Run (7 page)

Aya stiffened, her eyes narrowing. “What makes you think I’ll be captured by a patron?”

Macy turned a deep shade of red. “I’m sorry. There I go running my mouth again. It’s just that…”

“What?”

“You’re really pretty. And, you’ve got a nice figure. Your hair is really short but that won’t matter much. They always catch the pretty ones.”

Aya turned her back to Macy, returning her attention to the lawn outside. “Maybe these particular patrons won’t think I’m pretty enough for them.”

“Maybe,” Macy answered although there was very little conviction in her tone.

Before Aya could think of a retort, she heard the door to the room open. She turned to see Ronald Briggs.

“Ladies, it’s now time to meet your potential patrons. At this point, you’ll need to discard your clothing, undergarments and shoes included. Once you’re finished, join me in the hall and I’ll lead you to the auditorium.” Mr. Briggs gave them a tight smile before vacating the room again.

It was clear who the veterans of The Run were. They disrobed without hesitation and cast their clothing aside without a word, while the majority of the first timers glanced around the room with uncertainty.

“Aya, we have to do this. I don’t want to do this either but we have no choice. It’s too late to change our minds. Once we sign up to participate, we can’t leave. My sister told me, if we don’t comply, they send someone in here to strip us.”

At the thought of someone coming inside to forcefully remove her clothing, Aya hung her head in defeat. This was really happening, she thought, as she slowly kicked off her shoes. Her hands shook the entire time as she pulled each article of clothing she had on off. Once she was completely nude, she crossed one arm over her breasts and placed a hand over her sex for modesty’s sake.

A couple women remained in their clothing, one sobbing hysterically, while the other cried silent tears. Once again, the door opened but it wasn’t Ronald Briggs. Instead it was two extremely large men dressed all in black. They walked over to one of the women who hadn’t undressed. One of the big gorillas grabbed the woman by the arms, while the other proceeded to rip off her clothes.

She screamed. “No! I don’t want this. I don’t want to do this anymore! I want to go home!”

Her words went unheeded as they subjected her to this dehumanizing act. Unable to bite her tongue, Aya shouted, “Leave her alone!” Forgetting she herself was naked, she rushed across the room and began to beat against one of the goon’s back.

A big meaty palm slammed into her chest sending her flying back until she landed hard on her bottom. Steaming mad, she struggled to her feet and would have charged again, when Macy suddenly appeared at her side and grabbed her arm. For someone as thin as the brunette was, she was surprisingly strong. “No, don’t do it.”

She attempted to wrench her arm away. “I can’t just let them do that to her.”

“You don’t want to be labeled a troublemaker. Please.” There was an almost desperate note in Macy’s voice that made Aya pause.

By now the woman the henchmen had accosted was as naked as the rest of them. She lay in a heap on the floor making a sound that was a cross between a scream and a sob. The other woman who had refused to undress had apparently realized the same fate was in store for her and quickly removed her own clothing.

The two big jerks scanned the room before settling their attention on Aya. One of them marched over to her. Before she knew what was happening, he grabbed her arm with one of his huge hands and reached into his pocket with the other. He pulled out a small device and ran it over her arm. Once the device beeped, he returned it to his pocket and released her.

And just like that, goons one and two left the room.

“Oh, no,” Macy whispered.

Aya was almost too scared to ask, but she did anyway. “What just happened?”

“You’ve been labeled.”

“And that’s bad?”

“Very bad.”

Dare hadn’t stepped foot into this part of the headquarters since The Run had officially become his. This section of the house had once been a ballroom but now served as the VIP lounge for the patrons. He eyed those gathered throughout the room, men mostly, with a couple women, drinking champagne and exchanging small talk.

He didn’t have the patience for the pageantry of this process of The Run but with the kind of money the patrons paid to participate, they were owed the opportunity to inspect their perspective prey. The Run was one of Dare’s most profitable businesses, with each patron paying an entry fee of one hundred thousand credits and an additional fifty thousand for each tag they made.

He could have sold the entire outfit to someone else and it not make a dent in his bottom line but he held on to it because it served as a reminder to him that there were two types of people in the world: the winners and the losers. Winners took what they wanted unapologetically while losers complained about all the woes that betided them. Dare had heard the protests from the bleeding hearts who claimed The Run used women who had no choice. Everyone had a choice, succeed or fail. It couldn’t be helped if these women chose failure. It was the choice Aya and her uncle had made when they turned him away. And failure always came at a price. Her uncle was paying his and Aya would finally pay hers.

