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Captured in the dark

"Who's been wrong about what?" I mutter.

Illuminated by candlelight, he looks even more handsome up close. He has a square jaw, bright green eyes and dark hair neatly combed back.

What is he doing here?

"That man with your mother. You don't start fucking her between the legs right away. You have to warm him up first. It makes the experience much more pleasurable for both participants," he replies and then winks at me.

I open my mouth to say something, but I can't find the words. He has left me silent. It wasn't the answer I expected to hear from him. But I didn't expect him to be here either.

"Who are you, what are you doing here?" I finally manage to ask.

"My name is Eliot Snow . And I've come to collect what is mine."

ELIOT

"I have come to collect what is mine."

I have waited what seemed like a lifetime to say those words, but it has been precisely eighteen years. I was twelve when I first learned the truth, and today I am thirty. May the fourteenth. I rub the ring on the little finger of my left hand. It was my mother's ring, which I had tailored to fit me. Stroking it helps me think.

"What do you mean? There's nothing here for people like you. So you can kiss my ass." The young woman in front of me stands, hands on her hips, staring at me. "We don't have anything of value here. Unless you want a turn with my mother."

She looks me up and down, trying to be tough, but it doesn't scare me. I can see the fear in her soulful brown eyes. She wears her long brown hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and smells like fritanga. She's pretty, though the waitress uniform she wears doesn't disguise the fact that she's all skin and bones.

"Well, I don't have all day," she continues to rant and stomps her foot. "You need to be getting ready to go."

I don't mind his words, but his southern accent gets on my nerves. The open vowel sound of "i," which is normally pronounced in the front of the mouth with the front of the tongue, and the "eee" sound, which is also normally made by pushing the tongue up and forward, are shifted to the back of the mouth and tongue in a Texan. This makes words like "pen" and "pin" sound identical.

What the hell was my father thinking?

Has he gone totally insane?

I have no idea where I'm going to start.

I clear my throat and stand up.

"I'm not going anywhere, Revean Smart . Like I said, I've come for what's mine, and that's you. So behave yourself. Pack a bag with your belongings, if you have any, and let's go."

She gapes. "Are you crazy or what? I have no idea who you are. I'm not going anywhere with you. You can fuck off right now." She spits at me, thankfully missing. "Fucking pervert." I feel a migraine behind my eyes. Seriously, I don't have time for this. "Well then, fuck you..."

Before he has time to finish his tirade, I grab his jaw hard so he can't speak. "If you say that swear word again, you'll regret it." Her eyes widen in fear. "That's a much better answer. Maybe this isn't so hard after all."

No.

You're wrong.

She raises her knee quickly, aiming for my groin - big mistake.

I've been trained in martial arts since I started walking. I turn her around and send her flying into the side of the ruined trailer she calls home and pin her down with my muscular body. She can no longer move.

"Listen, we can do this by hook or by crook. But like I said, I've come to collect what's mine. You're mine and I'm not leaving without you. So grab a bag and let's go."

"W-Why do you want me?"

She sounds terrified. Her voice trembles with fear. Good. She needs to learn from the beginning that I'll be the one in charge here, not her.

"It's not that I love you, Revean . It's more that I own you . You always have, and now that I'm turning thirty, I'm allowed to collect you."

I can feel her heartbeat against my body. It's fast. I wish the stale restaurant smell wasn't lingering, because there's something about having her pinned to the wall of the trailer that turns me on.

"How can I belong to you? I don't even know you. You've got the wrong person. I live in a trailer, and I'll bet by the fancy suit you're wearing that you don't."

A chuckle escapes me. "You're right about that. I live in a mansion in Las Vegas. I've never been in a place like this and I never will again after today."

I loosen my grip on her, waiting to see what she does. She doesn't move. I make the decision to step away from her. Give her the space she needs to take in everything I'm saying.

"Revean I'm not the wrong person. You are mine , and it's time to go."

"Do I have any choice in this?"

He turns around to look at me. I can see the tears in his eyes. Despite his bravado and his harsh words, and despite the shitty life he leads, he's innocent. Maybe this will work. I back up a few steps.

"No, it doesn't. There's a lot more going on here than you think. But I'm not ready to get into all that yet. All you need to know is that you're mine and I'm not leaving here without you."

I pause. He looks on the verge of passing out. I imagine the thoughts running through his head. I never act impulsively, but tonight I have.

"Look where you're standing, Revean . This is no comparison to where I'm taking you. I've already told you that I live in a mansion in Las Vegas. For that alone you should want to come with me. You won't have to work, fight for food or watch your mother sleep with men to get her next fix." She looks toward the door where she and I know her mother is selling her body. "Your life can be so much more."

"But I don't know you or anything about you." She looks down at her feet and then back up to look me straight in the eye. "Will you hurt me, you say I'm yours, what does that mean?"

I close my eyes and compose myself. "No one will touch you but me. As for hurting you, it will depend on how you behave. Spit on me or try to knee me in the groin again, and you will be punished as you have seen."

A single tear falls down her cheek.

"Let me get a couple of things."

I nod and reluctantly let her in, knowing what she's about to see. The walls of the trailer are so thin that I can already hear her mother's fake moans as her client fucks her. A few moments later, Revean returns. He's carrying nothing but a couple of books. They seem to be about animals. I gesture toward them with my head.

"If my life had been different, I would have liked to be a veterinarian," she explains. "I can still dream about that. It will keep me sane in this new life you're going to give me."

I nod to her to indicate she can bring the books and then gesture toward my car. Defeated, she walks slowly towards it before stopping and turning to me.

"I'm a virgin," she announces as I open the car door for her.

"I know. I've made sure of it over the years," I reply as she climbs into the passenger seat.

I slam the door shut and head around to the other side of the car, quickly pulling my cell phone out of my pocket. I text my friend Andrew .

Stand down. It's coming loose.

He answers instantly.

She must really be desperate.

I write my reply.

That's why my father put it here.

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