by T. K. Leigh
“Where is the girl? Tell me and then we negotiate. You could be giving me bullshit information.”
“She’s somewhere between here and Los Angeles,” he replied quickly. “I don’t know exactly where, but I took her to a station an hour out of town and put her on a bus that was heading for California. I told her to get off before the last stop. That’s all I know. Please. Don’t hurt them.”
“I won’t hurt them. No guarantee no one else will,” he said, his tone playful.
Patrick screamed in agony as the blade slashed his throat, his world going dark.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A DEAL
JOLENE SETTLED INTO HER bed that evening, her mind reeling from her almost kiss with Cam. Every time she closed her eyes, his beautiful lips flashed through her memory. She pulled her pillow close and clutched it to her chest, her world alive with exhilaration. She couldn’t remember ever feeling that happy…all from an almost kiss.
A sudden loud knock on the door woke her from her reverie. She shot up, wondering who could be at her door at nearly midnight. A brilliant grin crossed her face when she realized that it could only be one person… Cam. She knew, at that moment, that she was going to lean in just a little bit more and make that almost kiss a real kiss. Her first real kiss. She bounded down the stairs in excitement.
Pulling open the door, her expression immediately changed, confused as to why the strange man who had been eyeing her at the bar yesterday would be standing on her deck. But now that she saw him up close, she knew why he looked familiar.
“Can I help you?” she asked, trying to play it off, praying that he didn’t know who she was and it was just a coincidence.
A devilish smile crossed his face, causing Jolene to take a few steps back in apprehension.
“Well, depends on how you look at it…Jolene.” He entered her house uninvited, closing and locking the door behind him.
“Wha…? I don’t know what you’re talking about. That’s not my name,” she lied, the terror in her voice evident. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying to warm her body from the sudden chill that enveloped her.
“Do you really think I’m that stupid, Jolene?” he sneered, stalking toward her while she retreated from him. “Did you think no one would recognize you?”
As she processed his words, her chin began to tremble and her mind worked on an escape route. Lowering her gaze, she no longer had any desire to look into his cold, evil eyes.
“Please, David… I mean, senator.”
“There’s the Jolene I remember. Or what was it they called you?” he asked rhetorically. “Oh, that’s right…” A snide smile crossed his face before his expression settled into a gruesome stare. “Princess.”
Shivers ran through her body, the memory of being called the word that held such promise for her when she was a little girl making her sick to her stomach.
“But Mr. Falconi…” he continued. “He liked to call you something else entirely, didn’t he? What was his pet name for you?”
Jolene took a few more small steps back, wanting to turn it all off as she gradually returned to her dark place. She prayed that she would open her eyes and it would all just be a cruel dream, but she knew she wasn’t that lucky.
“Answer me, Jolene,” he demanded.
She lowered her head even more, staring at her bare feet. “Jo-Jo Bear,” she replied meekly.
“I knew it was you. You can’t fool anyone with that hair.”
She raised her fear-filled eyes to meet his. “Please don’t tell anyone. Please don’t tell him.”
He brought his hand to his chin as if deep in thought. “Well, perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement.” His eyes became hooded and he forced her against the wall, pressing his body against hers. “I think you know what kind of arrangement I’m talking about, don’t you?”
“Please,” she whimpered, closing her eyes. Her beach house that used to symbolize her new-found freedom now felt like a prison.
“Oh, princess…” He flicked his tongue against her neck. “You and I both know that you’re stuck here. Where are you going to run to next? And how are you going to get there? If you run, I’ll know about it. I’ll find you. And I’ll make sure to take you back to Mr. Falconi. I’m fairly certain he’ll be thrilled to see you. But I know you have no desire to go back. So do what I want, and we’ll keep your true identity our little secret. If you tell anyone about this arrangement, you’ll be back with Mr. Falconi before you can utter the word ‘princess’, understand?”
Jolene trembled, processing his words. She knew he was right. He had the upper hand. If she left, he would just find her. He was a powerful man. Who would possibly believe her word over that of a well-respected politician? No one.
“Do we have an understanding, princess?” he asked, his voice soft as he ran his fingers against her face, making her cringe. She felt sick to her stomach at what she was about to agree to. But what choice did she have?
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, glaring at him. “Yes,” she whispered, regretting that word the moment it left her mouth.
“Good.” His lips turned up into a smile that made Jolene’s stomach churn. “Now, which way is your bedroom?” he asked, pulling away from her and searching the small beach cottage.
“Please,” Jolene begged. “Not in my bedroom. Anywhere else.”
That despicable grin crossed his face again.
“Oh, I don’t think so, Jolene. I want you to remember the deal you struck with me every night when you’re falling asleep. I want you to smell me on your sheets, to feel me on your skin.”
He brought her earlobe between his teeth, the contact making her wince. His mouth lingered by her ear and her heart raced in dread.
“I want our little arrangement to constantly be at the forefront of your thoughts whenever you’re in that room and you think about running from me.” He pulled back and his dark eyes glared at her, his expression stern. “You ran out on Mr. Falconi. I need some sort of assurance that you will adhere to our agreement. You need a constant reminder of what’s at stake if you disobey me. Got it?”
