When Cece was finished, they made their way, hand-in-hand, back to the dressing room. The man had waited for them. “Shower time girls. Follow me.” Lola approached the man. She shoved her finger at the man’s chest. “What gives you the right? What gives you the right to take away our choices?” To Lola, death would be a better companion. She reached over onto the table and picked up a bottle of aerosol hairspray. Without thought or warning, she sprayed the liquid right in the man’s eyes. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face from the burn, and covered them with his hands.
“Get me some water,” he yelled to one of the Latino women. She grabbed him by the arm and led him to the sink.
Lola wasn’t finished yet. He was the only one there upon whom to take out her rage. She rushed the sink and knocked the man to the floor. He was at a disadvantage as he still couldn’t see. She used all of her might to punch him square in the nose. She erupted at the thought of what they would do to the girls once they were purchased. Another punch. She erupted at her choices being taken away from her. Another punch. Blood began to drip down from the man’s nose. Just then two strong hands tore her from her seated position on the measurement man. She was spun forward and punched squarely in the stomach. She doubled over in pain. The fight left her then. She was resigned to the fact she couldn’t escape. Another man grabbed her from behind and straightened her body. The man in front of her punched her again in the stomach. The punch knocked the wind from her chest; she couldn’t breathe. She began to hyperventilate. She managed to say, “Please.” The man stopped his assault on her stomach. He spoke Spanish to the woman standing there next to the sink, watching. The woman quickly disappeared and returned with a paper bag. Apparently, hyperventilating was something they were prepared for.
“Breathe into bag,” the man told her puffing out the bag and closing one end of it. He held it out to her. Without hesitation, Lola took the offered bag and began breathing into it. Slowly, her breathing evened out. Her eyes widened as she wondered what would be done with her now. She flew into such a rage; she was able to take down a man just as tall, with equal muscle mass as her. She had done a number on him. What would the fat man say when he saw the measurement man?
Lola’s face was ashen and pale. Her hands felt clammy. She hugged herself tight. She was deathly afraid at what would be done to her now. To her amazement, the man whom she had punched, stood. He was presented with a clean, dry cloth. He held it to his nose. He looked at Lola with evil intent and said, “This way ladies.”
Not to be further delayed, the measurement man kept the cloth pressed to his nose and led the girls through a door in the back corner of the room. They entered another large room with numerous shower heads and half-tiled walls separating each shower. Each stall had shampoo, conditioner, and soap.
This would be Lola’s first shower in ten days. She hoped the hot water would take some of her pain away. All of her muscles were bunched into cords. In the middle of the room sat two rows of long benches. She stopped at an empty spot and reached for the hem of her dress. It degraded and humiliated her that the men with assault rifles were standing in the shower room with the girls, but she needed a shower. She would try to relish the feel of hot water raining down on her skin. She lifted the hem of her dress over her head and placed the discarded dress on the bench. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to put it back on anytime soon. She made her way to an empty stall and turned on the faucet. The handle only moved one way: up. She pushed the handle up and lukewarm spray assaulted her body. This was not the hot shower she had imagined. Still she lingered. She could clean herself and that was all that mattered. She took her time washing and conditioning her hair. Then she started to wash her body. From her peripheral vision, she could see the guards openly gawking at the girls, but their most intense stares were turned on her. She felt them burn holes through her body. She made quick work of washing herself and stepped from the shower where one of the team of ladies was waiting with a fresh towel. She dried herself and wrapped the towel securely around herself. Sitting on the bench, she waited for the last of the girls to finish.
“Leave your clothes. You won’t need them anymore,” the measurement man said as he herded the girls back through the door and into the dressing room. He took great care in choosing a dressing table for each girl. When that job was finished, he handed each girl her negligee for the evening. Lola was handed the white one she had worn the day the ugly, fat, bald man had touched her. A day she was thankful the drugs made her temporarily forget. Now she couldn’t forget. Once she was dressed, she sat at the cushioned chair at the dressing table. A Latino woman came up to her and began straightening her hair with a blow dryer and a round hair brush. She had naturally straight hair, but she guessed they wanted it to shine tonight. While the woman was styling her hair, she looked at what some of the other girls were wearing. Dangani wore white, but Cece wore red and Alisha wore blue. White, she ventured equaled virginity, but Dangani was raped. Did that not count? Maybe they raped her orally? Why harm the merchandise? She could only imagine an unspoiled girl brought more money.
