on the bottom rung have to take their shit. You can rule without being an asshole. Both K and her sister need to learn that, and perhaps the men I once called my brothers, but that’s a story for another day.
Seven
Sales Docket Number 12574
When a chunk of the patty from Ana’s burger she’s practically swallowing whole falls out of its packaging, I try to catch it before it lands on the filthy floor. Although this holding cell is newer and cleaner than the ones I’ve seen the past ten weeks, there’s no denying it is dirty. Just the soot off the women’s feet when they scampered to steal the food the bearded man purchased for us has me cringing when I miscalculate the fall of the fat-laden meat.
It lands on the floor a mere inch in front of me. It’s flip-flop-flap routine almost breaks my heart. Not because I hate wasting food, but because I snatch it up and shove it in my mouth like my desperateness won’t have the bearded man peering at me with even more sympathy.
I don’t want his sympathy.
I want my freedom.
A string of whimpers breaks throughout the crowd when my swallow of the greasy meat causes the thud of boots to race across the room. The brooding stranger who made me feel safe for the first time in years when he saved me from the yearning gawk of his friends charges across the room. His jaw ticks like it did when I couldn’t get the stupid match to spark, and his fists are clenched into tight balls.
When he stops a foot from my dirty feet tucked under my bottom, I slant my head to the side with a flinch, prepared for the sting of his strike. He didn’t retaliate to my violence earlier when I struck him, but men are less forgiving when they feel humiliated.
Me eating food off the floor mere seconds after standing up for me like I’m worth something would most likely humiliate him.
Although my cheek doesn’t feel the scorn of his annoyance, my wrist sure does when he uses it to pluck me from the floor. I don’t know if he’s hurting me on purpose, or he doesn’t realize how strong he is. Whatever it is, whimpers rattle my ribcage, although not a snivel escapes my lips. I don’t want him to see me cry, even with my willpower having nothing to do with my time in captivity.
When he walks me toward the door we walked through only seconds ago, I shoot my eyes to Ana, hopeful she’ll fight for me as hard as I fought for her in the past. Her eyes, along with a dozen or so more, watch me being dragged out of the room, but her lips don’t twitch in the slightest.
Mercifully, help arrives from someone I never anticipated. The giant standing at the door scrapes his hand across the stubble on his chin as his eyes lock with the man separating me from the pack. “Trey… you know Nikolai’s orders. He won’t be happy if you disobey him.”
My eyes snap to Trey’s so quickly, I make myself dizzy, but before I can work through an ounce of my confusion, he growls out, “I’m not fucking her. I’m going to feed her. If Nikolai has an issue with that, he’ll have to tell me himself.” With my pulse roaring in my ears, I could be forgiven for mistaking his last growled sentence. “Because I won’t have her eating off the fucking floor like a savage.”
After instructing the giant to keep an eye on the other captives, Trey commences walking me down the hall. He takes a left at the end before he marches us past a jacuzzi full of scantily-clad women.
I cover my chest with the hand Trey isn’t clutching, not just shy about the number of eyes I have on my almost-exposed breasts from the men we race by, but embarrassed my body looks nothing like the women eyeing Trey with interest. Even before I was imprisoned, I didn’t look like them. They have perky breasts, flawless faces, and perfectly made-up hair that looks professionally done each morning. They’re beautiful, even with them being seen more as a commodity than a person.
How is that possible?
Aren’t they ashamed of who they are?
Before I can find answers to my questions, Trey bursts us through a large stainless-steel swinging door. The smells streaming into my nose has my stomach flipping. I can’t tell if it’s a good flip or