blood and brain matter all over my canvas and paint supplies. I swing around to the other guy but he catches my arms as I move. I fire again but the bullet hits the ceiling uselessly, and my legs are taken out from under me. I roll like Lips taught me, kicking out and catching the man in the back of the knee. He goes down a little easier, less anger but he's quick to punch me, the blow too much for my already damaged brain.
I see stars and my stomach roils, bile climbing up my throat.
The gun is knocked out of my hands and when the man moves to straddle me, I vomit. There's no way I can stop myself from losing my stomach contents.
"Fucking disgusting. She might know how to shoot but she's definitely fucking broken. Pathetic."
I don't catch anything else he says as the man punches me again and I lose consciousness.
I come to in the back of a car. My clothes are all still firmly in place and I'm not sore anywhere, thank God. The smiling man is sitting in the back with me, a blond man sitting next to him with blank eyes. His face is nice looking but I've learned that lesson already. The devil can wear kind eyes and a cutting tongue.
The smiling man looks me over and then says, "Look, it's nothing personal. I don't give a fuck about pussy at the best of times and used up pussy? Nah, not for me. It's just you've fucked with my friend and that's not part of my plan. He's a little... lost at the moment. He's not on the right path, I need to get him back to where he belongs, in the cage and working for me."
The words take my sore head a moment to decipher, translate, and understand. I swallow roughly, my mouth dry and my head pounding. I straighten up in my seat and look out of the windows. We're on a highway, I don't recognize anything around us.
"I'm tempted to try you out, you know? Tempted because of the prices you keep getting at auction. I don't know how the fuck the Vulture pitches you to his buyers but, fuck, they're hungry for whatever you've got for them. Blondes aren't really my thing, though."
My stomach clenches again, a fine sheen of sweat starting up in my brow. I must look ill because the smiling man suddenly looks more dangerous, the smile dropping away.
"Vomit in my car and I'll make you clean it back up with your tongue. Fuck, I'll film it and send it to Johnny, make him see some fucking sense."
I swallow again, clutching at my stomach. He laughs, a manic sound.
"Good to know you can speak English. I don't really give a fuck if you can understand me but it would be fucking weird to be sitting here talking without you understanding me. Wouldn't it, Luca?"
The blond guy pastes on a grin, the look of it thin and fake. "Sure would, Boss."
I let my eyes fall shut again as my head pounds and my stomach clenches violently. I must not vomit. I will not suffer that humiliation on top of everything else I've been forced to endure.
Thankfully, the car slows to a stop and that helps the sick feeling in my gut more than anything else. The house we've parked in front of is small and rundown, bullet holes in the outside walls. Luca holds my elbow, gently but firmly as I trip over my own feet. The pounding in my head only gets worse. I start to wonder if I'm going to have permanent damage this time.
I get taken to a bedroom and my entire body begins to shake and tremble. I can't do this again. I can't have another man touch me, not after mon Monstre has taught me again what it means to be touched and worshiped once more.
"Chain her to the bed." The smiling man snaps, stalking out of the room.
I back up into the corner and try to remember exactly what I was taught by Lips but everything is a little sluggish and foggy. Luca grimaces and glances over his shoulder, quietly shutting the door and walking over to me with his hands raised. "It's okay, Odette. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm trying to get backup and to get you out."
I blink at him.
He knows my name.
He nods slowly. "Look, I need to tie you to the bed so the