building who I can almost trust.
I have to remember my place, though,
and stick to my expected role with Leo. I’m supposed to be his submissive
captive. To Mark and the other men , I have to appear
wary of Leo. I have to play my part in his show, too.
The truth is I don’t really get the
chance. When Leo finishes undoing my restraints, he moves on immediately to
his charade, or what I have to hope is his charade. He grabs me by the arm and
practically rips it from my socket as he pulls me toward the door. I stumble to
keep up with him, almost face - planting before I find
my footing. He’s doing a little too good of a job with this act.
7
Proximity
When we’re outside the door and on our
way down the hallway , I rip my hand from Leo’s grasp.
He turns to me with a furious look and grabs my hand again, pulling me around
to a stop to face him.
“You shouldn’t talk back to him,” he
whispers through clenched teeth. “You’re asking for trouble the moment you
open your mouth against him. You haven’t figured that out yet?”
He’s scolding me, and it pisses me off,
only fueling the fire within me. “Sorry, I have a hard time keeping my fucking
mouth shut if you haven’t figured that out yet.”
After a moment Leo’s face softens. The
glare of annoyance and frustration leaves him, replaced by a look of concern.
He tilts my head back with a slight push of my chin and inspects my neck. “We
need to fix this up. Come on.”
“Why you?” I say as he pulls me by the
arm again down the hallway.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re always the one treating
my injuries . Are you some kind of doctor?”
We stop briefly outside a small office.
Leo grabs a first aid kit from a shelf just inside the door.
“I’m no t a doctor, but I’ve been learning from one. It’s important to have useful
skills in this business. Having a purpose is a good way to ensure survival.”
“I’m glad.” He looks back at me with
confusion, so I clarify my comment. “I’m glad it’s you doing this part .”
With an uneasy smile, Leo leads us
through the building and back to the cell I’ve become so familiar with.
He opens the door and motions me
inside. I pause for a moment, my body reluctant to go in at first before I remember who I’m with. After spending most of the day in
the main room with Mark and the other men, it’s hard for me to remember that
Leo isn’t the same as all of them, or at least he doesn’t seem to be the same.
I take a seat on the cot, and despite
how hard and uncomfortable it is , I feel the desire to
lie down on it and fall immediately to sleep. Being in this place in a
constant state of fear and pain and worry about the unknown is utterly
exhausting.
Leo sits down next to me. “You okay?”
“Tired,” I reply.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
I anticipate the next words out of his
mouth. “And there’s more to come, right?”
My insight into Leo’s thoughts causes a small smile to work its way into hi s face. I really wish he didn’t have such a nice smile. D ark strands of hair are falling in his face again, another thing I
wish would stop happening. Why does this man have to be so damn good-looking ?
Leo focuses on the first aid kit next to him, digging around in it until he pulls out some
small packages of gauze and a bottle of rubbing
alcohol . He returns his attention to me with a look of debate flickering over his face. “Why don’t you lie down
so I can get a better look at your neck?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I’m
surprised by my bit of humor, and I love that he read my mind about my body’s
desire to return to a horizontal state.
I lie down on my back as Leo readjusts
to kneel on the floor. He tears open one of the small packages and wets
the gauze with rubbing alcohol. “This might sting.”
He wasn’t kidding. It stings like a
motherfucker as he touches the gauze to my
I have to remember my place, though,
and stick to my expected role with Leo. I’m supposed to be his submissive
captive. To Mark and the other men , I have to appear
wary of Leo. I have to play my part in his show, too.
The truth is I don’t really get the
chance. When Leo finishes undoing my restraints, he moves on immediately to
his charade, or what I have to hope is his charade. He grabs me by the arm and
practically rips it from my socket as he pulls me toward the door. I stumble to
keep up with him, almost face - planting before I find
my footing. He’s doing a little too good of a job with this act.
7
Proximity
When we’re outside the door and on our
way down the hallway , I rip my hand from Leo’s grasp.
He turns to me with a furious look and grabs my hand again, pulling me around
to a stop to face him.
“You shouldn’t talk back to him,” he
whispers through clenched teeth. “You’re asking for trouble the moment you
open your mouth against him. You haven’t figured that out yet?”
He’s scolding me, and it pisses me off,
only fueling the fire within me. “Sorry, I have a hard time keeping my fucking
mouth shut if you haven’t figured that out yet.”
After a moment Leo’s face softens. The
glare of annoyance and frustration leaves him, replaced by a look of concern.
He tilts my head back with a slight push of my chin and inspects my neck. “We
need to fix this up. Come on.”
“Why you?” I say as he pulls me by the
arm again down the hallway.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re always the one treating
my injuries . Are you some kind of doctor?”
We stop briefly outside a small office.
Leo grabs a first aid kit from a shelf just inside the door.
“I’m no t a doctor, but I’ve been learning from one. It’s important to have useful
skills in this business. Having a purpose is a good way to ensure survival.”
“I’m glad.” He looks back at me with
confusion, so I clarify my comment. “I’m glad it’s you doing this part .”
With an uneasy smile, Leo leads us
through the building and back to the cell I’ve become so familiar with.
He opens the door and motions me
inside. I pause for a moment, my body reluctant to go in at first before I remember who I’m with. After spending most of the day in
the main room with Mark and the other men, it’s hard for me to remember that
Leo isn’t the same as all of them, or at least he doesn’t seem to be the same.
I take a seat on the cot, and despite
how hard and uncomfortable it is , I feel the desire to
lie down on it and fall immediately to sleep. Being in this place in a
constant state of fear and pain and worry about the unknown is utterly
exhausting.
Leo sits down next to me. “You okay?”
“Tired,” I reply.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
I anticipate the next words out of his
mouth. “And there’s more to come, right?”
My insight into Leo’s thoughts causes a small smile to work its way into hi s face. I really wish he didn’t have such a nice smile. D ark strands of hair are falling in his face again, another thing I
wish would stop happening. Why does this man have to be so damn good-looking ?
Leo focuses on the first aid kit next to him, digging around in it until he pulls out some
small packages of gauze and a bottle of rubbing
alcohol . He returns his attention to me with a look of debate flickering over his face. “Why don’t you lie down
so I can get a better look at your neck?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I’m
surprised by my bit of humor, and I love that he read my mind about my body’s
desire to return to a horizontal state.
I lie down on my back as Leo readjusts
to kneel on the floor. He tears open one of the small packages and wets
the gauze with rubbing alcohol. “This might sting.”
He wasn’t kidding. It stings like a
motherfucker as he touches the gauze to my
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