Reckless Regrets
Chapter 37

Marisol

After my father cornered me in my room and had his goons knock me out, I don’t know how much time passed. I woke up, dressed in a filthy puke green hospital gown, strapped to a metal table. There was a blinding light overhead that had me seeing stars and took all of my focus to see my surroundings.

After a few minutes, my eyes adjusted, and I was both saddened and relieved to see Gabby strapped to a table no more than three feet away from me. She wasn’t moving and was wearing the same disgusting gown; only hers looked like it was covered in bloodstains.

I prayed that they weren’t hers; I couldn’t bear to see her hurt.

“Gabby, can you hear me? I need you to wake up, babe; we need to figure out where we are,” I whispered.

The light was still abusing my eyes, and I couldn’t see farther than my own feet and her motionless body, maybe a five-foot radius in total. I had no idea if anyone else was in the room with us and didn’t want to replace out, not before knowing Gabby was alright.

I jerked my body slightly in her direction and felt the table smoothly glide about an inch.

It was on wheels, and either it was my lucky day, and some jerk forgot to put on the breaks, or whoever ran this place was a f*****g imbecile who’d never seen a kidnapping movie. Either way, I was going to take advantage.

I was strapped down from my shoulders to my wrists and down to my ankles, so I couldn’t move enough to get a lot of momentum. But that wouldn’t stop me from trying.

It took me almost an entire hour and more energy than I knew I had to scoot across the three-foot gap. A foot into the move, the light was no longer baking my eyes, so I could see that there was no one else in the room but the two of us.

When I was maybe an inch or two away, I strained my fingers and eventually was able to touch my friend’s hand. It was so cold, and the fact that she still hadn’t moved terrified me. I needed her to wake up.

An idea popped into my head, and I thanked my lucky stars that I’d been a brat and a bit of a bully growing up. I reached over, then pinched and twisted the skin on her hand as hard as possible and felt her twitch from the pain.

Yes! She was alive; I’d never been more relieved in my life. I repositioned my hand a bit and pinched her again, closer to her wrist.

“Gabriella! Wake the hell up; I can’t do this s**t by myself,” I told her.

She mumbled something that I couldn’t understand and again twitched her hand, trying to stop the pain. Ugh! I channeled all my strength into my thumb and forefinger and twisted as hard as I could, making sure to dig my nails into her skin at the same time.

That was all it took for her eyes to shoot open and her to draw in a deep breath. I finally relaxed on my table while she whipped her head around, trying to figure out what was going on. When her eyes fell on me, the relief and recognition soon morphed to anger.

“You f*****g b***h, did you just pinch me?!”

“Keep your voice down. Yes, I pinched you; you’ve been knocked out like f*****g Sleeping Beauty for over an hour, and if you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of some seriously dark s**t,” I whispered.

“My head feels like it’s going to explode. What is going on?” she asked.

“Gabs, how should I know? I woke up strapped to this table, saw you, and damn near killed myself trying to wake you up. I don’t know where we are or how we got here, but I don’t like it.”

She weakly lifted her head and looked around the tiny dingy room.

“What is the last thing you remember?” I asked.

“Uhm, I don’t know. Your dad, maybe? I think he’d asked me to help him with something; then I felt a sharp sting in my neck. Next thing I know, I’m here, and you’re trying to peel the skin from my hand.”

I didn’t want to believe it, but there was no room for doubt now. My father had done this. Somehow, he’d figured out that I had recorded him spilling his guts about the DNA test, and he decided to eliminate me.

Poor Gabby. If she hadn’t offered to help me with my dad in the first place, she wouldn’t have known the foul s**t he was up to, and she’d be home right now. She was here because of me, so I needed to figure out a way to get us, or at the very least, her out.

“Gabs, I’m so sorry you got dragged into this mess, but whatever happens, just stay strong, okay? I have a feeling that we’re about to go through something pretty heavy, but I know you. You can do this; you’re the toughest chick I know, understand?”

I heard her sniffle beside me, so I stretched out my fingers and brushed them over her skin as best I could.

“I don’t want to be here, Mari. I haven’t even found my mate yet. I don’t want to die and leave him out there to suffer for the rest of his life because he never got the chance to meet me.”

“I won’t let you die, babe. I promise.”

We somehow managed to maneuver ourselves in the straps just enough so that we could hold hands. Gabby was my person, the only person who never turned their back on me and never let me off the hook; she always called me out and made me do and become better.

I was going to get her out of here or die trying.

***

Maybe an hour or so after Gabby had woken up, I heard footsteps echoing down the hall then stop in front of the door to the room. As they slid the key into the lock, I turned to her and quickly whispered, “Be smart, Gabs; we can get out of this, but we have to use our heads!”

She nodded and released my hand just as the rusty old door creaked and m****d its way open. A tall, pale, and very stern looking woman with a close-cropped hair cut, ice-blue eyes, and a large burn on what appeared to be the entire left side of her body, walked into the room and addressed us.

“Ahh, Bill’s girls. I see you ladies are finally awake. How are you enjoying the accommodations?”

Neither one of us spoke. This woman’s tone was overly condescending, and I didn’t want to be pulled into her bullshit so soon. And on top of that, she called us “Bill’s girls,” and with the pure hatred I was feeling for my father at the moment, anyone who would associate me with him was as big a piece of s**t as he was. So, I averted my eyes and stared at an incredibly exciting, filth covered ceiling tile.

