Chapter 67: Adam’s Great Escape

The water is too hot, but I don’t care. It scalds my skin, turning it red and raw, but I just huddle beneath the spray, letting it wash over me. My body shakes uncontrollably, whether from the drugs or the exhaustion or the sheer shock of what’s happened, I don’t know.

Mia holds me in her arms, her muscular frame a stark contrast to my trembling one. Her embrace is tight and unyielding as she kneels beside me on the shower floor, the water pouring over both of us. I don’t want her touch, but I’m too broken right now to pull away.

“Shhh,” she whispers, her voice barely audible over the rush of water. “It’s okay. I’m sorry.”

I don’t respond. Can’t respond. My throat is raw from screaming, my eyes burning from tears that won’t stop coming. I bury my face against her shoulder and sob like a child.

She kisses the top of my head, her lips warm against my wet hair. “I’ll take care of you,” she murmurs, but the promise feels hollow and terrifying.

I don’t feel comfortable with Mia at all.

The hours blurred together in a haze of pain and humiliation. The women took turns with me until my body felt like it wasn’t mine anymore until everything was reduced to a cycle of pleasure and despair that left me numb and empty inside.

And now here I am in Mia’s arms, crying like a baby while she strokes my back with a gentleness that makes me want to scream all over again.

I pull away from her, my movements sluggish and uncoordinated. My damaged hands hang limply at my sides as I try to put some distance between us in the cramped shower stall.

Mia watches me with those dark eyes that seem to see right through me. She reaches out to tuck a strand of wet hair behind my ear, but I flinch away from her touch.

She sighs softly, shutting off the water before standing up. “Come on,” she says, her voice more commanding now. “Let’s get you dried off.”

I follow her out of the shower on shaky legs, not because I want to but because there’s nothing else I can do. She wraps a towel around my shoulders and guides me toward the mattress where they had me chained up earlier. It’s been stripped bare now, clean sheets replacing the sweat-soaked ones from before.

My body sinks into the mattress with an exhausted groan as Mia towels off her own hair before tossing it aside carelessly.

Mia settles beside me, her body curling around mine in a way that makes me want to scream. I feel her breath against my neck as she spoons me. Her muscular arm wraps around my waist, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us.

“You’re going to be happy here, Adam,” she whispers, her voice carrying the same note of certainty that makes it sound like a command. “I’ll make sure of it.”

I stare at the cracked ceiling above us, my vision blurring with tears I can’t hold back. The room spins lazily around me as the drugs continue their slow, relentless assault on my senses.

“We’ll have a good life together,” Mia continues, her lips brushing against my skin in a way that should be gentle but feels suffocating. “Once Luna’s done with Caterina, you won’t have to worry about anything.”

Her words sink into me like poison, each one twisting deeper until I can’t breathe around the knot in my chest. I bite down on the inside of my cheek, trying to ground myself against the growing despair.

“You’ll see,” she murmurs, pressing a kiss to my neck. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Safe. The word echoes hollowly in my mind, a promise that means nothing when everything I care about is gone. My throat tightens painfully as I think of Caterina’s face when she realizes what’s happened to me, the rage and hurt that will consume her when she sees what they’ve done.

The tears spill over, hot and unwelcome, as they slide down my cheeks. I wish I could stop them, but it’s impossible under Mia’s relentless insistence and the drugs’ numbing embrace.

“It’s going to be okay,” Mia says again, her voice almost tender now. She nuzzles against me like we’re lovers sharing an intimate moment rather than captor and captive caught in a nightmare.

I close my eyes against the sting of tears, shame, and hopelessness. There’s no escape from this except one that feels more distant by the second. Even death seems like a luxury beyond reach.

The thought claws at me with desperate urgency. I wish I could just kill myself right now.

But I can’t even do that. Not while Mia holds me so tightly in her arms. Not while Luna has plans for me that extend beyond what any sane person could endure.

“Shh,” Mia soothes as if sensing the turmoil inside me. Her grip tightens around my waist.

I want to scream or fight or disappear entirely into the void where none of this matters anymore. But all I can do is lie there beside her on the mattress while she whispers promises of a future I don’t want and kisses away tears that refuse to stop falling.

Mia’s breathing slows, her grip on me loosening as she finally drifts into a heavy sleep. I lie perfectly still, my heart pounding in my chest, waiting for any sign she might wake.