He didn’t wait for her to respond. Grabbing her wrist, he dragged her up the stairs, hurriedly searching for her bedroom. Peeking into a decent-sized room with clothes thrown everywhere, he smiled.
“Bingo, princess.”
A tear fell down Jolene’s cheek as he lowered her to the bed, binding her arms together and attaching the restraints to the headboard. Instead of putting up a fight, she closed her eyes and tried to turn off, blocking out everything once more. It was the only way. She returned to her dark place…the place that Cam had spent the last few days slowly bringing her back from.
As the man on top of her grunted over and over again, she shut down and her heart broke a little. Not for what she was enduring at that moment, but for Cam.
~~~~~~~~~~
ROSA HERNANDEZ WAS NEARING the end of her shift. It had been a long day and several girls on her staff had called out sick again, forcing her to work a double. Just before midnight, she got a call from the boss, needing to see her in his suite. She was nervous about what he wanted from her. He had been acting rather suspiciously the past week, but she brushed it off. She wasn’t even supposed to know about the girls. If he found out that she not only knew, but had been helping girls escape for years, she wouldn’t live to talk about it. She just prayed that he hadn’t replaced Jolene so quickly.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door to his suite, her hands shaking. “Mr. Falconi, sir. It’s Rosa. You wanted to see me?”
She heard several deliberate footsteps and a muffled cry. Her stomach dropped. She had no desire to walk into that room, but she didn’t have a choice.
The door opened and her rather imposing boss was standing in front of her, beaming. “Ah, yes. Come in, Ms. Hernandez. Thank you for agreeing to see me this evening.”
Rosa scrunched her eyebrows in confusion as she walked past the threshol
d and into the suite, wondering why he was acting unusually pleasant.
“What can I do for you, sir?” she asked, trying to remain calm. She had a bad feeling in her gut that she was about to walk in on something that was going to ruin her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have been more clear.” The momentary twinkle in his eyes was replaced with a severe look. He seethed with anger. “You see, I know you helped my Jo-Jo escape.” His tone was eerily calm despite the outrage that was readily apparent on his face.
“Who, sir? I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Oh yes, you do. I know you figured it all out. And normally,” he continued, “I’d let my associates deal with you as they see fit. But that got me thinking. I want my Jolene back. I miss her. She’s mine. And you helped her.” His voice became louder and more agitated with each sentence. “So, I want you to tell me where she is.”
“Please, sir,” she begged. “I don’t know that.”
A smile crept across his face. “See, I knew you would say that. So I have some motivation for you, and something to guarantee your silence about what goes on in this hotel. Go into the bedroom.”
Rosa searched his eyes for some sort of indication about what lay behind the double doors to the guest bedroom, dread washing over her.
“Go on, then,” he said snidely.
Slowly turning around and walking to the bedroom, she carefully opened the door, her screams echoing through the large suite as her eyes settled upon not only her husband’s lifeless body, but also her only daughter’s naked frame, gagged and bound to the king-sized bed, blood visible on her thighs.
“You take something of mine, I take something of yours!” Falconi roared. “I get Jolene back, you get your daughter back! Now get the fuck out of my sight!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DARKNESS
IT WAS DARK. IT didn’t matter that the sun was radiating through the room, illuminating everything in sight. Her entire world was black. The light that she had begun to feel since meeting Cam had been cruelly extinguished. Each time she opened her eyes, all she could see were those evil eyes staring down at her, grunting, sweat dripping down his forehead. He did what he wanted without any regard for her as she simply lay there and held in the tears that wanted to fall. She refused to let him see that what he was doing was slowly killing her, little by little.
When he was done, he left without saying a word, but his presence permeated her entire existence. She couldn’t sleep in her bed, not when it smelled like betrayal and deception…her bed of lies. Instead, she slept on the hardwood floor, welcoming the pain. Every time she closed her eyes, she could still smell him. She could still feel the excruciating burn of his flesh on hers.
As she lay there the following morning, hearing the sound of children laughing on the beach, she wanted to scream. It made her sick to think about it all, the remorse overwhelming her. Scrambling off the ground, she ran to the bathroom and rid her stomach of its contents, her frail body heaving in disgust.
Tears streamed down her face and all she could do was cry. She had held it in all night long, not wanting to admit that he had broken her. She hoped that crying would make her feel better, but it didn’t. She only felt worse. She felt ashamed. She felt guilty. She would never be able to look into Cam’s eyes again. He would know. How could he not? He would ask her if something was wrong and would see the truth through her lying eyes.
Her sobs overtook her as she collapsed on the cool tile of the bathroom floor, wanting to end it all. End her pain. End her suffering. End her guilt. The remorse for what she did last night would slowly kill her. It wasn’t remorse for the act. It was remorse for Cam. It was ripping her apart when she thought about how he would react when he found out the truth of what she was.
Closing her eyes, her body continued to shake violently as she tried to turn it all off. It had worked in the past. Why wasn’t it working anymore?
“Jolene?!” a voice called out. “Are you in here?!”
She bolted up, wincing in pain from how sore she was. Frantically drying her eyes, she attempted to make herself look presentable. “I’m up here, Elsie,” she croaked out.
