Stolen Innocence (Becoming Elena #1)

by Melody Anne

  She wanted to reach out and tell Leo not to leave her, but that would be overstepping what she was allowed to do.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Carl,” Leo said.

  The man, Carl, wasn’t too happy with that answer.

  “Who’s in charge here, Leo?” he snapped.

  “You are, Boss, but the master wants her ready and in his room in an hour — untouched,” Leo told him.

  The man glared at Leo before reaching for Elena. She couldn’t help the squeak of fear from escaping her tight throat when Carl yanked her to him.

  “It really is too bad. I should have never given up this one,” he snarled. Then he crushed his lips to hers while grabbing her behind and pulling her against his body.

  She shuddered when he released her.

  “Okay, okay, you’ve made your point,” Leo told him.

  Carl simply laughed before he walked away. Elena was shaking when Leo faced her.

  “I’m sorry, Elena,” he told her as he put a dollop of cream in his hand. “Turn around.”

  It was the kindest she’d ever heard his voice. Still shaking, she presented her back to him, and he began rubbing the cream into her skin, instantly soothing all the places Carl had touched.

  The process took about fifteen minutes and then she had to stand there a while longer while the lotion worked its magic. When Leo left the room and retuned holding several items, she looked at him with doubt.

  “What is that?”

  “It’s what you’re wearing,” he told her. She couldn’t tell from his tone what he thought about the outfit. She looked at the thigh-high boots with five-inch heels.

  She’d been made to practice walking in heels for months, but these were huge.

  “Stand still.” She did as he asked as he pulled up a garter belt that rested low on her hips with little clasps hanging down.

  “Sit down now.”

  Once she sat, he rolled the stockings onto her legs and attached them to the garter belt, and then he placed the boots on her feet and zipped them up.

  “Stand up. See how they feel,” he said.

  She carefully stood and took a couple of steps. It wasn’t easy, but she could at least walk.

  “Where’s the rest?” she asked him, feeling more and more cold with all her skin on display.

  “That’s all there is,” he said.

  She’d been naked a lot, was used to it. But they were moving through the house.

  “Can I have a robe?” she tentatively asked.

  “I’m sorry, Elena, but no. Let’s get going.”

  He moved to the door, and she stood her ground. Elena wanted to refuse to follow him. Especially after seeing the man who had been a large part of her nightmares. This place might not be what she’d thought it was.

  Was she truly free? Leo said he had saved her, and though she had no memory beyond the past few months, flashes would enter her mind, flashes of some life before. Had it truly been as bad as Leo told her it was? Or was he lying to her?

  No. She shook her head. Her entire purpose was to please the master. She wanted to please the master, she assured herself. But if that were the case, why was she so scared? Elena didn’t understand any of it.

  “Elena, we have to go.” This time his voice was firmer.

  She knew she could fight him, but she also knew the punishment would be fast and painful. With her head bent down, she walked after Leo, her stomach hurling as they began walking up the steps from the basement.

  They crossed a path outside, making her body shiver. And then they were back in the house she’d been in just a short time ago.

  They entered the room where she’d met the master, and she hung her head in shame when a woman looked up as she was dusting a shelf. The woman didn’t make eye contact, but Elena could imagine what she was thinking.

  They passed a couple other people as Leo marched her up the stairs into a wide hallway and then walked her down it. By the time he opened a huge door at the end of the hall, her feet hurt, and she was doing her best not to cry.

  “We’re here,” Leo told her unnecessarily.

  She looked around the monstrous room. It was done in all dark colors with black bedding on top of a four-poster bed, black curtains, and dark brown hardwood floors. There was a hutch near the bed that Leo walked over to.

  An image of something terrible happening in that bed flashed through her mind. She wanted to back away, run. But she was trained not to do that.

  “Lie down in the middle of the bed and spread out your limbs,” Leo said.

  “I don’t want to do this, Leo,” she begged, her entire body beginning to shake.

  “You don’t have a choice, Elena,” he said with a sigh. “Please don’t fight me. I have to get this done.”

  He didn’t even look her way as he opened the hutch, and she saw contraptions hanging there that terrified her.

  Elena decided she didn’t care about the punishment. She couldn’t do this. She turned and took several steps toward the door, but she was quickly swept off her feet.

  “Dammit, Elena, don’t do this,” Leo growled.

  He was holding a rope in his hand as he tossed her on the bed. She bounced and immediately struggled to move, to get away.

  But Leo was there and within seconds he had one of her hands secured to the post on the bed. He moved quickly and secured her other one.

  “Please, Leo. I don’t want to do this,” she cried out again, her head thrashing as he moved to the bottom of the bed and secured both her feet.

  “I know, Elena. But don’t fight it. It will only make things worse. Just get through this. The first time will be the worst, and then it won’t be so bad after that. But only if you don’t fight the master. He wants you to fight him so he has an excuse to hurt you worse than he already plans on doing.”

  “Please, Leo, please don’t let this happen,” she sobbed, tears falling down her cheeks as her head thrashed.

  “None of us have a choice,” Leo said before shooting her a glare. “I never bothered to care much until you, dammit!”

