He steps back and crosses his arms. “Right,” he draws out. “We gave your little fuck friend a few blankets, but I forgot you were half dressed in this get up.”
He turns around in a circle, like he is looking for something on the hay and filth scattered ground. Fucking idiot, I think. He is the biggest fucking idiot.
“Well,” he holds up a finger with an idea. “We have a warm and toasty room in the farm house. Of course my grandparents haven’t lived here for years, so Annie had to get some things set up before we move you over there. But you being cold is an even better reason to get you over there sooner.”
He takes out a flip phone I’ve never seen before and presses a button. Holding my gaze, he answers the greeting.
“My Luca is cold. She might be going numb.” He growls as he touches my stomach again with the tip of the knife’s blade. I want to squirm away, but I can’t. I can’t act like I hate this or he will cut me.
“Get the basement ready and put a damn fire on down there. I’ll be over with her in five minutes.”
He walks away from me and says a few more things into the phone that I can’t hear. I struggle to hear what else he is saying, but the groans from Heath have all my attention. Is it true? Does he have blankets around him? Why is he groaning so much?
My thoughts are all on Heath, as Colin unhooks my hand from a chain hanging from the ceiling. With my hands still in metal cuffs, he pulls on my arms with the chain attached to them. Pulling me out of the stall I was held in like an animal heading to be slaughtered, I hardly make it two steps out before I see Heath’s body slumped over. The smell of shit is horrendous. His face, which is slouched down to one side, is completely unrecognizable. Cuts and bruises cover his face and his eyes are bloody and swollen shut. His body is heaving and he obviously needs medical help.
“What did you do to him?” I gasp out.
Colin tugs on my chains and hisses, “Don’t you worry about that fucker. Your days with him are all over, Luca. Your future is with me. We just needed him to play along until we got you. I don’t give a fuck if he suffocates in his own piss now.”
“But that’s murder, Colin. You…”
Colin’s laugh cuts me off and a chill settles into my spine as I remember what he said when we were coming here. He has killed before. The men he killed were my clients. They all died because of me.
Suddenly, I feel totally deserving of everything Colin and Annie are doing. One look back at Heath and I know I deserve to be hurt far worse than he has been. Far worse than Camden. Just as he leads me out of the barn door, I hear Heath say, “Luca, please.”
One look at Colin and I can tell he hadn’t heard Heath, because I’m not sure what he’d do if he had. Without thinking I tug my arms up to my pony tail. I pretend to have something in my hair.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” Colin barks at me.
“There is something in my hair, God damn it!” I freak out with as much energy as I can muster.
“Where?” Colin looks closer at my head.
“I don’t know, but get it out. Get it out, please.” I am thrashing around, trying to get my hair pulled out of my pony tail, because if there is one thing I can offer, it’s the bobby pins holding my bangs back from my face.
As Colin goes for my pony tail, I secure two of the four pins in my hands and right as he pulls all of my hair out of the elastic band, I toss the two pins in Heath’s direction.
My hair is everywhere and Colin is furiously looking through each piece. I try to make eye contact with Heath and when he finally lifts his head just a little, I discreetly take my shaking hands and point at the pins on the floor nearly three feet from him. I nod to him.
“I don’t see a damn thing, you dramatic bitch,” Colin mutters.
“I don’t feel anything anymore. I think you got it,” I say robotically.
“Fine, then. Let’s go. You are going straight to the basement where I can fuck you all night long,” Colin says as he slides his hand down to my ass, firmly grabbing a handful. I wince, but don’t do a thing to get away. As long as Heath can get out of here, I’ll know I did everything I could for him. I just hope it isn’t too late.
TWENTY -ONE
Annie is standing in the basement with a sponge and a bucket. This is the basement? It smells almost as bad as the barn, but different. My eyes move to the right where there are rocks falling down from the side of the concrete on one of the walls. They look like they have been there a while since there is a disgusting looking cat poking its face into the holes in between the rocks. What the fuck is it looking for? I smell cat piss, but there is a different smell that I can’t seem to place my finger on. The floor looks like animals have been slaughtered in here. Just a few minutes ago, I felt like I was being dragged to a slaughter house and here I am ready for the slaughter. Annie looks down at the floor to inspect it, seeming satisfied with her cleaning duties.
Annie’s office clothes are long gone. She looks like a little kid in overalls, with a V-neck sweater underneath, and black combat boots on her feet. She matches Colin’s attire in an eerie way. Are they part of some weird underground murder ring or something? How did I not know who they really were all of this time? She stands at attention for Colin to give her the next set of instructions. I can’t help keeping my mouth tight in a firm line because of the wretched smell. I think I’d rather smell Heath’s shit and piss compared to this.
“Over there?” she asks with her finger pointed. Colin and I look toward a cot with a pillow and chains hanging from the concrete walls.
“That’s perfect,” Colin gleams. “And the camera is set up?”
Annie huffs. “Why do you want to tape this? It will be really bad if we ever get caught.”
Colin shakes his head furiously. “No way. I want my first time with Luca West on video.”
Annie looks pained as she picks up the bucket and takes it to the sink on the other side of the basement.
“Why does she look so sad?” I ask, my voice is steel. I could give two fucks about how sad she is. If Lucia were here instead of Luca, I might enjoy screwing this man right in front of her, if only for the satisfaction of seeing her squirm while the man she loves take another. Stupid. Stupid girl.
Colin pulls me over to the bed and as he starts to chain me to the wall, he rolls his eyes. “She thinks I want to fuck her.” He laughs and looks back at Annie. “She didn’t know she was just a stepping stone to you. She isn’t all that bad in bed and I’ll probably do her again. She likes it rough and up the ass.” He looks her way, his eyes landing on her behind.
I blanch at his disgusting, vulgar words. Annie’s snickering sounds forced and yet, I imagine that she listens to this type of talk from Colin all the time. I look to find her setting up a tripod and a video camera directed toward me. I am still so damn cold, but don’t know what type of treatment I will receive from Colin if I say so. It is definitely warmer than the barn… where Heath is still tied up and dying. My heart sinks and I remind myself that all those times I took advantage of the men and their jewels were wrong. I should’ve listened to the angel on the right shoulder when it said to be the good girl my parents expected from me.
I can’t help but start to cry. My parents have absolutely no idea the fucking mess I am in. I hiccup when I think of what they will say at my funeral. Will they be so disgusted when they hear about the life I’ve led for all of these years that they decide against a funeral? Who the hell would go after everything I’ve done to hurt my friends, my business, and my family?