"Is it regarding the hooker?"

"Sam, her name's Sam!" I replied abruptly pacing the pavement agitated.

"Okay, okay! Is it regarding Sam?"

"Yeah, I think she's in trouble."

Sam "Put the f.u.c.king blindfold on before I make you." Spyder was annoyed with me and I didn't know why. In the past, I was able to calm him down but these days his aggression towards me was becoming unbearable. I folded the material making sure it wasn't too large to cover all of my visibility and tied it at the back of my head. This was the ritual every day when the girls were taken back to the house, and this had been my life for the past two years.

"Have I done something to upset you?" I asked but knew I should've kept my mouth shut. Spyder wasn't in the right frame of mind to be reasoned with but I at least felt I needed to try.

"Did you enjoy f.u.c.king army boy?"

"Army boy?" I asked, not understanding his question.

Crack! My head jolted sideways as his fist made contact with my cheek. I let out a squeal and flung my hand to my face holding it to try and ease some of the pain.

"Don't try and act all innocent with me, you know full well what I'm talking about."

I didn't respond, I couldn't see his face but I knew from his tone that he was p.i.s.sed off so there was no point in arguing. I'd done everything that he'd asked of me over the years, I'd been taken against my will, held to ransom, had my families lives threatened and had been put to work having s.e.x with strangers in order for him to feed his habit and lifestyle. Never once had I tried to escape or make contact with anyone about my situation, and this is how he was repaying me. Spyder was top dog, this was his operation. He had his two henchmen, Jackal and Pyet who were the enforcers but never had Spyder bothered with any of the other girls. He'd taken it upon himself to drop me off and pick me up from every client that he could, I a.s.sumed it was just safety reasons but I had a horrible feeling that he may now want more.

I sat in silence for the remainder of the journey, I didn't want to antagonise him. My face was starting to swell from the contact of his fist, I moved my jaw from side to side there was nothing broken but it stung like a b.i.t.c.h.

I felt the Range Rover slow down and park up, and knew that we were home. I sn.i.g.g.e.red to myself, home! I used that word loosely, this wasn't home this was a f.u.c.king prison, I was in my own worse nightmare.

I heard Spyder leave the vehicle and jumped when he yanked open the door and grabbed me aggressively, dragging me from my seat. I scrambled around trying to find my footing but he increased the pressure and pulled me across the gravel. On entering the building, I looked around trying to make things out through the gap I'd purposely left. I wasn't sure of the time but I could hear that some of the girls were back already as their idle chit chat could be heard from the corridor.

Spyder pulled the material from my head yanking my hair in the process, I placed my hands at the back of my head trying to free the material but he pulled hard taking a clump of my hair with it. "Ahhh!" I screamed from the pain and thrashed around trying to get free. I opened my eyes to see the scared faces of the other girls as they watched in horror and almost sympathy but not one of them came to help me.

Spyder still had hold of my arm and surged forward throwing me onto one of the dirty mattresses on the cold concrete. I bounced from the force and scrambled around trying to claw at the floor to get some leverage to possibly get away. Spyder grabbed at my legs and pulled me further down the mattress, he moved his hands quickly to my ankles as I kicked hard trying to get free but he was too strong. My nails broke as I dug them into the ground, I hadn't realised but I was crying hard struggling to breath from the fear of what he was going to do to me.

He flipped me over, "Stop it, get off me!" I screamed still flinging my legs around trying to shake him off. I looked around the room franticly trying to rally some support but my efforts were futile, the girls simply looked away not wanting to make eye contact or cause a scene through fear of being next. I had never felt so alone although I was in a room full of people.

I couldn't rely on anyone else, I needed to do this myself. I leaned forward pounding on his chest and clawed at his face, the feeling of his skin under what nails I had left gave me a small feeling of victory as I knew this would annoy him. If he was going to do this and take what was not his to have, then I wasn't going to allow him to have it so easily. I'd fight with everything I had, he had already taken my dignity and pride so I didn't have much left anyway but I'd try and protect this from him for as long as possible.

"You f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h!"

Crack!

The room became hazy, and my eyes struggled to open, I could hear a commotion around me but everything was playing out in slow motion in my dazed state. My body felt like it was being tugged, moved around but I couldn't do anything to stop it happening, all my energy had been zapped from my body. I could hear whimpering but couldn't locate where it was coming from or who was upset.

I must have dozed off, I woke with a scare and could see faces in the shadows trying to talk to me and rouse me from my sleep. I had an uncomfortable feeling below my waist and I was struggling to open one of my eyes. I had only ever experienced pain like this once before, when I'd been beaten because I naively helped one of the women to escape. I learned very quickly and had since done everything asked of me.

