Taken by E.M. Leya
CHAPTER EIGHT
Trenton tried to calm his nerves. His body trembled and he fought back tears. He wasn't a person who cried often, but this was pushing him to his limits emotionally. He'd been fucking raped. He fought against people who did this shit, yet somehow, he'd let it happen to him. He'd never felt such a lack of control over his own body as he had as the doctor had held him down and forced himself on him.
He'd fought, but being cuffed made it hard and the doctor had made sure the chain holding him to the exam table had been short. He could hardly move to fight off the doctor's intentions. He didn't fight once it was happening. He got the feeling the doctor wanted him to. It would do him no good to be injured and unable to fight when he finally found a way to get out of this place. His ass hurt, but it was nothing compared to the way it was hitting him mentally.
He thought about Faith and all she'd been through. She'd been a child when it had happened to her. He'd thought he understood, but now, having been taken himself, he knew he hadn't even begun to understand what Faith had been through. He admired her strength that much more knowing how it felt to be the one forced.
He would not feel like a victim. He couldn't afford to. If he lost it now, he'd be putting himself at even more risk. He had to stay strong and find a way out of this place.
Knowing that guy was probably a cop helped, but not much. The asshole stood by and did nothing as people were raped, sold, and killed. He got that working undercover meant he couldn't act on things like usual, but when was enough enough? Even the police wouldn't let this go on. It made no sense.
The sound of the gate being opened had him opening his eyes. He tried to act like he wasn't interested in anything, but he was worried about Ian. He hoped the doctor hadn't raped him, hadn't been able to get it up again, but something told him the doctor was on some kind of medication. He'd been too rough, too hard, too confident. Trenton didn't know enough about those little blue pills men took to know if it would keep the doctor hard after coming once, but he was pretty sure the doc had still been hard after he'd finished with him.
Ian fell to the ground the moment he was pushed into the cage. Trenton resisted the urge to go over to him. It looked like Ian was crying, but he curled up so tightly in a ball it was hard to be sure. There were no physical signs he'd been raped, but he had his back turned away from Trenton's view.
God, this was killing him. He couldn't watch this. If he saw a child get raped, he'd lose his mind. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming.
The team had to know by now he was missing. They would have found his car, and hopefully, there had been video in the bar of him being drugged. He wasn't sure how much of a lead that would give them, but it was at least a start. Not knowing how far away they'd taken him would make things harder. He could be anywhere up or down the west coast.
Mentally, he went through every step he would take if it was another member of the team missing. He'd search traffic cameras, see if he could get a lead on what car was used to transport him. He'd use facial recognition software on everyone at the bar, trying to find out who drugged him.
He lost himself in the thoughts, forgetting everything for a little while. It wasn't until a still crying Ian crawled to him that he was forced to remember where he was and what had just happened to him. "You okay?"
Ian wiped his nose on his arm. "The fucker raped me."
Trenton closed his eyes. "Me too."
"I need to get out of here. I can't do this. I'd rather be dead than have that happen again."
"I know, and I'm trying to find a way to get out." Trenton knew better than to make any promises. The place was secure, and so far, he hadn't found a way to escape. He could tell by the way Ian looked that he was close to breaking. Once that happened, he'd either just allow this all to happen to him or he'd find a way to kill himself.
Watching the others around the cage, he guessed most had reached the breaking point already. They were like zombies, not aware of anything going on around them. Several had been drugged because of causing problems, but he was pretty sure the men had wanted the drugs and caused issues just so they could get them.
"We're going to die in here. There isn't a way out." He started to cry harder. "I can't take being raped again."
Trenton agreed, but what could he say? There was no stopping it. They'd just drug them and do it. He figured the people who used them wouldn't care if they were alert or even awake for any of it. He didn't want to tell Ian that at any time, he could be taken upstairs and raped again. "You need to stay strong and help me find a way out of here. We can't do that if we panic. If you don't calm down, they'll just drug you again."
"Why are they doing this? Why us? Why did they pick us?"
The question Trenton wanted to know was who was doing this? Was it someone he'd researched before? He'd come across large operations before and knew a few names involved in the international trafficking trade. If he knew who, then he might have a better idea how to fight them. "I don't know why us. I guess they wanted men about our age or who looked like us. I don't know why they pick who they do."
