“For now,” I respond. My adrenalin kicks in and I prepare for a fight. The door behind him is my escape.
“You’ll be awake for a while. The sedatives were necessary until I could get everything in place.”
“What does that mean?” I sneer and walk back to the room. My body is begging me to lie down again, but I want
to be upright against this asshole.
“It means when I fuck you, I want you to be awake.”
“Might as well drug me again, you psycho, because you will never fuck me willingly.”
His eyes turn angry and he storms toward me with a knife from his belt. “Bitch, you could be dead right now. Lucky for you, your looks saved you. My agreement was to get rid of you, but I’m feeling generous.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I spew and watch his eye light up.
“It means I want a piece before I turn you over.”
“Turn me over to what?”
“Middle East, Down Under … I don’t know. I have a buyer that wants you. The way I figure, you are a money train. I was supposed to kill you, but the money comes in both ways with you.” His body comes closer to mine and I shudder.
“Fuck you! You better kill me now because I’ll never sleep with you!”
I finally get a good look at this disgusting man. He’s beefy, with muscles tattooed in red ink. His face is marred with scars and his eyes a deep shade of brown and absolutely no emotions. I smell the cigarettes and liquor on his breath as he gets close and pins my frame to the wall. His knife runs down my face until he gets to the sleeve of my shirt. The blade tears away at the fabric and I push him as hard as I can. He doesn’t budge but his eyes grow wide with amusement.
“I knew you’d be a spit-fire when I saw you. I look forward to the challenge. I’ll have you. It’s my specialty to be very persuasive.”
“You piece of shit, egotistical maniac!” I make a move for his knife and he turns slightly, trapping me harder. The knife presses into my abdomen and I feel a trickle of blood running down my skin.
“You’ll be begging me to fuck you and then, when I’m done, you’ll beg me to keep you. The men I work with aren’t so nice.”
“You’re fucking delusional.” I spit in his face.
He backs away with an eerie grin. “We’ll see. Bang on the door when you need anything.” He walks away and calls to someone. The doorway suddenly fills with two men holding a sagging body. They throw him against the wall and leave laughing, slamming the door.
The body whimpers slightly and I run to it. As soon as the face is visible, I scream. Pedro is beaten and bloody. Both eyes are swollen, forehead, cheeks, and chin slashed with deep cuts. Blood stains his clothes and as I try to touch him, he withers in pain.
“Pedro? It’s me, Stella. I’ve got you now. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Looking around the room, I realize there’s not even a sheet. I pull off my shoes and grab my sock. It is disgusting and probably completely unsanitary but it’s the only thing without stripping out of my clothes. I run to the bathroom and wait for the hot water. As soon as it’s ready, I run back and forth, cleaning his face and trying to get an idea of his wounds.
He’s completely unconscious by the time his face, neck and arms are cleaned of blood and debris. I pull him to the small mattress and lay him down, listening to his breathing. His labored and shallow sounds worry me so I pull up his shirt. Bruises in the shape of boots and heels cover his abdomen. My eyes fill with tears at the amount of pain he must have endured.
I remove my other sock and run it under cold water to lay across his bruises. I do this over and over, trying to reduce the swelling to no avail. He needs ice.
“Fucking asshole!” I yell into the room. This is what the fucker meant, “when I need anything.” He knew Pedro needed help. I move to the door, when a strong hand wraps around my wrist.
“No,” he moans. “Give it some time. I’m okay.”
“Sweetie, you’re hurt badly. I need to get help.”
“I’m okay, Stella. Don’t call him back in here. Promise me.”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep. You need help.”
“You think they will help me? They’re going to kill us. We need to come up with a plan.”
“What happened? Why are you here?”