Caleb blinks, hoping Raphael won’t see through the lie. “I’m sorry. I was... It wasn’t about her.”
“Then what was it about?” Raphael cocks his head to the side.
Caleb can see in Raphael’s eyes that the man doesn’t quite believe him, and Caleb’s never acted like that around a client before... Well, at least not after his training... not after he learned the high price of his mistakes. He hesitates and sees Raphael’s mouth twitch. If he doesn’t tell the truth, Raphael will lose his patience.
“I... I haven’t been taking my pills,” he says and looks away. It’s the truth, but Raphael doesn’t need to know the real reason. He will probably still get punished for it, but anything’s better than admitting that he’s been thinking about Lilith. “They’re in my room.”
“I see.” Raphael’s face is expressionless. “What did you plan to do with them?”
“Nothing, I swear.” Caleb’s eyes widen in panic. “I just wanted to see if I could do without them, and... I can’t.”
For a moment, Raphael is quiet and Caleb braces himself for his reaction.
“You’ll give the pills back to me,” Raphael finally says. “And you’ll take the ones I give you. You see how going without them makes you. You don’t want to anger me, do you?”
“No, sir,” Caleb says quietly, a bit of the tension seeping out of his shoulders.
“Good.” Raphael rises to his feet, and Caleb starts to get up too until Raphael shakes his head. “No, stay here.”
Caleb nods briefly and lowers himself back onto the bed. As Raphael strides off to the bathroom, Caleb places his arm over his eyes, worried about what Raphael has in mind for later. The room is quiet and all Caleb can do is stare at the white ceiling. His nerves jittery, thinks about Lilith again.
What is she doing now? Is she horrified by what she saw? Does she hate herself for ever laying a finger on him, for letting him touch her, for taking her virginity? He sits up, fighting a wave of nausea. Maybe it’s really the pills. Maybe he’s losing his mind. Why would Lilith care about him? She got what she paid for. He’s nothing more than a toy to her, just like to everyone else.
She’s not like Heather. She can’t be. He doesn’t know what she meant when she said she wanted to help him, but he doubts it’s anything good. Roughly running both hands through his hair, he nearly tugs out a couple of strands. If he could just forget about her... but her blue eyes haunt him. As he sinks back to the bed, he hopes he’ll never see her again.
Time can’t pass fast enough, and when I call Lloyd and ask him if I can come see him at the station, I’m so terrified that I don’t know what to do. I’ve left an anonymous tip-off about the party a couple of hours before it was supposed to begin yesterday, and I’m dying to find out what happened.
As Lloyd comes toward me with a smile on his face, I’m surprised that the station looks calm as usual.
“Hey, Lil. Wanna go grab something to eat?” he says. “My shift is just over.”
“Sure.” I follow him toward the door. As we walk down the street, I meet his dark eyes. “So... has anything interesting happened?”
He shrugs. “Not much. We raided a fancy hotel last night. I suppose that would qualify as interesting.”
“Oh?” I can barely breathe as I wait for him to tell me more.
“Yeah, we received a tip-off that someone was having illegal parties, so we went to check it out. Arrested a few elite prostitutes. Had to let go two very rich guys because they’re rich, obviously, and they claim they knew nothing about the prostitutes and that they weren’t paying anything.” He gives me a deadpan look.
“Wait, what do you mean two guys? There were only two guys there? Who are they?”
“I can’t tell you that.” His expression is pinched with annoyance. “But at least we busted their party. It’s something.”
“And the prostitutes? Did they tell you anything?” I wonder if Caleb is among them, although I’m suspicious about such a low number of guests.
“Nah.” He shakes his head. “We think there were more of them at that party, but either everyone vanished into thin air or they had another exit and were alerted of our arrival.”
“Will you investigate?” I ask hopefully.
“There’s not much to investigate, really. Those we didn’t get will pop up some other time somewhere. They always do.”