"Sam, try and drink some of this." My head was lifted and something was placed at my lips, before I knew it cold refreshing water was being poured into my mouth. I swallowed hard, noticing how dry my throat felt and gulped as I took in the liquid.

"That's enough, don't give her too much." I heard another voice say.

I tried to move my head but it spun making me dizzy. "Babe you need to rest, you've been beaten quite bad."

I moved my hand to the side of my face where a lot of the pain was coming from, I could feel that my cheek and eye socket were badly swollen. I needed to get up, I wanted to inspect the damage and then decide what I was going to do.

My right eye had now acclimatised to the darkness and I was able to see who had come to my aid, Becky and Lisa were fussing around me with concern on their faces.

"I'm okay, honestly I just need to get to the bathroom and a.s.sess the damage." They glanced at each other briefly before bowing their heads.

"What's gone on girls, you know you can tell me anything?" I whispered reaching out to rest my hands on their legs. I'd looked out for these girls, they'd been with us for a couple of months now and they were both barely sixteen but they reminded me so much of Jasmine that I wanted to protect them.

"Spyder was so angry with you Sam, what did you do?"

I wracked my brains trying to think of what I may have done in order to annoy him but I just couldn't think of anything. I had never refused a punter despite some of them being revolting and I had never stolen any money from him like some of the other girls had done so I couldn't understand why he was being so aggressive towards me.

"He mentioned army boy, several times. Who's army boy?" Becky asked holding my hand.

I felt my tummy tighten at the mention of him but quickly gained my composure. "He's just a punter, I've seen him twice like Spyder asked me to." I shuffled my b.u.m back slightly so I could sit up, and moved my hand to my stomach as I felt a pulling sensation.

Lisa moved to my side and helped me, I gave her a rea.s.suring smile trying to portray that I was feeling better than I actually was.

"So what happened to me, I must have fallen asleep or been knocked out of something." The two girls looked at each other and Becky bit her lip indicating that she didn't want to talk. I glanced down at my attire and noticed I was naked apart from a bed sheet that had been pulled tightly around me. My clothes were beside me on the ground, I picked up my dress to see that it had been ripped to shreds and then flash backs of my ordeal came swimming back.

Lisa shook her head, "He brutally raped you Sam, I'm pleased he knocked you out in away because you would've put up a fight and there's no saying what he would've done then."

"He was possessed, I've never seen him like that before." Becky placed her hand on my arm and rubbed it rea.s.suringly.

"I'm only sorry for not helping, I wanted to, believe me I wanted to but no one was prepared to help us." I looked at the two girls and smiled. I knew what had happened to me, without even looking I knew I had bruising between my legs because of the pain but what I was surprised about was that out of all the women in the room only Becky and Lisa were prepared to help me last night.

"You don't need to apologise girls, I know in here that you would've done anything to protect me." I banged my chest with a clenched fist. "I need to get up girls, will you help me?"

They nodded and placed their hands on my arms and in my armpit to help me balance and get to my feet. Becky bent down to retrieve the sheet and helped to wrap it around me to cover my modesty, not that it mattered after everything being on show last night.

I hobbled to the bathroom ignoring the pitying looks from the other women, they had no right to talk or even look at me after their lack of support last night. I wouldn't care if I thought I'd receive the hiding of a life time, if I saw someone being raped and savagely attacked I would do everything within my power to help them.

"Thank you girls, I'll take it from here." They smiled and stopped in their tracks allowing me to go into the bathroom alone. In here, I was able to turn on the light and see the extent of the damage caused by the beating. The bruising had already come out and my face looked a mess from the swelling, I removed the sheet and looked at my body noticing every mark left from the a.s.sault including the bruising between my thighs. I still didn't understand why he would want to hurt me, if I was one of his most regularly used girls. I obviously couldn't be sent to work now looking like this, punters wouldn't pay money for girls looking like crack addicts and that their pimp had just beaten the s.h.i.t out of them or was that his plan? If I couldn't work then I wouldn't be seeing 'army boy', which I think, would please him. I felt a fluttering sensation in my stomach and knew it was regarding Jayden. I sighed as I pulled the sheet up to cover my body, I'd already seen enough.

"Morning ladies!" I heard Jackal's voice as I walked into the room.

