Bruised: Bluff Lake, #3

By Prometheus Susan

 A simple traffic stop morphed Officer Cora's world into an inescapable nightmare. Kidnapped. Starved. Forced to perform to the wicked delights of the highest paying customers. Between each torturous encounter that leaves her bruised and battered, she huddles in her cage and prays for an end that refuses to come.      

                                                        

From the first moment Craig caught a whiff of his mate, his search for her began. Never could he have imagined the horrors she was being subjected to. Now, with instinct warning him that time is of the essence, he clings to the hope that she can hold on until he finds her.                 

 

Can Cora heal from the atrocities inflicted on her and accept the gentle love Craig is offering? Or will her bruised soul hunger only for vengeance?

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Prometheus Susan
• Release date: Jun 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201089740

Prometheus Susan

Prometheus is the mother of two boys, 19 and 26. As well as a loving wife to her husband of 31 years.  She lives in northern Illinois with her family, two cats,pet bunny, Fred and a puppy, Bear.. An avid Chicago Bears football fan regardless of how bad they play. But differs from the rest of the family in regards to baseball. They are Cub fans while she is a Brewers fan.  For years, Prometheus has had stories floating around in her head when she finally decided to put them to paper. Following a long-held dream of being an author. Bringing the crazy muses that she had to life, sharing them with everyone else.  Besides her love for her family and friends, coffee is her biggest love and addiction. The summer will find her at the beach or waterpark, soaking up those beautiful rays of sunshine. She finds cooking to be very relaxing, experimenting with new recipes. Crafting is one of her other ways to relax and unwind. Pink and sparkly is her signature. 

Book preview

He had been pleasant when she approached the driver's door, no indication of the trouble that was to come. The driver handed her the information that she requested, flirted with her. Cora thought it would be an easy, quick stop. She never made it back to her squad to run the license. The last thing she remembered was being slammed against the hood of her patrol car; her hand had gone for her weapon when she felt the sharp prick in her neck. Her body had felt like it was underwater, but she tried to keep fighting. 

She woke up locked in a bedroom.

A huge thank you to the Gurnee police officers that helped me in my research.

A special thank you to my husband, John and my boys, Jerry and Zack. Without your love and support this dream would not be a reality.

A heartfelt thank you to my dearest friend, Karen. This series is hard to write with the darkness, you are always there to help pull me towards the light. Your friendship, love and support have helped me chase this dream to a reality.

Chapter 1

She missed having daydreams. That ability to close your eyes and be transported into a fantasy of your making. Those long-held dreams that stay buried deep coming to life. Cora missed a lot of what she took for granted not too long ago. Heat, comfort, food, water, showers, and most importantly, being free.

Being a police officer, she had mistakenly thought the ugliness of the world couldn't touch her. That if she ever came across a dangerous individual, her training would kick in, and she would win that battle. How wrong she had been. It wasn't that she was over competent, or her training was lax. Not even that she thought she could conquer all evil. Or the fact that she had been taken by surprise. None of that had come into play. If he had fought fairly, the outcome could have been different. But he hadn't, and her freedom was taken away in mere seconds.

That day replayed in her head over and over. Cora kept trying to figure out where her training had gone wrong, where she made a mistake to give him the upper hand. It had been a routine night, nothing out of the normal, besides being quieter than usual for a Saturday night. She had been driving around after stopping for a refill on coffee. Most weekend nights, the action picked up closer to midnight or later. She knew the boost of caffeine would come in handy.

What she did not realize at that time was that donut would be her last meal. More like her last free meal, any food since then had come with a price. Hunger made a difference with choices. Not a dinner is late, missed breakfast and lunch hunger. This was a days on end, painful hunger. Where you would sell your soul for a breadcrumb. It felt like she had done just that for a piece of toast. Cora wanted out of this nightmare that her life had become.

If she could go back to that night, never would she have stopped that van for expired plates. She would have waited for back up before she got out of her patrol car. Cora would have had her gun drawn when she approached the driver's door. Her vest had not saved her from being kidnapped. If Anthony would have shot her, then it may have done its job. But no, he had gone the route of drugging her.

She hadn't been cocky when she got out of her patrol car. As was protocol, her dash camera was recording, as well as her body camera. Cora prayed those last images of her as a free woman would give hints to those she worked with to help find her. Save her from this hellish nightmare. She hadn’t disappeared without a trace. That had to help her in some way.

Cora had done thousands of these stops in her career. Expired plates, run the license, issue the ticket, run of the mill work. Low-risk stops that never went awry. Most of the time, by the time the court date came up, the plates had been renewed and the ticket got thrown out. Some paid the ticket and moved on. It had never entered her mind that the driver of this white van was a sex trafficker or that there were other women chained to bolts that were secured to the floor of an empty van.

He had been pleasant when she approached the driver's door, no indication of the trouble that was to come. The driver handed her the information that she requested, flirted with her. Cora thought it would be an easy, quick stop. She never made it back to her squad to run the license. The last thing she remembered was being slammed against the hood of her patrol car; her hand had gone for her weapon when she felt the sharp prick in her neck. Her body had felt like it was underwater, but she tried to keep fighting. 

She woke up locked in a bedroom.

The two men that had come into her room made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. There was something in the way that they carried themselves that had her instincts screaming, Danger. She had tried to fight them off. They had taken great pleasure in showing her the error of her ways. Cora quickly learned that fighting back earned her days of pain. They were smart enough to not break bones. Her body was covered in bruises. No matter which way she moved, it hurt.

She overheard them talking. If she could have moved, she would have tried to escape. As much as she didn't want the nightmare she was thrust into, it was better than the alternative. Cora was not ready to die. She had hopes that she would be rescued and could go back to her old life. This was a little hiccup in her road of life. If she behaved, being in one place would be better for investigators to find her. Cora tried, but with who she was, the one called David had put it on Anthony to get rid of her. She was his problem.

