Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
She would be moving from one property owner to the next. She rolled over, tucking one arm under her pillow, balling it up and testing the comfortability. Several times she readjusted, but nothing worked. Unable to fall back to sleep, she sat up and thought about her fate and the life she’d never have.
Her chest tightened as the minutes that she lay awake turned into hours. The hours had ticked down until she became the property of someone else. She swallowed hard, it was so loud she wondered if she had woken up someone in the house, but there was no movement outside her door. Even though she was restless, Hope refused to get out of her bed in fear that one of her guards would come check in on her. Sitting there in the dark gave her a lot of time to think about the years of abuse and mistreatment.
During that reflection, she came to an important realization. Her father held no control over her once she belonged to Navarro. If, for whatever reason she couldn’t run away, she could use Navarro to destroy her father.
The alarm had gone off, and the true countdown had begun. Hope had dressed for her inspection and handoff and then waited for the dreaded summons.
The single knock on the bedroom door resonated in her ears like iron bars slamming shut. Steeling her expression, she slid her purse across her body before opening the door.
“It’s time to go,” Cummings informed her with the curt, unfeeling tone he’d always given her.
She didn’t resist. Instead, she marched out of the room with her head held high. He could no longer destroy her. The sway he thought he held over her vanished the second he made a deal with Navarro. I will get my revenge, she thought.
“Wait,” he hollered, rushing down the steps to catch up to her. Cummings stepped up to his daughter and pretended to give her a hug, but instead, he leaned in to whisper, “You better still be pure, or your body will be on the slab. Don’t embarrass me and be a whore like your mother. She suffered those consequences.”
She gasped at the insinuation that he murdered her mother. Knowing that he inflicted pain, he smiled to himself as he opened the door, holding it for her to pass.
She nodded, a closed-lipped smile stretching across her face as she stepped in front of him. With her newfound confidence, she stared into his heartless eyes and said, “Smile away, Father. Remember…please do remember this. Once he takes my innocence and I make him putty in my hands, I’ll only have one request—One bullet to your temple.” She raised her hand, forming her hand into the shape of a gun and pointing it at his head. “Boom.”
Cummings flinched. Hope winked and blew him a kiss before striding over to the waiting goons. Her verbal jab hit its mark and stunned Cummings, creating a new paranoia. He closed the door, wondering if it was best to kill her after Navarro gave him the money.
Two guards led her to the car, where the driver waited with the door open. They helped her into the backseat. One stepped in behind her while the other dumped her luggage into the trunk, while the driver took his seat.
Driving away from the estate, she took a deep breath and asked them, “What makes you guys so willing to help commit human trafficking? I mean, that must make you all pretty depraved.”
Jimmy, the guard in the passenger seat, scoffed, while the one at her side answered, “A job is a job. You’re not going to get us to feel sorry. The last guy got capped for it. Relax and accept your fate.”
I knew it.
“You could always look the other way. Lie and say I escaped, running to a police officer or something,” she offered. She’d met these men before, and they were just as fucked up as her father.
The driver spoke up. “He owns the cops. Just calm down. It won’t be that bad. You’re going to give it up to a guy who will last two minutes in ya, then you’ll be lavished with all the finer things that even your daddy didn’t give ya.”
“Whatever, thugs one, two, and three. I hope you comprehend how irrelevant you all are, you fucking cunts. I don’t remember any of your names because none of you are important. You’re nothing more than human trafficking lackeys.” Hope glared out the window, silently enjoying their grumblings. She smirked, covering her face as she watched their expressions harden.
They raised the divider, cursing under their breaths, ignoring her for the rest of the ride. The guy at her side was playing with his phone. It looked like some game and made her laugh to herself. He should be keeping an eye on the surroundings and her, but instead, he was on his phone. She was sure her father would love that. While they ignored, she took the time to familiarize herself with the neighborhood they entered. The streets weren’t full of people, but they were busy enough for her to sneak away unnoticed if she got a shot.