Next, the woman went to work on her makeup. The woman contrasted the innocence of the white negligee with sultry eye makeup and just a hint of blush. Her lips were painted a candy apple red, which made her already full lips look much fuller. The short, bald, fat man came into the room to inspect his products. He approved of most of the girls, but not of Dangani. “Get this girl another negligee. One that shows off the buds of her breasts,” he ordered in Spanish. He turned to address the girls in the room. “Girls, it has been my pleasure keeping you for the last several days, but I have some very interested men who are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on you tonight. Because of that, I don’t want anyone panicking, so I have brought your drugs. Be good girls and take your pills for Papi.” Each woman at the dressing table handed a girl a pill. Lola took the pill from the outstretched hand of her hair dresser and thankfully swallowed it. “We will wait thirty minutes so your pills have a chance to take effect. Then, it’s off to the catwalk for each of you. Don’t disappoint Papi,” the ugly, bald, fat man said in a heavy Spanish accent.
Apparently, they were being called in order of their dressing tables. Lola’s was last. She watched as the girls came back into the dressing room without a care in the world. She didn’t care what was about to happen, as long as they kept giving her pills. Her turn came. The man with the gun motioned for her to rise. She rose and made her way to the catwalk.
Chapter 10
Rob entered the room designated for him or rather his alias, Jim Ruffing. He noticed a floor-to-ceiling two-way mirror, a red, high back, plush leather chair, a coffee table to the right of the chair, and a telephone in the small room. He sat, uncomfortably, in the chair. He had to act like this wasn’t bothering him, but the truth was, he was ready to kill everyone in the barn that evening, sellers and buyers alike. He couldn’t stand the injustice of what he was about to do. He was there only to purchase Lola Sardeson. But what about the other innocent girls? Her father had supplied more than adequate funds and advised outbidding anyone who wanted her. Rob would purchase Lola tonight. Steve, Tony, and Aaron were also undercover as Jim Ruffing’s security detail. Every buyer here had their own security detail.
The team and their boss had worked swiftly to establish a background able to withstand Ortiz’s scrutiny and gain admittance to tonight’s auction. They worked for two days straight, no one sleeping more than a total of two hours. The result? Rob had a spotless invitation to tonight’s auction and had his team as well. He didn’t want to have to look at the girls as they were paraded down the catwalk. That only infuriated him more. His lip curled in disgust at the thought of what was happening all around him. “Just buy her. Just buy her,” he repeated over and over to himself. He rubbed at his forearm in a soothing gesture. When the first girl approached the runway, he flinched and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to take part in the abasement which wa
s occurring this evening. Why he was the one undercover was a mystery to him. Why couldn’t it be one of his brothers? He forced his eyes open. He couldn’t miss Lola Sardeson. A pained expression pierced his face. It was a good thing no one could see inside the rooms.
One thought, one singular thought brought him comfort. It was this singular thought that made him clench and unclench his fists over and over again: he would shut down the Ortiz Cartel, if it was the last thing he did. He was sickened at the fact he couldn’t save every girl here tonight. He could only save Lola. Lola’s father had supplied the picture, so Rob sat anxiously awaiting Lola.
The telephone in the room rang. “Hello,” Rob answered.
“Can I get you something to drink, sir? Before we begin with tonight’s auction?” the voice responded.
He might as well play the part, “Scotch please,” he cooed.
“Very well, sir.”
A moment later there was a knock at the door. A beautiful Latino woman with long brown hair and deep brown eyes met him as he answered the door. She handed his drink to him. He took it and offered her one hundred American dollars as a tip. The woman smiled brightly at him, and he couldn’t help but wonder how someone so beautiful ended up working here.