  “What do you mean?” She calmed herself as she looked at him.

  “You fought so hard,” he said, his voice quieting down. “You didn’t want to give up. I think somewhere in there, you still . . .” He stopped talking and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Then he moved toward her, and the room went dark as a blindfold was placed over her eyes. She could scream or cry out but she knew it wouldn’t do any good.

  So instead of doing that, Elena shut her mind off. She shut everything off. She heard Leo leave and then she lay there and tried to completely blank her mind. Whatever was coming next wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  If she could somehow take her mind somewhere else, then the master would have nothing except her body. Her body didn’t matter. He could have that.

  Time stopped having any meaning as she tuned in to the sound of a clock ticking. She squirmed on the bed as her arms and legs grew numb. She listened for the door to reopen, but it never did.

  Shivering as she waited for the master, she tried telling herself that she would rather just get this night over with. But the longer she lay on the cold bed, the more terrified she became.

  Elena began to drift to sleep when she was rudely reawakened by the sound of the bedroom door opening and footsteps entering the room.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Shivering in the middle of the bed, Elena lay there, not sure what to do. The door had opened, and there were steps and then . . . nothing.

  She wanted to scream, but what good would that do her? There were more steps, but this time they were moving away from her. Was this all part of the plan? Did the master want her freaked out?

  If he did, it was working.

  She told herself over and over again it didn’t matter. None of this mattered. But it did. She didn’t know why, but somehow it mattered — she mattered.

  As she was beginning to hyperventilate, she heard voi
ces quietly speaking. She strained her ears to hear what they were saying.

  “. . . how many are left?”

  “Just this one, Sir.” That was Leo. The other voice she didn’t recognize.

  “What does she know?” the man asked.

  “Nothing. She has vague memories once in a while. Otherwise, she’s not a risk. After the coma she fully integrated into Elena.”

  There was silence as if the man was trying to comprehend that. What were they talking about? She was so confused.

  “Now that my father is gone she has no risks.” The man stopped.

  “I truly am sorry for your loss, Sir.”

  “I’m not. He was an evil bastard, and he got what he deserved. If he hadn’t been drinking and driving he never would have driven off the cliff. But he’s gone now, and I have a hell of a mess to clean up after him.”

  Gone? Was the man who’d insisted she be tied to his bed gone? Unbelievable joy radiated through her. But before she could become too excited the men continued speaking.

  “What do you want me to do?” Leo asked.

  “You, I trust. None of the other men involved with any of this are trustworthy. I want them given a settlement. You’ll meet with Stephan, and he will write the checks; have them sign the nondisclosure agreements, and I want them off the property within the hour, all access cut off.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Leo replied.

  “What about the other men, the ones who find the girls?” the man asked.

  “They have no idea who they are working for. They’ve always been met far away,” Leo assured him.

  “That’s good. We don’t have that mess to clean up. I’ve spent too long building this company after my father failed it on so many levels. I won’t let his transgressions bring it down. It hasn’t been his for a very long time,” the man said.

  “We all know that, Sir,” Leo told him.

  There was silence and then she heard the steps coming closer to the bed. She shook as she waited for whatever her fate might be. Should she pretend to be asleep? If they were speaking so openly, would that mean they were planning on disposing of her?

  “Cover her up,” the man growled.

  Elena felt the covers go over her body, and she fought not to give a grateful thank you to the man. Yes, her body wasn’t her own anymore, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed being laid out on display.

  “What do we do here, Sir?” Leo asked again.

  “I don’t know, Leo.” The man sighed. “Let’s talk to her.”

  Suddenly the mask was removed from Elena’s eyes, and she blinked as she adjusted to the bright light. Then she sucked in her breath as she got her first look at the man staring down at her.

  She said nothing.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  Suddenly her throat closed, and she wasn’t able to respond. She looked at him like a deer caught in headlights.

  “I asked a question,” the man said, taking a step closer.

  “Elena,” she finally whispered.

  “I’m Dalton, Elena. I’m sorry you’ve been tied up here for so long. The man you met earlier was my father. He and I don’t share the same views on how people should be treated. If I have Leo release you from these binds are you going to fight me?”

  “No. I promise I won’t,” she told him.

  “How old are you?” he asked, his eyes never straying past hers, though she was now covered.

  “I think I’m eighteen,” she said, her voice very quiet.

  “Dammit!” Dalton stepped away from the bed as he paced the room.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, not knowing why she was apologizing, but just knowing she’d somehow upset the man.

  “There’s nothing to apologize for,” he said, the words coming out harshly. She decided to keep her mouth shut.

  “How long has she been here?” This time the question was directed at Leo. She was curious about this herself. She’d never had a direct answer on that question. She could only remember back a few months.

  Leo’s back was turned to her, and she didn’t see his lips move when he told Dalton that answer. But it must not have pleased the man because he swore again before moving back over to her.

  Leo finished untying her, and Elena immediately began rubbing her tender wrists before she gripped the edges of the blanket and slowly sat up. Her body ached from being secured in one place for so long. Had it been hours? Certainly. She just wasn’t sure exactly how long. Blood rushed through her limbs, sending tingling sensations throughout.

