Cassie
Two men walked up to our cell and I tensed. Liz, too, looked up warily.
“You two,” one of the men gestured. “Get up. The Boss wants to see you.”
Panic shot through me. Did he mean Ruiz?
I met Liz’s eyes. They wore a haunted look. I wondered what Ruiz had put her through all the while she’d been here. Liz refused to talk about her time in the warehouse before my arrival. I figured it was her way of surviving. She had to separate herself from the horror.
We shuffled out. The men kept their guns on us after what had happened to their friend. We moved passed cells filled with women. One of the women clung to the side of the cell she was in, weeping uncontrollably. My heart broke as I noticed the variation in ages. I saw girls as young as fourteen and women far older than Liz or myself. I shook my head and tried not to look too closely at the dozens of cages we passed.
The warehouse was huge. If every section was as full as the section we were currently walking through, then there were probably hundreds of women here waiting to be shipped off to God only knows where. I remembered Ruiz’s comment when he’d picked me up. Was he serious about the Russian Mafia? I grimaced as I imagined some of the younger girls in that situation.
Liz kept her eyes down. She was probably preparing herself for what was to come. I tried to do the same but found I couldn’t take myself out of the current moment. Maybe it was a skill I would learn, but I prayed it wouldn’t be necessary.
No one was coming to rescue us. The thought echoed in my head and urged me to accept my fate.
By the time we reached Ruiz’s room, my eyes were brimming with tears I fought to keep from spilling. I wiped them with my hands. I didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
One of the guards knocked on the steel door of Ruiz’s room. From inside we heard a muffled voice.
“Enter.”
The man pushed open the door and waved us through with his gun. His friend behind us poked a gun in my back and prodded me forward. Liz and I shuffled reluctantly through the door.
The room was dominated by a large desk with a phone/fax combo one side. On the far side of the room sat a bed with mounds of pillows on top. I felt bile rise in my throat.
Ruiz was seated behind the desk and gave us a bright smile.
He waved to the men.
“Go on and wait outside.”
The men looked hesitant but nodded and did as Ruiz asked.
Liz and I looked at each other.
Ruiz pulled the desk drawer open and took out a gun, which he set on top of the desk. He smiled at us again and waved us over to the bed. We followed his directions cautiously, with our eyes fixed nervously on the gun.
“I hear my men have had a bit of trouble with you two,” Ruiz said, in a way that made him seem pleased. “I was surprised that Liz had become so docile. She’d always been such a spitfire. It was quite disappointing really.”
Liz shifted uncomfortably. I licked my lips nervously.
“What do you want?”
My voice cracked from lack of anything to drink. They had barely fed us, let alone given us any water.
“Well, Liz had gotten a bit boring. But since you seem to have reawakened her fighting spirit, I thought I’d like to have you both service me.”
Ruiz gave me a grin.
“I’d have liked to have been the first between your legs. But, since Mason has beaten me to that, I guess I’ll just have to break you.”
Liz shook her head.
“The boys will come for her. You’ve made a mistake, Ruiz.”
“Like they came for you?”
Ruiz picked up the gun and chuckled. He swung it around at us lazily.
“See, they don’t know she’s here. Last I heard, no one was looking for Cassie. That means that Mason either doesn’t give a damn or thinks you’re home, safe and sound.”
Fear lanced through me again. He was right. Mason probably didn’t even know I was there. This was all my fault. Of course, he’d have thought I’d gone home. Where else would I have gone?
“He’ll figure it out,” I grimaced. “My family will come looking for me.”
“Maybe… But, by the time that happens, the Ghost Riders will be no more. They’ve caused me nothing but trouble over the last decade. I plan on repaying them for ruining my plans. Don’t worry, you two will be around to see that. I’ll make sure you live long enough to see the GRMC dismantled, tortured and killed.”
Ruiz laughed with pure joy at the thought of whatever revenge he had in store.
Liz shook her head.
“You paranoid bastard! The Riders never did anything to you.”
Ruiz cocked the gun and aimed it at Liz. Liz clamped her mouth shut and clenched her hands around the silk sheet she sat on.
“The Ghost Riders Motorcycle Club has done nothing but undermine my control of this region since I took control of it. I tried reasoning with them.”
Liz and I looked at each other but kept quiet. The man’s eyes were wild. He nodded to himself as if assuring himself that he’d done all he could, that he’d been entirely reasonable.
Ruiz swung the gun around while he continued to rant. My pulse beat in my ears as I followed the gun’s every movement.