"I thought this only happened to women."
If people knew how many men were sold into sex slavery every year, they'd be shocked. "No, actually, men make up a huge market of the sex trafficked. They can use them for heavy labor and sex."
Ian's eyes widened. "Is that what's going to happen to us?"
"I don't know. I think we'll be here for a while as long as we don't cause problems. Being here is better than where they'll send us, so do everything you can to stay here and not cause any trouble."
"Where do they send the troublemakers?"
"Could be anywhere, but usually Mexico or Canada. Both have a huge trafficking business."
"How do you know all this?" Ian asked.
"I just read up on it," Trenton lied. He wasn't about to admit the truth to Ian and give him hope that he might do more to help them get out than he could. Right now, things were looking very bleak. Unless the team managed to find them, he wasn't sure what he was going to do. He refused to think this was how his life would end. He'd spent most of his life fighting against people like these. He hunted the bastards who raped and killed children. No way would he let his life end because of them. He would not go down this way. He'd take most of them out with him if it came down to that. He just had to figure out how.
"Are they going to kill us?"
"I don't know. I don't think so. We are worth more alive. As long as they can sell us, we're safe. At least from dying." He didn't want to tell Ian just how bad the torture and sexual abuse might get. God, right now he wished he didn't know. Wished he didn't have all those dark web videos he'd had to sit through playing in his mind as he wondered about his own fate.
Ian tried to sit up and cringed. "I'll never be able to sit again."
"The pain will ease. He was rough. Probably caused some tearing. It's going to burn and sting for a few days."
"How do you know this?"
Again, he didn't want to tell Ian he'd seen too many men raped, even if it was mostly on videos he'd had to collect to hunt down the rapists or use for evidence. He decided on a half-truth. "I'm bisexual and have had some pretty rough sex with men before. Not as rough as today, but enough to know the pain will last a few days, especially if there was any tearing."
Ian cried more. "I can't do this. It hurt so bad. I never… I'm not gay."
"I know, but they don't care. They're going to use us however they want. The more you fight, the more they are going to push you and hurt you. If you try to just do what they ask, it should be easier on you. I know none of this is good. It fucking sucks, but right now survival is what you need to be thinking about. Escape if we can, but survive until we can escape."
"I can't." Ian sniffed.
"You can. It's that or die, and I don't think you're ready to die."
"Both of you need to shut up." The guy named Wade called from the other side of the chain-link fence. I hear anything more and I'll drug you."
"Fuck you," Ian yelled, suddenly jumping to his feet. "Just fuck you. I don't give a shit what you say. Fuck you!"
Trenton grabbed for Ian's leg, but it was too late. Wade was already working the lock of the gate open and calling for Ben to come in and back him up.
"What's the issue?" Ben asked.
Trenton noticed he adverted his gaze from him. Was the bastard feeling guilty? Good. He should. He knew what the doctor did behind closed doors and still did nothing to stop it.
"Asshole thinks he can tell us to fuck off. He and his friend have been over here whispering. Bet they think they can break out of here. Well, you can't. I'll put a bullet between your eyes if you try." Wade made his way to Ian and without hesitation punched him in the jaw.
Ian went down hard.
As bad as Trenton wanted to go to him, he didn't dare move. He watched as Wade pulled two syringes out of his pocket.
"Here, I'll get this one." Ben took one of the syringes, then turned to Trenton.
Trenton tensed. He did not want to be drugged again. He started to put his hand up to resist when Ben leaned down beside him.
"Fake it," Ben mouthed to him. Opening the syringe cap and coming at him as if he was going to give him the shot. He did everything he would usually do, but instead of pushing the needle into Trenton's arm, he placed it just against his skin and squirted the fluid toward the floor.
Trenton sighed, meeting Ben's gaze for just a moment before letting his head fall back as he relaxed on the floor just how he had when he'd really been drugged. He watched through hooded eyes as Ben and Wade left the cage, then glanced slowly at Ian who was out cold from the drugs that had been pushed into his body.
As hopeless as the situation seemed, there was one hope. If he could just get Ben to contact his team, he could get out of here. The question was, how did he do that without putting the entire team in danger?