Locked Together (In Chains) (17 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Kayden

“What do we have here?”

My eyes snap open, there are six guys staring down at me, they look drunk, one of them is swaying.

“It’s a slave,” one of them says. “Where’s your owner slave?”

I get to my feet, grimacing as I put my weight on my ankle. I point to one of the doors opposite me. “My owner’s in there. I was getting on her nerves, so she told me to sleep out here.”

They look at each other, one of them looks at the door and then back at me. “Your owner lives in there huh,” he says as he points at the door.

I nod my head.

He smiles. “Hmm, I guess that makes me your owner then, because I live there.”

My mouth dries up and I swallow. “Not that door,” I point to the door next to it, “I meant that one.”

They all laugh. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves an escapee,” one of the other guys says. “Maybe we should call slave security, there might be a reward.”

I shove one of the guys, as he staggers backwards I squeeze by him and make a run for the stairs. I can hear them coming down the stairs behind me, I try to run faster but my damn ankle is slowing me down. Someone pushes me from behind and then I’m flying through the air. My face smacks into the concrete and I taste blood. Someone sits on me and my arm is forced up my back.

“Son of a bitch,” one of the guys says, then I feel a set of hands pressing my shoulders to the floor and another set of hands pull at my pants. I struggle and try to kick out but I can’t move, they get my pants down to my ankles.

“Cute butt.” I hear someone laugh and my stomach knots. “You’re about to get arse fucked slave.”

I kick and try to get my arms free. “Maybe we should have him suck cock before we fuck him,” someone says.

I’m yanked up off the floor and the edge of a knife is pressed against my throat, I feel hands on my shoulders and I’m forced down onto my knees. The guy with the knife crouches down in front of me and another guy unbuttons his jeans and gets out his dick. He holds it in his hand and waves it in front of my lips. “Suck it slave, or we’ll cut your throat.”

I stare at him. “If you put that near my mouth, I’ll bite it off.”

The guy holding the knife glares at me, his eyes are grey and small, he’s got a big red spot on his nose and his teeth are crooked. I’m tense, I can hear my heart in my ears and I’m fucking pissed. I can’t find Savannah, I just wanted to rest my ankle, I don’t need this fucking shit. I hate humans, I fucking hate them. I slam my head back into the face of the guy holding me, he cries out and as he loosens his grip I grab the throat of the guy holding the knife. I can’t see anyone but him, don’t think about anyone but him as I crush his windpipe. I glare at him. “I’ve had a shit day,” I snarl, “and you wanna fuck with me.” I squeeze harder, his face is red, his hands move to his throat and he drops the knife.

“I’ve called the police.” I look up to see a guy standing in one of the doorways. “The police are on their way,” he says as he quickly goes back inside and closes his door.

“Shit.” I hear one of the guys say, they run down the stairs leaving their friend with me, he’s making choking noises and his lips are turning blue. I suddenly realise what I’m doing. I loosen my grip on his throat and snatch up the knife. I stand up, pull up my pants, shove the knife into my pocket and limp down the stairs, he don’t follow me. I can’t let the police catch me; they’ll send me back to the Pound. As I get to the bottom of the stairs, I stop and listen, I can’t hear anyone. I limp outside, I can hear police sirens but they sound far away, so I limp off in the opposite direction to the sound. Humans are nothing but trouble, except for Savannah. I hope she made it to the farm, I can’t even think about it, if something happened to her I’d never forgive myself. To hell with resting my ankle, I’ll walk through the pain and get as far as I can while it’s still dark. I stick to the main road because I figure it’s the easiest way to get out of this damn town, I don’t wanna get lost on a little back road.

I’ve been walking for about ten minutes and the only living things I’ve seen are a few foxes. As I pass a building I hear a loud, thumping beat coming from inside. I try to move faster; I don’t wanna meet any humans right now. I hear laughter and male voices behind me; I grip the knife and duck into an alleyway. I press myself against the wall, I’m sweating, the voices are coming closer. I pull the knife out of my pocket, if these guys try to fuck me, I’m gonna cut their dicks off. I move back a little more into the shadows and keep my eyes glued on the road. I hold my breath. Four human guys walk past the alley, drinking and laughing, but they don’t see me. I let out a breath but I wait until I can no longer hear their voices before I start moving again.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Savannah

It’s my third day living on the farm. I’ve been staying in the van during the day, only coming out at night. During the daytime I’m bored and lonely, I can’t even visit Simon because someone from the Pound may come looking for me. The door to the van opens and Trent comes in. I’m so pleased to see him after being alone all day. “How was your day?” I smile at him.

