“Look, my sister has a lot of money. If you help me get out of here, I promise I’ll save all of you from this bullshit servitude,” Lyric urged.
The girl put her finger to her lips and moved on to Lyric’s eyebrows. “You must be perfect for the prince,” the girl said with a sad smile. There was no light in her eyes, just bleak acceptance.
Lyric decided to leave the issue alone. She didn’t want the girl to get in trouble. She knew what sort of punishment Prince Khalil could exact on a pretty girl like this one.
The young girl led her over to a beautiful silver and gold vanity chair. A pretty turquoise bandage dress hung on a rack next to the chair. Lyric recognized the design as a Hervé Leger—his brand was unmistakable. A pair of beautiful beaded pumps and several pieces of diamond jewelry lay on the glass tabletop.
“Prince Aziz chose this for you,” the head servant informed her. In other words, she had no say in the matter.
“Why do I need to be dressed up? Are we going out?” she asked, eager for information.
A woman rushed over, holding out a white lace La Perla thong for her to step into. Another snapped on a matching bra. Moisturizer was applied to Lyric’s legs, arms, and back before the designer dress was pulled over her head. Jewelry and shoes were added, completing the outfit.
Lyric was pulled into the chair. Her hair was brushed and pinned into an elegant side bun. They worked together to apply a flawless face of makeup. Lyric didn’t recognize herself when they were done. She hadn’t looked so beautiful since the last award show she attended as part of Sista Love. She tilted her head to the side as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Why did it take her being held captive by a sadistic billionaire for her to feel like herself again? To feel like a star?
“They are ready for you,” the girl smiled faintly at Lyric.
“Please, at least tell me what to expect,” Lyric implored.
The girl looked around nervously, but just as she was about to say something, two of Khalil’s men walked into the room. The girl quickly stepped aside and lowered her head.
Lyric was led down a set of stairs and through a series of long hallways to a room decorated in black and red. It looked like the devil’s own lair. Goose bumps cropped up all over her body. Heart pounding, she walked slowly inside, balancing on the silver stilettos she’d been forced to wear. The tight-fitting dress felt like it was choking off her circulation, and the pins in her hair felt like knives digging into her scalp.
She looked around in disgust at the crowd of strange partygoers that were mingling about the room. This crowd wasn’t like the rowdy, hip-hop crowd that was gathered the first night Lyric and Bethany arrived. Instead, Lyric noticed men with dark heads of hair, long beards, and white head coverings accented with two or three thick black bands at the top, holding the material in place.
Sheikhs? Princes? Is this some sort of royal gathering?
She watched as the beautiful women, sprinkled around the room, were being grabbed and groped by the men. Lyric learned that these superrich men were some of the freakiest and nastiest bastards when it came to sex. They had lots of money and deemed normal sex as a boring, low-class activity. Most of them were unhappily married to women who only had intercourse with them to create heirs.
The women in attendance tonight were primarily of Eastern European descent, with the exception of two women who looked East African. The women were highly trained, pretending to be interested in their male companions, sitting in their laps and giggling at their jokes. They wore vacant expressions, clearly under the influence of strong narcotics.
Music played lightly in the background. It wasn’t the rap music Khalil usually played but light, airy, string music, like in Bollywood films. The one thing this gathering had in common with Khalil’s hip-hop party was that there was plenty of drugs and liquor to go around.
Lyric hesitated when she noticed that men and women were engaged in different sexual acts on the far side of the room. She had walked into a drug-filled orgy. Lyric hadn’t been a fan of most of Khalil’s proclivities, but with his increasing aggression and her need for drugs, she had gone along with it.
“The singing beauty has arrived,” Khalil said as Lyric was presented at his side. The three men standing near him eyed her hungrily.
“These are my friends. They’ve been waiting to meet you.”
Lyric was burning up inside. Her high was wearing off, and she needed another hit soon if she hoped to make it through the evening’s “entertainment.”
