Chapter 4.

Chase.

Rovero Gardens, 57th Avenue, New York.

Later...

My lips tighten as we walk into the party.

Expensive, gilded chandeliers hang from the high ceiling of the vast hall where the event is being held. A charity gala, the tabloids say. An event meant to raise awareness about the poverty eating into the world.

A lie.

In here, we all know it’s a farce. A decoy for the real thing. The truth is uglier. This party is a spectacle. A private indulgence. A place where powerful men, my father’s clients, wealthy kingpins, publicly fuck pre-selected women.

But tonight is different.

Unexpected.

Tonight, members of the Olia cult will be present. Tonight, they intend to put on their own show. They’ve brought women with them. Women who will eventually be slaughtered in front of us all. Their bodies carried out in black bags once the pleasure is done. A sick indulgence. A declaration of supremacy over the weak. Over those who are not members of the cult.

I’m not a member.

Neither is my father.

But because they’re our clients, because we supply them women for their disgusting appetites, we were invited. And as my father’s son, I’m usually sent in his place.

Tonight, he gave me a second surprise.

He chose to attend.

My gaze flicks to Lucy.

Masked. She's pressed against my side. Her fingers grip my arm tight. I shouldn’t have brought her here.

But I couldn’t leave her behind. Not alone. Not in the care of guards I don’t fully trust. Not when danger is this close, breathing down our necks.

What I hadn’t anticipated was my father and the cult present.

The memory hits me hard, sharp and unwelcome. Earlier. Back at the house, after I’d fucked her with my tongue. Just before I left the bedroom, my mouth still tasting of her. My phone buzzed.

Dad: I’m attending the gala tonight. The members of the cult will be hosting a spectacle. I intend to speak to their leader and apologize for the setback. The disappearance of that whore, Salt.

My lips had tightened.

My blood had gone cold. For a moment, I almost want to attend tonight's party. Almost changed my mind.

But I couldn’t.

So I told her not to leave my sight. And she hasn’t. She’s obeying me, after I warned her what's at stake. Her life.

“Are we late?” She whispers now, her mouth brushing my ear.

Her breasts rub against my arm, soft and warm.

My balls tighten instantly.

“Yes. But we’re still in order.” I smile at her.

She’s masked. A rhinestone encrusted kitten mask. My kitten.

Beautiful, special.

A small smile tugs at my lips as I inhale her scent. Flowers. One of the perfumes I bought her.

I intend to protect her.

I vowed to protect her even before she chose to stay. And now that she has, now that she’s under my protection, even if that’s the only reason she’s with me, I don’t care. All that matters is that she’s mine.

The memory of the first day I saw her crashes into me, hard. She was dressed in nothing but rhinestones. A rhinestone thong. A rhinestone bra. Her hair flowed in cascading waves down her back as she danced on the pole.

I’d arrived the room after my father summoned me. Called me to sit in on a business arrangement with Davenport. A deal to pick girls for one of his clients.

I hadn’t asked which.

“What do you think of that one, Chase?” Dad had said, pointing at Lucy as she danced beside another girl. “Her name is Salt.”

I’d really looked at her then.

Admired her beauty.

The life in her eyes.

“She’s beautiful.” I muttered.

“Perfect,” Dad said, pleased. “Bring her to me, Davenport.”

As Davenport moved, Dad smirked. “She will be given to the Olia cult.”

I’d paled.

“The Olia cult?” I sputtered. “The ones who requested womb and ovaries? From a girl of your choosing?”

“Yes.” He snickered. “She’s perfect, right? I already have a team prepared to harvest her organs, as specified.”

He'd announced, cold and casual.

Davenport brought her over, but I barely noticed him. All I could see was her. The girl I had just met. The girl about to be stolen. Sacrificed.

Even after she was drugged, even after my father fucked her in front of me, I never looked away. I memorized her.

Her lips. Her breasts. Her moans. The way her body moved so fluidly beneath him.

I burned. Burned to have her. Burned to take her away from all of them.

That was four days ago.

Now she’s with me.

Safe, only if my father never sees her.

Ever.

“We won’t stay long.” I murmur.

I plan to show my face and leave before he arrives. Before the cult begins.

“Alright,” she says softly.

And then, “Chase.”

I still at the sound of that voice. Dad's voice.

Instantly, I recover. Smoothen my expression. Match his tone.

“Hi, Dad.”

Lucy stiffens beside me. A quiet gasp tears from her lips.

“And who is this beauty?” Dad asks.

None of your concern, I almost say.

But before I can, a voice booms over the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen. The moment we’ve all been waiting for.”

My blood drains.

Six girls file onto the stage, naked. Their bodies gleam under the lights. Horror grips me as men around the room begin to strip. Jackets. Shirts. Pants. Until they’re bare.

“Wow.” Dad mutters absently. “I suppose I’ll speak to the leader after this.”

I don’t hear him.

I’m gripping Lucy’s hand as men climb onto the stage.

No preamble. No hesitation. I count fifteen men, surrounding six women.

Men the public calls respectable.

Tonight, they’re animals.

They ravish the women. Every hole. One after the other. Then at the same time. The girls are drugged. Positioned and used. Moans rip through the room from the girls.

My stomach turns.

“I can’t look, Chase…” Lucy whispers, trying to pull away.

I yank her back.

“Don’t draw attention.” I hiss. “You’re the only masked guest here. If you leave, they’ll notice.”

Her body trembles.

Then a mask slips from one of the girls on the stage.

“May?” Lucy whispers, recognition in her voice.

Her body goes rigid.

“No… no… you can’t let them do this to her…”

She struggles against me.

Then a man raises a knife and slices the girl's throat.

Lucy screams, just as the crowd erupts. I don’t wait. I clamp my hand over her mouth and drag her out, fast, before anyone notices.

Before anyone stops us.

Before someone recognizes her.

Before my father realizes. Because the moment he does, we’re both dead.