by Eva K. More
“Get ready,” Lina said. There was a steely tone underlying the words as she watched Star sauntering into one of the adjacent rooms. “And come on, we need to get you ready too; Ivo wants you downstairs tonight,” Lina continued while standing, now looking at Kat.
***
She thought about protesting the heavy makeup and skimpy clothes Lina put on her, but this was her chance to get downstairs and make a run for her life.
It had gotten dark already, and Kat was worried that Dedo might die of the shock of having her gone. Her dear grandparents loved her so much; she now understood their devotion and their permanent worry.
While she was dressing in the short, revealing dress, she heard Lina talking on the phone.
“He wants her there tonight. I cannot keep her here. Okay. Okay. I’ll do that.” Lina had dressed in an equally showing manner, but that wasn’t new to her because, apparently, the only thing that Lina ever wore were skimpy dresses.
When Kat saw her image in the mirror, she pursed her lips in disdain. She not only looked like a hooker; she felt like one too. With every step taken, she tried tugging the hemline of her dress a little lower, but there was no modesty in this kind of clothes.
Kat had always wanted to dress sexier than her grandparents had let her, but this attire was a far cry from being slightly provocative. It was blatantly garish, offering more than just a glimpse of her skin.
“I don’t think I can walk in these shoes,” Kat said. The material felt scratchy and stiff, and the high heels were hurting her toes.
Lina came up to her. “Don’t worry; you won’t need to walk so much.” The secretive smile she shot Kat was creepy, and the hand that suddenly rested on her lower back started slowly caressing her. “You have a gorgeous body. Once you are alone with your prospect, you should do a little striptease.”
Kat was appalled. She didn’t want to undress in front of a strange man. She flinched when Lina’s hand trailed up her side.
She followed the older woman and a few other girls - all dressed like porn stars - through the big door, and down the stairs. Star was wearing a sheer, black dress, and Kat watched her naked ass bounce in front of her eyes. The sight of the girls attracted many eyes of the men standing in the room they entered.
With their calculating gazes, Kat felt odd, as if she and the other girls were inanimate objects made only for their perusal.
The room had a dim light, and various brown leather couches scattered around the place. Some men were drinking what appeared to be scotch or whiskey from glasses, and all of them wore suits and grim expressions.
Star quickly moved to stand next to a man snorting coke in the corner. Another girl sat on a couch between two men who looked at her lecherously.
Kat caught sight of Ivo close to a door and held her breath. She hadn’t anticipated the dread that struck her, but after her eyes landed on his thin frame, her body started shaking in terror. To Kat’s dismay, Lina was guiding her in his direction.
A little sweep of her surroundings revealed that Beast was nowhere in sight.
“Ah, Lina, perfect,” Ivo said and looked at Kat. His sleazy eyes traveled from her nude legs up to her slim belly and stopped at her cleavage. There was a strange gleam in his eyes that reminded her of a reptile.
Kat saw the assessing look Lina was giving the two big men standing next to him. “We have guests, I see,” The woman drawled with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. If Lina was distressed, then Kat should be even more worried.
“Yes.” The word sounded like a hiss - the noise a snake would make before tearing into his food - and Ivo’s grin widened. “Some exceptional guests.”
His words carried a mysterious innuendo, and she was the only one that heard the hitch in Lina’s breath. Still, the woman next to her parted her lips in a sensual invitation. “I’d like to meet the most special one,” Lina purred.
Ivo nodded. “You and the new one come with me.” Once again, his eyes raked over Kat’s body.
She suddenly wanted to scratch out his eyes for making her skin crawl in the most unnerving way. But with the room full of intimidating and peculiar men, she didn’t dare question him at that moment. When she had brushed her hair earlier, her scalp had hurt with every stroke. That, and what she had seen on the girl’s neck this morning, made her heed her automatic response of slapping him as hard as she could and running away afterward.
