A/N: I had a review for my last chapter from a reader who was upset about Rose's reaction to what Dimitri did. The person said she felt Rose was being a hypocrite after telling Dimitri that he needed to forgive himself for what he did as a Strigoi, but she wouldn't forgive him for this. I don't think she is being hypocritical at all. She is trying to forgive him, but he raped someone, repeatedly. Regardless of if he was in the right state of mind or not, that is a hard pill for any girlfriend to swallow.

Put yourself in Rose's shoes in this story, her boyfriend just told her he was a rapist. If you were Rose, wouldn't you have some reservations about jumping back in bed with him, or even staying his girlfriend? It doesn't matter that he wasn't in his right mind when he did it. Raping someone, especially a child, is a millions times worse than anything else he could've done as a Strigoi. Rose needs time to put it all into perspective. That's what she's doing.

I hope that helps people understand her feelings a little better. Now, on to the story.

ROSE

"What did you find out, old man?" I asked.

We had just finished dinner, and Olena had outdone herself as usual. It couldn't have been easier to cook for fifteen dhampirs and six Moroi on such short notice, but she managed with the widest arrangement I had ever seen. There was something for everyone—she had even managed to get in touch with a friend of his who kept feeders for the Moroi in Baia. Everyone was full to the bursting and had retired for the evening.

Dimitri, Eddie, Abe, and I were sitting in the living room. The Belikovs had kindly gone to bed early to give the four of us a chance to discuss our plans for the next couple of days.

"First of all, I'm not sure taking the kids out of there will be the best idea." Abe answered. "They are extremely loyal to Marcus and Rebekah. They hold them up as heroes of sorts, and don't believe the two are doing anything wrong. Accroding to the ones I talked with yesterday, they are at the club by choice and are never forced to do anything they don't want to do. They seem to think what Marcus and Rebekah ask of them is worth it, in exchange for what they have."

This didn't surprise me. It sounded like a weird form of Stockholm's Syndrome. True, Marcus and Rebekah didn't actually kidnap these kids, but the two had managed to convince all of their "employees" that they cared for them. It was a complication that we'd have to take into consideration when we were planning. We didn't have time to convince them that there was something better out there. No, we'd have to find a way to get them out of there before we could de-brainwash them.

"A complication, but not altogether unexpected." Dimitri said. He hadn't spoken much since he had joined us a little while before dinner, choosing to remain pensive. In fact, I think that was the most he's said since greeting his family. "I visited the club many times for business as well as pleasure. All of their "employees" are always happy and healthy. They hold Marcus and Rebekah in the highest respect and would never do anything to hurt them."

"I don't get it." Eddie said, moving from his spot against the wall. "Why? I mean these two monsters are exploiting them in the worst possible ways. Marcus and Rebekah are forcing these children to sell themselves for a place to stay and food to it. How could they possibly want to stay when there is a better way to live."

"Rebekah is a master manipulator." Dimitri explained. "She knows what to say and to get people to what she wants. Marcus isn't much better. They've managed to convince these kids that working for them is the only way to stay fed and safe. The two have managed to convince these kids that they are the only ones who care, and that nobody will come for them."

"Most of them are from broken homes, have parents that just don't care, or don't even know where to begin looking for them." Abe, who I just recently learned, did most of his Russian business in the club, finished for Dimitri. Abe had assured me his visits were all about business and not pleasure. I believe him because, let's face it, Abe Mazur is many things, but a rapist isn't one of them. "It would've been easy for Rebekah to convince them that they had nowhere else to go. They won't leave by choice. Some of them would probably even die before they let us hurt Marcus or Rebekah."

"So how do we get them out of there without getting anyone hurt?" Eddie asked. "We can't hurt innocents."

"Was there anyone willing to give you information?" I asked Abe.

"There are a few who are only they because they truly believe they have nowhere else to go." Abe said. "But hate Rebekah and Marcus and the life they are forced to lead just to survive. Those few would do anything to get out, and I managed to get a few of them to talk to me."

"Excellent. What do you find out?" I asked, sliding from my spot on the couch. I picked up the pen and notebook Dimitri had laid there before we started talking. We needed to make sure every detail was recorded to make our plan easier.

"Well, if we are going to attack it would be best to do it during the human day." Abe started. "One of my regular waitresses, Anya, says that they don't do business between the five in the morning and eight in the evening. The employees rest and prepare for the next day during those hours."

