Delivered (The Monster Trilogy Book 3) (5 page)

Five

A knock came
at the bedroom door and Lily and Jess turned to each other, their eyes meeting with reflected fear.

The lock clicked open and the door swung wide. Rodriguez stood on the other side. Just the sight of him made every muscle in Lily’s body tense. She wanted to rage at him, to bite and claw and kick, but she knew it wouldn’t get her anywhere. If Rodriguez was here to take them out of the room, she’d keep her eyes open, and try to spot a phone or a computer—if they were even able to get a connection. She didn’t believe they were out here in the middle of nowhere with no way to contact people. It had been different when Monster had taken her and she’d been looking for help because she hadn’t even known what country she was in. They were in America now, and she knew the number to call the emergency services just as well as any person. She could even give them an idea their location. All she needed was a phone.

“I’m pleased to see you are both dressed,” he said with a smooth smile. “I hope you are ready for dinner,”

Lily stomach gurgled in response. She hated her body for betraying her. It must have been loud enough to hear, because Rodriguez raised his eyebrows. “Oh, the dinner isn’t for you. If you please me, I’ll allow you to eat once the men are done. But until then, you will be serving us.”

“Fuck you!” she spat.

He ignored her. “And you look stunning, by the way. It makes me happy to see you make an effort.”

Lily bunched her fists. “We could hardly stay in our filthy clothes, and you didn’t give us much of an option when it came to picking out something to wear.”

“It’s just as it should be. Women should be beautiful creatures to be admired and to give us pleasure. If you can learn how to control that mouth of yours, we’ll all get along just fine.”

Lily resisted the urge to growl at him. He was living in the dark ages.

She glanced down at her still bare feet. “Aren’t you forgetting part of our outfits?”

He followed her line of sight, and arched a dark eyebrow. “You don’t think I would give you high heels to wear, do you? The perfect thing to use as a weapon? No, you can stay bare-footed. It’ll help deter you from running off anywhere as well.”

Again, that idea there might be somewhere he was worried they could run to. He’d told them they’d never make it, yet he was concerned simply having shoes would give them an advantage.

Rodriguez stepped side-on to the door and gestured out into the hallway. “Now, you’ll come with me.” It was a demand, not a request.

Lily shared another glance with Jess. They didn’t have a whole heap of choice in the matter, so Lily walked from the room, Jess on her heels. Rodriguez left their door open and strode down the hallway ahead, making them hurry after him. They found themselves back out in the entrance hall, four doors leading from the space.

Rodriguez led them through one on the right, and into the kitchen.

The kitchen was as luxurious as the rest of the house, with clean lines, and, even though three people were busying themselves preparing a meal, almost no clutter on the work surfaces. Lily was starting to think Rodriguez had some kind of obsession with dirt—everything was immaculate, even though the whole house was in white. His staff must work hard to keep things this way. The scent of food cooking—grilled meat of some kind—made her stomach clench with hunger. Other than a short period when she’d been well fed, this feeling of emptiness was becoming more familiar to her than being full. She’d taken being able to eat when she was hungry for granted before—even the slightest twinge of hunger had resulted in a snack—but now she knew hunger as a very real beast. Something that clawed up inside her throat and made her nauseated and starving all at the same time.

The three people busying themselves in the kitchen didn’t even look toward the new arrivals. Two women, and one man of a small stature. They kept their heads down and continued with their work.

Are they regular employees?
Or are they stolen people, like me and Jess?

She tried to make eye-contact with one of the young women, who scrubbed at pots in the sink, but the dark-haired girl remained focused on her task. Lily didn’t think these people were working for Rodriguez voluntarily. She’d probably never know their backgrounds, but by the beaten, cowed way they held themselves, they didn’t look like regular employees.

Lily assessed every item her gaze landed on for use as a weapon. They were in a kitchen, so there must be knives. She looked over to where the other staff, or slaves, were busy working, but she didn’t see anything. The food prep must have already been done, but perhaps one of the drawers held a knife or two. Why hadn’t any of these people tried to use a knife on Rodriguez or his men? Perhaps one of them had and they’d seen the consequences. What good were knives against armed men? Even so, she didn’t completely dismiss the idea. If the moment arose, she planned to use it.

“You’ll collect the meals from the counter as soon as the bell rings,” he continued. “Keep them covered with the cloches until you bring them into the dining room, and once they’re on the table, you may remove the covers. You’ll also be serving the wine, and any other liquor my guests require while we are eating. Once we’re finished, you may remove the plates, and bring dessert.” He gave a slow smile. “Unless you’d prefer to be the dessert yourselves, of course.”

Lily narrowed her eyes. “We’ll pass, thanks.”

“We’ll see about that. Now do your best to remember what I said about being seen and not heard. Any smart-mouthed comments from you will be punished.”

Lily clenched her jaw and stared at the ground, fighting the urge to retort.

“I expect to see you both in the dining room shortly,” Rodriguez said, and left them alone.

She looked to Jess, considering their next move. Should they go? Just run for the front door and pray it wasn’t locked? But she remembered the electric gates, and the wall surrounding the property, and then the miles of desert beyond. The door would be locked, and they were bare-footed and with no sustenance or water. They hadn’t eaten in forever, and their physical resources were low. Even if they got out of the door—which was unlikely—they wouldn’t make it far.

The metal crash of a silver tray on the counter demanded her attention. Two plates covered in silver cloches were on the tray. The scent of grilled meat made her mouth water, and her fingers itched to lift the silver dome and inhale deeply over the meals that had been cooked for the men. She hated Rodriguez even more in that moment, that he could dine so luxuriously while she and Jess starved. It took all of her strength not to either pick up whatever was beneath the cloches with her fingers and tear into it with her teeth, or else lift up the whole tray and throw it at the wall. Jess was staring at the trays, and she swallowed hard. Lily knew she was going through the same internal battle not to fall on the food.

