I kept my eyes trained on the crack beneath the office room door, watching for any shadows that might pass by.
And after ten solid minutes of nothing, I took a chance.
I crawled over to the door and picked myself up. I drew in deep, silent breaths, girding myself for whatever might be out there. My hand reached for my right thigh-high and I pulled out my gun, ready to shoot my way through this damned place if I had to.
Then, I ripped the door open and stepped out into the hallway.
I looked both ways, twirling my gun around as I tried clocking everything in all directions. And I’d be damned if the hallway wasn’t completely cleared. I looked up at the security camera trained on me and I cursed beneath my breath. Someone had to be watching me from that fucking thing.
So, I booked it down the hallway with my gun in my hand.
I knew it wasn’t smart to go back out into the main room, but if these guys had any sense in their brains at all they’d be perched in the back hallways looking for me. And that made things more difficult. I tried to step as lightly as possible and slipped into office rooms by using the key I had in my left thigh-high if I heard voices or possible footsteps coming in my direction.
But neither Cole nor Archer emerged.
And that worried me.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” I whispered.
I passed by a corner I didn’t see and a chuckle resonated behind me. “‘Fuck’ is right, you slimy little cunt.”
I whipped around at the sound of his voice and Chops immediately wrapped his hand around my throat once more. He slammed me against the wall, causing me to lose my breath as my gun dropped from my hand. It clattered to the ground and he quickly kicked it down the hallway, where a man stepped out of the shadows and scooped it up.
Then, Chops leaned in so close that I smelled pain killers on his breath. “You’re a slippery one, aren’t you?”
My lower lip quivered. “Just let me go. I won’t say a thing if you simply let me go.”
He grinned. “When I’m done with you, I just might. But I’m not nearly finished with you yet.”
“Yeah, well I’m done with you.”
I went to throw my knee into his already-injured groin, but he backed away. Without even moving his hand from my neck, he stepped back into position and drove a wedge between my legs with his knee. He slid me up the wall with his grip tightening around my throat and I tried crying out for help.
But either people couldn’t hear me, or they didn’t care enough to respond to such a call.
“No one can hear you scream back here, Butterfly. If that’s really who you claim to be. That’s why we are outfitting all of these rooms back here for our V.I.P. clients. You know, those clients where rules sort of slip out the window, for a price?”
I felt sick to my stomach. “Let me go. My shift is over.”
He reached between us and started fiddling with his belt again. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I run this fucking joint, then. Because now, your shift with me is only beginning. And it’ll help if you stay still for this. It’ll go by quicker and hurt you less.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Somebody! Anybody! Please, help me!”
My feet barely touched the ground. Chops’ maniacal laughter as he stroked his cock forced tears down my cheeks. I tried balling my hands up into fists and swinging them as hard as I could, but another man came out of nowhere and pinned my wrists above my head. My feet dangled as Chops shoved my skirt up. I bucked against him, trying to knock him off balance as his hand slapped my inner thigh.
“Stop. Moving. Before I choke you out and do what I need to do myself,” he growled.
“Oh, no you don’t.”
In a flash, Chops was on the ground and I fell to my feet. I gasped for air and tried to get my bearings as Summer’s violent howl filled the hallway. The shadow man charged me, his arms stretched out to grab me. And even though I ducked, he still managed to grab a fistfull of my hair.
And yanked my damn wig right off my head.
“I knew it!” Chops exclaimed.
He threw Summer to the side and quickly stood to his feet. “I knew I fucking recognized you.”
The shadow man balked. “That’s the girl, boss. I fucking told you I knew her from somewhere! She’s that bitch that got mouthy with us a couple of weeks back!”
My eyes widened as Chops approached me slowly. “What did you think you could do? Take us all on at once? Get revenge without us noticing? We keep tabs on every girl when they’re inside these walls. We know what steps you make, who you talk to, what your dances look like. We even hack your fucking phones that you think we don’t know about.”