Her eyes quickly scanned the two men guarding the room. Could she snatch one of the guns on their belts and make a run for it? And if she somehow managed that, could she also shoot with it? Still, holding a gun in her hand would definitely make her escape easier.
However, at the moment, it was impossible for her even to try such a maneuver. Maybe inside.
The two men remained standing outside the door as Ivo guided the women inside. The room was much smaller, stacked with a big desk and another soft leather couch. On it, a man was sitting already and sipping his drink. The watch he wore looked expensive and new. Whereas Ivo was rail-thin, this one was bald and overweight. The white dress shirt stretched grossly over his thick protruding belly.
His beady eyes did not once wander from Ivo. “Ivo, my friend, is Kapov still in the dark about me being here?” He motioned his head in Lina’s direction.
Ivo pointed his head to the corner, motioning for Lina to go there with a degrading flip of his fingers. Without hesitation, she sashayed to the small table and poured a golden liquid from a glass carafe into a small crystal glass. Dutifully, she returned and offered Ivo the drink with a slight grin.
“Don’t worry, Kapov doesn’t know anything,” Ivo said after he took a small sip.
“He wouldn’t be pleased with you if he knew.” The fat man laughed disturbingly, his face expression becoming malevolent.
“No. But he hasn’t exactly been around lately to notice anything.” The disgusting look on Ivo’s face after saying those words was even more perturbing to see, like a ravenous dog with rabies.
The man put his glass on the table and regarded Ivo with a calculating look. “So, it’s true then? Has he vanished?”
“Who knows,” Ivo said. “I haven’t been bothered for a long time now. I’m not even really sure he’s alive anymore.” He laughed.
Lina observed the man warily, and Kat looked at the window, contemplating her next movements, planning her escape. For now, she had to stand still and wait for her chance.
“Interesting. Let’s talk about it sometime later when we are alone.” The plump man’s eyes had finally found Kat and were darting from Ivo and back to her. His sudden interest made her uneasy.
“Good idea. Then we might talk about some business we both agree on.” The room was heavy with tension as the two men stared at each other. Eventually, the fat man’s lips curled into a grin that turned into full-fledged laughter.
He raised his glass. “Cheers to that.”
With a perfectly offending sneer, Ivo closed in on Kat. She slightly jumped when he touched her lower back. “And as a token for your cooperation, I have a gift for you. This one’s new and shiny. I found her yesterday, and I bet she’s just the way you like them,” Ivo said.
Lina gave her a reassuring smile, but Kat’s brain short-circuited in fear when Ivo pushed her forward in the direction of the other man, but then, a commotion outside disrupted the disturbing moment. Ivo glared at the door as they heard a woman shriek.
“Well, there seems to be a minor tumult outside. We’ll check. In the meantime, please get acquainted with your present,” Ivo said with an angry expression.
Panic rose in her chest as Ivo forcefully grabbed Lina’s arm and took her outside. Kat saw her trying to protest, but Ivo didn’t relent. The click of the door being closed resonated in the dim-lit room. Kat was now left alone with the heavy-set man who grinned lecherously at her.
Naively, Kat thought that this was the perfect opportunity to get help. “Please, sir,” she said as she took a small trembling step in his direction, “That
man abducted me, and I need to get out of here… Please help me!” Her mind was flowing with desperate thoughts, trying to grab unto anything that remotely represented hope. Maybe he isn’t as bad as Ivo, perhaps Ivo had managed to fool him.
She halted in her tracks when the man just started laughing. “That’s a good one, pet. I love games. Come here then so I can comfort you,” he said, grinning.
“But it’s the truth!” she whined. Undoubtedly, in a place where every girl was staying voluntarily, one that wanted to be gone would definitely make an impression. Or at least that was what Kat assumed.
“Of course,” he purred mockingly.
“But-”
“Now, now. I said I like games, but I need a bit more incentive here. You can’t remain standing there. I need to touch your skin.” His tone was changing to something unpleasant and demanding.
