The Bursting Heat (Book 2) ✓

32 - Emergency call

Ali

It was the middle of the night when my phone rang. I looked at the caller's ID, and my heart stopped, seeing Max's name. Why would he be calling me? Did something happen with Rafi? With trembling hands, I answered the call.

"Ali?"

"Yeah?"

"I need your help." Okay, he didn't say something bad happened. I didn't ask me to sit, so this probably meant Rafi was fine. "I'm...shit...I don't have a lot of time, but I need you to talk with someone and explain them who I am and who you are and that I'm on the good side." He was making me nervous with every word leaving his mouth.

"Max, what's going on? Where are you?"

"Just...please Ali, we don't have a lot of time, and I need this girl to trust me if we want everyone to leave this house alive."

"Max! Where the hell are you?"

"In another house, Ali. One like yours."

"What are you doing there? Where are the others? Where's Rafi?"

"It's just me, Ali. I'm...shit...I'm undercover. They are close and will be ready to get here, but first, I need to make sure the girls are in a safe place and would listen to my instructions. And I know it's impossible to persuade them on my own that I'm here to save them, so I need you to try to do it. Quickly, Ali. We don't have a lot of time." I heard some shuffling, and then a faint breath filled the speaker on the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey there. My name is Ali, what's yours?" I long pause followed.

"Mery."

"Mery! What a beautiful name. Listen, Mery. I know what you are going through. I know it sounds like the total bullshit, but for the last five years I was in a house like yours, being the personal sex toy for all kind of sick men paying big money to do whatever they wanted with me." I heard a little hiccup, but I couldn't stop right now, I needed to make her trust me. "So, Mery, I know what you are feeling, and I know you are very confused right now, but the man in your room, Max...he is one of the good ones."

"There aren't any..."

"Good men? Yes, there is. A lot of them. The sickos you've been meeting in this house are a very small percentage of the men out there. And most of them are really nice guys. Max is one of them. Every single man in his team is a good man, Mery. One of them is even my boyfriend." I could only imagine the surprise on her face hearing about me and Rafi. "Yes, I have a boyfriend. Rafi's very kind to me. He knows what happened to me and is helping me overcome it every day."

"You are not lying to me?"

"No, Mery. I'm not. These men saved me, too. They found the house I was held in and saved me and the other girls. They arrested everyone who was in the house, and they are now waiting for their trials in prison."

"Where... where are the others?"

"The other girls?"

"Ye-yes?" The little tremble in her voice was breaking my heart, but I was hoping I was making her believe in my words.

"Some of them went back to their homes, some of them decided to change the city and start a new life somewhere else. I keep in touch with some of them, and they are doing great. It's hard to be free, Mery. I won't lie to you about this. It's really hard to be the only one making decisions for yourself, not waiting for instructions from someone else. But it's good, Mery. So good. I really wish you could feel it soon. You just... you just need to trust this man in the room. Trust Max. He knows what he's doing. He's very good at his job, and he's going to do everything in his power to keep you and the other girls safe."

"You're sure?"

"One hundred percent, Mery."

"It's... hard."

"I know, Mery, trusting a man after everything you've been through is hard. Believe me, I know. But... just imagine what it will come in the end. You will be free. Taking your own choices, doing whatever you want whenever you want. No one is going to make you do things you don't want..."

"I don't..."

"Look, Mery. I'm going to be a little harsh, but I think you need to hear this. Right now, you have two options, you can trust an unknown woman that's talking on the phone and with that trust Max and his team and hope I didn't lie to you and you are really going to gain your freedom, or...you could do nothing. Stay in this hell house and endure all the beatings, the cuttings, the burnings. The inhumane way people are treating you in there and just deal with it. Accept that this is going to be your life until one of the clients doesn't go too far and your body can't keep up. You really think that this life you are living right now is better than the unknown? You really think that things there are good and you can manage them? You won't be able to for so long, Mary. Soon, your body is going to give up, and you know what happens with these girls. No one see them again. I know the unknown is quite scary, and trusting someone you don't know is scary, trusting a man is even scarier. But, Mery, what you have to lose at this point? Don't you think everything will be better than the situation you are in right now? Don't you think you deserve a chance of happiness again?" There was I really long pause from the other end. I could hear Mery trying to stifle her cries while thinking about my words. It was hard, I knew it, but...it was better than what she was living right now.

A few minutes passed by, and just when I was ready to start talking again, try again in a different way, Mery spoke.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. I'll...I'll trust this man."

"You are not going to regret it, Mery. Soon you are going to be free and I hope you'll want to have a coffee with me someday? I work at a bakery, it's called "Cupcake's dreams". You can come someday to chat, try the goods, everything there is so yummy, you would lick your fingers." There was a small chuckle on the other side before some ruffling sounds.

"Thanks, Ali. I own you a big one."

"No need to thank me, Max. Just...get them out of there."

"We will. I'll talk to you later." With that, Max disconnected the call, leaving me to worry about the SWAT team and the girls in the house. I knew it was a lost cause to try to sleep, so I decided to go and made myself a cup of tea to try to calm my nerves. I just put the kettle on the stove when I saw a dark figure from the window. It was a man who was looking directly at me. Shivers ran all over my body, making me involuntarily push my cup out of the countertop. He found me and Rafi was away, everyone from his team was away. I was screwed.   

***What do you think will happen with Ali right now? Will she be able to save herself again, like with Rooster?