots scraping against the concrete as they clear the room, until only the original one remains stationed inside with us. Their footsteps echo down the hall, fading with distance, and the warehousesettles into a heavy, vibrating silence that presses in from all sides. The kind of quiet that only exists when people think the threat has passed.
Morons.
They took me at my word when I said I’d removed my weapons. No pat-down. No hesitation. No curious hands checking beneath my clothes or along my spine. They saw what they wanted to see—a compliant exchange, a woman walking in to be owned. If I weren’t gagged, I’d laugh in their faces for the mistake.
Good for me.
Very bad for them.
Dean doesn’t linger to gloat. He seems too busy, too focused on whatever pathetic empire he thinks he still runs. He steps through the adjoining door into the next room, and the second it closes behind him, the walls betray him. Warehouses always echo. Every sound bounces, every voice carries.
His does too.
Bits of conversation slip through the thin panels separating us, muffled but clear enough to piece together. Two products. One young and untouched. The other mouthy and in need of discipline. My stomach twists, not out of fear, but fury. He’s negotiating a sale. For both of us. The knowledge sinks its claws into me and tightens the timeline in my head until it’s nothing but a fuse burning fast.
I angle my head toward Kimber. Her eyes sharpen as if she’s listening too. She knows. She feels the urgency humming between us.
Dean’s chuckle filters through the wall, smug and careless. “Sounds good. Talk soon.”
The door swings open again, and he reenters with that same rotted smirk he’s worn since the moment he laid eyes on me.
“Good news, ladies,” he purrs. “Looks like we’ve got a buyer for both of you.” His gaze drags down my body with a hunger that hasn’t changed since I was a teenager. “But I’m thinking my guys have had a rough month. They deserve a reward.”
He snaps his fingers once.
Four men step into the room.
They spill in like rats following the scent of rot. Their faces tell me everything I need to know. One of them stares at Kimber with unhinged interest. Pure. Untouched. Marketable. Dean won’t let him touch her yet, but his greed is naked in his eyes.
The other three?
Their gazes latch onto me like I’m already stripped bare.
Licking their lips.
Adjusting themselves.
Panting through their teeth.
I feel Kimber go still beside me. I feel her terror. And that alone makes something ancient and vicious uncoil in my chest.
Before any of them can take a step closer, I let out a laugh through my gag. High pitched. Sharp. Completely unhinged. The sound slices the tension like a razor, echoing around the room. Kimber jerks at the noise, surprised, but I keep my gaze fixed on the four pathetic men circling like predators.
The motion loosens my gag enough to speak. “These small-dicked motherfuckers?” I tilt my head, letting a bit of wildness bleed into my eyes. “Please. They couldn’t handle a dog, let alone a real woman.”
That gets their attention.
All four faces snarl toward me.
Their eyes narrow.
Pride pricks.
Their egos bruise.