Natasha

’’Help!’’ I yell, swinging my legs harder. Help me!

The couple stops and looks at me before I look at them and the man with the earpiece. "Help, please!"

I crash into the door, quickly climb over the metal bars and crawl to the other side. I drop down at the couple's feet and grab the man's arm. His eyes widen and he recoils in surprise.

‘’I've been kidnapped," I gasp, taking a deep breath. Please, I shouldn't be here. I need to call my husband. His name is Roger Costner, he owns Holdings Manufacturing. He...

My eyes drop to the woman's neck and my throat closes. I let go of the man's arm and take a step back, my eyes fixed on the loop of the black collar and the handle of the leash the man holds in his hand.

I glance up to look at the woman's face, but she stares at the ground.

"You must be fresh," the man says with a chuckle, and my gaze falls on him. Lucian's eyes had a sinister edge to them, but this man's eyes are pure violence. All pain. All evil pleasure.

I take another step back and crash into the fence. The man laughs.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"She doesn't have one yet."

I startle at the sound of Lucian's voice and turn to face him through the gate. His mouth opens into a smile as our gazes meet.

''I think it should be something nice. And with a lot of energy.''

''Mmm,'' the man muses. ''Maybe the name of a plant.''

‘’Clover," Lucian suggests.

"Ivy."

"Ooh, I like that." Lucian winks at me and then signals to the guy on the headset. The door opens and I finally snap out of my paralyzed state. I step out of the door, but the man easily grabs me and squeezes me against his chest.

"Really, Ivy?" asks Lucian, arching an eyebrow. "You're going to run away again? You don't learn fast, do you?"

"Let go of me!" I say dismissively, pulling out of the man's grip.

Lucian walks over to me and grabs my chin hard. "All right, Ivy. I'm going to explain it to you one more time, so pay attention. This is a private island. Everyone on it knows the status of the sex slaves. We can play cat and mouse if you want, but eventually I'm going to get tired of it, and you're going to meet someone much crueler than Mr. J. And even though you're a mansion prostitute, I'm not opposed to allowing sleepovers, so..." She lowers her gaze to my lips and releases my chin. "Can we go back inside so I can give you the rest of the tour? I'm sure your friends are looking forward to seeing you."

As I stare into Lucian's deceptively calm green eyes, I feel a sense of defeat wash over me and weigh down every cell in my body. I'm standing on concrete, but I feel as if I'm sinking into the ground.

I am not going home. Not now, not ever. If I don't find a way off this island, I will live the rest of my days as a prostitute, and I don't even know what that entails.

"Why me?", I ask, my voice cracking with hope. It's pathetic, but a part of me hopes he'll give me reassuring words, just like the other women. I wouldn't believe him, but maybe he could say something that would soften the blow. Or at least explain to me why and how I ended up here.

He pushes my hair behind my ear and I cringe.

"Why not you?" he leans in and takes a deep breath through his nose, which is between my hair. "My little Manhattan peasant girl."

My muscles tense and my ears burn. I feel his lips twitch as he smiles.

As my heart drops to my stomach, my mind flashes back to the countless conversations I had with who I now know to be this man. This imposter. This monster.

Rickhummer.

How could I have been so stupid?

He turns away and smiles as if he enjoys every bit of my disgust, not just for him, but for myself. I almost agreed to meet this man. I was willing to throw my marriage away for a long shot with this fucker. My anger burns until my blood boils, and I channel all the hatred I feel for myself into hatred for him.

I gather what little saliva I have in my mouth and spit in his face, feeling my first moment of victory when his smile disappears.