Chapter 3

*Lucia*

The men walked around us. My eyes moved from one to another before finally settling on Steve. He held my gaze for a while. He also looked confused, as if his men had turned against him. "You are in no position to ask questions," Rex said. His hand clutched the barrel he held tightly. "One more word, and I'll blow off your skull," his voice was deep, and it kept resounding in my head.

Steve gritted his teeth. It was clear that he hated that there was nothing he could do. He must be feeling betrayed. Rex asked him to raise his hand over his head, and he did so without complaint. I still couldn't wrap my head around what just happened. Before I could figure out one or two things, I felt my hands pulled roughly from behind.

I turned sharply, and my hands unconsciously went into my sweater, where I had hidden the gun Jason had given me. Maybe he knew that I would be faced with such a situation. Before I could pull it out and defend myself, "Bring her too," I heard Rex before leading us to the car that was pulled to the side.

I felt a shiver coarse through my spine.

So this was how I was going to die. I had barely attained the freedom I so desired. I knew things didn't always go the way I wanted. Life has not always been fair to me. I had secretly hoped that this time, I would be able to live the life I wanted without life throwing shades at me, but who was I kidding?

Maybe I was my jinx.

That was my conclusion. The men dragged us and pushed us into the car. It was stuffy. They kept me between them at the back while Steve was made to sit at the front with Rex. I felt suffocated as their body kept pressing onto mine. I hoped they would not notice the gun I held with me. I knew they would not take it nicely if they were to find it with me.

The car sped across others on the highway. It was silent. I tried to steady my beating heart and calm myself, but fear overwhelmed me. What if I wasn't able to stay strong and ended up dying in their custody? I didn't even know where I was taken.

I gagged my thoughts and then inhaled a silent breath.

The car soon stopped in front of a building; it slowed down at the entrance, and some men came down. There were just two men left in the car with me. The car went into the parking lot and stopped. A cold, tight knot formed in my gut as I recognized the danger I was in. My body trembled as I was dragged out of the car.

Where are we?

The longue was dark, unlike any other parking Logue I'd seen before. Rex still had his barrel pinned on Steve's head. "What are we doing here, Rex? At least tell me where we are?" Steve demanded, his voice contained a tinge of authority. Anger flashed through Rex's eyes.

"It seems like you still don't understand who the boss is here," he said. I noticed he was restraining himself from hurting Steve. It seems like he is not allowed to hurt Steve. "Move," Rex commanded. For a moment, Steve kept standing, trying to hold his ground. "Move your fucking ass," Rex yelled and kicked his legs before he started moving.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I was dragged away. I should be used to this type of treatment. Aside from Jason, no one has ever treated me gently. I closed my eyes and opened it. My eyes brimmed with unshed tears. What if I end up not seeing Jason ever again?

I wondered how he was doing. His uncle Aldo must have noticed that I wasn't home anymore. Is Jason being punished? I couldn't help but ask. My heart was filled with thoughts of him. We stepped into the light after taking a few bends in the parking lot. I couldn't help but wonder how the men could see in such darkness.

We took the elevator from the longue. Steve and Rex went to the elevator first. I was amazed at how the parking lot was built. The elevator seemed to go down instead of up. The men in the elevator with me had straight looks on their faces, which assured me there was nothing to worry about.

We stepped out and walked into what seemed like a hall.

When I stepped in, I was first greeted by the strong smell of alcohol and cologne. The air was hot. There were hooting and waves of laughter. The man pulled me roughly. He wouldn't care even if I tripped and fell. Loud music resounded from the speaker.

I took in everything I saw. Servers were dressed skimpily with glowing trays of drinks. We made our way past the noisy area and walked into a hallway that was lightened with strobe lights. Rex and Steve took a different path while I walked straight. My hands began to string from pain as the man continued to hold them tightly. I cursed him inwardly. We stopped in front of a door. He took a quick look around before pushing the door open.

He pushed me inside. I fell to the ground and let out a low grunt from pain. Before I could stand up, he closed the door with a bang.

Where am I this time?

I felt a cold sweat break out from my forehead. I was overwhelmed with a mixture of fear, anxiety, and regret. Maybe I should have stayed with Jason and allowed his uncle Aldo to have his way with me.

I took a deep breath, my hands wrapped around myself. At least my gun wasn't discovered. That was one good thing. I turned around to see five different eyes staring at me. I took a step back and raised my brow. Why didn't I notice others were inside the room? They all had their eyes trained on me. They were all women; two were much older than me, while the others looked younger. They wore tattered clothes and looked pale and weak, like they'd been starved.

