Chapter 11
The mood at Alexis’ house was one of fear. Most of the staff had been fired. Buyers had been brought in for all of the girls except for Beebe, Primrose and Dora. Leah had discovered that Beebe was not really being trained for sale, but was actually being boarded by her Master. Primrose was spoken for, but was still learning the skill sets required by her Master-to-be before final purchase. Leah realized that left herself and Dora as the only sellable slaves left, or in other words, Alexis total net worth.
When the bank called to inform Alexis that the check for her mortgage payment was returned for insufficient funds, Leah realized that things were coming to a head. When she saw the maid usher the men into the office, Leah felt her skin crawl. There was something about them, that despite their hand tailored suits and Italian shoes, screamed that they had crawled up from the gutter.
She tried to calmly work on the file she was assigned to while Alexis greeted them. Be still, she thought, be very still and they won't see you. They opened a briefcase filled with currency and Alexis smiled. Leah felt a shiver of coldness go through her. She had not heard of slaves being sold for cash before. Usually the money was moved by wire transfer.
She was distracted by the instant message screen from Raymond appearing on her computer.
"Is Ms Alexis available?"
"She is currently with buyers, a Mr. Peter Monroe," she typed back.
"Who is he buying?" the reply came back quickly.
"I don't know." Leah responded, "Why?"
At the other end Raymond tried not to panic. Monroe was a notorious dirt bag. Girls that he got often never reappeared. Alexis must be more desperate than he had thought. If Monroe got his hands on Leah, he might never be able to find her again. What could he do?
"I think he is here for Dora. Alexis enslaved her for embezzlement." the words appeared on his screen allowing him to breathe again.
Leah tried not to watch as Dora took one look at Monroe and lost all control. She threw herself at Alexis’ feet and begged with her to keep her and not to sell her to him. Her terror was so strong that Leah could taste it. This man must be a true monster if Dora was this afraid of him.
Monroe's helpers restrained Dora and deposited her at his feet. He toyed with her with his foot watching her try to curl back in fear to his amusement.
"She will be delightful, Alexis. Thank you for thinking of me. Of course, you didn't tell me that she is part of a matched pair." he eyed Doreen hungrily.
Doreen held her head up proudly, "I am not a slave, Sir. I am a trainer."
"How much if I throw her in also?" Alexis asked with interest.
Doreen gasped and looked at Alexis in shock, "I have worked for you all these years with loyalty and you would dare to think to --"
One of Monroe's goons wrestled Doreen to the ground, binding and gagging her with an ease that frightened Leah to her core. Alexis looked up and caught Leah's eyes and the looks she gave her made her want to scream in fear.
Leah dropped her eyes back to her work, but could not control her trembling. She heard Alexis laugh evilly then go back to talking to Monroe.
"Raymond! Get me out of here! She just had the trainer enslaved and sold to this guy. Help me!" Leah managed to type the frantic words calmly.
"I will have you out by tomorrow night, I promise."
Leah cut the connection and cleared the history and was quietly working on the file when Alexis walked over. She did not stop working as Alexis put the cash into a safe and then leaned over Leah's shoulder to whisper in her ear.
"Don't think I won't sell you to the lions when I need to. I have someone planned for you that will make me look like a walk in the park, Princess."
By evening, Leah's nerves were shot. Alexis had driven her hard the whole day, even taking her hard as she could with a strap-on. As she served dinner, a crash in the kitchen caused Leah to jerk her hand as she was pouring wine and splashing Alexis.
Alexis backhanded her hard enough to knock Leah into the wall. Without a trainer to do her bidding, Alexis dragged the dazed Leah to the training room herself, grabbing a cane and beating Leah until her initial anger had passed. Realizing now that selling Doreen was a mistake, Alexis had Beebe and Primrose get out the punishment box.
When Leah saw it, she began to plead and beg for forgiveness. She tried everything she had learned over the time she had been there, but the lid closed over her and locked leaving her in the confining, terrifying darkness.
Disguised as a thug, Raymond sauntered into Alexis’ house unannounced with Vincent and several of his buddies. He was pulling in every favor he was owed and some he wasn't to pull this off. He wished he had a camera for the expression on Alexis' face when she saw Vincent.