"Oh dear, look what the cat dragged in!" He stated laughing at his own joke. I didn't move any further, my head was spinning so I leaned against the cold brickwork to steady myself. "I know it's early ladies but we have a private function today so we're going on a road trip." He smiled and lifted his hands in the air, I think almost expecting a round of applause. His expression changed quickly to a frown, "Aren't you excited girls?" There was an uncomfortable silence and a tumbleweed moment. I pushed off the wall and walked further into the room with a don't give a s.h.i.t att.i.tude. After what had happened to me last night I was beyond caring what they could do to hurt me.

"Do you really expect them to be pleased about going on a road trip with you?" I saw the women's heads spin around in my direction and the expression on Jackal's face change, he looked almost intrigued by my outburst.

"Oooh the p.u.s.s.ycat has claws." He mimicked a clawing cat and stepped closer with a glint in his eye. "Don't stop there babe, why don't you get everything off that pretty chest of yours."

This was my moment to give him a piece of my mind and I wasn't going to hold back. "You kidnap young women, taking them from loving families, treat them like s.h.i.t and pimp our a.r.s.es out to feed your f.u.c.king habit, and all the time you want us to act like we're f.u.c.king grateful! Well I ain't f.u.c.king grateful for you ripping me away from my loved ones, for making me s.h.a.g disgusting men and making me feel that death would be a better option than spending any more time with you!" By the time I'd finished ranting I had walked over to Jackal and was poking him in the chest with every word that I was saying. A few of the girls had now stood and were watching the altercation with curiosity, wondering what his next move may be.

"The difference is babe I don't give a f.u.c.k about you, you, you or you." He stated pointing at several of the girls. "It's business," he shrugged. "You have a service to offer, I can find someone willing to buy it, it makes great business sense. If you don't like it though babe you know where the door is but remember by the time you either get home or inform the police of the situation, your little sister would be having her a.r.s.e raped by the ugliest, sweatiest man that I can find, and if she can still walk after that I may even have a go on her myself. I've seen her babe, she's quite a looker". I surged forward and spat in his face.

To my surprise, Jackal calmly wiped the saliva from his cheek, "Anyone else want to get something off their chest?" Jackal glanced around the room, "Didn't think so. Well ladies, you have one hour to get ready, make sure you wear something nice." He turned and walked towards the door before spinning around to face me, "But not you precious, you're moving on." He slammed the door behind him making me shudder.

"Moving on? What does he mean by that?" Lisa asked coming to my side to hug me.

I stroked her head in a warming gesture while I contemplated his words, "I don't know babe but it probably means I won't be here by the time you get back." I looked around at the rest of the women who were starting to rise and move around the room to get ready, "Who else has been moved on in the time you've been here?" I asked addressing the question at some of the older women. I'd been here for two years and had never known of anyone leaving apart from the girls who tried to escape.

The women shook their heads and shrugged indicating that they hadn't seen it happen before either, well there was always a first for everything and it looked like I was the guinea pig!

The women continued to busy themselves and took it in turns to use the two showers available to us. I packed a small bag and put some loose fitting clothes on as I was still hurting. I didn't get washed or even brush my hair because if I was going to meet my demise then there wasn't much point in wasting valuable time. Instead, I sat with Lisa and Becky trying to make everything seem as normal as possible.

Before long the door flung open and in walked Pyet, he searched the room looking for someone until his eyes met mine. With a nod of the head he indicated that he'd come for me, I let out a heavy sigh and turned to Becky first and then Lisa giving them a light kiss on their cheeks before I stood taking my bag with me. I wasn't friendly with the other women in the group, and they'd made it clear that they didn't have my back after last night's events. I wasn't going to make any heartfelt speeches, they just needed to be careful because one day they just may be like me, and they'd find out first hand what it was like to have no one in their hour of need.

I walked towards him with a blank expression, I didn't want him to see the fear mounting inside me, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I held my shoulders back and walked pa.s.sed him out into the corridor waiting for his instructions. He stepped back and locked the door, returning the key to his pocket.

"Where you taking me?" I asked knowing full well he wouldn't share too much information.

"I'm taking you to your new home Sam, you'll be happier there." I drew my brows looking at him confused. "You're just going to have to trust me on this one, it's not ideal but it's better than that!" he said pointing to the door we'd just come from.

He started to walk down the corridor, "Oh, do you want me to wear a blindfold?" I asked franticly, I didn't want to see something I shouldn't and then be punished for it later.

