Page 89 of Sapphire

Sophie gives me a weak smile. I’m guessing it’s not fun talking about your sister being a sex slave either.

“What about Gracie?” Enrique asks, a small tremor of worry in his voice.

“Zoe will protect her, but Gracie is a strong woman too,” I tell him.

Sophie sighs. “I’m going to be blunt for a moment and I apologize. I’ve reported on women who have been kidnapped by criminal gangs and forced into sex slavery before. I hate that these heinous things are happening to my sisters.” That strong façade Sophie has had since arriving is cracking under the enormous stress of the situation. “But I know Zoe, she is going to do what she can to survive, to help Gracie survive this. She will have plans, she will do anything to get them both out. I believe she will escape again, and I want us to be ready for her.”

Brooks, the mercenary, rests his hand on Sophie’s leg in a familiar way, comforting her.

“Next week there’s a big slave sale in Marrakesh. Usually at these things they have a lot of Western women as they bring in the big dollars from the Arabs,” Brooks adds.

My heart pounds. “You think he’s going to sell her?”

Brooks shrugs. “Honestly, I would—she’s a liability, she’s worth more alive than dead. Plus, she’s young, blonde, and beautiful. Zoe would fetch a good price.”

I want to be sick. If we don’t find her before this sale happens, she could be gone—forever. “Can you get into this sale?”

Brooks nods. “I can easily get an invite. They will give me an idea of what merchandise is on their calendar and maybe that will help us work out if she is there.”

Hearing Brooks talk of Zoe as merchandise makes my blood boil.

“We need to find her before this sale happens. We can’t lose her.”

30

ZOE

Thankfully, Nikolai has left me alone over the past couple of days. He hasn’t visited my room since that first night. I keep my eyes on the beautiful garden and turquoise ocean, willing the picturesque scenery to take me away from what’s happening. I hate that Nikolai touched me again. I hate that it felt like I’d betrayed Mateo and Tomas. Once Nikolai left the room, I spent hours in the shower, washing myself raw, trying to get the feeling of his touch off my skin, then collapsed into my king-size bed and cried myself to sleep.

Tonight, I see the jewels for the first time since arriving. We have been rounded up and brought into a luxurious dressing room. I know what this means, I have been through this exact scenario many times before. Tonight, we will be paraded in front of Nikolai’s business associates and offered up as a nice little bonus or incentive to them. I must protect Gracie tonight no matter what. I must save her from being touched by those men.

“Get dressed, whores,” Dmitri snarls, slamming the door to the dressing room closed. He stands in the corner watching over us, his eyes looking appreciatively at the beautiful women in front of him. The group of ten girls jump to attention and quickly start searching through the clothing hanging on the racks. We all knew the drill except Gracie.

“You have to be quick otherwise they will beat you,” I whisper to my sister as I search for a blue dress to change into. Blue is the color I must wear when I am entertaining as Sapphire. Gracie nods but seems dazed as she looks at the cocktail dresses.

Dmitri notices Gracie’s hesitation. “Diamond,” he calls out to my sister, but she ignores him. She’s not used to acknowledging her new name.

Dmitri’s irritation surfaces, and he grabs Gracie by the throat and slams her into the wall.

The room goes quiet.

“Diamond, get dressed. I’m not going to ask you again.” His fingers tighten around her neck, and the color drains from her face.

“Stop!” I scream, and I can hear the collective gasp of the girls in the room. No one talks back to Dmitri.

He turns his head, and I see the evil gleam in his eyes. “You want me to stop?” He squeezes Gracie’s throat even tighter, and she struggles as he cuts off her airflow.

“Please.”

“What will you do for me if I stop?”

I know exactly what he’s asking. “You know what I will do,” I answer.

Gracie’s eyes widen as Dmitri’s fingers loosen and she slumps on the ground, gasping. No girl dares move to help her.

Dmitri stalks toward me, but I stand my ground; this is a game we have played many times before. His large paw softly skates across my cheek, and his hand snakes around to the back of my neck, then slowly squeezes.

I calm my breaths because I know that he won’t hurt me, not before a dinner, I’m too important.

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