Harley's POV

After Henry showed me back to my room, I was able to look around and get myself situated. The room was tiny, but nothing was better than that cell I was in. I had already tried to look for a window or something, but there wasn't any in the room. Although sir had warned me that I wouldn't be able to escape, I still needed to try. I can't accept all of this without at least trying to get out.

As soon as I entered the room, I made a direct line towards the bathroom. I saw all types of shampoos, conditioners, body washes, etc., neatly tucked away in individually colored baskets next to the sink. I suppose those belong to the other maids that live in this room. I never thought I'd be so excited to see bathing essentials. I took it upon myself to carefully look around the place. The left bunk bed looks to be completely occupied, but the right bunk only had one occupied bed. The top bunk was left naked with folded sheets, and a comforter laid neatly on it. There was also a pair of cargo pants and a plain black shirt along with a pair of underwear and bra that were entirely too small for me next to the sheets. It was alarming that whoever left me this stuff thought I could fit in something so little. Nonetheless, it felt great to remove the nasty sweaty clothes I had on previously. The rancid smell filled my nostrils; I immediately threw them away when I returned to the bathroom. I couldn't wait any longer to remove all the dirt and grime off my body.

Like I was dipping a toe into a cold pool, I slowly stepped onto the chilled stone tiles. The shower door and walls were all glass, which didn't leave much protection if someone walked in. Still, I quickly turned the water on, immediately letting the water coat my body like a warm blanket. The water was so hot it felt like acid was being poured on me, but at the same time, it felt so good. The hot water kissed my bruised-dirt stained body. I stood there for a while with my eyes closed and sparks of light attacking me. I couldn't find any soap other than the bottles that belonged to the other maids, so; I took as little as possible from a large cherry blossom-scented bottle of body wash so I could at least get my body clean. My hair was so greasy I could grease a baking dish with it.

As I let the water wash over me, my mind went to Avery and my family. I wonder what they were doing at this exact moment. I wondered if they were thinking about me like I was thinking about them. I wondered if Avery was at school or home. I wanted so desperately to say "fuck it" and take my chances escaping this place to see them. A sharp pain emerges in my chest every time I think about them. It's subtle, but it a reminder of how painful this all is. I've always tended to swallow my feelings to get through painful or stressful situations. Life has always been somewhat stressful for me, and the only way I ever got through things is by not dwelling on the situation and pushing past it no matter how difficult it is. I worked hard so my brother could have a decent childhood. We never had much, but I want him to have all things I didn't have. My dad is a lot better at providing for us than he used to be anyways, which is all that matters. He and my mom were drug addicts when I was younger. I rarely saw them, and when I did, they were unrecognizable. Drugs took my mom when I was only 6, so I don't remember a lot of her, but I remember how my father reacted to her death. It was almost like a wake-up call to him. He stopped using shortly after her death and left me to my grandmother to get himself clean. He returned a couple of years later when I had just begun middle school with my brother. My brother's mom died while giving birth to him, and my grandma died later on. Although we are only half-siblings, I still love him like he is my own. So I don't think my father can live without me and neither can my brother. They need me, but I also needed them. We are all each other has. They are the only reason I needed to stay alive and keep fighting, so if I had to work for these jerks to get to them, then so be it.

Once I finally left the bathroom after practically scrubbing my skin off, I wrapped the fluffy towel around my body in an attempt to dry myself off. I quickly slipped the clothes I had found over my naked body and tied my long hair into the neatest bun I could make before leaving the now humid bathroom. The bra was digging into my shoulders, and the underwear was cutting off the circulation to my ass. However, I still felt very refreshed, but it was short-lived when anxiety immediately began to invade my body when I walked out of the restroom, and I was met with two women sitting on the bottom of one of the bunk beds staring at me. My eyes widen as their eyes bore into me. Their eyes made me nervous as I shifted uncomfortably towards the door. I knew they had to be the other maids, but they didn't look thrilled to see me. In fact, they looked like they wanted to jump me. One woman had short brown hair and appeared to be older than me. The other girl had long pin-straight blonde hair that looks so soft I wanted to reach out and touch it. She was stunning.

"Gosh, guys, you're making her nervous." Another girl said, strolling through the bedroom door and plopping down on one of the lower bunk with the other girls.

"Sorry. I couldn't help it. She just looks so cute and innocent." The brown-haired woman said, bursting into laughter, which lightened the mood. After she sobered up from laughing so hard, she hopped down from the bunk onto the floor. She brushed away the stray hair that had been left out of her tiny ponytail, and with a lopsided smile, she walked up to me and stuck her hand out towards me. "I'm Rachel. The head maid. This is Tessa and Brooke." She said, pointing to the young blonde-headed girl that stayed sitting down and the black-haired girl that had strolled in earlier.

"H-Hello, nice to meet you guys. I'm Harley." I weakly smiled. They certainly did make me nervous, and they all looked very intimidating. It seems like everyone in this house was scary.

"Harley. As in Harley Davis?" Tessa said twisted her face obnoxiously.

"Y-yeah. My dad likes motorcycles." I stuttered, making Rachel chuckle and Tessa roll her eyes.

"That's stupid." She muttered as she got up and walked past me towards the bathroom. She also made sure to rudely brush my shoulder on the way there. I don't understand why she was rude, but I had a feeling I was about to find out.

"Well, you're entitled to your opini-" I began but was cut off by Tessa gasping loudly behind me.