"Okay." I said as ideas for strategy started rolling around in my mind. "It would also make the fight a bit easier. Any Strigoi or Moroi, for that matter, would have nowhere to run unless they wanted to burn up outside.

"Well, that's another thing." Abe said with a smirk. "According to Anya, there is only one Strigoi on duty during the day. With the exception of Marcus and Rebekah who live on the premises. She says that since their employees can leave at any time, Rebekah and Marcus don't keep them heavily guarded. If they wanted to leave, they would simply have to tell the Strigoi on duty, and he would escort them to the door. Their bedroom doors don't even have locks on them."

"They are that confident of their hold over a bunch of teenagers?" Eddie questioned as I finished jotting down the important parts of Abe's speech.

"Why wouldn't they be?" Dimitri countered. "Rebekah's been doing this for years. She knows exactly what to do and say to get and keep them wrapped around her finger. All she has to do is assess their fears and play on them. Before they know it, they are like putty in her hands. She knows that, so she pretends to trust them. In reality, she knows they will never leave. They can't leave, because she takes care of them."

"Exactly." Abe nodded. "Anya and a few others seem to believe that leaving is a little more difficult that just walking out the door, though."

"What do you mean?" I asked, pausing in my writing. I had been having my own doubts about these kids just being able to walk away whenever they wanted. Rebekah and Marcus were too smart to risk someone blabbing about supernatural creatures to the whole world.

"Anya's friend, Marina, chose to leave a few months back. Anya and a few others wanted to accompany her to the door to say goodbye, but the Strigoi on duty refused. He told them he didn't feel like dealing with an entourage. Anya, who's always reminded me a lot of my own daughter," He gave me a pointed look. "Knew that didn't sound right, so she followed. She wanted to see if Marina really got to leave."

"She didn't." Dimitri finished the story, shaking his head.

"Anya says she doesn't know what happened, but instead of escorting her out, the Strigoi took her to the basement." Abe confirmed Dimitri's fears.

Dimitri cursed in Russian slamming his fist into a wall. "I knew all along that whole choice thing was bullshit. I just didn't care enough back then to question it."

"Has Anya told any of the others what she saw that night?" I pressed Abe. There was a slim chance this mystery would be enough to make the others want to leave as well.

"Only those closest to her." Abe answered. "She didn't want to risk telling the wrong person and have whatever happened to Marina happen to her."

"Understandable." I nodded, jotting down everything that he just said. "How did you get her to tell you all this anyway?"

Abe shrugged. "When I do business there, I make it a habit to buy some private time with some of the girls who look like they could use some rest. I make my men do the same. We pay for most of the night, and just let them sleep. Anya is one of my regulars. She trusts me implicitly. The second I told her I would get her out, she began spilling her guts about everything she knew."

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face at his story. I had always known that my father was a good man at heart, even if what he did for a living didn't often show it. Yet, finding out about what he did for these innocent and scared young girls warmed my heart.

"Does she know anything about Katya?" Dimitri asked before I could continue my questioning.

"Quite a bit, actually." Abe answered. "It seems the girl has been causing a lot of trouble since she arrived. She was always trying to escape and often refused to give the clients what they paid for. According to Anya, Rebekah and Marcus have resorted to locking her in their room in their basement apartment. They no longer allow her to come up to the club."

"I figured that would eventually happen." Dimitri mused from his chair. "Katya is quite the handful. I knew the moment I took her the only way to control her would be to keep her locked up. I'm sad to say it's the reason I chose to sell her to Marcus and Rebekah in the first place. I knew they could handle her attitude."

"Anya seems to think that they are doing a damn good job at it." Abe answered. "They only let one person down to see her, but he disappeared a few days ago. She's thinks they found out that this guy was in love with her, and they killed him."

"No." Dimitri shook his head. "They are too sadistic for that. If this guy really was in love with her, they wouldn't have killed him. They would've found a way to use him to torture her."

"How?" I asked.

"By making him strigoi." Eddie answered before Dimitri could. "It would make the boy forget his feelings for her. It could even be enough to make him hurt her. That would be enough to break her. I mean look at what it did you and Mikhail, and Dimitri and Sonya did their best to stay away from the two of you."

"Because of my feelings for her." Dimitri said quickly glossing over the elephant in the room. "They were strong enough to withstand the transformation. Maybe this boy's is too."

