Page 24 of The Seller

“I have a phone,” I say. “It has her mother’s contact details. She says her mother’s dead, but…”

“Have you called the number?”

“And have the call traced? No. I turned the phone off.”

“Turn it back on and give me the number.”

It takes another minute or so to do that. All the while, I have an eerie, prickly feeling running up and down my spine. I’ve had girls who had fake IDs before. Runaways usually don’t have proper documentation. But runaways don’t present the way Siri does. And they don’t panic because they realize they’re flying into Athens. The girls usually like coming here. I promise them a shopping trip and they realize that there are real world perks and even glamor when it comes to being owned in my tier of existence.

I read the number to him and wait for him to do his magic with it.

“Okay, well, dude, this is her mom’s number, if her mom is a fast food restaurant in Iowa.”

“Why would she have a fake contact number for her mother?”

“Same reason she had a fake ID, I’m guessing. She doesn’t want anyone to know who she is. Get me some DNA and I’ll run it.”

“How long will that take?”

“Depends how soon you get it to me. Maybe tomorrow, if you can get it sequenced locally and have the results sent to me.”

I thank him and hang up, my mind racing. I fucking knew there was something going on with Siri from the beginning. I should have followed my instincts from the start instead of wasting days sitting around and letting my men die in the process.

Taking a deep breath, I resist the urge to go storming into Siri’s room and demanding to know who she is. I already know she won’t tell me, and at this point in the game, I need to start playing my own hand a little closer to my chest.

* * *

Iexpected to find Siri at the window when I entered her room. It’s natural for the girls to want to look out and see the city. But she has the curtains drawn, and she’s sitting as far back from the window as humanly possible. The lights are off and the room is almost as dark as the basement I held her in. She’s such a strange little thing, a mystery I can’t wait to solve.

“Siri? Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine,” she says from her seat on the bed.

We both know she’s not fine, just like we both know that I’m not really inquiring after her health. She has the curtains drawn so tightly that not even a little of the light can seep through. It’s as if she wants to block the city out completely. She’s hiding from something out there in the streets beyond.

As much as she tries to keep her secret, it keeps leaking out of her with every action she takes. Every look. Every breath tells me something more.

“Come here,” I say, pointing to the floor in front of my feet. “I want your mouth on my cock.”

Even in the shadows of the room, I can see her arrogance - as well as her interest. She hates the way she responds to me, but from the moment we locked eyes on that very first day, there has been a connection I can’t deny.

She complies quickly, sliding from the bed onto the spot on the floor where I indicated she should go. Her obedience surprises me. I was ready to take hold of her by the hair and pull her into position, but that’s not necessary.

“Stay there,” I say, striding over to the window to throw back the curtains. I want to see this. All of this. Too much of our lust has been shared in the dark. It’s time to see it in the light.

She recoils from the sun’s rays, hunching down on herself as if the light could hurt her.

“What are you scared of?”

“You.” She whispers the lie she knows I won’t believe. She’s never been scared of me. Not for a single second. And that makes me wonder who she could possibly be afraid of, if not me. I am a man capable of destroying her sense of self, of turning her into a lust driven toy, and then selling to someone who will own her completely. What kind of greater monster lurks in Athens?

I walk back to her, slide my hand under her chin and tip her head up to meet my eyes.

“Tell me, Siri.”

She doesn’t shake her head. She doesn’t even acknowledge that she heard me. She just stares up at me with desperation, I recognize and reasons I don’t.

“You don’t want to tell me? Why not?” I keep my voice soft and calm. There is a chance, a small chance, that I can take advantage of her fear now and perhaps become something of an ally. If she trusts me to protect her from whatever is out there, I might finally discover her secret.

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