Before entering the private room, he was briefed on the symbolism of the colors the girls wore. White stood for virgin, red stood for previous exploits, and blue stood for one previous exploit so the men could tell what tightness the girls were before purchasing them.
Going against his own rule, he took a long swallow of scotch. The girl in front of him couldn’t be more than fourteen years old. He had no way of knowing who was bidding, as each room was as private as his. He did get a glimpse of the men prior to entering the room. Hor d'oeuvres and drinks were served in a very luxurious waiting area of the barn. He didn’t know which man went to which room, so he would have no way of rescuing the girl that stumbled before him in heels which were obviously too high for her. She wore blue, and still that fact did not deter the outrage he felt at the damage and helplessness of the evening. He finished his drink by the time the third girl paraded by. How he wasn’t breaking down the doors of the rooms and putting a bullet into the men’s heads was beyond him. He telephoned for another drink. This would be his last one. Two and he still could function should something go wrong. Two and he could still hit a target dead on from two hundred yards away.
He counted. Twelve girls in all had been sent careening down the run way. “They must be drugged,” he thought to himself, because the girls he was looking at didn’t look like they much minded being on that stage. They looked like they were zombies doing what they were ordered to do. What had they suffered before tonight?
His eyes just happened to be fixed on the door as the next girl emerged. She looked older than the rest. She could walk in the ridiculously high heels she wore. She had experience and yet she wore white. That intrigued him. Her facial expression was one of indifference. He would give anything to take it away from her. This girl was stirring his emotions. He felt for her. He wanted to save her, if no one else, from the misery that awaited her once she was purchased. He wondered then, how many of the men were sadistic animals? They had to be to purchase a person. He could see the way her brows knitted together as she self-consciously looked at the mirrors reflecting back her image. He had to save her. If no one else, this one! He had to protect this frightened girl from the monsters bidding on her tonight. He was moved and touched by her. The way her long, blond hair fell over her large natural breasts inspired him. His lips parted. He brought his fingers up to touch his lips imagining her lips touching his. He licked his lips as if readying to kiss her. Her frightened blue eyes called to him the way no other eyes had. He felt guilt. He was attracted to her. He was moved by her. He felt emotions come over him; emotions he hadn’t even felt for his Lizzie. How could he forget his Lizzie so easily? How could he let another woman affect him so? He remembered Lizzie’s easy smile and beautiful eyes. He tried to turn his head, but when he did he caught a glimpse of her hard ass which was peeking out of the back of her nightie as she made her way past him. He was conflicted. His cock was thumping in his dress slacks. He brought his lips together in a slight grimace. He didn’t want to feel for or be aroused by this woman. He reached up to massage and sooth his tense neck muscles. She had a killer body: toned and defined, yet soft in the right places, and she was a virgin. His cock pulsed again, this time straining against his pants. He hadn’t ever been this attracted to a woman before. He had to do something. If he could just contact his brothers, they could tail her and whoever bought her; he could save her. But he was required to leave his cell phone outside the room in a box full of cell phones. He couldn’t contact them. He was stuck in this box incredibly aroused, astonishingly touched, yet disturbed by his guilt.
“Fuck!” Rob reached for the phone. That was Lola! He had been so touched, so excited, he forgot what he was doing there. He barked out a number, “One hundred grand, American.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but the bidding is already at two hundred and fifty American,” a woman said with a Spanish accent.
“Three hundred American.” He had to win this auction. He was given three hundred and fifty thousand dollars to buy her tonight. “Please God, let me win,” he repeated again and again. He couldn’t remember praying since Lizzie’s death. He had given up on God until this exact moment. He had to have her. He had to protect her. He had to win this auction.
“Sir, it’s your bid. It’s between you and one other man. You both seem to want her. The bid is three fifty, American.”