"Did you use my body wash?" she gaped at me while holding up the bottle of the cherry blossom body wash I used earlier in the shower. Out of all the maids, why did I have to pick up her bottle accidentally? I internally groaned as I moved my mouth to answer her. She seemed to hate me already, but now she is going to hate me even more. I really didn't want to have beef with a girl over body wash. This place was already hell; the last thing I need is to be jumped by a group of maids.

"Yes, I did; I'm sorry I didn't know it was yours. I just really needed to shower, and I didn't have any soap-" I explained, but she cut me off again.

"Look, I don't care. That sounds personal. I don't know who you think you are, but you can't just come in here and steal other people's things. This was expensive! and it was a gift from the boss." she barked at me. Although I was completely confused by her statement, I still jumped to defend myself against her ridiculous argument.

" I only used a drop, I swear. I didn't know it was expensive or a gift." I began but was interrupted this time by Rachel.

"Tessa, stop, you can't be serious. You're pressing this poor girl over body wash. Don't be ridiculous." She began, " Also, you know that was not a gift from the boss, and it wasn't expensive so let's stop this argument." She finished before turning to me, " I'm sorry about her."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have used it without permission anyways." I weakly smiled at her. At least someone was trying to defend me.

"Ugh, whatever!" she growled, "just stay out of my stuff," she said while bumping past me and plopping down back on the bed. My eyes followed her as she did so, causing her to twist her face and roll her eyes. I suppose Tessa wasn't very fond of me. I guess I really got off on the wrong foot with her; I just hope none of the other maids judge me over this small dispute. After all, Tessa is a beautiful girl, and she reminded me a lot of Avery. Hopefully, we can both be friends eventually since it seems like I'll be here for a while.

"How old are you anyway?" She asked

"18," I said

"Wow. You're that young and got a job working as Mr. Sanchez's personal assistant." Rachel said. So I guess sir's last name is Sanchez. It definitely fits him. She sounded truly astonished when I told her my age. I didn't know a certain age was required to slave after him. In fact, she is making this whole thing sound like a privilege.

"He's going to eat you alive," Tessa mumbled as she got up and stomped right out of the room, leaving me confused again and slightly nervous. Perhaps she was just making stuff up to get a reaction out of me. I already knew that sir was scary, so I shouldn't be surprised at her statement.

"So I guess you guys must be just as frightened of him as me." I chuckled humorlessly.

"No. Not really." Brooke shrugged.

"Wait. What? For real?" I asked in disbelief. Am I just weak and sensitive?

"Well, what she means by that is, we don't see Mr. Sanchez that much. When he eats, his PA brings his food to him; if he wants coffee, his PA brings it to him; when he needs his laundry done, his PA brings it; when he is going out, his PA makes his exit quick and brief. So really, the only person that sees Mr. Sanchez every day all day is his PA." Rachel began. I couldn't believe that this man has a house full of employees and doesn't even know them. It must be frustrating to work all day every day and never even see the person you are working for. " and that, my dear, is your job now." she concluded.

" I guess so," I breathed out.

"Well, I have to get back to work. It was nice meeting you, Harley. If you have any questions feel free to ask me." Rachel smiled and began turning to leave, but I shifted my feet to stop her before she could go. I needed to get as much information about this place as possible. I still knew close to nothing about who these people are or what they took me for.

"Actually, Rachel." I began

"Yeah?" She asked, urging me to continue.

"How did you guys end up working here?" I asked. I couldn't help but ask. It had been running through my mind since the tour began. How did all these prostitutes and servants get here? They couldn't have all been kidnapped like me. I didn't want to say anything about me being taken until I heard their story.

"Well, most of us owe some money, and we can't afford to pay it all back, so in exchange, we work here until it's paid off. Only if they decide not to kill us". She finished making my mouth go dry. Kill? Debt? What kind of brothel is this? Do they causally kill maids and prostitutes?

"So you leave when the debt is paid off?" I asked

"Yup. I'm about 100k in debt, so I'll be here for a while, but girls like Brooke, who are only a couple thousand in debt, won't be here long." She answered. So they were only women paying off debt. All of it seemed more normal than I expected, except some things still didn't make sense.

"Debt to who exactly?" I asked.

"The gang and the gang leader, of course. Mr. Sanchez, the boss's father, collects debts." She spoke as if it were common knowledge.

The gang? Is she saying we are all working for a gang? Everything is beginning to make sense. The unusual bodyguards, the basement's interrogation rooms, the huge, loud men, the prostitutes, the secretive rooms, and vague answers. A gang took me. I felt instantly dizzy, and my mouth had completely gone dry at this point. My palms - now coated in sweat- shook slightly as I wiped them on my pants. Then a realization hit me even harder. The only gang I knew of in New Mexico was Riot Cartel, but yet again, I didn't even know if I was still in New Mexico.

"Is it R-Riot Cartel?" I stuttered

"Yeah. I suppose it's kind of obvious." she chuckled. "Well, I'll be going. Feel free to make yourself at home." she smiled once again before leaving. I stood there in a stunned state for minutes on end, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. I slide down to the floor slowly with my hands in my lap and my eyes stuck in one place. Before I could even calm my panicking mind, there was a knock on the door following along by a voice asking for entrance inside.

"It's Henry; I'm coming in." the door swung open, revealing his puppy dog like a face. "Boss is back. He wants to see you now." ————-

Harley has met her dorm mates.

How do we feel about Brooke, Rachel, and Tessa?

Do we hate Tessa?