“Are you okay? You don’t sound too good.”
Jolene stared at her reflection in the mirror, pinching at her cheeks in an effort to make it appear as though she hadn’t been crying. Her face was gaunt and her entire body was unsteady. Trembling, she took several deep breaths, holding on to the porcelain of the sink to balance herself. She was ready to collapse under the weight of the lies that she had to keep from Elsie…and from Cam.
“And you don’t look too good, either.”
Jolene spun around to see Elsie standing behind her.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice full of concern as she scanned Jolene’s body.
“Nothing. I’m fine.” She lowered her eyes, not wanting Elsie to see the fear in them.
“Bullshit, Tomorrow.”
The two girls glared at each other before Jolene sighed, relenting the front she was trying to put up. “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”
“Nope,” she said, pursing her lips as she grabbed a washcloth and tossed it to Jolene. “Bartend for long enough and you learn how to read people. And…” She took another step, noticing a few bruises and red welts on Jolene’s thighs, as well as dark marks around her wrists. “If you think I’m good at it, Cam’s even better.” Her expression turned severe as she lowered her voice, the sarcasm that was there before replaced with a worried tone. “He’ll see right through you. Something’s going on with you, and I’m not going to pry. You’ll tell me if and when you’re ready. But Cam’s sitting on your front deck waiting for you, and if you don’t want him to question you, you better put on your game face. Okay?”
Jolene nodded.
“Good. Let’s fix you up. Got any makeup around here?” she asked, rummaging through the medicine cabinet.
“Top drawer,” Jolene answered, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
Elsie opened the drawer and began taking out various compacts. “Now, we gotta do this smart.” She turned to face her. “It’s morning and you just woke up. He’ll be suspicious if you use too much.” She handed a powder foundation to Jolene. “I know you don’t want me to do it, so have at it.”
Jolene took the small compact from her and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The florescent lights brought attention to the disparity between the white of her flesh and the darkness of her bruises, making her cringe. Her eyes met Elsie’s and she gave her a reassuring nod. Returning her attention to the mirror, she applied a small amount of foundation to her face.
“Go easy,” Elsie instructed. “Don’t make it look caked-on.”
Jolene rolled her eyes, her nerves finally starting to settle. “Have you done this before?”
“Same principle as covering up a hickey.” She winked.
Jolene applied a hint of blush to even out the redness under her eyes, turning to Elsie. “Will this pass?”
She looked closely at Jolene’s face under the bright lights. “Yeah. It’ll do for now. Go put on a long-sleeved shirt and some longer shorts. Let’s get you out of here before Cam becomes suspicious. If he asks what took so long, just say you slept in and we got into a bit of an argument when I barged in on you, okay?”
Jolene nodded and walked toward her dresser, following her friend’s instructions.
Once her bruises were sufficiently covered, she headed downstairs where Elsie was waiting. Meeting her eyes once more, she asked, “Why are you doing this for me?”
Elsie exhaled loudly. “Because I like Cam. And I like you. And I hate to admit it, but I really like you two together. I know that something incredibly fucked up happened to you last night, but I also know that you care for Cam so I’m not going to pry…yet. Regardless of what you’re trying to keep secret from all of us, he won’t judge you…as long as you’re open and honest with him.” She gave her a knowing look. “If yo
u do that, it will all work out, whatever it is.” She headed toward the front door, leaving Jolene by the stairs to consider her words.
“But what if I can’t say anything?” she commented under her breath.
“Then don’t, but he’ll figure it out eventually!” Elsie shouted.
“Damn. Do you have, like, super hearing or something?” She made her way through the living room toward the front door.
“Casualty of bartending.” She shrugged. “You’ll get it, too. Now, go see your boyfriend.”
Jolene rolled her eyes. “He is not my boyfriend. We went on one date.”
“Whatever, Tomorrow.”
Taking a deep breath, Jolene opened the front door, her heart skipping a beat when she saw Cam scurry off the lounge chair, standing to greet her.
“Hey,” he said nervously, running his hand through his hair. “You weren’t out here and I was worried. But I didn’t want to barge in on you after I promised I wouldn’t do that anymore,” he rambled. “I’m sorry.” He took a few steps toward her, his body mere inches away. “Are you okay?” he asked, raising his hand to her face.
She flinched and took a step back, her eyes growing wide in panic as the previous night replayed in her mind.
“I’m not going to touch you. I promise.” He searched her eyes, trying to make her see the sincerity behind his words. “Do you trust me?”
A tear fell down her face. She was trying to remain so strong when all she wanted to do was break down and scream. She wanted to tell him everything, that a creepy scumbag senator had propositioned her and was now blackmailing her, trading sex for maintaining secrecy. She opened her mouth, but David Murphy’s voice rang through her memory. If you tell anyone about this little arrangement, you’ll be back with Mr. Falconi before you can utter the word ‘princess’, understand?
“What is it, Jolene?”
“Nothing.” She plastered a fake smile on her face, just as she had done nearly every night for the past decade of her life. She had no choice but to remain silent. “I had trouble sleeping last night.”