“Would you like a glass of champagne, sir?” A waiter in an all-black tuxedo offered, not making complete eye contact.

“Get me a real drink. Scotch. One ice cube.”

“Right away, sir.”

Foster appeared as soon as the server scurried away. “Wow, I didn’t know you’d be here today. What’s the special occasion?”

Dare shrugged, not in the mood to give an explanation. “Checking on my business interest.”

Foster chuckled. “Sure you are. As if you didn’t already know your man, Briggs, is running this place like a well-oiled machine. You’ve already told me in not so many words you’re not interested in participating in the game.”

“My prerogative to change my mind.”

“Maybe but there’s a reason you did and I’ll figure it out soon enough.”

“You do that.” He peeked at his watch. “Shouldn’t this thing be starting already?”

Foster smirked. “Someone’s impatient. They should be here anytime now. Briggs comes in and greets everyone and—”

Dare waved his hand dismissively. “I’m familiar with what’s supposed to happen but it seems like the women should have been brought in by now.”

Foster frowned, narrowing his gaze. “You can play the hard ass with other people but we’re friends. What’s got you so anxious?”

“I’m not—”

“It’s me you’re talking to. What’s going on?”

“You’re not going to let it go, are you?”

“No.”

Dare rolled his eyes. “I’ll probably regret even mentioning this to you but—“

“Your drink, Mr. O’Shaughnessy.” The server held his drink. In most circumstances, Dare would have ripped into the kid for interrupting him but instead he took the offered tumbler and waved off the young man, secretly grateful for the interruption. It was difficult to share with Foster exactly what was happening when he wasn’t sure what was going on himself. The fact that Arthur Lane was in jail and Aya was at this very moment regretting her little folly should have been enough to satisfy his need to teach them a lesson, but it wasn’t.

He should have easily forgotten Aya and taken several lovers by now, but all he could think about was the fire that had burned in her eyes when she’d stared at him. It led him to wonder if that fire would burn just as hot when he was inside of her, fucking, claiming, and taking her so completely that all she could think about was him. Dare wanted her to want him to the point of madness. Needed her to crave him until she wanted nothing else. Then and only then would he discard her and she’d be forgotten like the others.

“Dare?” Foster prompted.

He took a deep swig from his glass to stall but again he was saved from answering. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a familiar but unwelcome person approach them.

“Never thought, I’d see the day when the high and mighty Alasdair O’Shaughnessy would join the rest of us lowly humans.” Peter West chuckled and slapped Dare on the back and patted his arm as if they were the best of friends. They were barely business acquaintances.

Dare stared pointedly at the hand that still rested on his arm until it was removed. “West,” he murmured in acknowledgement before taking another gulp of his scotch. Frankly, Dare couldn’t stand the social climbing little weasel. The West family had made their fortune in diamonds years ago when diamonds still had value and they weren’t mass produced in a lab. They had squandered their money on bad business deals and excess living. The only thing that had saved them was Peter marrying a very wealthy older heiress who had the misfortune of dying mysteriously, shortly after the wedding. No one could prove that Peter had had anything to do with his wife’s death but most people who ran in their circles knew what a slimy bastard he was. It was speculated he would eventually run through the several millions he currently had at his disposal because of his extravagant spending habits and rumored drug problem.

Dare was on the board of directors for one of the companies that did business with West’s which gave the other man the false impression that they were somehow friends. He had no respect for the man who was no better than a lazy Dreg in his opinion.

“So what brings you here today?”

“I don’t need a reason to be here. I own this place.”

“Of course. What I meant was, are you participating today?”

“Whether I am or not, I can’t see how it’s any of your business.”

The other man turned slightly pink, but apparently didn’t take the hint to leave them alone. “It’s just that we’ve never seen you here before and people say you think you’re too good to actually show up for one of these events.”

Dare wasn’t known for his patience but the little he had was being thoroughly tested. Never one to make a scene in public, he said as calmly as he could manage, “Well apparently whoever,
they
are, were wrong. Is there a reason you came over here?”

West furrowed his brow, flustered, but recovering just as quickly. “Just wanted to say hello to an old friend.”

“And who might that friend be?” Dare glanced at Foster. “Is he a friend of yours?”

The blond could barely conceal his smirk. “Not to my knowledge.”

“There you go. I suggest you go find that mysterious friend of yours.” Without giving the other man the chance to reply, Dare presented his back to him.

