Betrayed: Keeping her in the Dark Vol. 3 (20 page)

 “Yesterday afternoon, Will came to see me.” That wasn’t unusual, they worked together.

“He said an old friend of ours had come to see him. His name is Randall Emerson. I knew him vaguely when I was in the scene, and we partied together a few times, but I wouldn’t say we were friends.”

 I touched his hands and he covered mine with his. “He had heard through the grapevine that Will and I had purchased slaves a couple of years ago, and wanted to know if we were interested in coming to a party he is having at his house.” I took my hands back and sat back on my heels. “It seems Randall has left the restaurant industry that made him a fortune and turned to a life of casinos, loan sharking, and strip clubs.” He kept talking but I wasn’t sure I heard him. 

“He recently met another man, I don’t know who, but someone who could supply him with women. Women for an auction,” he paused and tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair.

“Will told him he wasn’t interested and was about to tell him I wasn’t in the market for a slave,” He paused and took a breath. “But then he told him the girls had been purchased.” He took another deep breath, this time it was broken. “The same way you were purchased,” he added.

 “It means he will be auctioning off sex slaves, like the auction you were in, but in his home.” I didn’t know what to say. 

 He looked away and put his thumb to his lips and closed his eyes.

“Will found out that he will be auctioning off three young girls. Two of them were kidnapped, like you, and the other was purchased from a man in India.” I could feel the tears in my eyes. It was a little too close to home for me.  

“I assume he asked about me attending because he heard how much I paid for you.” He laughed a little, although I didn’t find any of this funny. “It seems the story of my buying you has made it through many BDSM circles, but no one seems to know that you are now my wife.” He laughed again, this time to himself and looked down at me.

“I have worked so hard to keep this a secret from everyone. I have worked hard not only to keep the respect of my friends and colleagues but also not to get in trouble, and to protect you as well.” He touched my face and ran his thumb over my lips. 

“I never wanted anyone to look at you differently. I wanted to protect you as much as I wanted to protect myself. But it seems people know anyway. No one that would get us in trouble, because their own sins would be discovered as well. But people know, and I hate that.” He bowed his head and stepped away from me. 

 “I love you, Norah. I really do. I know you don’t want me involved, and I honestly don’t either, but I have to do something. I can’t just sit here, knowing what could happen to these girls, and not do anything.” I shook my head not sure I had just heard him. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear anything you said after you said the girls had been purchased. Can you repeat that please?” He cleared his throat and started to explain again. 

“Stop! I heard you and I don’t want to hear it again.” I paced back and forth a few times. Liam started to say something but I stopped him. 

“No!” I shouted. “You can’t. You can’t get involved. I don’t want you involved in this.” He took my hands in his.

“Norah, I can’t sit by and do nothing,” he kept his voice low.

“Yes you can. Human traffickers kidnap women all the time, auctions like this go on all the time, men buy women, it happens! You can’t get involved in this!” I walked across the room. 

“Norah I have to do something!” He was shouting now. “This information has fallen in my lap and I can’t go on with my life as if I don’t know. I can do something, I have to do something.” I turned to face him. 

“What can you do?” I asked. “What exactly is it that you think you can do?” 

“I don’t know…is the thing, so that’s why I need your advice.” 

“Can’t you just call the police?” I asked. I was sure this probably wasn’t an option or he wouldn’t be so upset, but I didn’t know why. 

“I thought of that.” He actually agreed with me. “I could just call them and have them raid the party. Not only would they arrest Randall, but they would get all of the sick bastards that were there as well. But…” he didn’t finish. He just cleared his throat and looked at me. 

“What?” I asked. 

“But then I would take the risk of getting in trouble myself.” He had a very ashamed look on his face. 

“Liam, you can’t honestly think you would still get in trouble for buying me?” He didn’t answer but looked away. “Liam, you’re my husband! We’re married! How can they punish you for something that isn’t even an issue anymore?” I didn’t get it. He sat back down on the couch.