Shit. Fuck. He was going to lose her. “Three seventy-five, American.” Now Rob was dipping into his own money. He had to win. He had to have her. As guilty as that made him feel, he had to have Lola for himself.
“You’ve won the bid, sir. Number six has backed out. She is all yours.” Those words, “all yours” made his cock twitch. What was he thinking? He had been so overcome with emotion and desire, he forgot about his Lizzie. Lola took his Lizzie away, and he didn’t think he liked that. He couldn’t have this girl. What would she see in him but a man who drank too much and took dangerous jobs, with a death wish? He’d had his chance at the real thing, but it had been stolen from him.
He looked down at himself and felt immense guilt. He lowered his gaze to the plush carpet which adorned the private room. He bit his lower lip at the thought of what Lola Sardeson was able to do to him. His chin began to quiver. Lizzie. His eyes tried to avoid looking at his raging hard on he got at the thought of Lola’s hard ass peeking out of her nightie. He imagined the way she would respond to him. Could he have both? Could he keep his memories of Lizzie and still protect and allow feelings for Lola? He was so confused. He shook his head. He had to get back into the mission. He had won the bid. He would be returning Lola to her father in two days. He already didn’t want to let her go, and he didn’t even know her. Now that he saw her, and had the reaction he did, he didn’t want to let those feelings go. He felt alive for the first time since Lizzie’s death.
After the auction, the men gathered in the large waiting room. Each girl was delivered to the correct number. Rob awaited his Lola. Shit, he was already thinking of her as his. He had to get a grip. Lola was brought to him wearing the same nightie she had been wearing on the catwalk.
“Don’t you have something else she can put on?” Rob asked the man who delivered her.
“No, senor.”
Rob removed his coat and wrapped it around Lola’s trembling body. Of course she was scared. He just bought her, and she had no idea who he was or his real purpose. Lola straightened at his touch. Her back went rigid, and her toned, defined arms pressed against her sides. She allowed him to wrap the coat around her, but she didn’t make eye contact. Instead, her eyes darted around the room taking in the sight of the young girls with the nasty, filthy men who purchased them. She spotted Dangani and her heart sank. A knot formed in her stomach. What would the man who had Dangani g
ripped by the arm do with such a young girl? A pained expression crossed Lola’s face. She spotted Alisha with a younger man. Lola wondered how much the man had paid for Alisha. She couldn’t find Cece no matter how much she tried. She chastised herself for not fighting harder. The whole situation was hopeless. She had just been purchased herself. She was of no use to Alisha, Dangani, or Cece now. Slowly, Lola put distance between herself and Rob and to her surprise, he let her.
Lola prided herself on being strong, but she couldn’t stop the tears from forming in her eyes. She blinked several times to keep them from falling. She wouldn’t let the man who had just purchased her see her as weak.
Rob could smell his favorite flower. Moving in closer to Lola, he confirmed it. She smelled of honeysuckle. He inhaled her sweet scent deeply into his lungs and let out an exasperated sigh. She cringed and backed away from him upon his exhale. Did he have bad breath? She was shaking violently now. Whatever drug they had given the girls must be starting to wear off. The only thing he could think his breath would smell like is the mint chewing gum and the scotch he had. What upset her so at the sight or smell of him?
He placed his large callused hand to the small of her back and led her outside of the barn. He looked for his brothers and found them standing in the same spot he had left them. Seeing Rob with Lola, the three men approached. Rob continued to guide Lola to the SUV. He opened the back door for her and she scrambled inside and pressed herself against the far door. He crawled in after her and sat in the middle making way for Aaron.
Their legs brushed and Rob felt an energy travel through his body like he had never known. She must have felt something too because she jumped and made the cutest hiccup sound. The warmth from her leg spread throughout his body. He felt a pulling in his groin. He was reacting to this woman. His eyes were focused on a point on the back of the front seat. He was concentrating on not ripping her clothes, if one could call them that, right from her body. He didn’t want to frighten her, so he stared straight ahead. His brows knitted together in concentration.
Stronger (The Unit Book 2) Page 6