  “Where do you live, Elena?” Dalton asked.

  She slowly shook her head. “I don’t know,” she finally admitted.

  Dalton swore again. “This is a mess,” he thundered.

  “We can have her work here, Sir,” Leo suggested. “I think it would be best for all concerned if we gave her a place to stay.”

  Leo didn’t face her as he spoke.

  “I don’t think we have much choice in the matter,” Dalton answered.

  What were they talking about? Elena wanted to ask, but she was incredibly confused. Dalton moved back to the bed, and this time he sat down on the edge. Everything in Elena wanted to scoot away, but she was afraid of the retaliation if she did so. The man didn’t touch her though. That was somewhat of a relief.

  “Have you been mistreated?” Dalton asked.

  Elena’s eyes widened as her head whipped around toward Leo and then back to Dalton. She didn’t know how to answer that without things becoming a whole lot worse for her.

  Finally she shook her head again. “No, Sir.”

  His dark eyes bored into hers, and she wanted to flinch under his knowing gaze, but she managed to maintain eye contact.

  “I have a feeling you aren’t telling me the whole truth,” he finally said, the barest of smiles touching his lips. “Any abuse you’ve endured won’t continue.”

  Relief rushed through Elena, and then, all of a sudden, she looked at Dalton in a different way. With fear leaving her, she took the time to notice this man who casually sat there and spoke almost kindly to her.

  He had nearly black eyes with thick dark lashes, giving him an exotic look. She wasn’t sure of his age, but he appeared to be maybe late twenties, and he was huge, like the other man, his father, but without all the softness. He stood well above six foot, and his shoulders were twice as wide as hers. Not that she had much shoulders at all. So maybe his were three times as wide.

  His mouth was frowning again, but his face was attractive, if she were capable of being attracted to a man. She feared men right now more than anything else. But he had a square jaw, high cheekbones, and a perfectly straight nose. There was something about him that drew her to him. She forgot Leo was even standing in the room as she gazed at this man sitting so close to her.

  “You’re going to work for me, Elena,” he finally said.

  “Okay,” she replied, not even thinking of arguing.

  “I’ll have Leo supervise you. You won’t leave the grounds.”

  He waited for a response. She hadn’t even contemplated leaving the grounds. She knew the area she was allowed to walk in. But as long as they continued letting her outside, she could handle almost anything. Well, anything except being tied to a bed for hours on end.

  “Do you understand this?” Dalton asked, seeming irritated that she hadn’t given him a reply.

  “Yes, Sir,” she quickly answered.

  “Good.” He then turned to Leo. “Get her covered and out of this room. I want the entire thing stripped. I don’t want a single reminder of my father left in this house.”

  “Are you moving back home, Sir?” Leo asked.

  He paused again as he looked down at Elena. She couldn’t read his eyes, but then she wasn’t good at reading people since she didn’t even know who she was. Finally he turned back to Leo.

  “For now. Until I get this mess straightened out,” he replied.

  With that, the man stood up and walked out. Elena didn’t budge f
rom her place on the bed, huddled beneath the blanket.

  “It looks like the rough times are over, Elena,” Leo said, not too unkindly.

  “Can I go back to my room now?”

  “Yes, let’s get those boots off you first,” he said with almost a smile.

  “I can do it,” she told him, expecting him to argue.

  “Well, get on it. I want out of this room.”

  She quickly undid the boots, and then wrapped the blanket around her and followed Leo out. Relief washed through her when she made it back to her small room. Somehow her prayers had been answered.

  At least that’s how it felt. She didn’t remember her life before this place, so this was as good as it got.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Time stopped having any meaning to Elena. One day would simply meld into another and then another. She worked, cleaning the house, and she enjoyed her freedom to step outside in the evenings, but she did nothing other than that.

  She didn’t see Dalton again. When he was home, only a few of the fully trusted staff were allowed in his area. The rest of them, including her, were banished to the slave quarters, as she called them.

  She’d asked Leo if she would ever leave, and he had shaken his head, told her there was too much at stake for that. If there were any visitors in the house, she was not only banished to the slave quarters, but she was also locked up.

  Elena didn’t understand why. Were they afraid of her doing something? Did they think she was so uncivilized she wouldn’t know how to behave around normal humans? Once in a while she would still watch the videos that were in the sitting room. The other servants slept somewhere else on the grounds. She was alone in her small domain.

  Elena didn’t understand any of it. Her memory had never come back, but she still had a reoccurring dream with a little boy whose face was always blurry but his blond hair was crystal clear. She so wanted to meet him. Though she didn’t understand why.

  As more time passed, she stopped longing for something else, longing for something she knew nothing of. This was the life she’d been given; it was the life she would have to accept.

  A new head housekeeper had been hired a few months ago, and he was a horrible man. Not as bad as the one who’d been there so long ago, the one who had enjoyed hurting her, but this housekeeper, who was only referred to as Ken, would slap her if he wasn’t satisfied with her work.