“Oh, now. Don’t be so cold, ladies. My name is Matilda; most of the women here refer to me as Aunt Maddy; I hope you will too. I’m here to get you settled in and take you to your rooms, would you like that?”

“Where the hell are we?” Gabby sharply asked.

“I’m sure you were raised with better manners than that dear, you are a Beta’s daughter, are you not? You ladies are like celebrities here, royalty even. We don’t get too many guests of your pedigree. But even still, I will not tolerate disrespect of any kind. So, would you like to ask your question again?”

“Aunt Maddy, would you please let us know where we are? It would be greatly appreciated,” Gabby replied, laying the sarcasm on extra-thick

“We’ll break you of that attitude soon enough, sweetheart. But since you did say please, you two are the newest residents of The Badlands. Just think of it as hell’s largest and most interactive amusement park.”

This woman was evil; pure, and simple. The smile she wore when she spoke proved it. Hell’s most interactive amusement park? What the f**k did that even mean?

“What exactly is The Badlands? I’m sorry, but I don’t understand,” I said.

“Of course, you don’t, honey, but you will soon enough.”

Two men walked into the room and quickly but quietly approached Gabby and me.

They removed the straps that were holding us in place and pulled us to our feet. Being upright after lying down for so long made me dizzy to the point I thought I would pass out, but I steeled myself and remained standing. I knew that this place would test me in every way imaginable, and I wouldn’t let myself break so soon.

“If you two can behave like the fine young ladies I know you are, you can walk, unshackled, to the medical bay for your intake exam. But, if at any point you try anything, you’ll experience our wolfsbane and liquid silver cocktail. It’s a little something I came up with a few years back, and I’m incredibly proud of,” Matilda stated.

“We’ll behave, Aunt Maddy, thank you,” Gabby said.

The fact that the sarcasm of her earlier comment was gone seemed to please Matilda. She smiled at us and nodded her head, signaling the men to take firm grips of our arms and lead us out of the room.

As we walked down the hall, my stomach flipped and rolled from the smells around me. This place smelled like death. Rotten death that had been shitted on. Twice. I’d never experienced anything like this; how did these people cope? She must have heard my thoughts because Matilda offered an answer to my question.

“You get used to it. We house the most disgusting and vile creatures the supernatural world has to offer. They have no regard for organization or cleanliness, thus the smell.

Your behavior will determine where you are housed, and if you’re good enough, maybe you can get a room with functioning plumbing.”

She led us into the medical bay, which, although not 100% sterile, was much cleaner than everything else I’d seen so far.

“In the chairs, feet in the stirrups,” Matilda commanded.

During the walk over, I felt the stale air drift up my gown and realized that my underwear was gone. If I got in that chair, I’d be completely exposed to these three strangers.

Noticing both my and Gabby’s apprehension, Matilda pulled a large syringe from her pocket. The thick brown liquid had a metallic sheen that made my skin crawl; it was the wolfsbane and silver. Either one of those entering a wolf’s body was torture, so having both at the same time was sure to be hell on earth.

I needed to pick my battles, and this wasn’t one I wanted to face just yet. I took Gabby’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze then pulled her with me towards the chairs. Once we were positioned, we adjusted ourselves as best we could to try and preserve the last shreds of our dignity.

I’d been around the block more than a few times, and it shamed me to admit it, but I’d even slept with a few strangers when I’d been blacked out drunk. This situation, although far from ideal, wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to me.

But Gabby was still a virgin, and I could see that it destroyed her to have her most sacred parts on full display. She’d always told me that she was saving herself for her mate and that he’d be the only one ever to see her treasure. Now that was out the window.

“Now, ladies, usually we would have you broken in by a few of our guards before releasing you to your rooms to be ravaged by the prisoners. Here in the Badlands, women are rare, and women as beautiful as the two of you are unheard of. But, we’re going to do things a bit differently this time. You are here as payment for a debt Bill owes me. And I plan to collect every single penny.

The doctor will come in and make sure neither of you has any STDs and that you aren’t pregnant. Then you will go to your rooms where you will be taken again, and again, and again by well-paying prisoners until Bill’s debt is paid in full. Any complaints or thoughts of fighting back, any objections whatsoever, will result in me pumping you full of this poison before throwing you to those disgusting animals outside to be f****d until you are literally begging for death. Do I make myself clear?”

The tears ran down my face, and I couldn’t believe this was happening to us. I would never have thought my father would trade me off to some demented madam to pay his debts. How could he hate me so much?

I needed to get through this so I could get back to Cameron and Nathan. I wouldn’t let them down. And I wouldn’t let Gabby down either. I reached over and grabbed her trembling hand then nodded at Matilda.

“Please don’t do this to her. I’ll do it; I’ll sleep with as many of them as you want, and I’ll make every dime you are owed. But Gabby doesn’t deserve this; it’s my father’s debt, and I should be the one to pay it.”

Matilda tilted her head and smiled.

“How surprising and sweet. I’ll give your friend a pass for now, but she will still work. Cooking, cleaning, whatever it is; she will do it without one complaint, or the deal is off. Got it?”

I squeezed Gabby’s hand again and nodded my head while looking her in the eye. I needed her to do this; she deserved to be pure for her mate. I’d die if she lost that because of me.

“Please,” I whispered to her.

She turned to Matilda and nodded.

“Whatever you’d like, Aunt Maddy, I’ll do it.”