Sophie Oak - Siren Unleashed

Houston, TX

Nat groaned and wondered why her head was so heavy.

Shhh. Be quiet. A harsh voice bit through the darkness.

Damn it. She had to open her eyes. Why did it feel like she had weights drawing the lids down? Party. She remembered a party. Right? No. Not really a party. Shed been at the club. Haven. She liked Haven. It was where shed met Tony. She wasnt madly in love with Tony, but they had fun.

Until hed wanted her to sign a contract and take a collar. Why did guys want to move so fast?

And why the fuck was her head swimming?

She forced her eyes open. Well, tried. Her eyes couldnt be open. It was still so damn dark. Where the hell was she? Through the haze of headache and nausea, she thought back to the last moment she could remember.

Tony, smiling at her, but it was a weird smile. He had her in handcuffs, part of their negotiated scene, but he hadnt said the words she would have thought he would say. Hed talked about someone.

Master Hawk.

She didnt like Master Hawk. She thought he was a douchebag pretender sadist who didnt give anything back. And his two subs were sheep.

Nat was a sub, but she wasnt a sheep. Shed never signed a full contract. Doubted she ever would. She enjoyed submitting for play and to relax. Otherwise, she kind of wanted to punch the dude who told her what to do, but after the day was done, yeah, it was a way to unwind.

Why couldnt Tony see that?

Keep quiet. Maybe he wont come in.

Who the fuck kept talking?

So who wont come in? Someone turn the fucking light on. Was this some weird sort of sensory deprivation scene?

Shut up. Do you want to get your ass whipped? If you dont tone it down, youre going to get all of us in trouble. The words sounded hissed through angry lips.

She tried to stretch, but her hands met cold metal bars.

Bars? A little bit of panic started to thrum through her system.

Please try to be nice, a new voice said. Shes new here. She doesnt know the rules yet.

She sort of kind of recognized that voice. What was her name? Kat? Shed seen her around the club. The kind of sub that made Nats skin crawl. She would call herself i, never thinking to capitalize because she wasnt worthy of a capital letter. Kitty? She was with Master Hawk, a pale shadow of an actual woman. She was pretty in a particularly bland way since she never showed an emotion and referred to herself in the third person.

She was a true slave. Nat didnt want to have anything to do with that. The whole term slave was what had forced her hand with Tony. The minute hed called her slave instead of sub, shed known the relationship was just about over.

Shed just wanted a little fun, a little stress relief. Why had he tried to force her to be a slave?

Where am I? This time she kept her voice low. She wanted to shout and scream and rattle the fucking cage, but she needed to assess the situation first.

How many times do I have to tell you to shut the fuck up?

Nat really didnt like that nasally voice. What was Hawks other slave called? She barely registered in Nats brain except that the slightly older woman seemed to shoot daggers the younger ones way every time she thought no one was looking.

The softer voice responded, and a warm hand covered her shoulder. Youre here. And thats all that matters.

Here? Where is here?

Miss Nose Breather snorted. Welcome to Hell. Try not to get the rest of us killed.

Killed? Nat forced herself to take a long, deep breath. Her head was pounding. She was in the dark. The last thing she could remember was Tony grinning down at her as he held her hand out toward another man.

Oh, god, shed been drugged. And now she was in a dark, metally place. A cage. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She was in a cage.

Where the fuck am I? She reached out and grabbed the bars of the cage and pulled. She tried to stand, but her head met hard metal.

Shhh. Its our nighttime cage. Its sleepy time. Kitten. Her name was Kitten.

I want out. She couldnt be stuck in a cage. She had to work. She had a full client list tomorrow. Her rent was due, and if she didnt get that check to Lars, he really would pack her shit up and toss it out in the garbage bin.

She couldnt be stuck in a cage.

Nasally Whine started in again. Theres no way out. So shut the fuck up or one of us is going to get killed. Probably me. Its always fucking me. Hes going to kill me now that he has a younger slave.

A choked sob cut through the silence. The older slave was crying.

The door opened, and Kittens hand slid over Nats. Dont worry. The pain wont last forever.

The cage opened and Nat was pulled out.

The other girl was right.

This was Hell.

Four years later

Willow Fork, TX

Natalie Buchanan hated dead bodies. Yet they just kept turning up. At least she hadnt been the direct cause of this one.

How long until the ambulance is here? Nat asked. She needed to get out of the small room, but she couldnt force herself to move. If she moved, even an inch, she just might run, and she couldnt do that. She was a professional. She could handle this.

Chris Linwood sighed, looking down at the body briefly. It might be a while. The hospital told me there was a bad traffic accident out on the highway, and living bodies take precedence over corpses. He turned his green eyes toward her. Are you all right?

Her hands were shaking. Her gut was in complete turmoil. Stan Kirkman was lying on her massage table, his eyes wide open and glassy, nothing left to animate his big body. Hed been the self-proclaimed low-priced Furniture King of East Texas, his commercials running on local stations late at night. Hed been coming to her once a week since the Willow Fork Tranquility Spa had opened.

Why, oh why did he have to have a heart attack now? She wasnt at all surprised that the man had up and died. He looked perfectly fit, but shed seen how much bacon was in the dudes diet.

I called the cops, too. Its procedure. Melissa is out in the lobby, keeping everyone out. Melissa was the receptionist. She was also a terrible gossip. She would be on the phone to everyone while she watched the door. Chris took her hand. Gabys on her way. Is there something you want to tell me?

She felt her eyes widen. No. Why?

Chris was the second-in-command to his boss, Gabrielle Reed. One of his main jobs was handling employee relations. He was a good supervisor. Nat was beginning to wonder if he would still be her supervisor in a few minutes. He was looking at her with deep sympathy in his eyes.

Chris, when I left him, he was perfectly fine. I didnt do anything unusual. It was exactly the same massage Ive been giving him for over a year. Deep tissue. He liked it a little rough. Shit. That sounded bad.

His lips turned down. Sweetie, I can smell the sex in this room.

Nat took a deep whiff and sure enough, there it was. Eww. Damn it. I should have known he wasnt taking a freaking nap. She strode out the door and into the tiny hallway. Lit with serene lights, one whole wall was a rock waterfall. Soft, melodic music played. None of it soothed her right now. She forced oxygen into her lungs.

Chris followed her out. What are you trying to say, Nat?