I chew on the insides of my cheek. Raphael must have known the raid would be coming, so he probably let someone stay to cover up for him. I’m almost sure not a single one of the real sex slaves is at the station, or even if they are, Raphael must have made sure they never talk. Shit. “Listen, I have to tell you something, but you can’t let anyone know you heard it from me.”
He stops to look at me. The street is mostly empty, and I’m glad no one is there to overhear us. “All right,” he says, his eyebrows shooting up.
“I found out about a ring of elite prostitution, tied to what you discovered yesterday, but with actual sex slaves,” I say. “Can you do something about it? Their leader goes under the name of Raphael. He’s a tall, lean, dark-haired guy with blue eyes. Maybe one of the people you arrested will know him. His slaves have a distinct tattoo on their hips.”
“And you found that out how exactly?” His face is serious.
“From a friend. She’s kind of involved with them, so she won’t call the cops or anything. She’s afraid for her life.”
His eyebrows draw together. “And she goes around telling people that?”
I grimace. “She told just me. We’ve been friends for a long time and she needed to tell someone. That’s why you mustn’t tell anyone that I told you, but can you at least interrogate those you arrested or try to find something? I’m sure there’s more to this. We could...”
Lloyd raises his hand. “Stop. What you’re saying is a serious matter and I’ll look into it, I promise. But I can’t do anything without evidence. You know that. I can’t chase unknown men based on something you heard.”
“I know, but please be careful. My friend told me some cops are working with Raphael too.”
He presses his lips into a tight line, then sighs. “I’ll see what I can do, but if I don’t find anything and your friend doesn’t step forward with some information, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do much. You should really talk to your friend.”
“I know. Thank you.” I offer him a smile. Evidence. Where could I get some evidence? Damn it. I could ask Katherine for more info, but I don’t want to put her through traumatic memories, so I hope Lloyd will find something; a clue, no matter how small, could lead to Raphael.
I lean my head against the wall, my phone clutched in my hand. Lloyd has just told me there’s nothing he can do, and I’m not sure what to do next.
“You didn’t actually expect your plan to work, did you?” Katherine asks. I turn around to face her. She’s sitting on the sofa, her legs crossed.
“I don’t know. I expected at least something to happen. Lloyd arrested a few people, but everyone claims they were working alone and they denied that they know Raphael. One of them has Raphael’s mark, but she claims it’s just a tattoo. And of course, they didn’t let Lloyd interrogate anyone because that’s not exactly his job, and he couldn’t complain and accuse his coworkers of working for some mysterious man without proof.” I sigh and tuck the phone back into my purse, which I dump onto the couch. “I need a better plan.”
“And all of that because of Caleb? You’re going to lose your life because of him. Is it worth it?” She eyes me carefully. “He could be Raphael’s accomplice or just some drug addict.”
I shake my head. “I saw the look in his eyes when...” The images of that night flash through my head and I feel sick to my stomach. Nothing will ever erase that from my mind. “I can’t just do nothing. I know he didn’t want that. And Raphael... hit him for talking to me the wrong way. Is that how Raphael would treat a free man? You should have heard the tremor in Caleb’s voice... If he were just working f
or Raphael, I’m sure he wouldn’t let Raphael treat him like that.”
Katherine shrugs. “I wouldn’t know.”
“I saw other people who were enjoying themselves and the looks on their faces were completely different.”
“What are you going to do?”
I scratch my head as I pace up and down the room. Finally, I stop and look at Katherine. “I’m going to talk to Caleb. I already arranged a meeting.”
She laughs. “Yeah, as if that’s going to help.”
“He’s the only one who can help me and give me some information about Raphael.”
Katherine runs her hand over her face. “He won’t. He’s not that stupid.”
“I have to try. I don’t know what else to do.”
“Good luck with that. Just pray he likes you enough that he doesn’t tell everything to Raphael or you’re a dead woman.”
“I’ll offer him my help with whatever Raphael holds over him. Caleb knows I’m rich and from an influential family. If he has a debt to pay off or he needs money to buy some special drug... I can get it all.”
