Ruthless Angel (Gods of Ravencrest University #5)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CLOVER

When Marilyn unlocked my door and entered my room the following afternoon, I was ready. I’d been expecting her. Part of me was ready to leave this place, even if it meant becoming someone else’s prisoner.

My head felt better. They hadn’t drugged me in a while, needing me clear-headed for the auction. Dragging a drugged out girl onto the auction block wouldn’t be very appealing. Not if the buyers were the rich assholes Brady described. Although some of them may be all too happy to drug me themselves once they got their hands on me.

I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe I’d end up with someone decent who treated me well. Maybe I’d be even more trapped and abused than I was now. I only hoped I would get the chance to escape. I was done being a prisoner.

“Time to get ready,” Marilyn said, her tone short and clipped. “Please hold still while I do your makeup.”

She laid out several makeup items, choosing a neutral eyeshadow palette. How incredibly boring.

“Can’t I do my own makeup?” It shouldn’t have mattered what I looked like. There was nobody for me to impress. Being myself felt right. Like I wasn’t having my identity stripped away from me.

“No. We want you to look like a nice girl. Not a whore. Hold still.” Marilyn got busy applying browns and beiges to my eyes.

That was fine for people who liked that kind of thing. It was just not me. It made me sick to think of having my whole personality stolen. Like I was nobody now and nothing but a body to use.

I’d thought that the Angels saw me that way once. Now I knew that wasn’t the case at all. They’d wanted me to be theirs because they liked me for me. They wanted me. I’d enjoyed being theirs because of the way they wanted me. I didn’t want to belong to anyone else.

While Marilyn did my makeup, I wondered if I would get a chance to run. If not before the auction, then maybe after. I would do everything possible to escape. I would not be owned by some rich prick.

What kind of people even attended these auctions anyway? Were they twisted maniacs? Lonely as hell? Or did they want a built in sex slave who would cook and clean? The possibilities were endless. They all made me feel sick.

Marilyn finished with my makeup and moved on to my hair. She curled it so it fell in perfect ringlets along my shoulders. Not once did she speak to me. She seemed incredibly detached, wanting nothing to do with me. Fine with me. The way I saw it, she was as bad as Brady and his friends. Even if she was forced to be here, she didn’t have to be so cold and uncaring.

“Put this on.” She shoved a pale blue dress at me.

Relatively plain, the dress had spaghetti straps and a knee length skirt. I was given matching flat shoes. Too bad they weren’t heels. Those could be used as a weapon.

She waited until I’d put on the dress to spray me with a vanilla perfume. It smelled cheap and felt sticky where it touched my skin. She stepped back to give me a onceover before nodding.

“Good enough. I doubt they’ll really care what you look like. Brady will come to get you when it’s time to leave.”

As Marilyn left the room, I caught sight of Pete lurking in the hall. To make sure I didn’t try to run again. I sat on the edge of the bed and stared out the window through the slats in the bars.

Leaving this house was a good thing. That’s what I told myself. Even if I had to play it safe for a while, at some point, my captor would let his guard down. I would escape. There was no other option in my mind.

It wasn’t long before the door opened again. Brady came in with zip ties. I sat up straighter, stiff with panic.

“Since you’ve proven yourself to be a runner, I’ll have to tie your hands and feet for the ride. Also, I don’t want you to be able to tell anyone how to find the house.” He held up a black cloth bag in one hand. “Be a good girl and play along.”

I held myself back from telling him off. He wasn’t worth it. Instead, I sat there refusing to speak or make eye contact as he zip tied my hands behind my back.

He didn’t do my feet until we were outside in the van. He and Pete accompanied me along with another man. I thought they called him Derek. Brady and Derek sat in the back with me while Pete drove. I couldn’t wait to get away from these pieces of human garbage.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Brady said when we arrived at our destination. “Got nothing to say?”

He pulled the hood off my head, allowing the light to stream in. I blinked several times as my eyes adjusted.

“Not to you,” I said, scowling when he grabbed my arm to pull me from the vehicle.

The sun had set, plunging the city in darkness. We seemed to be back in Wolfwood. Outside a swanky hotel. The kind of place only celebrities and rich people could afford.

“Once you’re long gone with your buyer, I’m going to use your phone to send a few pictures of you I’ve been taking to your boys. They are going to love it.” The grin that lit up Brady’s face filled me with loathing. He held up my phone, waving it in my face. He’d been smart enough to turn it off.

“They’ll find you,” I said with utter confidence. “And they will kill you. They’ll find me too. You don’t know them like I do. They won’t give up until there’s nothing left of you but bones.”