“Same old, same old,” he shrugs.

“I was thinking,” I say as I bounce up and down on my heels, I’ve got so much pent up energy from sitting down doing nothing all day. “It’s getting dark and there won’t be many people around. My brother gave me some money; I could get us all something to eat from the chip shop.”

He grins. “You’re very bouncy today.”

“So, do you want to come with me?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he nods his head, “it’ll be nice to have some good food.”

The door opens again and I look around and see Kaci and Clay. Clay is scowling at Trent, I want to say something in Trent’s defence but I know Clay will jump down my throat, so I stay silent. Trent takes my hand. “Come on Savannah; let’s go to the chip shop.” He pulls me towards the door. I have my back to Kaci and Clay, but their glares are burning a hole in my head.

Ugh, I’d forgotten how dark it gets here without streetlights, I’m glad I have Trent’s hand to hold, I’d never find my way in the dark alone. As I stumble along, I’m hit with the memory of how Kayden used to carry me, I miss him so much. I was hoping he would be here by now, what’s keeping him. Maybe he’s been caught.

“Are you okay Savannah?”

I nod my head and then realise he probably can’t see me. “Yes, I’m fine, Trent. I don’t like the dark; I was remembering how Kayden used to carry me.”

“I can carry you,” he says.

“No, I’m fine, thanks for offering. Just keep hold of my hand so I don’t trip over.”

“It’s no problem, let me carry you.” I feel his arms slip around my waist and then my feet leave the ground. I jerk as I feel his lips close to my ear. “Put your legs around my waist Savannah.” I hook my legs around him and my arms around his neck. It feels strange, I’m used to Kayden’s scent, Trent smells different, not nasty, just different.

We’ve reached an area with some street lights. “You can put me down now, Trent.”

When we get to the chip shop, I look through the window. “You’d better stay out here,” I tell him. “I don’t think slaves are allowed inside.” My palms are sweating and my throat is dry, for all I know the Pound may have handed out wanted posters with my picture on it. The woman smiles at me and I relax a little. I order battered fish, steak pies and fries to take out; I glance around nervously while I wait for her to package everything. Trent is leaning against the shop window when I get back outside; he takes the bag of food from my hands and slips his free hand into mine.

“We should do something fun tonight,” he says, “you need cheering up.”

“What do you suggest?”

His arms snake around me and he lifts me off my feet. “We’re coming to the dark part,” he says. I rest my head on his shoulder.

“Can you play poker?” Trent asks.

“Erm…yes. Badly, but I can play.”

When we get back to the farm, Clay and Kaci have got the fire going and are already sitting around it, drinking hooch. I don’t bother to share out the food; I open everything up and let them help themselves. Clay and Trent dive straight for the pies, Kaci tears off a large piece of fish and I begin with the fries. There are moans of appreciation and licking of fingers, I’m glad they’re enjoying it. I wonder if Kayden has eaten, he doesn’t have any money. I take a deep breath. Trent hands me a mug of hooch, he has perfect timing, I take a large sip but I don’t want to get drunk again. I had a headache all day yesterday and my mouth felt like a desert. I’ll drink just enough to relax me. I reach out to grab a piece of fish before it all goes. Even though I lived at the Pound for a while, I never did develop the fast eating habits that most slaves seem to have. I guess a lifetime of not having enough food will do that to you.

Trent runs over to the van and returns with a pack of cards. “Who’s in for a game of poker?” he asks. I wave my hand in the air; Kaci and Clay agree to play as well. Kaci deals the first hand, I have a pair of twos, it’s better than nothing I suppose. I haven’t played much poker and it shows, Clay wins the first hand.

“Let’s bet and make things more fun,” Kaci says.

Clay grins at her. “What do you wanna bet with?”

She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him on the cheek. “Our clothes, I wanna get you naked.”