Raymond knew that the money she had gotten the day before for the sale of Dora and Doreen had gone to pay the bank and other overdue bills. She would not have the money to cover this, and that is what he was counting on.
"So, Alexis. Mr. Perez hasn't heard from you in some time," Vincent remarked in his quiet, off-handed manner, "He's concerned and sent me to see how things were."
Alexis' face looked brittle, "Vincent, what a -- surprise. I have been sending Mr. Perez regular correspondence, I assure you."
Vincent picked up a vase that had somehow survived Alexis' recent temper tantrums and studied it, "Funny that, because he hasn't received them. You should really use certified mail for the important deliveries."
"I don't - that is - am not prepared at this moment to make an extra payment. If you could give me an extra day or two, I am sure we could get this settled to both our benefits." Raymond could see sweat on her forehead.
"That's no problem. We'll just take some stuff now and save you the problem. Mr. Perez authorized me to collect on his behalf. Boys, go see what you can find while I keep the lady company."
Raymond frantically searched the rooms for signs of Leah. He felt a wave of disgust when he entered the training rooms. There was something evil about this place. In a barred cell, a naked woman crouched fearfully, whimpering as he entered the room. Another one, with the deliberate appearance of a child gave him a sultry look.
"Where's Leah?" He demanded.
The sultry one laughed, “You just missed her. Mistress sold her off this morning.”
Raymond felt his heart sink. He was too late.
Carlton swirled the bourbon in the glass despondently as his other fingers played with the length of chain and rabbit charm. He had lost her. Alexis has sold off all her slaves and he had not been able to find where Leah had gone. The pain in his heart ate at him with hopelessness and despair. Ever since Raymond had returned and told him what had happened, he had retreated, no longer caring about anything, except for Leah.
The light of the study flickered on and Carlton turned red-rimmed eyes to see Raymond and Ming standing in the doorway looking a bit shocked. He must look like hell. He drank more bourbon.
"How was your vacation?" he inquired, not really caring.
Ming moved to the coffee pot and started making coffee. Raymond looked at Carlton, unshaved, rumpled and in despair.
"Quite nice, Sir. Saw some old friends. Ming and I spent quite a bit of time in London. Shall I collect the papers on your desk?"
Carlton shrugged, "It doesn't matter, Raymond. I have lost the only thing that ever really mattered. What does it matter if I acquire another company?"
Raymond started to collect the papers, "Lost things often reappear in time, Sir. You will want to be ready when that happens. Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest. We will find her. It is a small world of slave owners. She has to surface at some point."
Numbly, Carlton downed the rest of his drink and staggered from the study clutching the collar.
Quietly, Leah entered the room with the heavy tray, trying her best to be silent and invisible. Her owners were death on silence from their slaves. She had managed to go almost a week now without a punishment for noise and she wanted to keep it that way. Carefully she began to arrange the plates and utensils on the table for dinner party. Leah had spent some time studying the large book in the study to get the table setting right, but she just knew the Madam Daw would find some flaw in it. She found flaw in everything Leah did.
The past nine months had been one of constant struggle for Leah. Master Kiet was demanding of her use, creative with his tortures and seldom allowed her the pleasure of an orgasm, preferring to see her beg for relief. Leah thought that he rather enjoyed keeping her so on edge that she actually had trouble concentrating on tasks, giving his wife, Madam Daw excuse to punish her even more creatively. Together, they created a vicious circle.
Despair hung on Leah. Madam Daw had been gone most of the week, giving her the reprieve to let her wounds heal. But she had returned only a few hours ago. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Madam Daw hated her; hated that her husband preferred sex with the white slave than with her.
For a brief second, Leah glanced out the window to the expansive lawn and the thick security wall that ringed the property. She hadn’t even been recovered from the drugs they had used to transport when Master Kiet had dragged her by her hair out to the wall. Within five feet of the wall, the pain began, at two feet she was begging for him to stop. What looked like a wide, decorative metal anklet kept her prisoner. A key fob held by her owners could administer a painful shock at anytime they pleased.
