Chapter 3

I stared at the man like he had spoken another language. My brain couldn’t process his words. I’ve been sold? That was it? Just like that? Sold like a fucking object? No warning, no conversation, no explanation, nothing. One minute I was trapped like an animal, the next I was being dragged away like trash being collected.

“I’ve been bought?” I asked, numb, confused, shaking. The words felt heavy and stupid leaving my mouth, but that was all I could think to say. “What do you mean I’ve been bought? By who? When? How? What the fuck is going on?”

The man dragging me forward let out a long, annoyed grunt like I was irritating him. “How the hell am I supposed to know that?”

“So you just sell people without even knowing who the buyers are?” I snapped, planting my feet on the ground to stop him from dragging me, but he shoved me harder like I was nothing.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” he growled without even looking at me. “All I care about is that we got rid of you fast and made good money from it. Now move.”

That sentence hit me like a punch in the gut. I was gotten rid of as if I was something ugly they didn’t want to look at anymore.

I wanted to scream, fight, rip his face off and tear the whole building down but none of that would change anything. These people didn’t care if I cried, if I screamed, if I died. I was just a good to them.

He shoved me again, and before I knew it, I was thrown into a small room like a bag of garbage. The door slammed shut behind me, and the silence that followed made me hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears and I didn’t know how long I stayed frozen on the cold floor.

Being sold and owned? The words kept flashing in my head and I honestly wanted to throw up. This was something I heard about in movies or documentaries. Was I going to be locked somewhere forever? Beaten? Tortured? Raped? Used until I broke? Would anyone ever find me? Did anyone even know I was gone?

The door opened again and two different men came in. They just grabbed me and dragged me down a long corridor. There were other people there too. Other victims, other “goods” like me. Some were chained and bruised while others just stared straight ahead like they were dead inside already. I wondered if I would look like that soon and lose my mind.

We got to a metal back door and stepped outside. The night breeze slapped my face, reminding me this was still real life and not some nightmare. A long black car was waiting with dark tinted windows like some mafia kind of thing. I tried pulling back again, but one of the men shoved me so hard my chest hit the seat first and pain shot up my ribs.

I turned to yell at them, to ask where the hell they were taking me now but I didn’t get a chance because someone behind me grabbed my head and clamped a cloth over my nose and mouth. Something chemical hit my lungs and I panicked, fought it and tried not to breathe but I failed. My body betrayed me, my muscles got heavy, and everything went black.

I don’t know how long I was unconscious, but when I finally came to, my wrists were no longer chained. That was the first thing I noticed and I could move again. My head was pounding and my mouth tasted weird. I blinked slowly, trying to find the pieces of myself again when I realized I was still in the car. It was moving down an empty road.

Then I turned and froze because someone was sitting right next to me.I knew that face, those eyes, that same cold expression I saw at the auction. He was there, watching him.

“You!?” I blurted out, panicking. My chest tightened and my eyes widened. “What the hell…why are you here? What’s going on?”

He didn’t even look confused or look guilty and just looked at me like he already owned me.

“I’m Leon. Leon Black,” he said calmly. Like we were introducing ourselves at a coffee shop and not after a trade. “What’s your name and how old are you?”

Shock made me respond before my brain caught up. “Ronan. I’m twenty-two.” The words slipped out of me too fast and I wanted to slap myself. Why the fuck was I answering him like I had manners? Like this wasn’t insane?

Then anger took over. “Why did you ask for my name? Why did you buy me? And why the hell was I drugged?”

His eyes hardened. “Keep your voice down when you speak to me.”

I laughed dryly and rolled my eyes. “And why the fuck should I do that?” I shot back even louder. “Are you ashamed now because you bought a human being? Or is it because you're worried someone will hear your dirty little secrets?”

His jaw clenched hard. “You should be grateful I bought you instead,” he said coldly.

I stared at him like he was insane before letting out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Grateful? You’re seriously out here talking like I should thank you for buying me like a dog?”

He leaned forward slowly, and I could see anger tightening every muscle in his body. A vein pulsed on his neck and he looked like a bomb that wanted to go off.

“If I didn’t buy you,” he said through clenched teeth, “someone else would have. And you would be in deep, deep shit. So yes, you should be grateful.”

“Oh, so what now? You’re a hero?” I snapped. “You expect a fucking medal for what you’ve done? What do you want from me? You’re rich, bored, and decided to try out slavery for entertainment? Couldn’t get laid like a normal person, so you bought someone instead?”

“Enough.” His voice dropped, deep and full of danger that made my chest tighten. “I didn’t buy you for myself.”

I paused. “…Then who did you buy me for?”

“My brother,” he said.

I frowned. “Your brother?”

“Yes,” he said, watching me closely now. “He’s an irresponsible individual who can’t keep his dick in his pants anytime he sees an attractive man.”

It took me a few long seconds to process that. “So let me get this straight,” I said slowly. “You bought me… as a sex pet… for your brother?”

“Yes.”

I let out a dry scoff, shaking my head slowly. “Are you out of your mind?”

He ignored my question. “Our father is one of the most influential men in this country and my brother’s behavior and… preference is a problem to him.”

I didn’t need further explanation to get what he meant. His father was powerful, his brother was gay and that was not accepted here. Gay men disappeared here, they were beaten, jailed and murdered. I knew that too well because I had spent my life hiding who I was to avoid the same fate.