Page 10 of Playing For Keeps
Where am I, and how did I get here?
My thoughts swirl around the haze in my head. A wave of nausea hits me. I groan out loud and rub my belly.
“Shh. Keep quiet,” a female voice floats in a whisper from the left of me. “If they think we’re awake, they’ll come in here. They’ll give us more drugs to knock us out. Or worse.”
I turn in her direction. “Where are you?”
“I’m in the space next to you.”
“Where are we?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere nobody can find us.”
“How long have I been here?”
“You got here yesterday.”
I mull that over and glance down, trying to piece together how I got here. I’m still in my pink yoga pants and oversized white yoga shirt.
Jami.
I was supposed to be with Jami. Adrenaline shoots through me.
I clamor to my feet with my chains rattling loudly. “We need to get out of here.”
“Please be quiet.”
My vision blurs, and I stumble back, tripping over my mattress. My head smacks against the brick. I slide down the wall while fighting to remain conscious. My need to escape makes my heart hammer in my chest when heavy footsteps thud toward me.
“Which one of you is causing all this commotion?” a man’s voice with a thick foreign accent booms.
I shrink into a ball and lie on my bed. The slit in the material at the front of my room flips open, and a man in black jeans and a black T-shirt peeks in. He’s got brown hair and a light complexion.
His dark eyes bear down on me. “Ah, so the pretty little new girl is awake.”
I don’t move. Not even to look away. He steps inside and stomps over to me. My limbs go numb.
Please don’t let him hurt me.
He kneels before me and whispers, “What’s your name?”
His terrifying demeanor fades. His accent… It’s gone. And now that he’s closer to me, I realize his eyes are blue.
I shake my head and blink. The drugs I’ve ingested must be causing me some confusion.
He glances over his shoulder, then turns back to me and whispers again, “I only have a second. What’s your name?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
More footsteps pound against the concrete floor. Two more guys enter my makeshift cage.
“Don’t touch her. This one is special.” A guy with light-brown hair grabs the guy who’s in front of me by the shoulder. “No matter how hot this one is, nobody gets to taste the merchandise.”
My stomach roils with his words. I wretch and heave as bile burns the lining of my throat.
“Fuck. Get her something to puke into.” The guy with dark hair turns to the one still standing at the opening.
He rushes away, but it’s too late. One more twist of my stomach, and I’m tossing myself over the edge of my bed and throwing up all over the floor.