“Like I said, good luck. You’re out of your mind.” Katherine gets to her feet and starts toward the door. “I’m out of here. Can’t stand your delusional yapping anymore.”
Raphael storms into the room, his face a mask of fury. Jade presses herself closer to Caleb on the couch, and he puts his arm around her. Ever since the cops raided Raphael’s last party, everyone has been in fear of his reaction. There’s nowhere to run now since all the guards are in the room with hands on their guns, awaiting Raphael’s sign.
Caleb can’t help but feel his throat constricting. He doesn’t even want to consider that one of them is responsible for the raid.
“You’re lucky I know none of you had anything to do with that little disruption in my business,” Raphael says, his voice perfectly calm, but Caleb can tell by the tic in Raphael’s jaw that he’s furious.
Jade is still trembling in his embrace and he isn’t sure if he’s hearing the beating of Jade’s or his own heart.
“Sir, we would never say...” one of the girls speaks up, and Caleb closes his eyes, cringing. Then he looks up at Helen, who is now cowering under Raphael’s piercing eyes. Raphael steps toward her and backhands her so hard that she falls to the floor. Everyone watches in silence, not daring to get in Raphael’s way.
“Quiet. I don’t want to hear any nonsense. I have far more important questions, and I need those questions answered.” His gaze rakes over Helen who is sobbing quietly on the floor, then he focuses on Caleb and Jade. “You two. My office. Now.”
When Raphael storms off, Jade starts to whimper and Caleb pulls them both to their feet.
“Shh. It’s okay. We didn’t do anything,” Caleb says, squeezing her hand, but she gives him a desperate look.
“What if he thinks we did? Why’d he call us first?” Jade blurts, her wide eyes full of tears.
“I don’t know, but calm down. Please. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He leads her down the hallway. Making Raphael wait is a terrible idea, and the sooner they get there, the sooner they’ll be out. Or at least that’s what Caleb hopes.
Jade stumbles but keeps walking. She clings to Caleb as they step into the office. Raphael ignores them for a while, busy with something on his phone. When his feverish gaze lifts to them, Caleb doesn’t look away.
“You two have had new clients recently,” Raphael starts. “Noticed anything strange about them?”
“No,” Caleb says and Jade shakes her head, but a soft whimper escapes her lips.
Raphael cocks his head, glaring at Jade. “Why are you crying?” He gets to his feet, stalking forward until he’s standing in front of her. She lowers her gaze, but he tips her chin up. “Are you hiding something from me?”
“No, sir, there’s nothing...” she chokes out, but then she bursts into tears, which makes Raphael’s brow crease.
“I’m not sure I believe you when you cry and cling to Caleb like a demented child.”
Caleb grits his teeth, then decides to do the stupidest thing he could ever do. “She’s crying because you’re scaring her for no reason,” he says, lifting his eyes toward Raphael’s.
“No reason?” Raphael’s face is turning red, but his focus is now solely on Caleb.
“Yeah,” Caleb says, letting go of Jade and crossing his arms. “You vet your clients really well. You would’ve known if it was one of them. You’re just doing this because you’re angry.”
Just as he finishes the sentence, Raphael grabs him by the throat and shoves him against the wall. Jade gasps, and Caleb hopes she won’t interfere because he has Raphael exactly where he wants him—away from Jade. He can feel Raphael’s fingers tightening and he fights the urge to panic, and just stands there staring back at Raphael, who screws his nose up.
“Don’t push it,” Raphael says through his teeth. “And don’t look at me like that.” His grip on Caleb’s throat weakens, and Caleb knows he’s right. All Raphael wants is to take out his anger on someone, and Caleb would rather he do it on him than on Jade, Helen, or anyone else.
Raphael turns around and leans on the table, his shoulders tense.
Caleb slowly steps forward. “Maybe I can help you,” he says.
Raphael lifts his head, turns around, and just watches him for a moment. “We’ll see.”