They must have been here for long.

They sat on the bare floor. I couldn't bring myself to sit on it, too. I was already cold enough. Though I trembled from fear, I didn't plan to stay in this room with these people. I walked to the side and stood there. The women had retracted their eyes. My heart thudded loudly in my ear. I didn't want to stay here for long. I would escape. My eyes kept darting around, looking for a way to escape. The room seemed secure and locked.

The air was stale.

My money and gun were still in my pocket. It was supposed to lessen my fear, but it did not. Soon, the door opened, and the man who had thrown me into the room earlier stepped in. His eyes looked around the room. When it finally landed on me, he walked briskly towards me and grabbed my hands. "Where are you taking me to?" I asked. He sent me a glare that kept my lips closed immediately.

I could feel goosebumps on my skin.

Would I ever be able to get out of this room alive? We walked down the hallway. We took a few turns. There was no way I could remember my way out if I had the chance to escape. I bit my lower lips in worry.

He stopped in front of a door and pushed it open. Then he pushed me inside. Unlike the other room, this room was empty. He stepped out of the room and locked the door with a bang. I was the only one in the room. There was a window at the side. I rushed quickly towards it and pushed it open. Cold air rushed into the room, and I pulled my jacket closer to myself.

This was my chance to escape.

I could see a path from where I stood. The path seems to lead somewhere. I didn't care where it led. I'll think about that later. For now, I have left this place before those assholes came back looking for me. I deepened my hands into my sweater to see if the gun was still there. I had no time to waste. I walked to the door and placed my ear on the door, trying to pick up the sounds of someone walking towards the room.

I heard nothing, so I walked back to the window.

The window was very high from the floor, so it wasn't hard jumping over it. I started running immediately after I landed on the ground. My heart thudded loudly in my chest, but I didn't stop. I had to save myself. I didn't have any knight in shining armor to save me. I took the path I saw from the window. The path was damp and slippery. I stepped on muddy water, which rose a little before falling back to the ground.

After running for a while, I stopped, placed my hands on my legs, and took a deep breath, trying to steady my emotions. I turned back to make sure I wasn't followed. Seeing no one, I decided to walk slowly. The path had led to the woods. I kept looking around, afraid of being caught and that someone might jump out of the woods and grab me.

When I thought I had finally escaped, I heard voices behind me. I didn't have the luxury of time to stand and see who they were. I could sense that they were after me. So I started running. I had barely moved from where I was when someone said, "Stop there, or I will shoot," I decided to stop. Bullets don't have wings, but they go far.

I raised my hands and turned slowly.

Soon, two men came into view. They clutch their gun tightly, pointing it towards me. Maybe it was time to use my gun. Quickly, I brought my pistol and fired at the arm of one of the men. It hit him in his hand, and his gun fell. His loud, painful groan resounded in the woods.

The other man wasted no time in firing his gun at me. I dodged and was fortunate enough to have missed it. Before I could pull the trigger on him again, he took a wide stride towards me and hit the gun away from my hands.

"Let me be, who are you guys? What do you want from me?" I asked as he pulled me. The other guy walked slowly behind us. He was bleeding profusely, and for a moment, I thought he would die before we got back to the club.

"That is a question for whoever gave you away," he said.

It took a while before I could wrap my head around what he said. Jason had given me away. Does that mean he sold me to them? No, Jason would never betray me. He loved me, and I trusted him. I wanted to ask questions, but I wasn't given the opportunity, as the best thing I felt was a sharp pain in my head before everything faded.

The next time I woke up, I was in a room with different girls. A gasp escaped my mouth when I realized that I was no longer wearing any shirt. My breasts were left open. I unconsciously placed my hands over them in a bid to cover them. My throat felt dried, and my stomach rumbled.

"Where am I?" I asked her.

She held my gaze for the longest time without saying anything, as if she was surprised I didn't know where I was. "There is an auction going on in the next room. Everyone in this room is about to be sold," she said, barely moving her lips.

"What?" How did I end up here?

"You were unconscious when you were brought this morning," she said. I noticed she wanted to go on but decided against it and looked ahead of her instead.

I looked outside the window. My eyes almost bulged out of its sockets. It was already evening. The door opened, and a man walked inside. He held a rope in his hand. We walked directly towards me and wrapped the ropes tightly around my hands before pulling me away.

The girl I spoke to had an unexplainable look on her face. She knew where I was being dragged to. I wasn't sure if it would be sold or taken somewhere. But wherever it would be, I knew it wouldn't be pleasant.