Chapter 4: Mansion

[Erin]

My teeth were gnashing against each other, the tiny hairs of my body stood erect that I could already see the small bumps on my skin. I was damn freezing with this type of clothes they made me wear, and I can't even consider this as a cloth. It was only garter straps that were only enough to cover my private areas.

The girls that were also on the line seem to be freezing; they were hugging themselves, shivering from the cold.

I was looking at them, rubbing my palm against my arms to create friction in hopes of giving me some warmth.

What are we doing here? Are we waiting for our new owner?

I was mulling over my own thoughts with dread coiling and furling inside my lower belly, too occupied to even keep myself aware of my surroundings.

Just then, a heavy soft cloth drapes into my shoulders, startling me to my feet and sends my heart into gallops, ripping a squeak out from my throat.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." A deep baritone voice spoke up behind me, and a pair of hands clasps over my arms made me very still and felt my blood run cold.

He sounds scary. Is he the one who purchased me?

I still couldn't move, my neck stiff like a rod. The audible gasps coming from the other girls made the situation even worse. I couldn't even tell if they were terrified at the man who held me or the otherwise, but one thing I am sure of, my body is trembling.

"I'm Akim, your new master's right hand." He spoke again, tugging my arm and spin me around to face him.

Now I see why are the girls were too shocked when they saw Akim. My eyes literally went wide as I craned my neck just to look at him in the face.

He had the body built of a Hollywood actor I have seen in the movie Fast and Furious, the one with the bald head, and as far as I can recall, if I am not mistaken, he goes by the name Vin.

The only difference is that he wasn't bald. He had this military cropped jet-black hair, his nose was more nuanced than the actor Vin, and he had this piercing beautiful hazel green eyes with a stud on his left thick eyebrow. Making him look more rogue and menacing. He wore a white polo shirt with the three first buttons undone that was lamely tucked into his fitted black jeans. My petite frame barely reaches his muscular chest.

"Boss's just hit the jackpot," he commented, scanning his gaze over my exposed body. I shrink to my place, pulling the coat he had given me in hopes of covering whatever little modesty left in me.

His large hand slid down to my lower back while the other was taking the chain leash that was connected to my collar. Looping it around his wrist.

He was about to pull me to his side and walk me out of this hellhole when Kirstina jogs down the hallway with a red velvet clipboard in her hand.

"Wait, Mr. Bronislav, you forgot to sign here." She panted, handing over the clipboard to Akim. Her gaze didn't even linger on me. It was like I didn't even exist, a disposable item after they leech of money out of me.

I was sold to million dollars.

That's how my life is worth.

"Come little sweet, let's get you to your new home," Akim said after he signed the document, tugging the chain leash a little.

New home.

That wasn't my home. That was my new prison. A new hell for me.

My constraint freedom.

I felt like crying. The corner of my eyes moistens with unshed tears. I bit the inside of my cheeks to held them back as I walked right beside this giant of a man.

I wasn't looking at where we were going. My eyes were only fixed on my toes as we walked down the corridor. Fear, dread, and anxiety rumbling in my stomach, making me forgot the pain that was starting to blare in my knees.

The anesthetic began to fade, and I could already feel the wound sear under the layers of adhesive bandage.

Akim halted beside me, tugging the leash and making me stop as well.

"Are you alright?"

NO! I AM NOT!

I wanted to shout, to cry, to run and escape that impending fate of becoming someone else property, but my voice retreated down in my throat. I only felt something wet rolling roll down on my cheek. As if all the lamentations of my life summed up into a single drop of tear.

I just heard him sigh and began scanning my body. I wanted to tell him that the pain I felt wasn't on the outside, that it could not be seen by the naked eye, but I felt his hand touches my knees, and I hadn't noticed that they were already shaking.

"Damn! You're bleeding!"

He's angry. I could sense it in his voice, but not directed to me.

"They lied, boss, 's going to kill me if he sees this."

Even his size still mystifies me as to why he was afraid of his boss.

He stood up, looking me in the face, and wiped off the tear on my cheek.

"Don't ruin that pretty face yours. We'll hope that boss will still accept you despite the damages."

Damages.

It's like a stab straight to my heart when he said it. Like I am some kind of damaged goods upon purchase, but no warranty, nor replacement.

Well, what do they do to those damaged items? They dispose of it.

"If not, well, you'll be free from this world." Akim just confirmed my thoughts.

Human life means nothing to them. Akim might be nice to me, but I know he's dangerous and only abiding by his boss's order to deliver me safely to him.

Another tear threatening to spill from my eyes, but I held them back and breathed deeply. A frown forms from Akim's face, and in one fluid motion, he sweeps me off my feet, eliciting a surprised gasp from my throat.

I wanted to protest, but I knew my attempts would only be fruitless. So, I just kept myself quiet and busied myself listening to the frantic beating of my heart.

Akim carried me out through the elevator, then to the parking lot where I could see most of the expensive cars were put on display, and then halted in front of a black Mercedes Benz sedan. He opened the passenger's seat using one hand only and put me inside. 

A strong tobacco scent wafted through my nostrils, making my nose instantly scrunched.

He took something at the small compartment under the dashboard, and the first thing that caught my attention was the silver revolver gun that glinted over the faint light. I stilled, I thought Akim was going to use it on me, but instead, he pulled out a medicine kit beside the gun.

He examines my wound. First, face frowning on how it was stitched. He took some cotton balls, cleaned the dried blood around the damage, put betadine on it to clean it off, and then finished with plaster.

I was only looking at how he gently held me with his huge hands. Considering his bulk frame, I was like a fragile glass he was holding. I don't know why but my heart did skip a beat, but I had to swallow it up and pretend that I didn't feel it.

Akim then flashes me his smile, sending my heart into a wild gallop, "See? All done, now, let's head back to the mansion. Boss is waiting for you."

Mansion.

Boss.

Those words that he said suddenly extinguishing all other feelings inside me, except dread and fear.