“She’s the one I told you about. Better than any I’ve had. It’s like she’s been seasoned to do this,” Khalil announced to the men. “She’s a hot piece of ass,” he continued, forcing Lyric to spin around and display her every angle.
Her stomach flipped. She had to will herself not to slap and spit on him. One of the older men approached and smiled lasciviously.
“Does she like everything?” he asked, rubbing his hands together.
Lyric’s nostrils flared; she quickly swallowed her words of protest.
“She’s American, so what do you think? They love to be fucked like animals. Besides, she has no say in the matter. Have her any way you like, my friend,” Khalil said, laughing.
Lyric’s chest heaved now. She shot Khalil a dirty look and folded her arms over her chest. She had been forced to do a lot of things she wasn’t proud of . . . but this . . . This pushed her to her limits.
“Fuck all of you,” she spat, kicking off her heels, preparing to storm away. She didn’t even know her way to the front door, but she knew she wasn’t going to stand for being gang-raped at a party.
The three men let out a collective gasp at her defiance. Khalil’s eyes hooded over, and his jaw rocked.
“Don’t try to embarrass me or I’ll see to it that your entire family is wiped off the face of the earth,” Khalil growled in her ear. He pulled a small packet out of his pocket and forced it into her hand.
“Go get yourself together. But first, apologize to my friends,” he ordered.
Lyric swallowed hard. “Don’t mind me. I’m just a bit edgy tonight. I apologize,” she said, bowing at the waist, a smile pasted on her face. Lyric hated herself, but she hated Khalil even more for humiliating her so.
“She will return,” Khalil said, a hint of urgency in his voice. “I apologize for the delay.”
He grabbed Lyric’s arm and dragged her to a corner in the room. Lyric counted each step as if it were her last. Twenty-two steps and she was shooting up again. That was all it took for her to transform into a helpless female.
Khalil led her to a small pile of pillows behind a long black curtain. Incense was burning, and several candles were lit nearby. Lyric could hear the men talking about her like she was their new favorite sweet.
Khalil pushed her down onto the pillows. “This is why you’re here,” he said matter-of-factly. “For my entertainment and for my friends’ entertainment. You are a professional entertainer, are you not?” he joked.
“I need another hit,” Lyric whimpered, although she was as high as a kite.
Khalil snapped his fingers, and his people rushed in. One held her down while the other removed her clothes. Lyric tried to fight, but she was no match against their strength.
“Stop!” Lyric cried out. That just seemed to turn her abusers on more. The first man dropped down in front of her and forced her legs apart with his knee. Lyric closed her eyes, but she could feel his weight on her chest as he forced himself into her dry vagina.
Her mind raced back to the past, when she was just thirteen years old. She could see, hear, and feel Andrew Harvey touching her....
* * *
“Shhh. Let me take care of you,” he whispered, moving his mouth from hers and trailing his tongue down her neck. She was shivering all over her body. This wasn’t the first time he had done this to her, but it felt just as disgusting as before.
“This is the deal that your mother agreed to—this is how you and your sisters be
came famous,” Andrew Harvey had told her while he used his right hand to loosen the string at the back of her bikini top. “If you want me to stop, you’ll have to explain to Ava why you said no to the deal of a lifetime,” he warned.
“Please,” Lyric cried, pitifully. Her teeth chattered in her mouth. “I’m only a kid,” she whined. “I’m just fourteen.” She sobbed as he licked down her neck to her newly budding breasts. Lyric felt like roaches were crawling on her. Something began to tingle in her head. She saw a rainbow of colors flash before her eyes. She tried again to fight him off. “Get off me,” she groaned, weakly punching at the bald spot in the middle of his head.
“I’m a kid,” she whimpered. Her speech began to slur. “I’m just a kid. I don’t want to do this.”
“I’m going to make you a woman,” Andrew Harvey breathed into her ear. He pressed his protruding stomach against her body, and roughly worked his fingers into her bikini bottoms. Lyric’s body went partially limp. She could feel him exploring her with his fingers, but she could no longer fight him off.
