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been left behind when she’d dressed hurriedly, escaping the boarded-up house while Bullet was taking a shower. The bra was inside the abandoned house, lost beneath the rubble.
    “Hand ’em here.” Bullet stuck out his hand.
    Confused, she gave him her rumpled clothing.
    “Shoes, too.”
    She stepped out of the wedge sandals.
    “Pick ’em up, bitch!”
    She snatched up the sandals and gave them to Bullet.
    “Ain’t nothing but swampland around here. Yo’ nekkid ass can try to run off if you want to. But when I catch you—” He shook his head as if the consequences for trying to escape were too gruesome for him to even verbalize.
    Bullet pulled out his homemade knife, grabbed her around the neck and brought the shank close to her face. “It might be a good idea to turn you into a one-eyed hooker.”
    “I won’t run.”
    “Bet not. In case they got your face on fliers and shit…won’t nobody recognize you after I get finished doing surgery on yo’ face. Y’ah mean?”
    “I’m going to be right here, waiting for you.”
    In her mind, she was envisioning herself running through swamplandand finding her way to a highway. She knew a highway was nearby. She’d heard the familiar sound of expressway traffic a few minutes before Bullet had pushed her inside the motel room.
    An hour passed. Gianna had gone to the door, unlocked the chain and peeked out so many times, a sheen of sweat covered her nude body.
    Bullet was nowhere in sight. Nor was anyone else. The few cars in the gravel parking lot indicated that there were people somewhere, renting out rooms. There had to be a desk clerk. But how far was the office from her room.
    There was no neon sign boasting the name of the hotel. Only darkness. In silent conflict, she wondered if she should take the chance and run out into the dark night, and then trek through the swampland Bullet had mentioned. No, she couldn’t deal with a swamp in the dark.
    She’d stand a better chance of escaping if she pounded on some motel doors. A butt-naked, young girl screaming for help would bring the police. Her parents had to be beyond frantic. Surely an Amber Alert was in progress. A rescue team would respond quickly.
    She was ready to dart out, but stopped. She stood with the door cracked, nervously licking her chaffed lips, and trying to keep her breathing steady, she pondered the pros and cons of disobeying Bullet.
    It occurred to her that Bullet was most likely hiding in the shadows, testing her loyalty. Wanting her to make a run for it so he could use his knife to disfigure her face.
    Too scared to run, Gianna closed the door. She started to replace the chain lock, but left it dangling. What was the point? Bullet would get in one way or another. Why give him a reason to poke out her eye?

    An hour or so later, she heard footsteps outside the motel room. Panic swept through her. She pictured Bullet waving his knife around, blaming her because he hadn’t been successful in wrangling up more business.
    The door opened. With an arrogant swagger, Bullet stepped inside. Three white men came up behind him. They froze in the doorway. Squeezed together, they gawked at Gianna like she was something from another planet.
    Bullet waved a hand. “Come on in.”
    Looking over their shoulders, the three men inched forward but kept the door cracked open as if they might need to make a hasty escape.
    “Close the door. This ain’t for prying eyes. This here shit is on the low, y’ah mean?”
    With her eyes, Gianna begged the men to help her.
    “She’s just a kid,” one of the men uttered.
    Eyes alit with curiosity, the three white men spilled into the motel room. Bullet stalked over; closed the door behind them.
    After carefully putting the lock in place, Bullet swiveled his head toward Gianna. “Yeah, she’s young and tender. Just got her cherry popped,” he bragged. “That lil’ pussy of hers is still tight. Which one of y’all wants to try it out first?”
    Gianna cringed. Her