“I tried bribing. I even offered to help keep Noah out of jail.”
“You were probably the one who put him there in the first place,” Liz said under her breath.
Ruiz laughed and slammed his free hand down on his desk.
“Damn straight I was! It’s okay though. Mason gave me a great gift. I learned how much I liked torturing people while I beat his Dana’s face in. The best part, though, was the look on his face.”
“You killed Dana?” I whispered the question, not really expecting an answer.
The man nodded enthusiastically.
“Some of my best work. I bet it’ll be even better the second go around. It’s the helplessness that gets to men like Mason. Try as he might, he can never save the people he loves. HE should have told you that right up front, and you could have saved yourself some heartache.”
I shook my head.
“He doesn’t love me, and if he did, he doesn’t anymore. You’re not torturing Mason by doing anything to me. Hell, he’d probably thank you.”
Ruiz looked over at Liz. He jerked his head toward me.
“It’s amazing the capacity people have for deluding themselves, isn’t it?”
“Leave her alone,” Liz begged. “Just tell us want you want us to do.”
“Oh, Liz,” Ruiz chuckled. “So eager to please.”
My stomach lurched at the man’s slimy grin. He motioned for Liz to go over to him. She got up stiffly and shuffled over to where the man sat at the desk.
I clenched the fabric of the sheets as he yanked at her jeans.
“Touch yourself,” he demanded when he had her jeans down.
Liz did as she was told. She slid her fingers down between her legs.
I was glad I couldn’t see the woman’s face. I didn’t want to see the look of defeat. I looked down, not wanting to witness her humiliation.
Ruiz urged her own, and soon his own hands had joined Liz’s fingers. Liz sobbed with pain as Ruiz roughly shoved his dry thick fingers, then his whole fist into her. He laughed as Liz whimpered more and more at his administrations. He was hurting her on purpose, knowing Liz could do nothing to stop him.
He held the gun up to her head.
“Unzip my pants,” Ruiz said breathily.
Liz did as she was told.
“Now, ride me!” he demanded.
Liz glanced around at me for just a moment before she climbed onto the man’s lap. Ruiz kept the gun to her head as Liz guided him inside her, then began rocking back and forth in his lap.
Time stood still as he told her what to do and Liz did it.
Finally, he shoved Liz away from him and he looked over at me with glazed eyes.
“Come here.”
I shook my head, but Ruiz pointed the gun at Liz.
“Now,” he growled out.
I reluctantly went over to him.
“Finish what your friend started.”
I looked down at his engorged dick. Liz stood to one side with her arms wrapped around herself. Ruiz motioned to his cock.
“Suck me off, bitch” he said in irritation.
I closed my eyes as I sank down to my knees, trying to imagine myself anywhere else. I pictured Mason and wished he was here. I took a deep breath and put my hand around the shaft of his cock.
Ruiz was watching me with a self-satisfied smirk. My dislike of the man hardened to pure hatred. I hated him so much.
I wasn’t adept at blowjobs, and I knew I was clumsy doing them. Stretching my lips, I slid Ruiz’s dick into my mouth. I almost gagged at the taste of it. If Ruiz noticed, he did not let on. He groaned in appreciation.
Then his hand was on the back of my head. I struggled against it, but his hand pushed me further down on his dick until I was gagging around him. I couldn’t breathe. My survival instinct kicked in and I bit down as hard as I could.
Ruiz shrieked in pain. I felt slaps to my head and the fleshy blockage withdrew from my throat. I scrambled back as he grasped his dick in both his hands.
I grabbed the gun that had fallen on the floor. Without thinking I aimed it at Ruiz.
The guards outside the door rushed in at the sound of the commotion.
Liz snatched the gun from my hand and fired off several rounds. The men scrambled back out of the door.
“Let us out or we’ll kill Ruiz,” Liz shouted.
“Do it, you imbeciles!” Ruiz bawled, still clutching his bleeding cock.
Liz kept the gun trained on Ruiz as the two men stepped back inside with their hands up.
Liz and I swiftly exited the room. Behind us, we could hear Ruiz bellowing at the men to get after us.
“There has to be an exit,” Liz panted.
She handed me the gun long enough for her to get her jeans up and snapped again. Then she tucked the gun into the waistband and we were off running.
The corridor seemed to go on for miles. We tried every door that we passed, but they were all locked.
I noticed an emergency exit sign.
“Hey! Fire exit,” I cried, sprinting off in the direction the sign indicated.