Increasingly becoming frustrated by the apparent disregard of her situation, the desperation began to mess with her surviving instincts. “It’s not a game. You need to help me out, please. I’m not a prostitute!” How could he not believe her?
If possible, his grin became fuller. “Oh? Then it’s better than I thought. Them innocent girls are the best. Come here, pet.” He patted the couch next to his fat thigh. Once Kat realized her new predicament, the desperation became unbearable and exploded.
She ran to the door and jiggled the doorknob, and to her dismay, she found it locked. “No!” she sobbed, “No, no, no!”
“Aw, do not worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” She heard the man say from behind her, much closer than what she thought he would be, so with a jolt, she turned around.
The man was standing now, slowly closing in on her. Panicked, she ran across the room and used the couch as a division between them, thinking that having it as a barrier will at least give her time to think of a new solution for her escape plan.
Her wide eyes met his twinkling ones. The smile on his face was even more sinister than it had been a few moments ago. “Don’t be shy. I’m not going to hurt such a pretty pet like you.” Although his massive flesh wobbled with each of his steps, he was rather fast on his feet, chasing her around the couch.
“No!” Kat cried, hoping that this was just a bad dream.
“Yes,” he spat with a sneer. There was a dangerous glimmer in his eyes, and her gut churned in fear, so trying to keep the distance between them, she slowly padded backward.
Kat stumbled into the coffee table and lost her footing. That was the opportunity that the man was waiting for, and he pounced. They toppled onto the couch. For a moment, the bulk of his body knocked her breath away, and she nearly fainted.
After regaining full consciousness, she felt his sweaty skin over her, pressuring her body against the couch and almost triggering an anxiety attack. His meaty hands were roaming her body, and filled with desperation as she never felt before, Kat tried kicking and pushing him off her, but he was much too heavy and sturdy.
“I like my girls innocent, like you. I like it when you bitches resist me!” When his revolting lips touched her bare shoulder, she wanted to puke.
Kat’s life flashed in front of her eyes then. She had had a good childhood and had always been a good girl. Except for her adult rebellion against her grandparents’ strict upbringing, she hadn’t ever done anything wrong in her life. How come her punishment for wishing a little more freedom was so severe? She had never hurt anybody, and now she was going to be mauled by that disgusting man. Just for a bit of lying, just because for once, she wanted to feel like an average adult.
She felt his squashy stomach pressing into her and his massive thighs, forcing hers apart. One of his hands tore at her dress and freed her breasts, and the other grabbed roughly at every piece of flesh he managed to touch.
“No,” she wailed in agony. She didn’t want this. She wanted to turn back time, back to when she was living with her grandparents.
Gladly, she would give up all her recent freedom because it certainly wasn’t worth this horrible ordeal. Tears were falling freely now from the corners of her eyes, and the man chuckled in response. His repugnant breath blew across her skin, and he bit her breast painfully.
“I’m going to have so much fun with you, pet! I can’t wait to break you,” he said before running his tongue over Kat’s neck.
One of her arms had managed to free itself from beneath his massive weight and was flailing aimlessly above the coffee table. She was about to give up and let herself be taken over when her fingers grazed the cold surface of what appeared to be a vase. Reigning in her tears and blending out the sensations evoked by the monster above her, she willed all her concentration to support her hand in gripping the inanimate object.
When her fingers finally grasped the curved porcelain, she exhaled loudly and put all her strength into the next inhale. Then she hit the vase on the man’s head.
Kat knew that she hadn’t hit hard enough for him to get unconscious, the vase hadn’t even cracked, but she had managed to hurt and startle him. Enough so, that she could weasel away from beneath him. She fell to the ground on her knees, and blindly started crawling away.
“You little shit!” He gurgled. When Kat turned back to look at him, his face was beet red, and there was a fine trickle of blood running down his forehead. “I’m going to kill you for that stunt! But before that…” he said, his voice going sinister, “I’m going to fuck you raw until you bleed, you little bitch!”