For the slightest moment, Brady’s smile faltered. He recovered fast. “They can try. I hope it eats them alive to know you belong to someone that isn’t them. Let’s go. It’s almost time.”

The three men surrounded me while Brady dragged me along. He’d been forced to take the zip ties off my ankles so I could walk. Only when we were inside the building did he remove those around my wrists.

We entered through a back door that led into what seemed to be a staff only hallway. From there we descended a set of wide stairs into a basement that looked like it had been made for private parties and special conferences.

A large lobby area branched off into various halls that were marked A, B, and C. Brady dragged me to an unmarked door next to hall A. He used a key to open the door. Once we were inside, I saw why it had been locked. The room was filled with people that were here for the same reason as me. To be sold.

Most of them were younger women. A handful were young men. They were all seated along a bench against the wall, waiting their turn. Nobody spoke.

Other men like Brady stood at various points around the room, making sure their victims didn’t try to run or fight. The room felt small and tight, the atmosphere thick with tension and fear.

A door on the opposite side of the room opened as a man entered, grabbed the arm of the girl on the end of the bench, and left with her in tow. Brady shoved me toward the bench.

“Take a seat, Clover. It won’t be too long now.”

I sat stiffly on the bench next to a girl who visibly trembled. Her hair had been tied into pigtails to make her appear younger. Gross. She stared down at her feet, her chest heaving as she hyperventilated.

My gaze traveled around the room. Brady stood close, his hand on the gun in his hoodie pocket. I doubted he was the only one carrying a weapon.

As time passed, the door continued to open, and people continued to leave. None of them returned. Soon there were only two people in front of me. Then it was my turn.

Brady grabbed my arm, guiding me through the door. “I guess this is the end of the road for us. I almost wish I could keep you for myself. You’re just not worth the risk. Have a nice life, Clover. I know I will once I get paid for your fine ass.”

Helping himself to a handful of my ass to emphasize his claim, he shoved me forward. I was thrust directly into a room filled with people. The man who’d been fetching people pushed me up a few stairs onto a small stage in the center. Rows of chairs were lined up all around the stage. There were a few women in the crowd. Most of them were men.

Someone began speaking, opening up the bidding. My mouth went dry, my body shaking in fright. This was it. One of these sick monsters was going to buy me, like an object.

My gaze darted frantically about, searching for a way to escape. Every exit was blocked by men holding guns. Hands raised in the crowd as people indicated an interest in me. My head began to spin. I expected to pass out and drop in front of everyone.

That’s when my eyes landed on a familiar man in the crowd. I had to do a double take when he raised his hand to make a bid. Was that Desmond Monroe? Raina’s father?

My eyes filled with tears of relief. I furiously blinked them away, not wanting to dissolve into a blubbering mess with so many watching. He had to be here for me. To take me away from here. I was saved.

That had to mean the Angels found out I would be here. They’d gone to Raina. I would be safe now.

Or so I hoped. The more Desmond raised his hand to bid, the more another man across the room did as well. The two of them fell into a bidding war, going back-and-forth.

I held my breath, afraid of coming so close to freedom only to have it snatched away. Desmond didn’t give up. He pushed on every time the other man raised the bid. My heart pounded in my ears so loud I barely followed along.

Finally, the winning bid was credited to Desmond. My legs gave out, and I collapsed on the stage. A man rushed forward, grabbing me by the hair, dragging me to my feet.

“Get your fucking hands off her.” Desmond was suddenly there, pulling me against him. A protective arm went around my shoulders. Next to my ear, he whispered, “Come on, kiddo. Let’s get you out of here.”

We were taken out through a side door that exited into the parking lot. As soon as we were out of the building, I burst into tears. They flowed down my face, pouring out several days of emotion that had been hidden away inside me.

“You’re safe now,” Desmond assured me. “Raina is at my house waiting for you.”

“What about the Angels?” I asked, sniffling as I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. “Daire, Cash, and Blaze.”

Desmond surveyed the parking lot and shrugged. “They’re here somewhere. They planned to look for the man who took you while I was inside. You’ll see them soon.”

He ushered me into a blacked out SUV. Before he drove away, he dug some tissue out of the console and handed it to me. I caught his hand before he pulled away.

“Thank you for doing this. You just saved my life.”

With a fatherly touch, he smoothed back my hair and smiled. “No worries, kiddo. You’re family. Raina and those boys of yours are the reason I’m here. They seem to really love you.”

I had no words. During the drive back to Desmond’s house where Raina waited, I stared out the window with silent tears streaking down my cheeks.

The Angels had put their conflict with the Gods aside and gone to them for help. They’d been looking for me. Just like I’d known they would. Maybe they really did love me.

Perhaps it was the emotional overload that held me in its grip, but maybe I loved them too.