Free Shattered (Dividing Line #5) by Heather Atkinson Page B

trust himself to keep his temper. He eyed the short fat man with disgust. No doubt this revolting piece of sweaty obese humanity regularly helped himself to the women.
    “That’s right,” replied Jez with a man to man smile.
    “Then come inside, please. We have many beautiful girls to cater for all tastes. What would you like?”
    “Actually it’s my brother here who wants to be entertained. He’s getting married in a few days and wants one last fling before he’s tied down for life.”
    “Very wise,” smiled Orlov, scratching his belly that protruded from the bottom of his t-shirt. “What girl would you like? Tall, short, curvy, flat, dark, light. We even have a girl with an arm missing for the more discerning tastes.”
    Ryan wanted to throw up all over the man. “I like tall and slender with black hair and blue eyes.”
    Orlov’s grin broadened. “I have just the girl for you. That will be two hundred pounds for one hour.“
    Ryan thought the price wildly inflated but the man had obviously clocked on to the fact that they had money so he handed over the amount requested.
    “Gentlemen, there is a bar through that door,” Orlov told Jez and Riley, pointing to a gloomy doorway. “Enjoy the best vodka while you wait for your friend.”
    Ryan’s eyes constantly moved left and right as he followed the fat man down a dimly-lit corridor. Judging by the sounds emanating from behind all the closed doors the brothel was busy. He wanted to clamp his hands down over his ears to block out the hideous noises, knowing this is exactly what Rachel had heard when she’d been abducted.
    They stopped outside a door and Ryan patiently waited while Orlov fumbled for the key.
    “If you would wait here just one moment Sir I will see that Desiree is ready.”
    The man unlocked the door and opened it just wide enough for him to squeeze through so Ryan couldn’t see inside before closing it behind him. Ryan hoped the girl in there was Sabine and that Desiree was just an alias. Through the door came the sound of raised voices followed by a loud slap then silence. Orlov reappeared. “She is ready for you, she is a very beautiful woman.”
    “Thank you. You’re not going to lock that door behind me, are you? I don’t like being locked in.”
    “No, the doors are not locked when they are being used, only when the girls are alone, to keep them safe.”
    Ryan knew that was a load of bullshit, it was to stop them escaping. He walked inside the room and the door closed behind him. He paused, listening to make sure Orlov didn’t lock it then turned his attention to the only occupant in the room and realised he’d hit the jackpot. The girl stood before him was clearly the same one in the photograph with long jet black hair and huge blue eyes. She was a girl too, not a woman, with her skinny frame and barely-there breasts. She’d hardly had time to mature before being thrust into this horrific life. She would have been beautiful if she hadn’t looked so pale and wasted. Her left cheek was bright red from where Orlov had slapped her when she’d protested that she was tired.
    Sabine for her part was delighted to have such a handsome man walk into her room. Her clients were usually old, fat and ugly, the type that could only get a woman by paying for one. This one made a refreshing change.
    “Hello,” she purred, sauntering up to him.
    She attempted to make her hips sway seductively but they were too thin and bony to pull it off. Ryan thought of Rachel, she was the queen of that move.
    “My name’s Desiree,” she went on, “and I’m here to fulfil your every desire.”
    Her Latvian accent was thick but her English excellent and he had no problem understanding her. When she snaked her arms around his neck he gently pulled them away.
    “What is wrong? Do I not make you happy?” she pouted.
    “I’m not here for sex, I’m very happily married thank you.”
    “They all say that but if you were you wouldn’t be