“Because they can, sweetheart. What I did was wrong, no matter how it has turned out, or that I didn’t know what I was doing at the time. It doesn’t matter. It was wrong. The worst of it is I didn’t do anything to report the auction, the men that were there, or help the other girls. It doesn’t paint a very good picture of my intentions with you.” I thought for a moment. 

“Well how about an anonymous tip?” He laughed.

“I thought of that too, but let me explain something to you.”

 He got up and walked behind the couch, resting his hands on the top. “If they arrest Randall and the others at this party, he’s going to deny everything of course. Then they are going to talk to the girls and other submissives/slaves at the party, and they will probably tell the truth. Then they are going to go back to Randall and ask him again. They will tell him if he confesses to human trafficking, and tells them where he got the women from, he will get a better deal.” He started to walk around the room.

 “Which of course he won’t do, because the people he got these girls from are probably dangerous, and they would just have him killed in prison or something.” I cringed when he said that. “But then after a while, they will tell him if he gives up other men who have bought slaves or participated in kidnapping he won’t get as much jail time. That is when my name will come up. I won’t be the first one he betrays, but I’m sure I will be on the list.”

“Why are so you concerned about being turned in now? A few weeks ago when Nick was at our doorstep, you were ready to spend your life on a chain gang just to get revenge on him. Now three innocent girls are going to be sold into slavery and you’re thinking of yourself?” I put my hands on my hips. I didn’t want to him to risk himself either way, I just wanted to know the difference. 

“That’s different and you know it,” he said. 

“Explain it to me.” I crossed my arms against my chest. 

“Killing Nick would be a crime, but a crime I wanted to commit and I still want to commit! I have no problem going to jail for a crime I intentionally plan and carry out!” he ran his hands through his hair. 

“But I will not go to jail over something I did without knowing it was wrong! I would have never been involved with that auction if I had known the circumstances!” He was shouting again. 

“Well I’ll lie. They would need to ask me about it right? I’ll tell them it isn’t true….or I can tell them the same story I told Tiffany. That you saved me, helped me heal, and we fell in love. It isn’t far from the truth, Liam.” He nodded.

 “Norah, I know you would do anything to protect me. I know you would never betray me on purpose, but let me tell you how that would go.” He kept pacing around the room.

“First they’re going to ask you how we met. Then they are going to ask you every detail of our relationship. If they think you’re lying the questions will be more detailed oriented.” He turned to face me, “and no offense, darling, but your face doesn’t lie.” He went back to pacing.

“After hours of asking you about our story, they will leave you alone, but won’t let you go home. You will be tired, but they won’t let you sleep. You will be hungry but they won’t let you eat.” He turned back and leaned down on the back of the couch resting on his hands.

 “Then they are going to ask you the same questions again. This will go on for hours, until finally when you are so tired and hungry you won’t be able to remember all the details yourself, and you’ll say something different. Not necessarily a lie, but not exactly what you told them before either. Then that is when they will have you. They will hammer and hammer away at every little detail you don’t get right after hours of questioning, and before you know it, you will start to tell them the truth. Not because you want to, but because you can’t remember what the lies are anymore.” 

I had tears in my eyes. This was so wrong. Liam hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t know I had been kidnapped when he bought me.

True he didn’t treat me that great when I first got here, but he was a good man. He had really saved me. 

“Well they could never change that you saved me!” I yelled. He just laughed.

 “That’s what you think now, darling, but after hours maybe days of questioning and you defending me, they will break you too. They will convince you that I brainwashed you to love me, that you don’t really like this life I have provided you with, that the only reason you submit to me willingly, let me play my sex games with you in the basement is to fulfill my need to have a slave. They will convince you that I only married you so you wouldn’t turn me in to the authorities that I really don’t love you, that I was only invited to that party because I was tired of you and wanted another slave for my pleasure.” I stood up again, and crossed my arms against my chest.

“You must think I’m really an idiot if you think they could convince me you brainwashed me!” I snapped at him. 