“Well, I-I’ll see you at the next board meeting,” West stammered.

Dare finished off the remainder of his drink without answering him. The server immediately appeared by his side. “Can’t I get you another drink, sir?”

“No. Just take this,” he handed the kid his tumbler.

Foster grinned. “Normally, I’d tell you how rude you just were but I can’t stand that son of a bitch. Something about that guy rubs me the wrong way.”

“He seems to have that effect on most people.”

“But it’s more than that. There’s a huge creep factor with that guy. Besides, the fact that he probably killed his wife, he shows up every month for The Run.”

Dare shrugged. “So what? So do you.”

“You know why I do it. I do it for the thrill of the sport and most of the time when I tag someone, I let the poor woman go. Contrary to what you think, I don’t fuck all of them. Some of these girls are so pitiful you can’t help but feel sorry for them.”

“Careful Fos, you’re starting to sound like one of those bleeding hearts who I’m sure have by now gathered outside of the mansion to protest.”

“Hardly, I’m just saying I see no fun in taking a woman to my bed who’d just lay there like a corpse. I prefer my kittens with claws.”

“So what does that have to do with West?”

“People talk. There’ve been whispers that a lot of the girls he tags don’t always make it out of his house in one piece or alive for that matter. I don’t know how true that is or not but one of my acquaintances attended a party at his house and he has a harem. I was told his women weren’t in good shape. A lot of them were sporting bruises and others more severe injuries.”

“All second hand stories. Besides, he’s not the first person to have a collection. What goes on in his home is none of my business and it shouldn’t be yours either.”

“Don’t you care that he might be brutalizing these women?”

“These women that you’re suddenly championing know what they’re getting into. They’re compensated handsomely for doing this. What happens once the game is over is not my concern.”

Foster recoiled. “Are you serious? Do you hear yourself?”

Dare wasn’t sure how he would have answered his friend’s question because at that moment, the door to the lounge opened, and Ronald walked into the room followed by a line of naked women.

His heart pounded in anticipation as he watched each woman enter the room and instantly dismissed them until the last one walked in. As if she knew he’d been waiting for her, she turned her head in his direction and their gazes collided.

Her lips parted in a gasp.

The corners of his lips curled as he mouthed the word, “gotcha.”

Aya had never been so close to fainting in her life. She should have known he’d be here to witness the final act of her humiliation.
I will have you.
Those words seared her memory, taunting her. Her only hope lay in making it through the weekend without getting caught. Barring that, if she happened to be caught, she might luck out by being tagged by one of the patrons who didn’t plan on keeping her for long.

She fingered the metal band imprisoning her wrist. Macy had warned her about being labeled and this bracelet basically put a target on her back. Unfortunately, Aya didn’t get the opportunity to find out exactly what it meant but only two other women bore it, the two who had been less than cooperative.

“Ladies, I’ll need you to line up in the center of the room,” Mr. Briggs instructed.

Aya took care to keep her gaze averted from
his
general direction, frightened that she might do something that would get her into even more trouble than she already was. Once they were lined up as they’d been told, she wrapped her arms around her body to stop herself from shivering. Cold air blasted from the vents, hardening her nipples and forcing goose bumps to line her skin. It was probably done intentionally. Aya didn’t doubt anything that had to do with this place was unintentional.

Ronald Briggs took his place in front of the shaking women and smiled at the small crowd that had gathered in front of the women. “Welcome everyone to The Run. I’ll briefly explain the rules for the benefit of any new patrons in attendance today, although I see a lot of familiar faces. I hope most of you have taken advantage of the breakfast buffet. Right now while you enjoy the light refreshments being served by our staff, this portion of the event is when you will get to inspect our volunteers. This time will also give you the opportunity to strategize and decide which of our lovely participants may be of interest to you.”

Aya wanted to throw up. This jackass made it sound as if the women here had other options besides trading in their dignity and more than likely their freedom to be an Elite’s plaything for an indeterminate amount of time. She tuned out the rest of the speech.

The women had already been given a briefing about the game which boiled down to trying not to get caught. They wouldn’t even be afforded the basic necessity of clothing to brave the elements in case of an unlikely storm. It was bad enough the sun had been scorching most of the week. Rain would actually be welcome. It sickened Aya to see these so called patrons, gathered around them, sipping their champagne like everything was okay when it wasn’t. She could feel their eyes on her person, staring as if she were a piece of meat and not a human being deserving of the same rights as everyone else.