After what feels like an eternity, I begin to move. Her arm is still draped over my waist, but it’s slack now, no longer the steel trap it was before. I twist carefully, inch by inch until I’m free from her grasp. My heart races with the first flicker of hope I’ve felt since they took me.

I glance down at my wrists and realize with a jolt that there are no bindings. No ropes or chains holding me in place. Just Mia’s possessive embrace.

I roll off the mattress, landing awkwardly on the floor. My damaged hands are useless for balance, but I manage to keep from making too much noise as I hit the concrete.

Mia stirs slightly, mumbling something in her sleep. I freeze, terror clawing up my throat as I wait for her to wake and drag me back to hell.

But she doesn’t wake. Her breathing evens out again, deep and steady.

I’m naked and shaking as I crawl across the warehouse floor. Each movement sends jolts of pain through my body, but I grit my teeth and push forward. The vast space stretches endlessly around me in the dim light, every shadow a potential threat.

The other women must be in another part of the building or asleep like Mia because no one stops me as I make my way toward the exit.

The metal door looms ahead of me like a beacon of salvation. My pulse hammers in my ears as I get closer, each inch feeling like a mile.

I reach the door and push myself to my feet with effort. My legs tremble beneath me, barely able to support my weight after everything they’ve put me through. But adrenaline and desperation keep me upright long enough to reach for the handle with my elbow.

The door swings open easily, almost too easily.

‘Freedom baby! Finally!!!’

My heart sinks as Luna’s silhouette comes into focus against the night sky. She leans casually against the wall just outside, her Hawaiian shirt vibrant even in the darkness.

“Oh,” she says with an exaggerated tone that doesn’t reach her eyes. “What a surprise.”

“Fuck.” I stagger backward, panic crashing over me like a tidal wave.

Luna steps inside, letting the door swing shut behind her with a solid thud that echoes through the warehouse like a death knell.

“You didn’t even say goodbye,” she pouts, her green eyes gleaming with amusement as she advances on me with predatory grace.

I stumble away from her, retreating back toward Mia’s sleeping form on shaky legs that feel ready to give out at any moment.

“Adam, Adam, Adam,” Luna sighs, that terrible grin stretching across her face as she closes the distance between us. “You are the unluckiest man I’ve ever met in my life.”

I backpedal wildly, my body screaming in protest with every step.

“But since you still have some fight left in you,” she continues, her voice dripping with mock sympathy, “we’re going to have to do something about that.”

My heel catches on the edge of the mattress. I fall backward, landing hard beside Mia’s sleeping form. Her arm flops over me as she stirs awake, blinking blearily at the sudden commotion.

“Adam?” she says confusedly, her voice thick with sleep. She sits up, her dark eyes immediately narrowing as she takes in the scene.

Luna stops at the edge of the mattress, looking down at us with undisguised amusement. “Adam here just tried to escape while you were sleeping.”

Mia’s expression shifts from confusion to anger in an instant. Her nostrils flare as she processes Luna’s words.

“Where the fuck did you think you were going?” Mia demands, grabbing my shoulders with bruising force. Her eyes burn with rage as she pulls me back against her chest.

She wraps one muscular arm around my waist like a vice, pinning me against her even as I struggle weakly in her grip.

Luna watches with a smirk playing at the corners of her lips. “Better keep a closer eye on him,” she taunts. “Caterina’s pet is slipperier than he looks.”

Mia growls low in her throat, tightening her hold until I can barely breathe. “I thought we had an understanding,” she says, her voice carrying that dangerous edge I’ve come to dread.

The room spins around me as panic and exhaustion crash over me in waves. My body is too broken to fight properly, but I thrash against Mia’s ironclad embrace with what little strength I have left.

“You’re not leaving,” Mia hisses in my ear. “Not ever.”

Luna’s laughter fills my ears, drowning out everything else. “What do you think we should do to poor Adam here to dissuade him from trying to escape again?”

Mia doesn’t hesitate. She leans in, her tongue dragging across my neck to my ear. It feels disgusting. “Mmm, I just adore those sweet young boys with gap-toothed smiles. So innocent-looking.”

I start crying again, the tears hot and shameful on my cheeks. “What the fuck?”

Luna’s eyes light up with manic excitement. “Stay right there! I’ll get the pliers!” She skips away, her laughter echoing off the concrete walls.

“Please… please, God, no,” I whisper as Mia tightens her grip on me.

“Stop whining. It won’t be so bad.”