He walked to me and touched my face. “Sweetheart, you yourself weren’t even sure if I had brainwashed you after you found out the truth. You thought we had brainwashed each other, remember?” I lowered my eyes. 

Yes, I remembered. After he told me he didn’t know I was kidnapped and wasn’t a willing slave, I questioned everything about our relationship. I thought he had brainwashed me into loving him. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew he was right.

“Well I’m your wife. They can’t use anything I say against you. They can’t make me say anything to incriminate you.” I put my hands on my hips. I knew that part was true. They couldn’t make me talk against my own husband.

“If they can prove to a judge that you married me under duress then those kinds of laws don’t apply here,” his voice was in a low whisper.   

“So what do we do then?” I asked in a very soft voice. He shook his head. 

“I don’t know.” We sat in silence. I knew what he was thinking. He wanted to go to the party and buy these girls too. After a few minutes of silence he finally spoke.

“How do you feel about me buying these women, myself?” I knew it.

“Please hear me out.” He held his hands up and we both sat down in the couches again. 

“I could buy them and set them free. I could do for them what I should have done for you.” I moved to my knees in front of him and held my hands in front of me.

“No. Please no. I know it sounds like the right thing, but it isn’t. We can’t get involved with this, Liam. We just can’t.”

He touched my hands and got up to walk to the bar and make himself a drink. He turned back to face me. I stood up.

“I can’t do nothing,” he said.

“I didn’t say do nothing. I said you can’t do this,” I replied. “Liam, this is crazy! First of all, it’s crazy! You going to a party with sick people, who have slaves themselves that they bought, and participate in an auction! Second,” I held up my hand to stop him from talking.

“Second, you can’t seriously think they are going to let you buy all three women! And third, we are talking about a lot of money here!” I was raising my voice a little too loud for his liking.

“Norah, you know it isn’t about the money…and it certainly isn’t about the sex. It’s about…” but he didn’t finish. His eyes began to fill with sadness. 

“I know what it’s about, baby.” I knew he was still trying to make up for what he done to me. In his mind falling in love with me, and making me fall in love with him wasn’t what I deserved. In his mind, I deserved more than him, more than a controlling man who wanted me to submit to him. But he was too selfish to let me go. And I loved him too much to leave. 

I kissed his forehead. “So how would this work? What do you do?” He sucked in a breath and wiped his face. “Well first I have to let Randall know that I am interested in coming to his party. Then all I can do is wait.”  

He took my hand and we headed upstairs. 

“Hey I could go with you!” He turned back to face me. “I could go with you and we could both be undercover! I could be your slave girl and you could be my master,” I gave him a sexy smile. He pulled me to his face. 

“There is no way I am taking my wife to a sex auction. I don’t think for one minute you could be undercover, darling. You can’t hold your tongue, Norah and I love that about you.” He kissed my nose.

“Well I don’t want you to do this, Liam. I know you think it is the only way, but I don’t. If you do this, you do it without my consent. I don’t want you to do it. I don’t think this is a good idea at all.” I knew my objections were going on deaf ears. Liam was going to do what he wanted to do. He always did. But I knew there was no way this was going to end good.

“Well I appreciate your concern and objections. I need to think some more before I make a decision.” I ran his hand through my hair.

“Now if you would like to be my slave girl we can do that right now.” He tightened his hold on my neck and pulled my hair exposing my neck to him. He lowered his mouth and licked from my cleavage to my neck and then sucked on my earlobe. 

Chapter Seventeen

Liam 

I didn’t think Norah would agree to my going to the auction right away. It was dangerous. But I thought I could convince her over the next few days. The hard part was going to be telling her about some of things I might have to do at these parties. I was about to show her some of those things now. Playing ‘little slave girl and slave master’ was my favorite game. 

 “Take off your clothes!” I demanded as soon as we entered our bedroom. I went to the closet and took off my suit. I didn’t want clothes to get in my way tonight. When I came back out she was naked too and on her knees with her head bowed.