Clay busts up laughing and wrestles Kaci to the ground; he tickles her until she screams at him to stop. I have to look away, I feel so jealous. No one has ever loved me like that, except for Kayden, I miss him. Trent sits down beside me and puts his arm around my shoulder. “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to,” he says.

I smile at him. “I want to.”

It’s decided that the person with the lowest scoring hand has to remove an item of clothing. Clay deals the next hand, I notice Trent glance across at my cards, I angle them so he can see them clearly and he leans close and whispers to me that I should keep the ace and king and get rid of my other cards. I don’t win, but with Trent’s help I don’t end up with the lowest scoring hand. Clay does and I think he did that intentionally to please Kaci. He stands and Kaci slowly claps her hands while Clay thrusts his hips and peels off his t-shirt, I can’t help but smile at him. He’s got a good body, tanned, lean and toned. If it wasn’t for his scars he’d be gorgeous. Kaci runs her hand over his stomach and pulls him to her for a kiss, I look away. Trent hands me my mug of hooch and I take a sip. “Who knows, maybe I’ll lose the next hand,” he says, grinning at me.

It’s Trent’s turn to deal. I glance at my cards, I’ve got three aces, I hope they don’t think I cheated. Trent changes three of his cards; Clay and Kaci change some of theirs too. It’s time to show our hands. Clay has three queens, Kaci has two pairs. Trent lays his cards down; he doesn’t even have a pair. He winks at me, then he stands, swivels his hips and begins to unbutton his jeans, I can feel my cheeks heating up and I quickly avert my eyes. I expected him to take his shirt off, not his jeans. I hear him laughing so I look back at him; he winks at me again, then removes his shirt and hooks it in the waistband of his jeans. I can’t help but look at his body, he has a long scar running down his right side, I wonder how he got that. He sits back down next to me and I notice Clay glaring at him, I take another sip of hooch. It’s now my turn to deal, I look at my cards and frown when I see I have nothing, I change three cards but it doesn’t help, I still have nothing. Clay lays his cards down, he has three eights, Trent has a pair. I lay down mine, a nine is the highest card in my hand, Kaci lays hers, she has a pair. I slip off one of my pumps. “You have to take them both off,” Trent says. “Shoes count as one thing.” I kick off my other pump; I’ll have to make sure I don’t lose again. I breathe a sigh of relief when Kaci loses the next hand; she tugs off her t-shirt with no hesitation. She’s not wearing a bra. Her body is perfect even with scars, she’s slim and her breasts look firm, not too big or too small. I hate my breasts, one is a little bit bigger than the other and my waist isn’t slim like Kaci’s. Clay pulls her over to sit in front of him between his legs and wraps his hands around her waist. I glance at Trent, he’s staring at Kaci, his tongue’s practically hanging out but Clay doesn’t seem at all bothered. I guess they’re confident in their love for each other. Oh to hell with staying sober, I drain my mug of hooch and hold it out to Trent for a top up. He’s too fixated on Kaci to notice, I tap him on the shoulder and shake my mug at him. His cheeks redden, is he embarrassed that I caught him staring at Kaci? I don’t blame him, she’s beautiful. I remember when I first met her, when Kayden twirled her around in his arms. Trent hands me my hooch, I take a large mouthful.

We’ve played a few hands; Clay and Trent are down to their underpants, my eyes land on the bulge between Trent’s legs, he’s obviously excited. I lay down my cards; all I have is a king. Clay and Trent have good hands, Kaci is my only hope, I hold my breath as she shows me her cards, she has an ace. All eyes turn to me and I can feel the blush on my cheeks. I reach for my mug and down the remaining hooch. I don’t know which half of my body I hate more, my short, flabby legs and orange peel thighs, or my round stomach and my breasts. Maybe I should toss a coin. I yank off my t-shirt, quickly placing my arms across my tummy and close my eyes; I don’t want to see the disappointment and disgust in their eyes. I feel someone tap me on the arm and I reluctantly open my eyes to see Trent smiling at me. “Do you still wanna play Savannah?” Do I? I glance at Clay and Kaci, they’re wrapped up in each other and aren’t taking any notice of me, maybe I don’t need to be so embarrassed. Perhaps I’m blowing this out of proportion.