“I’m going to give you something to relax a bit, baby girl,” he whispered hotly in her ear.
She was escaping. Flying up into the sky, away from herself, away from this world.
Andrew Harvey carried her over to the bed and threw her down. Lyric smiled lazily, and her head rocked from side to side. He licked his lips hungrily.
“Yes. After tonight, you’ll be a woman.”
* * *
“Don’t I turn you on, American whore?” one of Khalil’s guests growled and slapped Lyric’s cheek, bringing her back to reality. “Now, open up like the nasty bitch that you are.” The man didn’t even last five minutes before he scrambled to his feet, pulling himself out quickly, only to waste his body fluids on her.
Lyric flailed and kicked until she grew tired. She was numb. She heard the excitement in the voices of the men around her. One by one, they took turns defiling her body. They seemed to derive great pleasure from slapping her in the face. She could feel her left eye swelling, and her nose trickled blood.
“Get into it, you bitch!” one of the men jeered.
Tears flowed from her eyes. The men turned her over and upside down. Lyric thought about Rebel. He had betrayed her, let her to fall prey to this lifestyle. The first night after she’d found him with her friend, he had tried to call her a few times. She wondered if he was still looking for her or if he had given up on her by now.
Lyric hollered as one of the men plunged himself deep into her backside. She was in too much pain to even notice that Khalil had allowed several more men and a few women to partake in this sick gathering.
Lyric vowed that if she ever made it out of this prison alive, she would see that he paid the ultimate price for her humiliation and degradation. Death had been the fate of the last man that had abused her. This time would be no different.
Chapter 18
Harmony
Harmony smoothed her dress down over her hips and exhaled. She was going to try this again. This time, without distractions. Her first date with Blake had been interrupted by a visit from Detective Simpson. After she learned that Ron had a special connection to her mother and might have motive to murder her, Harmony had asked Blake for a rain check on their date.
Blake had been sweet and understanding. He ordered food for her and offered to keep her company at home instead. Harmony politely declined, her mind too muddled to be of any benefit for polite company.
Tonight she had a chance to live a little. Harmony said a quick prayer that everything would go well before she pulled open the door to let Blake inside.
“Wow,” Blake gasped, an appreciative grin on his lips.
Harmony’s heartbeat sped up. Damn! He looked fine.
“You look amazing,” Blake said, staring like he never wanted to take eyes off of her. Harmony’s cheeks went rosy, and she giggled. It was good to feel desirable again.
“Why, thank you, sir,” she said, batting her long eyelashes. “You don’t look too shabby yourself.”
“I clean up nicely,” he joked, rubbing his goatee and winking. Harmony laughed. She felt completely at ease with him. No pretenses or forced smiles.
“I realize that, aside from the five minutes that we saw each other during our first failed date night, you’ve only ever seen me wet or dirty. And you probably didn’t even know I had this much hair,” she said, shaking her head to imitate a dramatic model movement. Her newly coiled ringlets bounced flatteringly around her face.
“You could wear a brown paper bag and I’d still notice you in a crowded room. You think a pair of sweats or uncombed hair would throw me off?” Blake asked, taking in another eyeful of Harmony’s sexy figure as he ushered her to his car.
“You know all of the right things to say, huh?” she laughed, swatting his arm playfully.
Blake walked around to the passenger-side door of the white Mercedes S550 and held the door open for her.
“Wow. She’s a beauty. I had no idea firemen drove these types of cars,” Harmony said glibly as she slid into the buttery soft tan leather seat.
“What type of car did you expect me to drive?” he replied, chuckling. “Honda Civic? Jeep Cherokee? Toyota Camry?”
Harmony shrugged, getting comfortable in the seat. “I was just kidding, you know.”
“Well, that’ll teach you never to judge a man by his car or his job,” Blake winked. Harmony shifted in her seat. Blake made her insides feel warm.
“I’ve got a special night planned for us,” he announced as he began to reverse out of the driveway.