"Not with Rebekah and Marcus there to manipulate the situation." I responded shaking my head. "They could convince him of anything, if what you say is true. Besides, you may have loved me when you first turned, but they love had turned to hate by the time Lissa saved you."

"No." Dimitri nearly snapped. "My love for you never changed, Roza. Even when I wanted to kill, I still loved you. It would take a lot more than you trying to kill me to make me hate you."

I could hear the truth of those words in his tone. He truly meant it. Tears filled my eyes as I considered throwing my arms around him and telling him I loved him too. I wanted to apologize for what happened two days ago and forgive him for what he did. But I couldn't, not yet.

"Either way," I said shaking my head and swallowing the lump in my throat. "We can't count on his love for her to stop him from hurting her. We have to look at him as a potential enemy. No matter how hard that made be."

"If they're in love, we have to find a way to save him." Dimitri argued. "I've already taken too much from her."

"We have to get the kids out of there, Dimitri, and get rid of Marcus and Rebekah." I said, trying to be patient. I completely understood why Dimitri felt this way. Vampires had stolen everything from her, and she deserved a happy ending with the man she loved. We'd give her that, if we could, but saving this guy couldn't be our priority. "That has to be our priority. If he is still alive when this is over, then we will find and restore him."

Dimitri didn't look happy, but he nodded at me and sunk back into his chair. "Now, what can the two of you tell us about the setup of this place?" I continued. "I need as much information as possible to come up with a solid plan."

ANYA

In the day that followed Abe's visit, I tried extremely hard not to appear too nervous or excited as we rested. It was a difficult task, though. I had wanted to get out of this place for so long, but after what happened to Marina, I no longer trusted Rebekah and Marcus. As much as I had wanted to get out of this place, I didn't want to die, which I was almost positive had been what happened to Marina.

Abe's last visit offered hope that I could escape this hell without losing my life. I just had to keep every word spoken in that room a secret until Abe and his friends arrived to take Marcus and Rebekah down.

Silence was hard, considering I spent most of the day listening to my roommates/friends crying and dreading the night when they would have to do all those horrible things just to survive. I was dreading the night as well, but at least I had hope that it was going to be over soon. I wished I could've given that hope to my friends.

Unfortunately, Abe had been extremely clear. Surprise was the key to making whatever plan he had work, which meant I couldn't risk being overheard by the wrong people. I would just have to pray the others could make it through a few more nights.

A knock on our bedroom door a few hours before we were required to start prepping for the night scared me out of my thoughts. I pushed myself into a sitting position as Mischa, whose sleeping bag had been closest to the door, got up to answer it.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I wondered who our unexpected visitor was. Marcus and Rebekah almost always left us alone in between club hours. They "trusted" us enough not to cause any problems while they were downstairs playing with their pet.

The only time we were ever bothered was when someone was in trouble. A horrible ache suddenly started in my stomach as I wondered if that someone could be me.

I shrank back into my corner as Mischa switched on the light and opened the door. She kept her gaze on the floor and didn't say a word as she gestured for the Strigoi guard, Ivan, to enter. It was one of the many rules in this place. We had to treat all the vampires as if they were better than us. We weren't allowed to look them in the eye or even speak to them without permission. We'd be punished severely if we broke any of those rules.

"Anya Pavlov." Ivan said coming to stand in front of me. "Miss Rebekah would like to see you downstairs now."

My heart dropped into my stomach, and I knew, even if Abe was successful, I wouldn't make it out of this place alive. I took comfort in knowing because of my silence, most of my friends would stand a chance at getting safely away.

"May I ask what it is about?" I questioned trying to keep my voice steady. It was a stall tactic, of course. I knew exactly what it was about, and how my meeting with Rebekah would end. The longer I played dumb, though, the longer I could stretch out my life.

"Miss Rebekah seems to think you should know." Ivan replied.

I sighed, but nodded. "Let's get it over with then." I pushed myself out of my sleeping bag, not caring that I was in the thin, dirty t-shirt that had been given to me to serve as a night gown. I'd rather die wearing something that provided me a little dignity, than in one of the disgusting fetish outfits we were required to wear for the clients.

Ivan put a hand on my shoulder as if afraid I was going to run away. He didn't have anything to worry about. If I was going to die, I was going to do it with dignity. I wasn't going to try to run from it.

Before we could even make it to the door, Mischa, Lena, and Natalya, my three best friends in this God forsaken place, stepped in front of it.

