The Rosey Thorn

Chapter 15

Hello, Rose, a dark voice says before planting a hand over my mouth and another hand roughly spreading my legs. I knew that roughness, Bruno. He always comes in during the night, after everyone has gone to bed.

He roughly entered me. I no longer cry at the intrusion. What was the point? No one was coming. I just laid there as he took me. I fisted the bedsheets and waited. Bruno never took long.

As predicted, he came moaning in my ear saying how good I was. I wanted to rip his ear off as a disgusting look crossed my face. But I know I can’t. It’ll be more beating if I do anything.

Instead, I laid there as he kissed my neck. Until tomorrow, Rose and, as always, keep your mouth shut. You tell El Toro and I’ll kill you. He grabbed his jacket and quickly slipped out.

He always says he’ll kill me. At first, I believed him but as the days passed, I knew he wouldn’t kill me. He was obsessed with me. He would watch me at El Toro’s party. As I walked around the room by El Toro’s side, I always felt his eyes on me. I also watched him. Not out of obsession, but observation.

I watched the people he talked to. I watched the handouts between him, El Toro, and others. I saw what pockets he used the most.

As I lay in bed, my fist opened, revealing a small card with names written on it. I managed to take it out of his jacket when he tossed it next to me. While Bruno was distracted from getting his ‘fun time’, I managed to get it out. As he slept, I would copy the information, hide it, then put it back into his jacket just the way I took it.

I would sit in a chair in the corner watching Bruno sleep, thinking of ways to kill him. Once I started to see him stir, I would lay right next to the filth.

It became a routine. Watch, s*x, sleep, get information, imagine killing, then bed. I would try to memorize everything. I ingrained it in my brain until it became another language. It became a plan. Look for each name and interrogate. That's what I’m doing now.

“Where is Lincoln?” I ask so quietly that you can hear the threat of death in my voice. My victim was hanging from the ceiling, blood covered his body from the cuts I gave him.

“I don’t know where he is,” he cried.

“Of course you do. You are his supplier. You supply him with women. I bet you get a nice fat paycheck for what you do.”

“Please.”

“Look, I’ll make you a deal. Tell me where he lives and where his warehouses are, and I’ll let you live.”

He looked at me, surprised by my offer. He should be because I really want to kill him. “Why?” He croaks. “Why do this?”

“Because I’m looking for someone. A girl who was sold to him. I want to know where she is. You don’t keep files of the women you sold. Smart man, but you do have a list of clients, i***t. So, I know you sell women to Lincoln. So, tell me where he and his warehouses are. Final chance.”

Once again, I pierced my knife through his skin, careful to avoid any major arteries as he groaned in pain. Next, I took a metal pipe, held it like a baseball bat and broke his left kneecap. He howled as his now broken leg hung in the air. He whimpered as he tried to slow his breathing. His body shook, making the chains rattle.

“Want to do this again?” I asked, picking up the pipe again.

“K-Kentucky,” he stammers. “He’s based in Kentucky. That’s his main one, with three more in Georgia, spread around the state.”

“How do I find them?”

Finally, I was getting answers. It took me a month to find this sleaze ball, to track him down, and capture him. I had to pretend that I was interested in him and wanted to have a wild night. I was ready to vomit as his hands roamed my body. I think I spit up a little when I finally got him alone. I hit him hard on the head so that he blacks out and here we are.

“There’s a bar in Duluth at the edge of town. It’s where men go to for women. They are either given an address or are escorted — only if they aren’t to be trusted.”

“What about Kentucky?” I asked.

“That’s where men pay a lot of money for the best women. They get to choose who they want, and Lincoln handles that one. That’s his prize. He only leaves Kentucky occasionally, to check his other warehouses in Georgia. But Kentucky is where he will be.”

“Where in Kentucky?”

“Paris. Paris, Kentucky.”

I dropped my pipe, turning my back on him. Alright, I got the information I needed. Finally, I’m getting somewhere. First, I will get Cielo, then El Toro.

“Hey, I gave you what you wanted. Now, let me down.” I turned back to him and smiled. He flinched. “You’re not going to, are you?”

“No,” I replied. “You're not going to be selling anymore.”

I pointed my gun at him. “Be ready girl. You’re about to enter the s*x trafficking world. You may not handle the underworld.”

“I just left that world. I know what happens, and I’m prepared to do whatever is necessary to get Cielo back.”

Bang! The shot echoed throughout the building. I’m coming Cielo. Just like I promised.