Page 20 of Savage Desires

"H-how are you here?"

"It's a long story that we don't have time for. We need to find a way to get you guys out of here along with the four other women sold tonight."

Lexis gasps. "Y-you're helping us?"

He turns his attention to her. "Yes. I came here to observe and plan. When I saw my girl on the auction block, I couldn't leave without her. This was supposed to be a standard auction. I would've been able to track the girls afterward and rescue them. That plan is fucked, and now I have to figure out how to get you all out and past security without being caught."

"I can help…" Lexis says. "I know how to move around the mansion without getting caught."

"What about the girls in the other rooms? Are they all coded to just our member number?" he asks.

She bites her lip. "Yes… but the back doors aren't." She points towards the door I was shoved through. "Those lead to a separate hallway and open with a key fob from the other side."

"How do we get through that door from in here?"

She chews on her lip as she thinks. "You could knock on it? There should be a guard in the hallway monitoring the doors since they are occupied. He has the key fob that will work for all the doors in the entire mansion. If you get that, we can get out of here easily."

Kisten thinks it over, then nods his agreement. "It's a good plan. It's imperative that I don't get caught."

"It will work," Lexis says confidently.

Kisten turns to me and smiles. "I'm going to get you out of here, beauty."

I nod, tears filling my eyes. I can't let myself believe this is really happening. Maybe I'm already dead, and this is heaven… I can't think of a better version of heaven than being saved by Kisten. He reaches out and gently tucks my hair behind my ear. His dark eyes are warm and reassuring.

"Stay strong for me a little longer, my beautiful fighter."

"Okay," I whisper.

His big hand cups my cheek for a moment, then it's gone, and I'm left wondering if his touch is real or imagined. At this point, I'm still not convinced this is really happening. I could still be in that dark room, locked in a cage, with my mind playing cruel tricks on me.

He stands and goes to the wall with doors and drawers. He enters his code and starts looking through them. He pulls some clothes from the drawers and carries them to the bed. These clothes are obviously meant for roleplay because the first thing he picks up is a frilly French maid dress. He tosses the dress to Lexis, and she quickly puts it on. He rifles through the clothes and lets out a frustrated growl.

Without a word, he goes to the bathroom door and enters his code. I can't see him but hear him opening and closing cabinets and drawers. A minute later, he comes out with a small bundle of clothes. He hands them to me, and I notice they are men's clothes. It's a simple black t-shirt, gray sweatpants, and socks. It's the most clothes I've been given in six years. I've spent my days either naked, in lingerie, or in the ugly dresses we're allowed during off time at Mecca.

I finger the soft fabric of the t-shirt and have to fight back irrational tears. I've been through so much since I was taken and haven't broken, yet a t-shirt and pair of pants have me ready to break down.

"Get dressed, beauty. We need to move."

I choke back my tears and stand. Even though Kisten has seen me completely naked up close and personal already, and this dress is entirely see-through, stripping in front of him feels too intimate. He only watches long enough to confirm I'm changing clothes before he goes back to rifling through the cabinets. I dress quickly. I have to roll the legs of the pants up and tighten the drawstring so they don't fall down.

"Are there cameras in the hall?" he asks Lexis.

She shakes her head. "No cameras. They only use guards to keep an eye on things. They don't want to chance someone getting access to camera feeds. Whoever runs the business is paranoid.

"An incredibly stupid person. Especially since they hire imbeciles to work security. Both things will work to our advantage. What about staff other than security?"

Lexis shakes her head. "None. The mansion girls do everything here. Free labor."

Kisten's eyes darken, and I see unbridled rage burning deep inside him. It speaks to something dark inside me. The part of me that's spent hours and hours imagining the deaths of every man and woman who has touched me since I was taken. Not just their deaths but being the one to kill them… slowly. I should probably be scared of those thoughts. It's not normal to fantasize about killing people. I honestly don't care. My view of normal and socially acceptable is so skewed that I'm not even sure I'll be able to be normal. I've been irrevocably changed since I was taken.

I never had a chance to escape before. Now that it's in front of me, I'm equal parts terrified and excited. What the fuck am I going to do when I'm free? Do I want to go home to my dad? What if I can't be who he wants me to be anymore? There's no going back to what I was. I know that without a doubt. I'm fucked up beyond repair. I can see well-meaning people pushing me to work through my trauma with a therapist. Offering me medication to numb my brain from all the horrors I've survived.

Honestly, that sounds dangerously alluring.

I could medicate it all away. That's not what I want, though. I don't want to forget anything because if I do, I'll lose the desire for revenge. I won't just melt back into society and pretend nothing happened. I have no idea how, but I'm going to find my past owners and make them pay before I burn Mecca and this damn mansion to the ground.

Maybe Kisten will help. I still don't know why he's here, which is something I definitely need to get to the bottom of before I ask him for assistance. The fact that he's helping Lexis and is making plans to help the four girls who were sold tonight, too, says a lot about his character. I instinctually knew that night at Mecca that he was a good man. I shouldn't have felt safe with him, and yet I did—do.