I tried the emergency door and cursed.
“Fuck! It’s locked.”
Liz shook her head.
“We’re gonna have to try and make it to the main doors.”
“There’s a lot of men and guns between us and those doors ,” I pointed out fearfully.
I screamed as gunfire rang out behind us. The two men Ruiz had sent had caught up with us.
Liz ducked around the corner. We were in a dead end.
Liz pushed me behind her.
“Okay. Stay down.”
She stuck the gun around the corner and fired. I covered my ears as the noise echoed loudly in the confines of the small corridor.
There was a muffled grunt and a curse.
“Got one!” Liz grinned
“Great,” I said, my ears ringing.
I suddenly didn’t feel so bad about men dying. Anyone who worked for Ruiz had to be a scumbag.
The second man rounded the corner. I stomped on his foot, hard. Liz shot him while he was distracted. He slammed into the wall and slumped to the floor.
“Nice teamwork,” Liz said with a laugh.
“Can we go home now?” I asked as I panted.
Liz laughed. “Yeah, maybe. Come on.”
We made our way cautiously out of the corridor. The gunfire hadn’t attracted as much attention as I thought it would. Maybe the men had become so used to Ruiz murdering people that they’d just started ignoring gunshots.
The girls in the cells nearest us pressed silently against the bars.
“Get us out,” one of them begged. “Please!”
Liz put her finger to her lips. She looked around at the cells.
“We can’t just leave them,” I whispered.
“We don’t have a key. And if I shoot the locks out, the guards will be all over us.” Liz shook her head. “I don’t want to leave them. We can come back for them if we find a key. Otherwise, we’ve got to get out of her and find help.”
Ruiz’s voice suddenly echoed loudly through the warehouse.
“Find them! Spread out!”
Liz and I took off through the rows of cages.
The girls called out after us, pleading to be let out. The men began to follow the sound of their pleas as it accompanied our progress.
A man suddenly appeared ahead of us, blocking our way. Liz shot him before he could get his gun up.
“Keys,” Liz motioned to the large ring of them on the dead man’s belt. “If we can let at least some of the girls out, all hell will break loose. Let’s give Ruiz’s boys something to keep them occupied.”
I nodded and set off with the keys to let the girls out.
Before long the cages were empty, and the girls were running in all directions. Their shouts and screams were everywhere. We emptied more of the cages as we made our way toward the main unloading bay. Throngs of women spread out across the warehouse.
“The doors are down,” Liz said, “and there are guards there.”
That came as no surprise. I hadn’t really been expecting to make it out of the warehouse. I looked around at the women behind us. We’d give it our best shot, though.
There was a yell from the other side of the bay, and we saw some women run at the guards.
“Now,” Liz cried and we all surged forward.
Ruiz was yelling from somewhere overhead.
“Get those women under control or put them down.”
There was gunfire, and I thought for sure we were all dead. Then I realized it had come from outside. I’d no time to think about that, though.
Liz and I charged a guard who had a teenager hanging on his back. The girl was frantically beating the guard about the head and shoulders with her fists. Liz and I tackled him. Other women joined us and soon the guards were retreating.
“Grab the gun,” Liz said to one of the other women, who quickly snatched up the guard’s gun. “Here. Take the keys. Let the others out.”
As the guards fell back, the women spread out with keys and guns to release the others.
The sound of gunfire from outside was getting closer. Liz ran over to the chains that hoisted the bay doors.
“The doors are locked,” she panted.
“Side door,” I shouted over the commotion.
I pointed to where the men were running.
“Something’s going on outside.”
Liz nodded. “I think Ruiz’s opponents are about to teach him a lesson.”
“You mean, the warehouse is under attack?” I looked around at all the women. “What are we going to do?”
Liz shook her head and tossed me a gun, which I almost dropped.
“We’re going to help them.”
She headed off into the mass of women, and I followed her as best as I could. A woman stumbled into me, and I helped straighten her up.
“Thanks,” the woman said breathlessly.
I nodded at her. “Just keep moving.”
As we ran, I noticed girls still in the cages. The doors were open but they remained inside. Some lay motionless or were too injured to move. Some simply sat, rocking back and forth, not really seeing or hearing the noise all around them. Those were the most traumatized, locked in their own private hells. My heart broke for what they must have endured. Years of working the E.R. hadn’t prepared me for what I’d seen since I’d been dragged into this world.
I forced myself to focus as gunfire rang out again outside. It was time to fight, not to cry.