"What's going on, Anya?" Mischa, the oldest of the three, asked. "What did you do?" It wasn't an accusation, just a question. We had all suspected horrible things about this place since Marina left us and knew going to the basement most likely meant death. She wanted to know what I had done to warrant a trip to the basement. I wished I could've answered her, but it would mean sealing the fates of three girls who had become like sisters to me. I wouldn't do that.

"Don't worry about it, Mish." I said, pulling her in for a hug. "Just know that I love all three of you very much, and I won't give them a reason to hurt you too. You have to take care of them now, though. You're the oldest, after me. They need you."

Mischa nodded, squeezing me back. "I swear, I won't let anything bad happen to them. We love you so much. We won't ever forget you."

Mischa pulled away and as Lena came in for her goodbye hug, Ivan yanked me away hard. I cried out as pain shot through my shoulder.

"Enough of this." Ivan growled, shoving my friends out of the way. "Miss Rebekah does not like to be kept waiting."

I allowed myself one last look at my friends as Ivan dragged me away and prayed that Abe Mazur wouldn't let them down.

KATYA

I had been in out of consciousness a lot since Adam's awakening. Marcus and Rebekah seemed to find it extremely entertaining to make me Adam's only source of food while Marcus was showing him how to control himself and training him how to be as lethal a vampire as Marcus and Dimitri were.

I wasn't doing much to make the whole thing less entertaining for them, though. Every time I felt Adam's fangs at my neck, I felt another piece of my heart being ripped out. It was hard to keep those feelings out of my demeanor during the times when I was conscious. I couldn't find the will to fight any more.

Anything they did from the moment, Adam first bit me was just another step closer to my death; a death that I would welcome with open arms, again. Every time Adam bit me, I prayed he would go too far and end my miserable existence; an existence that was only bearable when he was at my side.

"You awake, puppy?" Rebekah asked giving the cage a hard quick. The metal squeaked and the cage rattled causing my battered body to scream in protested.

I wasn't sure how long I had been out of it this time. All I knew is that when I had passed out this last time, I was still in the other room hanging by my wrists with the gag in my mouth and hood over my head. Now, I was lying face down in the cage, naked.

"Yes, Mistress." I answered quickly. I didn't need to give her another reason to hurt me, but I really wished they would just leave me alone to die.

"Good." She mused. "You're just in time for the interrogation of our traitor."

Before I could ask what she meant by that, the cage was opened, and Rebekah was dragging me out by my hair. I didn't try to fight her. The pain of cooperating was almost unbearable; I didn't need to make it worse by fighting. When Rebekah finally released my hair, I stumbled forward and landed at someone's feet.

At first, I thought it was a vampire then I noticed the person was struggling against the bindings that held her legs in place. A vampire would've been strong enough to break free of anything less than steel cable. No, this was a human. I gulped and pushed myself into a sitting position to get a better look at who it was.

I didn't worry about getting punished. Rebekah wanted me to know who was tied to the chair. If I didn't move to get a better look at her myself, then Rebekah would definitely force me to look. I was in too much pain for that though.

The girl who was sitting in the chair was slightly older than me. She had long strawberry blonde hair that was tied into a loose side braid. The messy arrangements of loose pieces led me to believe that she had been roughed up a little bit. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and there were tearstains on her cheek.

Her name was Anya, and it broke my heart to see her like that. While Adam had been my only friend, Anyta had been nice to me on several occasions. She would slip me food when no one was looking and had helped me clean up from a beating on more than one occasion. She was definitely not someone who deserved to be here; nor did she deserve the fate that I was sure was coming when this was over.

Rebekah chuckled. "It seems our friend here hasn't been completely honest about what she does when she is alone with certain clients. You are going to help me convince her to tell me the truth about an encounter with her friend, Abe Mazur."

"I swear." Anya practically yelled, shaking her head. "He was simply asking questions about the girls here. He said he was interested in getting into the trafficking business." More tears spilled down her cheeks as she pleaded with Rebekah to believe her.

It would've been a good story, if Abe Mazur wasn't a regular in the club. Rebekah knew him too well for a lie like that to fly.

"Please, whore," Rebekah snapped. "I've been trying to convince Mazur to get into the trafficking business for years. Despite the mask he wears for the rest of the world, he's a bleeding heart who won't go anywhere near this business. You wanna try again?"

