Page 5 of Master A-0011
I didn’t speak. I was too afraid I’d get beaten. The guard didn’t want my story, he wanted to humiliate me, and he was doing a perfect job. The tears appeared, but I stopped at the cuffs on the ground by the back wall of the bedroom, holding my emotions in as I kept my gaze level with their chest area.
“Hurry up, Bettis, and lock her in. And stop talking. You talk too damn much.”
“Why do I have to do it? I don’t want to get close to it. We’re the same rank. I’m tired of you telling me what to do just because I’m new to the crows.”
“Jesus. Her. She’s a her.” Moore rolled his light eyes, kneeling as he snatched the cuffs from the floor. He latched onto my wrist roughly, flipping my hand over and pausing as he took in the deep scar over my palm. For the first time, his stare rose to mine. He searched my face and an uncertainty flashed. The longer he looked at me, his expression went from angry to…somber…to…unknown. I had no idea what that look was. “What happened to you?”
His movements were slower as he waited. He wrapped the cuff around, buckling it as he kept glancing up.
“Boating accident. I was twelve.”
Bettis leaned forward. “A fucking boat did that to you?”
“No, idiot. Did you not listen to her? A propeller did that. Not the actual boat.”
Bettis’ lip peeled back as Moore started on my other wrist. His agitation was clear as he peeked back up to me.
“Twelve? And you’re how old now? Twenty? Did I see your age right? I’m afraid I didn’t pay attention to your information. I’m just following transport orders.”
“It’s okay. You’re right. I’m twenty.”
“Sad. You should have died. I’m sorry you didn’t. It would have been a better way to go than this.”
My lips parted as he finished up, but he didn’t add any more sympathies as he withdrew a vial from his pocket. Both arms came up, and his finger trailed along my jaw as he softly held my head steady. I was so in tune with him rubbing oil over the expanse of my forehead that I wasn’t sure if I was imagining the touch or just craving something I had never really had in as long as I could remember.
“It’ll be over soon, slave. I hope that helps.”
The two guards turned, and Moore glanced back giving me that strange look just before they disappeared through the door. Attraction? It couldn’t be. As I let his words repeat, it didn’t take long before I felt as if I were floating in a dream. I sat on the floor, and I felt my eyelids grow heavy. My skin even tingled. Time passed as I drifted. So much time. I barely heard the door when it opened and closed again. If it wasn’t for the female giggle, I might have stayed in the blissful nothingness forever. As it was, I could barely get my body to sit up straight before two women around my age swept through the door in see-through blue robes. One had dark hair and tanned skin, with an exotic flare to her features, and the other woman had light brown hair like mine, but hers wasn’t just passed her shoulders or curly. Hers went to the middle of her back, and where I had gray-blue eyes, hers were a dark brown. Both looked like they’d been plucked from a magazine or some big screen movie. It had my face quickly dropping as they entered and stood, staring at me. My knees drew in and I hugged to them as they got closer.
“Who’s this?”
Had that been repulsion? Pity? They all sounded the same.
“Don’t worry about her. Both of you have clothes in the closet. Why don’t you grab some and head for the shower.”
A sea of blue floated past as they swept by, but my eyes slowly lifted to the gorgeous man leaned against the frame of the bedroom door. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, and his dark green eyes he was famous for were intense. He had a small glass drink in hand, halfway full of amber liquid, and he was staring at me. My heart hit hard into my chest, and I quickly looked down, lowering my head even more so my hair could fall forward and cover the scar.
“Oh my God, did you see her face? What is she even doing here? He bought her too? Or do you think she’s always chained up like that?”
“I don’t know. She scares me.”
“Scares you? Why? She doesn’t scare me. I just don’t want to have to look at her.”
Heat burned my cheeks from the loud whispering in the closet. It shouldn’t have affected me. It wasn’t new, yet I’d never be immune. Years didn’t make it easier, and neither did the multiple surgeries that had helped me get this far, but they didn’t know that. They hadn’t lived my battle or nightmares I harbored inside. A nightmare…that would never end.
“What do you think happened? Could he have done that to her?”
“Ethan? No way. Stop thinking about the girl. Who cares about the scarface. We’re slaves to Ethan O’Brien. Ethan Fucking O’Brien. I can’t believe it’s him. I thought we were going to die tonight. Isn’t that what they said?”
“Die happy, maybe?”
Their giggling had my lips pursing.
Die. Yes. But not them. It would be me, and I was starting to shake so much it was making me sick. Or maybe that was the oil? I couldn’t think straight. Was I their fun like the guard had mentioned? Were they going to kill the freak? Was I their entertainment?
The questions were endless as footsteps headed my way, but I didn’t look up. My Master walked by as he lowered to sit at the bottom of the bed. A minute passed. He didn’t speak. He didn’t move, but I felt his eyes on me. I even lifted my head enough to look through my curls, and I was right. He was staring right at my face. What was he doing? …Waiting to see the scars? Trying to get a good view of them when I lifted?
“Black is sexy but boring. The red will look good on you. Choose that one.”