"No, you're good. It doesn't really matter anymore." Pyet opened the main door to the building and I followed closely behind him taking everything in. If I did come out of this alive, at least I had some recollection of this place. Pyet marched towards the car across the uneven gravel, my head was still spinning so I couldn't keep up with him. He opened the car door and waited for me to catch up, aiding me by supporting my arm as I got into the car, he shut the door firmly before jogging around to the driver's side.

What the f.u.c.king h.e.l.l was going on, first no blindfold and now chivalrous gestures, I was way beyond confused.

I sat in silence as Pyet drove down a narrow country road, the journey itself couldn't have been longer than ten minutes and we pulled up outside a huge house. The building itself was a modern build, possibly four or five bedrooms, it was double fronted and had a double garage detached from the building. The grounds were immaculate whoever lived here looked after the garden well, but if you could afford a house this size, I would a.s.sume you'd have a gardener.

That's when the dread set in and my heart sunk, they'd f.u.c.king sold me on. I would become a s.e.x slave or pa.s.sed around at parties, I could feel the bile rise in my chest and my breathing became laboured. "Open the window," I ordered.

Pyet looked at me concerned by what he was seeing and opened the window so I could get some fresh air. I stuck my head out of the window and breathed in and out slowly taking in the cold air.

"What's the matter, I thought you'd be pleased?" Pyet looked confused clearly not understanding my reaction of not wanting to live here.

I leaned back in the chair now that my breathing was slowly becoming controlled, "Who lives here?"

Again, he looked at me confused, "It's a simple question Pyet, who lives here?"

"Spyder lives here babe. Where did you think I'd taken you? To some random house to sell you to the highest bidder?" I raised my brows as he chuckled, "Ah you did think that." Pyet rubbed his forehead before returning his hand to the steering wheel, "All this," he stated wiggling his finger in front of my face pointing to the bruises, "Is Spyder getting upset because he's jealous." I scoffed and folded my arms across my chest. "I don't care if you believe me or not Sam to be honest but he feels bad about what he did last night. He knows you've been loyal and have done everything asked of you over the past couple of years, and this is his way of thanking you. He wants you to be in charge of the newbie's and keep control of the women."

His words confused me, why would Spyder want to do that and if he lived here, what would he want in return? I groaned at my new predicament and didn't know if I were better off at the other house with the rest of the women rather than being here.

"Come on, let me show you the house." I exited the car with my bag and followed Pyet up the garden path to the front door. He removed a bunch of keys from his pocket and used a long bra.s.s key to open the door. As it was opened a huge German Shepherd came hurtling towards us. Pyet bent down and rubbed the fur on its cheeks and around its neck, which it enjoyed. "h.e.l.lo Wellard, have you been a good boy?"

"Yeah he's been good." I glanced down the hallway and saw a bloke not much older than myself walk towards us. "And who's this?" he asked looking me up and down, finally stopping when he noticed the bruising on my face. "Someone's been keeping you in line I see."

I narrowed my eyes, and knew immediately who this was. "Like father like son!" I whispered quietly.

Pyet stood close and whispered, "Behave yourself." He turned his attention to the young bloke and extended his arm, "Hi Richmond, this is going to be your new houseguest. I'm a.s.suming your dad's told you about the arrangement."

He nodded his head slowly still looking at me intently, "Yeah he did, I just didn't expect the package to look like that."

I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut this time, there was no point trying to argue with this boy and explain that it was his father that damaged my face as by our brief conversation I could see that he was as arrogant as his father was.

"Do you want me to show Sam her room?" Pyet asked Richmond.

"Nah, I'll show her." My heart lurched in my chest as I didn't want to be left alone with a stranger, I was just hoping that my appearance would put him off from trying anything on with me.

"See you soon Sam," Pyet stated softly before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. I felt sick at his closeness but would've preferred for him to stay.

"So my dad said that you'd be joining us from his wh.o.r.e house. Apparently you're a good s.h.a.g and you've shown loyalty which I respect." He jogged up the stairs, "Follow me." He blurted out expecting me to chase after him.

I pulled the strap to my rucksack so that it balanced on my shoulder and slowly walked up the stairs holding onto the banisters as I was feeling light headed. Richmond stood further down the landing by an unopened door, "This will be your room until my dad states otherwise. Unpack your stuff, take a shower and then come and find me as I have some information that you'll want to hear." Richmond turned the bra.s.s handle and pushed on the door, the light shone through the room and a stream landed in the hallway.

I slowly made my way towards the room, the whole thing felt surreal. Less than twelve hours ago Spyder was beating the f.u.c.k out of me, and now he was putting me up in his house. I couldn't understand the change of heart, if he did like me the way Pyet said, why did he feel the need to a.s.sault me?

