It was the weirdest feeling, because Ally hoped he was correct. She was well aware that she was going to be sold to some disgusting pervert who got off on buying women like they were nothing, just toys to be played with. But because she knew that Mateo was going straight to his boss once she was sold, it was actually the best-case scenario for her.
The quicker she was sold, the quicker she was rescued.
Maybe if she repeated that to herself a million times, it would sink in.
“I’m going to go with less than thirty minutes,” Henry said as he hurried out the door with the camera in his hand, leavingher to assume that making bets on how quickly women were sold was normal amongst these men. Whoever won probably got a reward, too, and she didn't even want to think about it coming at the expense of one of the trapped women.
“You need relief?” Mateo asked when they were alone, his hand brushing lightly between her legs.
She probably should have been embarrassed about coming all over his face in the bathroom, but one thing Ally had realized while she was here was how quickly you could be desensitized to something. It still terrified her to think of a stranger touching her, raping her, assaulting her in any way, but Mateo wasn't a stranger, and if the arousal had still been strong, she would have said yes.
Since it was more like an annoying hum now, she shook her head. “I'm okay, I just want this to be over.”
“Me too, little mouse,” he said as he helped her shimmy out of the tight princess costume.
“What happens now?” Stepping out of the heels was a relief, even though she hadn't been wearing them long. Ally rarely wore high heels, and if she did, they were usually chunky wedges on boots.
“Now I take you back to your cell, and you wait there.”
“Until someone buys me.”
“Until someone buys you,” he agreed.
“Once that happens, how long until they come to get me?”
“Depends on where they were. If they’re out of the country, it could be a couple of days.”
“If it’s a couple of days, what happens to me in the meantime?”
“No one will touch you once you're sold. You’ll stay in your cell and get your meals until you're collected. Most buyers don’t like anyone touching their property,” he said sadly as his fingers drifted up and down her bare arms.
“I hate that word,” she whimpered, unable to stop a shudder rippling through her.
“Me too, baby, me too. Sometimes the men are nearby, in which case they’ll come straight here, and sometimes they want you packaged up and sent to them.”
Ally gulped. “Packaged up?”
“Usually, that means the women are drugged and put on a private flight somewhere. Sometimes the buyer will want them caged or boxed, other times, just drugged is fine. They’ll either send someone to collect and transport, or we take them to the airfield and load them on a plane.”
“That’s … so inhumane,” she whispered, fresh tears filling her eyes.
“That’s why I'm here, little mouse, to stop them, to destroy them. Make no mistake about it, they’ll pay for what they’ve done to you.”
“I just want to go home.” It wasn't that she didn't want these people to pay for their sins, it was just that being safe, knowing the others would soon be safe, was more important to her than revenge.
“Soon, baby.”
“I wish …” It was silly to say it out loud, because she still had so much anger directed toward Mateo, but despite that, he was her safe place in this horror show, and she wanted to cling to him.
“Wish what, little mouse?” he asked as his large hand cupped her cheek.
Nuzzling into it was nothing more than instinct on her part. “I wish that I could stay with you until … it’s time.” Going back to the cold, hard, loneliness of her cell felt like more than she could handle right now. One burden too far, and she just might shatter into a thousand pieces. Which sounded stupid considering whatshe’d just done in this room. Compared to this, the cell should be nothing, especially if no one could touch her anymore.
“Oh, little mouse, I wish that too. I wish I could hold you here in my arms forever, kill anything that tries to hurt you. Letting you get sold is killing me, baby. I swear to you, if there was another way, one where I didn't think I was risking your life in the process, to get you out of here, I'd do it. I would. I know I said that justice is bringing these monsters down, but?—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the door swung open, and Henry rushed in.
“Guess we were both wrong. Didn't take thirty minutes or an hour for her to be snapped up. I’d only got the first picture up, and I got a request for her. She’s been sold. Payment is being finalized as we speak. Don’t bother putting her back in her cell, she needs to be prepped for her new owner.”