That hope was short-lived when Anthony moved her. At least with that bedroom, she could look outside, see the sun set and rise. Her new dungeon was a dark, damp cage in some basement. Anthony drugged her when he moved her. Cora had no idea where she was. What city or state. That ray of hope that she had held onto strongly frayed apart with each passing day.

Chapter 2

He had not been planning on kidnapping her that night. It was a spur of the moment rush of adrenaline when he was pulled over. Anthony knew the officer could not run his license or plates. The question had been how to elude all that without raising more suspicion or a high-speed chase. The van was white, easy to spot from the air. There was no way in hell he was getting caught.

The plates on the van were stolen. Anthony did not run it without stolen plates. It was a nondescript white delivery van. One of the most significant flaws with it was at night, it stuck out. During the day, it blended in with other delivery vehicles. Given his method of business, completing transactions during the day drew unwanted attention. His hand wrapped around the gun he kept in his pocket, ready to draw it as soon as the officer came to his window.

As soon as she stepped out of that patrol car, his plans changed. He knew what he was going to do. It was a high-risk kidnapping. He lived for that rush. Why go with the usual suspects? Summer had given him that first taste of the edginess of being caught, feeling his blood rush through his body as his heart sped up. Anthony knew that taking down this police officer would give him an even bigger thrill. Taming her would be his most significant victory.

That was what this operation was about, besides money. Taming the women, showing them who owned them. For they were possessed, body and soul, by either Leonard, David, or him. David and Leon had not seen the profit margins with Cora. They had been too afraid of someone recognizing her. That was where blackmail came in handy. Any one of their clients had as much to lose as they did. Not one of them was willing to risk their reputations or freedom for anyone.

Depending on the client, some were not the utmost of citizens. A round with a police officer could bring in a couple of thousand. He had no plans of doing her by the hour. It was a one-shot for the price you paid. Wanted a second round, pay again. Anthony had seen where David had made that mistake with the girls. Three to five thousand for a couple of hours or the night was losing money.

Most men lasted a few minutes if calculated to five minutes each guy. That could be twelve in an hour. At a thousand a pop, that was twelve thousand in an hour. For a night, at five hours, that was sixty grand, nice little paycheck. The difference between David, Leonard, and himself, they stayed to the safer practices. As far as Anthony was concerned, as long as no bones were broken, bruises healed. He pushed the limits with his clients, what they requested, he did his damndest to offer, at a price.

Lucky for him that night, in his pocket were a couple syringes filled with a sedative. He had one client that preferred the girl to be unconscious. It came at a hefty price. One that this guy was more than willing to pay. Anthony had planned to give him the greatest wish of two girls, which changed with his new plan. He had paid for one; he was getting one. The loss of cash that night was worth the money he would make with the cop. The money was not his only goal with her.

Anthony knew she would be a fighter. He loved the fight. Nothing got his cock harder than a good physical altercation with a woman. Letting her have the upper hand until he was ready to fuck her, then he showed her who the boss was. He loved seeing the look in their eyes when they knew they had lost. If she was bleeding, it made the orgasm all the much sweeter.

He made sure he was silent as he slipped out of the van. Anthony made it a point to look directly into the dashboard camera. He was mocking the police. They were not as safe as they thought they were. Anyone could get to them. He had never been arrested. There would be no report on his fingerprints or facial recognition. Let them chase their tails trying to find him. It would be a dead end. In the end, there was a patrol car sitting on the side of the road, lights flashing, nothing else. He left nothing behind as he took off with his prize.

Chapter 3

Anthony had not trusted David or Leonard. This was a business. They were partners who could turn on the other at any given time. He knew this. This is why he had a place set up to transfer girls at a moment's notice. That plan had come in handy after David and Leonard had thrown a hissy fit with who he had brought home.

It had not helped that Cora's picture was being plastered across the news every hour. A tip line established, asking the public if they had seen her or him. His smug ass was right up there with her picture. Anthony regretted his actions that night as far as the dash cam was concerned. Kidnapping her was still a good investment.

He had the bruises to prove that she was what he was looking for. She was the best fuck he had in a long time. Anthony didn't mind being bit, which meant he could return the favor. Which he did on numerous occasions with her. She hit him, he hit her right back, kicked him, he kicked her. Whatever she gave to him, he gave right back.

Anthony had been around the women that David hand-picked out for their operations. They were too soft, easily agreeable to please any one of them. Where was the enjoyment in that? He did not want a woman to cater to his needs. Well, he did, but he wanted the fight beforehand. Easy sex was a dime a dozen; could be found anywhere. Guaranteed sex was the same.

He knew that he was a handsome, sexy, good looking man. Anytime he went into a bar, women flocked to his side. He had his pick of what he wanted: blonde, brunette, redhead, or all the above. Big tits or small, real or fake, not like it made a bit of difference. This sex was for him, if they enjoyed it, bonus, if not, didn't stop him from getting off.

Men made the rules. Women were there for their entertainment. Anthony was sure some men thought otherwise. They were the ones being led by their balls by the women in their lives. Or as he preferred to refer to them, pussy whipped. The one with the pussy ruled the roost. Never would happen to him.

There was a time when he was an upstanding citizen. Seemed as though it was a lifetime ago. Anthony had hated his life. A pointless job having to answer to big blowhards in three-piece suits who thought because they had a Master's degree made them superior to him. It was sales, any way you looked at it. No different than what he was doing with the women. Marketing and sales.

Meeting David had been by accident. The bar Anthony had stopped at that night had not been one of his usual hangouts. There was an air about David that drew him in, as though they knew one another, kindred souls. Watching him work the women of the room was a learning experience.