Loud banging on passenger-side window startled them both. Blake slammed on this brakes.
“What the hell!” Harmony shouted, clutching her chest in fear.
“Harmony, it’s me, Rebel.” Harmony scowled and pursed her lips. Blake lowered the window on her side.
“Rebel? What the hell are you doing at my house?” she asked through clenched teeth.
“I’m really sorry for intruding on you like this, but I need to talk to you.” Rebel shot Blake a look. “In private.”
Harmony looked over at Blake. His eyebrows were raised in inquiry.
“I’m on my way out, Rebel,” Harmony said flatly.
“It’s about Lyric.”
“I don’t want to hear anything about my sisters right now. And aren’t you the one who abandoned my sister? Why do you care about her so much now?” Harmony asked suspiciously.
Rebel sighed and shook his head.
“Look, I know everyone is upset with me, but I did that for her own good. I was, and probably still am, no good for Lyric, but that doesn’t change the fact that I love her more than any other girl I’ve ever been with,” Rebel said sincerely. Harmony’s stony expression seemed to ease a bit.
“I found out she’s in real trouble, Harmony. Like the kind of trouble that she might not make it out of without your help,” he said, urgency underlying his words.
Harmony swallowed hard and fell silent for a few seconds. Blake touched her hand.
“Go ahead. It sounds serious. Find out what’s going on with your sister. I can wait,” he said, smiling.
Harmony glanced into Blake’s kind eyes. She kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said, before she stepped out of the car.
She followed Rebel to the sidewalk and folded her arms across her chest expectantly.
“I have proof that Lyric has been pulled into a sex ring. I’ve heard stories about this dude, and he’s bad news. Khalil is a wannabe rapper. Originally from the Middle East. He keeps girls drugged in his house and does all sorts of sick shit to them,” Rebel said, worry etched into his face.
Harmony blinked a few times, unable to comprehend. “How would Lyric get caught up in something like that? And how do you know she’s even with this Khalil person?”
Rebel looked down, unable to look Harmony in the eyes. “I walked in one of my friend’s cribs, and I found my boys Drew, Mark, Darren, and Rick all huddle
d around a laptop watching something. They were so engrossed in the screen that none of them heard me come in. They were too busy making catcalls and touching themselves, I guess. Naturally, I wanted a good look too. I cleared my throat and stepped to them and asked what’s good. At first, they tried to hide the screen from me. I got suspicious and asked them to step aside and—”
“And?” Harmony pressed, sweat running down her back.
“At first, they argued with each other over who was to blame for allowing me inside. They were guilty and trying to cover their tracks,” Rebel gritted, emotion playing out on his face.
“What were they watching, Rebel? Get to the point, for God’s sake,” Harmony snapped.
Rebel sighed heavily and pulled out his iPhone. “Harmony, it’s not easy to watch,” he warned.
Harmony’s heart was pumping so hard she felt like someone had reached inside her chest and gripped it tightly.
“Play it,” she said in a low whisper, barely able to find her voice.
Rebel pressed PLAY on the video, and a grainy image appeared.
“From what I was told, this video was shot at one of this dude’s many properties. Few people know where it is,” Rebel explained.
Harmony’s eyes widened when a clear shot of Lyric’s face flashed across the screen. Harmony clasped her hand over her mouth to stifle the scream she wanted so badly to let out. The vein at her temple began throbbing, and her legs suddenly felt too weak to stand.
“What the . . .” Harmony was at a loss for words. She wouldn’t take her eyes off the screen. She bit the inside of her mouth until she tasted her own blood. Six men were taking turns raping her sister.
Rebel walked away while Harmony watched the video. His fists clenched and unclenched as he paced on the sidewalk.
“Is that a . . .” Harmony squinted.
“Yeah, she has a fucking black eye,” Rebel said through his teeth.
“Word on the street is that she’s been held there for over three months now. They are saying he is keeping her so high that she probably doesn’t even realize what is going on,” Rebel shared.
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