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Domenico Prologue
Somewhere in Chicago…The chains chafed my wrists, making me wish I were still in my cage. Though it lacked privacy, the cage at least had a bed, and in there I wasn’t restrained with my arms above my head. But I was in Domenico’s domain. The small bedroom-like area was created from a previous office. There was a lamp and a mattress with a blanket, but those were the only creature comforts. The rest of the room retained both the look and smell of the rest of the decaying structure.With no way to tell time, I wasn’t sure how long I’d been there. All I knew was that I was tired. Being held against my will caused spikes in my adrenaline, and the subsequent crashes left me drained. The small panic attacks had lessened over the past few weeks, but there was an undercurrent of strife, and I feared what would happen if things got out of control.I stared at the bed, wishing I were on it. All that did was cause the memories of him inside me to come slamming down. The absolu
Domenico One
Another day, another dollar, and another strip in front of a horde of men. Hopefully more than a few, but working in the shitty, low-income part of town wasn’t the most enticing for big spenders. Being a stripper, every dollar I made counted.When I was a little girl, the reality of taking my clothes off in front of half-drunk men was never even a possibility. Not even as a teenager, but life doesn’t always go the way you planned.“Belle, you’re on in five,” Al called out.I caught his eye in the mirror and nodded. Returning to my reflection, I fluffed up my hair and added some lip gloss. I slipped on my six-inch patent-leather platform heels and stood, making a quick adjustment to my blue mini dress, perking my breasts up in the deep V of the collar.Castle Lounge was a topless strip bar, and it drew in a decent crowd despite the lower-income community that surrounded it. Chances were the crowd would probably grow larger if it was full nudity, but it wasn’t like the little
Domenico Two
A few hours and a few dances later, I was ready for a shower. I washed the makeup from my face, happy to have the layers and the weight of the false eyelashes gone. I was hooking up with Mac later, and he liked the natural look more than my painted-up face.I liked it better as well.I pulled on my jeans and sneakers, along with a tank top and my favorite oversized yellow sweater. Outside of Castle, I’d long ago moved from designer dresses and stiletto heels in favor of something more practical.Every day I sat on edge, wondering if it was the day to run, and I couldn’t run well in heels. Plus, dressing casually helped me to blend in better. No different than anyone else around me.“Hey, Ella, you heading home?” Angel asked as she entered the dressing room.As with my past, nobody knew my real name, only the name I’d given them. Many of the girls went by their stage names. Al had named me Belle the first day I came in for a job.Eight years of ballet had given me skills t
Domenico Three
I was cold. So cold. That was the only thought I had as I began to shake the sleep that had ahold of me. More awareness surfaced and something strange kept me from clenching my teeth—soft, malleable, but solid.I drew in a sharp breath hindered by what had to be a cloth in my mouth. Panic sent adrenaline surging through me and I sat up, only to fail and flop back to the cold ground.Something sharp dug into my wrists when I tried to move my arms, which were locked behind me while my legs were bound together at my ankles.I didn’t recognize the building, but it was obvious it hadn’t been in use for years, as evident by the layers of debris in my limited view.The darkness made it difficult to see much, even with the moonlight, and my eyes had trouble adjusting. What little light there was streamed in through cracks from what I assumed to be windows and a large overhead skylight. The air was cool, damp, and so still that it stifled a scream that wanted to erupt from behind my
Domenico Four
The chatter of voices stirred me, and I awoke in my nightmare. The cold robbed me of any more sleep, and I opened my eyes to find that it wasn’t all a bad dream after all.With the sun shining, the large expanse was illuminated, exposing the cobwebs hanging in corners and the paint chipping from the walls. One wall was covered in windows that were shielded with some sort of film or paper that was yellow, either due to its original color or time. Tears in the material let in unfiltered beams of light.I sat up and finally got a look around. What I’d thought was one more cage turned out to be an entire line of them—which meant they could hold up to six girls at a time.They all sat empty except for the basic materials my own cell was outfitted with.How many girls had sat in those cells, frightened and alone? My chest clenched as I felt their fear as my own. I imagined the weaker ones working themselves up into a panic attack, struggling to breathe.What happened to them all
Domenico Five
I stared up at the ceiling, completely bored and wishing something would happen instead of the nothingness. My stomach was a constant knot as I wondered what they were going to do with me.For two days it had been nothing but waiting, and it continued to be so. Food was minimal, entertainment even less so.After that first day, I’d resigned myself to the fact that I was sitting in reality. I had been taken against my will, but that didn’t mean I was defeated. Far from it. I kept mostly to myself, not engaging in the cat-calls and egging from the animals around me. I stayed focused, continuing on my quest to keep the fear minimal and my mind busy with the task of finding some weakness that would allow me to escape.But the awful truth was that there was no way. From the constant guard to the inability to even escape the cage that held me, I was well and truly trapped. There was no way to even maybe loosen the bolts on the door, because someone was always watching.Instead, I
Domenico Six
Days had passed, and still no information.It was a sex-trafficking ring—that much I’d gathered, but why was I the only one? And why was I still there? I listened in to every conversation I could, faking sleep for inside information, but there was nothing.Marco was in charge. He said little to me, barely even acknowledging my existence. He directed those who were there and fielded a few phone calls.Domenico showed up late in the afternoon, with what looked like a case of sports drink under one arm and a duffel bag in the other. Marco took the case from him, and he passed by, not even looking at me as he headed to the crowd of men who were playing a game of poker. From what I could tell the one named Joey was winning handily, so much that the others were claiming that he was cheating.They were right.I was as invisible as a piece of furniture to them most of the time. While someone was always watching me, the others leered only from time to time, and I watched as Joey de
Domenico Seven
In all my life, I never envisioned I would ever be in the predicament that I found myself in—taking a sponge bath, in an open cell, in an open room, in front of ten men, half of whom were watching.Still, it felt good to get the blood and grime off me. However, a bucket of warm water wasn’t enough, especially when returning to the same clothes I’d been wearing for days. The warmth leached away, the cold air cooling the water quickly. A shiver moved through me, and I pulled my clothes back on, trying not to give them a show. The days of showing off my body were over the moment they cornered me on that bridge.My eyes locked onto the splatter of blood dried into a deep red and clashing against the yellow of my sweater.A lackey, some young, thin guy about my age, opened the door to my cage to retrieve the bucket. I blinked, saw nobody in my periphery, and shot up.I bolted, knocking the guy over and sprinting toward the door. My muscles hadn’t been used much for days, causing
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