The rough voices of the men from the van dominated the background as they complained about how Alexis had scratched and kicked at them and how she was lucky they hadn't just knocked her out.
"Well, that's lucky for you that you hadn't," the voice of the man who had just entered came again.
It was more refined than the two men from the van - softer, yet serious. "I don't think my boss will be happy with this as it is."
Somehow, that silenced the thugs from the van, and their complaints turned to pleas, claiming they had no choice but to use a heavy hand on Alexis as she was 'a fiery little one', as one man had said with a rough laugh.
Alexis remained huddled in the corner, too scared to move as she listened to the back and forth between the men until, eventually, there was quiet, and that man knelt beside her.
His hands were gentle as he took her hands in his and untied them before loosening the cloth the men had tied over her eyes.
She squinted slightly when the brightness of the room hit her and immediately tried her best to focus on the face in front of her.
"Hey there," he said in a soft voice. "I'm Ren."
Gently, he pulled the cloth from her mouth and offered a small bottle of water, which she took and quickly gulped down a few small mouthfuls mainly to wash the foul taste from her mouth that the cloth had left.
Then, when he lifted his hand to her again, she flinched and pulled away, her eyes widening as she stared up at him.
"Hey," he said softly. "I'm not going to hurt you."
He raised his hands in front of her, showing his open palms for a moment before placing them on her head.
Alexis grimaced as he inspected her head, combing his fingers gently through her messy, afro curls before raising her chin to look deeply into her eyes. Her jaw visibly tightened as her stomach churned from his unwanted, yet gentle touch.
She hated physical contact in the best of times, especially the touch of men, due to the memory it resurfaced.
She had no way to make out the intentions of the man who now touched her, though she sensed no malice from him - but then what could a group of men who had dragged her from the streets want with her?
"Have you been eating?" he asked in a soft voice.
Alexis shook her head and pulled away from his grasp.
He seems friendly, she consoled herself.
Waves of golden strands cascaded along the top of his head and were better kept than most women she knew if she judged it by its volume and shine. Its vibrant blond dyed colour created a beautiful harmony when contrasted against his flawless ebony skin and golden brown eyes.
His suit looked expensive too, like the kind you saw in those magazine adverts, and he smelled so good, it was a stark contrast to the men who had grabbed her. She couldn't help but inhale the woody, spicy aroma deeply and hope it washed the smell of other men away.
Ren wasn't like any of the men that she was used to being around. Her father was fond of surrounding himself with men more similar to the thugs who had grabbed her. She rarely saw men of Ren's grandeur, except for the few times she'd seen her father grovelling at their feet.
They were the type of men her father swore looked down on him, and would regularly curse, but they were also the type of men that he feared the most.
"I just want to check you over quickly, darling," he said as he gripped hold of her face and pulled gently her eyelid down.
Alexis remained silent as he scrutinised her with his gaze, first peering into her eyes, then checking her teeth and gums. Then, he lifted her hands to inspect them, paying extra attention to the rawness around her wrists which had been caused by the restraints the men had used.
"Do you have any injuries or anything you want to tell me?" he asked after gently placing her hands down on her knees.
Silence filled the air aside from the soft sound of Alexis' deep breaths. It seemed even the two thugs were invested in the checks that Ren was performing.
What kind of injury? she questioned herself. I don't have to talk about that, do I?
She gave a staggered shake of her head and looked away.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, tilting his head to catch her gaze.
"No," she answered quickly.
"We have plenty of food …"
"I don't want any," she said, looking back up to glare at him.
She was terrified if the truth was known, but she was prepared to fight if that's what was needed. She'd decided a while back that she would never allow herself to be vulnerable again, not after what he had done.
Ren's eyebrows dropped into a deep dip as he stared back before his gaze moved over to the doorway.
Alexis followed his gaze to where two more men now stood, one man, with styled black hair, was leaning back against the wall with his hands in his pocket watching Alexis and Ren as another man stood nearby.
That other man had lilac hair and seemed to have a calm, yet serious disposition as he watched the two men who had brought her, both of whom had taken to surveying the room.
These two men were just as well kept as Ren, with pristine suits and hair that shined as much as their shoes.
"Is there a problem?" the man with the black hair asked.
There was more silence as Ren went over to him, and the two talked in hushed voices, the third man who had been watching the thugs who had brought Alexis, in soon became invested in their conversation before eventually walking over and crouching in front of her.
"What's your name, princess?" he asked.
Silently she stared back at him, unable to think of much else other than how pretty he looked, especially on closer inspection where she realised his hair was more two tones of lilac rather than just the one, and the diamond piercing he had in his right eyebrow sparkled playfully above his eyes which were almost the same lilac as his hair.
It wasn't just that. There was something about his smile, just as there was about Ren's. It was soft and lacked any of the ill intent she had come to recognise in other men she'd know - it seemed a pure smile without any crookedness.
"Alexis," she said after she realised she had been staring for too long.
"Well, that's a lovely name. I'm Geoffery," he said, putting his hand out for her to shake. "Or you can call me Geoff if you'd like."
Her gaze dropped to his hand as he waited for her to take it.
He doesn't seem like a bad guy either, but that's probably more reason to be afraid, isn't it? If they're not the bad guys, why have I been taken there?
"You don't want to shake?" he asked after some time had passed. "You don't have to worry, we're not all like those brutes who brought you here. We're real gentlemen," he said with a warm smile. "We would never harm a little girl."
"Brutes, you say?" one of the men who had brought Alexis in said in a rough deep voice. "It's your boss who offered to pay for the girl. What does the head of an organisation like this need a little girl for anyway?"
"I'd mind what I say If I were you," the black-haired man said as he straightened up from where he had been leaning and faced the two men.
"How much longer is this going to take?" the thug continued in a more subdued voice. "We've delivered the girl, just give us our payment so we can go."
"She has bruising to her arms, wrists and face, and she clearly looks traumatised," the black-haired man continued. "Our boss didn't expect her to be in this kind of condition."
Geoffrey smiled and leaned in a little closer to Alexis. "That's Thomas. He's our number two," he whispered.
What's a number two? she wanted to ask but was too entranced by Thomas as he stood completely relaxed, but still exuded an aura that even fanned fear in the eyes of the two thugs that had brought her in.
"We're not responsible for all of that," one of the men said, clearly feigning bravery. "She was fighting like an animal when we got her."
"I'm sorry to hear you couldn't handle a little girl," Thomas said, his voice low and cool. "I'll tell you what we'll do," he continued. "You can have half the payment and sixty seconds to leave the premises."
He took the envelope that Ren had been fiddling through and handed it to the man.
"The agreement was for 5k," the man said, turning as if wanting to square up to Thomas.
Thomas didn't seem the slightest fazed and simply said the words, "fifty-nine," and then gave a small gesture to his watch.
It took two more seconds of glaring for the man to completely change his posture with his hands going up in front of him and him mumbling a quick apology before walking swiftly out of the room.
"What a nuisance," Thomas muttered under his breath as he moved with a measured calmness toward Alexis. His expression was unreadable, but his voice carried a weight that tolerated no argument. "Get up off the floor, kid. You're Blackthorn now; Blackthorn doesn't cower."