Anya took a deep breath, and I knew she was trying to pull it together. The trafficking story had been a last ditch attempt to save her life, but since it didn't work, she was going to get through the rest of this with as much dignity as possible. I had to give her credit for that.

"No, I don't want to try again." She said in a calm tone. "So you may as well just kill me, because I won't tell you anything."

Rebekah chuckled again as I felt a sharp kick to my stomach. I doubled over, gasping for breath as I felt Rebekah stilletto boots make contact with other parts of my body.

"Are you sure you don't wanna change that answer?" Rebekah asked, digging the heel of her boot into my shoulder. "Because I'm not sure how much more little miss Katya can take."

"Don't tell her anything, Anya." I yelled from the floor. I had no idea what this was about, but everything I heard about Abe Mazur led me to believe he was a good man. Whatever he tol Anya, Rebekah didn't need to know about. "I'm dead anyway. Just let her finish me off."

"Shut up." Rebekah yelled, kicking me in the shoulder so hard, I flipped over to my back. "I can still make this a million times more painful for you." This time she dug the heel of the boot into my belly button. I whimpered a little, but didn't give her the satisfaction of a louder reaction.

Anya let out a little sob but didn't say anything. I could imagine how much she hated seeing another innocent in pain like this, but I wasn't close enough to her to break her silence. I suppose it was just as well. Perhaps, I'd finally get killed because Anya refused to talk. I was okay with that.

"You know what I think?" Rebekah taunted, moving her heel to one of my exposed and battered breasts. She pushed down on my nipple causing another whimper to escape my lips. I think this little worm isn't enough motivation for you to open your disgusting, pathetic little mouth, so why I don't I send Ivan back upstairs to get one of your little friends. If I'm not mistaken, little Lena would be the perfect bait."

"No." Anya cried as more tears spilled. "Leave them out of this please. I'm begging you."

This caused Rebekah to smirk and leave my side. I took the opportunity to flip myself over and crawl back towards the chair. I wanted to know what was going on. Rebekah had leaned over the chair so she was right in Anya's face.

"Just tell me what you and Mazur talked about last night, and they won't have to get involved."

"He was asking about what goes on when the club is closed." Anya said. Her voice was cracking as she fought to keep from crying. "He wanted to know where the girls slept, how many vampires were here while we were sleeping. He wanted to know if you and Marcus lived on the premises. And he asked a ton of questions about her." Her eyes met mine begging for forgiveness as she said those words.

There was nothing to forgive, of course. I would've done the same thing if the people I loved were being threatened. I wished there was a way I could've told her that, but all I could do was stare back at her.

"Really? Did he tell you why he wanted all this information?" Rebekah questioned.

"No." Anya answered almost pleadingly.

"Funny. I really don't believe you." Rebekah laughed. "Ivan, can you go get Lena, please? I want to see if her answer changes."

"Okay, okay." Anya said quickly as more tears poured down her cheeks. "He told me that he had some powerful friends who were going to use the information I gave him to save us all. He said that they were going to kill you and Marcus and destroy this place. That's all I know, I swear."

Rebekah cocked her head to the side and stared at Anya. I wasn't sure what she was thinking about, but I imagined it was along the lines of whether or not to believe what Anya had just told her.

"Even if there's more, you've told me all I need to know." She finally said. "Ivan, take her to the room across the hall, and tell our new friend that he can kill this one." I flinched knowing their "new friend" was Adam. I didn't want to even think about the idea of him killing someone. "Then tell Marcus I need to speak with him. We have to figure out what our next move is going to be."

"Yes ma'am." Ivan answered. He gave her a little salute before picking Anya, chair and all, up and carrying her from the room. The door slammed shut, and I was left alone with Rebekah.

"I don't fucking believe this." Rebekah growled. "Mazur had been doing business here for years, why would he all of a sudden care about bringing us down? We need to get out of here and destroy all the witnesses."

"What are you gonna do?" I asked before I could stop myself. Destroying the witnesses sounded promising. Surely, I counted as a witness. Did this mean I was finally going to get my wish?

Rebekah yanked me up by my hair, forcing me to make eye contact with her. "I don't know yet, puppy but, whatever we decide, I promise you will live through it. Now, go back to sleep."

With that, she backhanded me so hard I flew out of her grip hitting my head on the corner of their coffee table. I knew a moment of pain before my world faded to black.

A/N: What do you guys think? Any guesses on what Rebekah and Marcus are going to do? Or how Dimitri and the others will save Katya now?