Panicking, Kat pushed herself off the ground, but before she could stand up, a meaty hand gripped her leg and pulled on it. When she fell on her chest, her breath whooshed out of her.
“I wouldn’t bet on that,” suddenly said a third voice.
Both Kat and the monster froze when they heard the menacing tone. Who was the third person in the room?
“Back off, now.” It was an unmistakable command, followed by a clicking sound. Still lying face-first on the ground, Kat barely registered the hand letting go of her leg. With what little energy she had left, she scrambled to her feet and turned around. The sight before her made her gulp.
The monster was kneeling on the floor, barely moving his chest while breathing, as Beast stood behind him, holding a gun to his head.
“What… what is this?” the monster stuttered. “She’s my present. Ivo gave her to me.”
“I don’t care about Ivo,” Beast said. The hood hid his eyes, but the mask sparkled maliciously with the light of the room.
“You should; he’s going to kill you for this.” It was evident for Kat that the man was trying to make some time, maybe hoping that Ivo’s men would come inside the room and rescue him.
The mask muffled his deep laughter. “Wouldn’t bet on that either.” Because of the silver skull, his voice had a metallic ring; it sounded eerie and dark.
Before the monster could turn around, Beast hit him across the head, and he fell unconsciously down the couch. Well, it was only a little disconcerting to see how little of an effect her hit had had in comparison.
Kat was still breathing with difficulty when Beast’s intense eyes met hers after pulling off the hood of his sweater.
He assessed her in a concentrated manner, without the lecherous expression the previous man had in his eyes when looking at her, and seemingly satisfied with his perusal, he pulled on her arm.
“Come on, let’s leave before they barge in here,” Beast said.
“…how?” Her brain had yet to catch up to the recent events. One minute she was praying for salvation and the next one Beast was saving her.
Was this some kind of miracle? Or was it just a different kind of hell?
Impatiently, he motioned his head to the now open window. With her head filled with a convolution of images regarding the experience just lived, she hadn’t even noticed the chill sweeping over her skin, so without needing any further explanation, she climbed up the windowsill and jumped out. A heavy sound made her aware of Beast following right behind her. He took her arm in his hand and ran into the
darkness.
At this moment, she decided to trust him with her life, this stranger with the ugly mask, this man who could be a saving angel or a condemning demon.
east had pushed her into a car parked not too far away from the house. He had then driven in a maddening pace without turning on the lights, his fingers gripping the steering wheel forcefully. How he had managed to find the road, she wasn’t sure. Only when they had reached the highway did he turn the lights on.
“Here.” He said. Beast had wiggled out of his sweatshirt while driving carefully and threw it into her lap.
Kat suddenly realized that she was shivering. She hadn’t been aware of the coldness and found it oddly caring when he cranked up the heat in the car. After sitting inside for the past twenty minutes, her adrenaline had slowly subsided, and she was now left feeling cold and tired.
She pulled on the sweater that drowned her slender frame. It smelled of spice and earth, and the warmth of his body heat seeped into her bones. Her eyes darted curiously to her companion.
The blue light of the dashboard illuminated his solid, silver skull mask in a neon hue. It covered the lower part of his face completely, including the sides, as if it were molded to his skin. The tattoos on his arms looked like mysterious shadows accentuating the firm muscles of his arms.
Beast had barely said a word since they had run away from the mansion. Even though he had saved her, Kat still wasn’t sure what to think of him. Did he do it for selfish reasons? Was he going to take advantage of her? After all, Lina told her that he had taken a liking to her.
“Are you going to bring me home?” Kat asked.
Beast shot her a quick sideways look. “No,” he said, and then returned his attention to the highway.
Her breath hitched. “Why not?” Kat said, a strange mix of calmness and dread overtaking her. She wasn’t afraid; she had kind of expected his answer.