Walking into the room, I noticed how clean and tidy it was. The furniture, including the bed frame were white and the only other colour used was a subtle hint of lilac. Fresh flowers were displayed on the window cill and on the desk, and there were an array of picture frames around the room that were empty. I turned towards Richmond, "Are you sure this is my room?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yes I'm sure. Like I said unpack, take a shower and come find me." He closed the door and I heard it lock but I didn't care, I was too busy observing the bed and thinking about the good night's sleep I'd have in that. I further investigate the room and opened the wardrobe doors to see an array of women's clothing all in my size, there was also underwear and nightwear in the drawers in my size also. I walked towards a door in the far corner of the room and opened it wide expecting to see another cupboard but it was the entrance to an en suite. I jogged over to the bath and eagerly placed the plug in the hole before turning the taps on. After my ordeal I needed a long hot soak in the bath to sooth some of the pain and was planning to do this before I did anything else.

I had spent thirty minutes in the bath relaxing and tending to my wounds, I had mainly bruising but I also had a nasty cut on my stomach. I'd found a first aid kit in the bathroom and had cleaned and dressed the wound as best I could with my limited supplies, it didn't need st.i.tches but it was nasty all the same.

Rather than getting into the clothes that I'd brought with me, I decided to take a proper look through the wardrobe and selected a simple outfit of black trousers and smart top making sure that it covered the bruises I had on my arms and upper body.

I was now ready to go in search of Richmond but I knew that he'd locked the door, I tried the handle to test it and was surprised when it opened. Maybe I was being tested, Richmond had mentioned that Spyder informed him of my loyalty and maybe this was just a game to see how loyal I actually was. The thing was though, it wasn't loyalty I was just so s.h.i.t scared to step out of line through fear of what may happen to my sister or me.

I pulled the door open wide and poked my head out onto the landing, I could hear a television on in the distance and decided to go and see if he was there. I hoped that Spyder still wasn't home. I knew he was responsible for moving me here but he'd hurt me last night more than anyone had ever hurt me before. I had pure hatred for him, and I needed time for it to subside before I spoke to him otherwise I wouldn't be civil. We'd then end up getting into another fight and I hadn't recovered from the one last night yet. One thing I knew for sure, was that he wasn't going to get away with it, he'd humiliated me on so many levels now that he needed to pay for all the hurt he'd caused. I didn't know how or when but he would suffer and preferably by my own hands.

I walked towards the noise and stood at the opened door, "Richmond are you in here." I asked moving closer to the doorway.

"Yeah come in." I crept into the bedroom to see an array of a.s.sault rifles on his bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress cleaning a weapon lovingly with a cloth. "Do you shoot?"

"No," I said firmly. I had no desire to handle a firearm.

"Well you should, they're good for protection." He pointed the gun towards me and moved it side to side in quick succession between me and a chair by the window.

"When was the last time you called home?"

My eyes watered thinking about my family. I had a mother and father who loved me very much and a sister who I adored. We were so close and did everything together, that my disappearance must have been devastating for them initially. After three weeks of being in captivity, I was allowed to call home but I was instructed to tell my family that I'd gone travelling. I made up a story of being bored with my life and wanted a more exciting one, and that's why I'd decided to leave. I didn't like long drawn out goodbyes so I left quickly without telling anyone so I couldn't be persuaded to stay. I'd thought about them every single day but with the arrival of Lisa and Becky, it made me think about Jasmine more. She was my world, and was the reason I'd not tried to escape over the years. Spyder had shown me photo's of Jasmine, showing me her daily routine. He informed me that if I were to escape or go to the police, that she'd be trafficked or murdered. My sister's fate was in my own hands and I didn't need to make a decision because I'd automatically do anything within my power to make sure she was safe.

"I haven't spoken to them for about six weeks."

Richmond stood from the bed and made his way over to the small coffee table that sat in between two chairs. He picked up the phone that was on the table and punched a couple of numbers before handing the phone to me, "Dial their number and speak to them. You have five minutes and if there's any funny business, I won't hesitate to shoot you in the head." He lifted the handgun and placed it on the table between us.

I dialled the number that was etched in my memory and listened to it ring hoping that someone was in to answer. On the third ring it did.

"h.e.l.lo."

It was Jasmine, my eyes watered and I moved my hand to cup my mouth.

"h.e.l.lo is anyone there?"

That was Jasmine alright, stroppy as ever. "Jazz it's me, Sam." The line went quiet and at first I thought she'd hung up.

"Sam is that really you?"