Chapter 7

Waking, I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, processing where I was and how I'd gotten there. Sitting up I blinked in the early morning light. I'd left my apartment? Shivering, reality hit me all at once. That Jasper guy had done all of this to me. I couldn't go home, I couldn't go to work. I was stuck. Sighing I wiggled out of bed and froze. Wait. These pajamas, when did I put them on? I plucked at them to get a better look. They weren't exactly like my own, but they were eerily similar.

A knock at the door got my attention. "Pet, are you awake? I've made breakfast for you. Can I come in?"

I grabbed the covers on the bed and pulled them up so they covered me. "Sergio? How did I get dressed?"

"I'm coming in, I'll keep my eyes closed until you tell me otherwise." Sergio cracked the door open and true to his words he kept his eyes shut as he walked in with a tray in hand laden with an assortment of food. He set it down on the table and faced my way. "You must have forgotten, Pet. You were so tired when you got here last night. I was beginning to worry that something truly awful had happened to you. You were tired but you changed when I got you this room."

I'd changed myself? I didn't remember any of that, but I had been so tired the night before. Maybe Jasper really had drugged my food. "I see." Sergio continued to stand there with his eyes shut and I let the covers fall to my lap. It's not like I was wearing anything sexy and the girls at the café had shown far more skin. "You can look now."

"Thank you, Pet." He opened his eyes and smiled. "Ah, forgive me, you must have forgotten what I told you last night. There are clothes in the closet you can wear."

"Why would you have women's clothes in your closet?" I blurted out then winced. What was it my business what kind of clothes he owned? "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay, Pet. It's natural for you to be curious. I've helped many of my girls throughout the years have a place of safety if needed. Luckily for you, you just happen to be the same size as the last one."

A chill spread through me but I pushed it away. "What did you make? It smells spicy?" I questioned, sniffing the air. I didn't expect breakfast to be spicy.

"I made you some Shakshuka. The spice is to help cleanse your system of anything that might have been left behind by that vermin of a man. But don't worry. You're safe here, Pet. You'll always be safe." He brought the tray over to me and took the top of the silver dome off. Why in the world did he feel the need to do this?

"Sergio, thank you." I shook my head, trying to piece together what I wanted to say. "Thank you isn't enough for what you did. I really don't know what I would have done if I had stayed there." I grabbed my knees and hugged them tight as my body trembled. I tried to stop it, but nothing worked. "I could have died."

Sergio set the tray down again and took a seat beside me rubbing my back and didn't stop until my trembling did. "Pet, you don't need to be afraid ever again. Jasper will never touch you, he'll never so much as see you again. I'll take care of that myself."

Frowning I reached out to him, snagging his arm in the process and holding tight. "But, you could get hurt. He'll probably give up now that I can't be found. And when I don't show up at work-"

Sergio gently removed my hand from him. "You're not allowed to quit. You'd be letting him win if you did that, Pet. I need you at the cafe, it won't be the same without you."

I winced. "But-"

"No," Sergio replied with a firm shake of his head as he picked up the steaming plate and grabbed the fork. "You can stay here, but you will continue to work. I won't allow him into the building so you have nothing to worry about. Besides, it's easier for me to protect you from there, than for me to be at work and for you to be here."

Mind racing I could just imagine how the girls would treat me when I actually came in with Sergio and left with him every shift. "The others are going to hate me," I whispered.

"What they do or want isn't important. The only one who should matter to you is me since I'm the one protecting you, Pet. I won't let anything bad happen to you. Now, you need to eat."

I winced at the red and green meal. Whole tomatoes, green peppers, and jalapenos with an egg? I enjoyed food, but why did he have to bring peppers of all things? "I'm not hungry."

"You're always hungry." Sergio narrowed his eyes. "Tell the truth, Sonja. You don't want to eat this because you don't like peppers, right? That's not good. You need to have a healthy diet to keep your strength up, and we need to burn whatever is in your system away. Open your mouth, and eat."

He cut a piece of the egg and dipped it into tomato and pepper sauce. Holding it to my lips I closed my eyes and opened my mouth. I hated this, but it was still better than dealing with Jasper. Who knows how that would have ended up. The spice tickled my tongue and the more I chewed the faster it spread until my whole mouth was on fire. Gasping I fanned my tongue and Sergio pushed a cold glass of milk into my hand. I didn't hesitate as I took a long sip.

"Good job, Pet," Sergio praised. "See it's not that bad, and it will help. I need you to eat it all." Instead of handing me the fork he cut off another bite and I gulped. "Next bite."

"I can feed myself," I offered, grabbing the fork.

He moved the utensil out of my way, shaking his head. "Open," he ordered again. This man was giving me no choice.

I opened my mouth again and allowed myself to be fed bite by bite the spicy mixture, hating every crunch as the peppers were ground to bits by my teeth. I hated it, but I was still grateful for it. For him. When I'd finished the whole plate I breathed a sigh of relief. No more torture. "Thank you."

Sergio smiled. "Thank you for finishing my food, Pet. I'll let you get dressed. I hope you find something to your liking here, if not let me know and I will obtain something better.

He left my side and pulled the door behind him, but not all the way, it didn't click. Was he trying to sneak a peek? Biting my lip I rolled my eyes at myself. I was not even close to being an object for Sergio to lust after. He had all manner of hot women around him at any time. I was ordinary at best. I slipped out of the bed and padded over to the closest, opening it and inspecting the items within. Another chill crawled up my neck.

They weren't exact, but so many of these clothes were eerily similar to things I owned, or things I liked. My style, my colors, even my size. I know he had told me that others had stayed here before, but did that really explain something like this? Chiding myself for being silly I grabbed a long cap sleeved dress with a rainbow pattern and got dressed. Finding a pair of sandals I slipped my feet in and padded to the door.

Just like I'd noticed earlier, the lock was only on one side. All Sergio had to do was push this door closed, and I'd be a prisoner. Why would such a setup exist? Maybe this was a storage room at some point? Locked from the outside to keep it safe?

Pulling the door open again, Sergio nodded at me from beyond it. Had he waited the entire time? No, why in the world would he? His eyes strayed down, taking in my appearance and his lip curved into a smile. "I'm glad to see that they fit. You look wonderful, Pet."

I could count the times that Sergio complimented my appearance before on one hand. Flushing, I glanced away from him. "It's really hot in that room. I wanted something light to move around in." When I'd chosen it I hadn't noticed how the fabric clung to my frame like a second skin. A fact I was painfully aware of now.

"Too hot?" Sergio frowned. "I'll look into it. I'm sorry, Pet. We both have the day off today, so why don't we play a game to take your mind off of yesterday's unpleasantness?"

A game? Sergio didn't seem the type.

"What? I don't look like a guy that enjoys games? Pet, you wound me. Go wash up and come downstairs when you're ready. I'll get everything set for you."

He didn't give me a chance to answer as he left my side and I was left alone. Would have been nice if he had let me know where exactly the bathroom was in the first place, but it only took a couple of rooms for me to find it. Turning on the light I turned on the water and soaped up my hands. As the chocolate, orange, and cinnamon scent tickled my nose I froze mid scrub and picked up the soap bottle.

Why was my exact brand of soap here? And not just the soap, the toothpaste, and even the shampoo. Everything was the exact kind I used.