Before Caleb can move or do anything, Raphael pushes himself off the table and roughly twists his fingers into Caleb’s hair. Caleb winces as Raphael slams him down on the table and presses his head against the wooden surface, sending pens and papers flying.
Raphael lowers himself until his lips brush Caleb’s ear. “I’ll beat your ass and fuck you until you scream, you little bitch.”
Caleb takes a deep breath as Raphael tugs down his pants. He stares at the wall, trying to block out the feel of cold breeze on his bare skin and the sound of Raphael’s belt pulling out of the loops.
“You, get out!” Raphael snaps, and Caleb can hear the door open and close.
Caleb sighs in relief that at least Jade won’t have to witness what will happen. The first slap of leather against his skin jolts him up, but then he grits his teeth, determined not to give Raphael the satisfaction of hearing him cry out. As the blows rain down on him, he closes his eyes and pictures Lilith’s beautiful face, as if she were an angel who could take away the pain.
When I open the door of my apartment and see Caleb’s serious face, tears nearly well up in my eyes from relief. I usher him inside, but as I come closer, he backs away.
“I need to talk to you,” I say.
His usual fake smile slips onto his lips as he tilts his head, his fingers going for the buttons of his shirt. “Talk? No, you don’t need to talk. You need something else.” He stalks toward me until his lips almost touch mine. I place my hands on his chest, swallowing hard.
“I’m sorry about what happened at that party,” I say, and he just blinks at me in confusion.
“Sorry? Why?”
“What Raphael did to you because of me...” I search his face for any reaction, but he gives me nothing. “And because I didn’t do anything to stop that man from hurting you.”
“What are you talking about?” He frowns. “You saw me have sex with a man. Is that what bothers you?” The corners of his lips quirk up. “Are you jealous? Do you want me only for yourself?”
“No, it’s not that.” I run my hand through my hair. “I know you didn’t enjoy yourself.”
“Ah, because you know me so well, don’t you?”
“I don’t, but I know what I saw. And you can’t convince me that it’s okay that Raphael treats you like that just because you didn’t want to talk to me. Does he always do that? Hit you when you don’t act like he wants you to? You don’t have to stay with him, you know. You can go off on your own.”
“I told you, you shouldn’t have come to that party. It’s not a place for you. You don’t understand how things work there.” He presses
his forehead against mine. “I can take you to another one. Show you just how much you don’t understand what’s going on. You were standing way too far away to see if I was enjoying myself or not.”
“But...”
“Shh.” He places his finger across my lips. “You don’t know what I like, and I appreciate your concern, but I know what I’m doing.” His other hand finds my thigh and his fingers trail up. “And I know what you like, so...”
“I...” His hand slips into my panties and a soft moan escapes my lips. My fingers gently close around his wrist. “Stop. I don’t want you to touch me.”
He immediately lets go and steps away from me, but his calm mask is cracking a little. “Then what do you want?” he asks.
Katherine is right. No matter what I say, Caleb will find an excuse for Raphael or anything that happened. And really, why should he trust me? For all he knows, I could be Raphael’s spy. But no matter what, I can’t sleep with Caleb again. “I want you to help me make a pizza.”
“What?” He gapes at me. “Don’t tell me you asked to see me just so we could make food together.”
“Why not?” I shrug. “I like your company.”
He gapes at me as if suggested something absolutely crazy, but his eyes are soft and filled with an inner glow. “Okay, I can try to help you. I guess.”
“I give up.” I sigh, holding up my hands that are caked in flour. There’s dough all over me, and I’m sure I have bits and pieces of it in my hair. “This was a terrible idea. Let’s just call the delivery.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t give up so early. See? It doesn’t look so bad.” He shows me the dough he’s rolled out, a big grin on his face.
“But it’s all over me!” I look at my fingers with tiny bits of dough under the nails, and I can’t get it off. Too late I realize I just wiped my sweaty forehead with the floury back of my hand. Now I probably have flour on my face. “Fuck.”
Hold Me Page 11