The girl who set the tray down hissed at her. “You should go. They’ll be waiting.”

Lily lifted her gaze and locked it with the girl’s dark eyes. The girl nodded, encouragingly or impatiently, Lily couldn’t be sure.

“I don’t know where we’re supposed to go,” she suddenly realized.

“They’re across the hall,” the dark eyed girl said. “Follow the noise.”

“Come on, Jess,” Lily said to the other woman. “We can do this. Just suck it up and smile, okay?”

Jess nodded.

They lifted a tray each, the weight heavier than Lily expected. She hoped Jess would be all right carrying the weight. The other woman was weaker, having not had any kind of respite since being taken. She hated to think what would happen if they dropped the food.

Leading the way, Lily walked carefully into the hallway, and following the sound of voices, she headed toward the dining room. As she approached, raucous laughter bellowed out, and her shoulders tensed, her heart thrumming. She needed to tamp down on all her natural instincts of both fight and flight, and just do as Rodriguez asked until she came up with a plan.

The door was already propped open, so she was able to make a smooth entry into the room.

It was decorated in the same style as the rest of the house, with plush white carpets, chandeliers, and a large mahogany table. Three other men, as well as Rodriguez, looked toward them as they entered, the laughter dying off. They were all smartly dressed in suits, and well groomed. She recognized one of them as being Marco.

“Ladies,” said Rodriguez, clapping his hands together. “These are the gentlemen you’ll be serving today. I expect you to give them anything they want, and when I say anything, that’s exactly what I mean.”

Lily’s blood ran cold. She walked to the far end of the table and set her tray down, allowing Jess to take the end closest to the door. She kept her eyes lowered, focusing only on the food, and not the men around her. She was horribly conscious of the way her dress clung to her body, of the flash of her cleavage exposed as she bent over, and the long slit showing off her thigh.

She removed the cloche from one of the plates and tried not to drool on the food. Fillet steak, the creamy garlic of potato dauphinoise, fresh green beans. The sight and scent of the food made her want to weep, and the idea of having to watch these assholes eat and enjoy it, while they stood by, hungry, made her want to kill them. She never thought she’d be someone who would quite literally kill for a steak, but right now she was.

Lifting the plates from the trays, she served Rodriguez first, placing the plate in front of him, before moving to the man, who she didn’t know—older, in his late forties at least, with salt and pepper hair—and serving him, too. Jess placed the plates in front of Marco and another younger man.

“Good,” Rodriguez said, “And we’d like some more wine. Red, I think. Like the blood in our meat.”

She said nothing, but reached to the bottle in the center of the table, hating the way the action caused her to bend over again, pushing her bottom out for the men to ogle, and her breasts to almost fall out of the cups of the lacy bra. She’d never felt under such scrutiny before, as though the men could see through the clingy clothing she wore, straight down to her naked skin.

Lily refilled Rodriguez’s glass first, and then moved to the older man across the table. As she reached over to pour the wine, a large hand made contact with her bottom.

“I like my meat juicy.” The older man laughed. “And this is a rump and a half.” He gave her rear a squeeze, and red clouded Lily’s vision.

She whipped toward him, dislodging his hand and brandishing the wine bottle. “Put your hands on me again,” she snarled, “and I’ll cut your fucking throat.”

She never knew she had this level of anger inside her, this vehemence.

The man’s eyebrows shot up his forehead in surprise, but instead of addressing her directly, he looked to Rodriguez.

“Rodriguez, I think you need to take your little pet in hand.”

Rodriguez looked at her with exasperation, his nostrils flared. “Yes, it looks that way, doesn’t it? A simple order, that was all you had to follow, and now you’ve let everyone down.”

Marco pushed back from the table, removing his jacket to place it on the back of the chair, and pushing up his shirt sleeves. “I can take care of her, boss. It will be my pleasure.”

Lily froze, trying to figure out her next move. Should she use the bottle still clutched between her fingers as a weapon? Should she drop everything and run for the door? She didn’t want to make things any worse, if that was even possible.

Marco rounded the table, not even bothering to disguise the smile of pleasure cracking his face, and Lily’s mouth ran dry.

“Wait,” called out Rodriguez, suddenly. “She’s not to be touched.” He nodded toward where Jess had backed against the far wall, clutching the now empty tray. Her eyes were wide with fear, and even from this distance Lily could see her trembling. “Punish that one instead.”

“What?” Lily cried, adrenaline exploding inside her. “No, wait! I didn’t mean it.”

He gave a slow smile. “Maybe you’ll think twice before you treat one of my men with such disrespect again.”

“Please, leave her alone. It was me! She didn’t do anything.”

But the men had already turned their attention to Jess. Joining Marco, the older man pushed back his chair and was heading toward the girl.

“Lily?” she cried out.

Marco grabbed her and the tray crashed to the floor.

Lily lunged forward, intent on clawing Marco’s eyes out if it prevented him hurting Jess, but strong hands grabbed the tops of her arms and pulled her tight. She found herself locked against Rodriguez’s body. She kicked backward, hoping to connect with his shin, and wrenched and struggled, but he held her firm.

He spoke low in her ear. “The more you fight me, the worse it will be for her.”

She fell limp. “You fucking bastard.”

He ignored her. “Bring the girl over to the table and bend her over it. I think her friend here just earned her a spanking.”

“What? No!”

Jess didn’t even try to fight. With her head hung, tears streaming down her cheeks, she allowed herself to be pushed over to the table. Marco swept aside tableware, plates, cutlery, and a full glass of champagne, so they crashed to the floor, making Jess jump.