Off the Chain

by Candice Dow

  I put on a pair of long johns under my jeans and wrapped up in my scarf and hat before leaving the hotel. I met Ramon in the lobby, because I wanted to get some sightseeing brochures. He came into the lobby and smiled. I smiled back at him.

  “So what did you find for us to do?”

  Showing him the brochure, I said, “We can purchase the London Pass, which includes a few museum tours.”

  “Does it include the Globe Theatre?”

  “Actually it does. Let me know you’re a fan of Shakespeare?”

  “I am.”

  “I’m glad, because I wanted to get tickets to Romeo and Juliet. I have the concierge checking for me and she’s waiting for a call back. They may have tickets for tomorrow.”

  “Cool.”

  We hung in the lobby for a while, waiting for the concierge to give us a heads-up. When we were finally confirmed we headed out onto the busy streets of London to tour the town. Ramon wrapped his strong arm around me to shield me from the cold as I was looking at the map and trying to figure out which train to catch and which direction to go in. I was definitely not feeling the weather and was slightly disappointed that we had come during the winter.

  We visited Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, and toured the Globe Theatre. We enjoyed the theater most of all. It was a replica of the original.

  After a day of sightseeing I was ready to rush back to the hotel for some warmth. Instead we ducked into a warm little café and Ramon hugged me. “You warm now?”

  I felt so protected in his arms. Although the tables were turned—I was paying him—it felt right and I didn’t feel lonely dealing with this situation. I felt like I sincerely had someone I could depend on.

  The next afternoon, as we headed out for the Romeo and Juliet performance, we canceled the remainder of the nights for the separate room. The play was subpar to say the least. The actors weren’t that great and it left Ramon and me longing to re-create our own rendition of the play. We kidded as we headed to Covent Garden. We were told that was the place where we could find a bunch of bars and restaurants.

  We barhopped and shopped. By the time we headed back to the hotel we were both tired. Still, we thought it was a good idea to order a movie, and we ended up falling asleep on top of the comforter with our clothes on. Ramon and I were getting quite comfortable with each other while we were overseas and away from the drama at home.

  I hated the thought of returning home. A part of me wanted to just stay in England and start a new life. I felt like I didn’t have anything to lose. If Ramon had been down, I would have. As we were packing up the night before we were to leave, I asked, “What do you think about just starting over?”

  I asked in that fashion because Ramon had expressed to me that he’d made some wrong decisions in the past and had messed up with some powerful clients, which had caused him to lose a lot of business. He looked at me like it was a possibility and said, “Nah. I’m pretty happy in the US. I’m down for moving to another state, but I’m not sure I’m sold on London.”

  My eyebrow rose. He clarified. “The city, not the person.”

  “How sweet of you.”

  “Would you really stay here?”

  “After what happened to my dog and those people being in my house, I could definitely just run away.”

  “What about Unleashed?”

  “I guess you’re right. I do have a business to run.” I sighed. “But sometimes I just want to run away. Don’t you?”

  “Maybe one day we will.”

  I looked at him, wondering if we meant the two of us together or if he was making a general statement. Though we’d had a wonderful time in London, I didn’t know where we’d go from there. I didn’t take anything for granted, because I’d spent much of my adult life having a great time with men, but when the sun rose it was over. I couldn’t really decipher what was going on in Ramon’s mind. And I didn’t even want to try. If I knew men like I thought I knew them, they would tell you what was going on in their minds if you were patient enough to listen. Otherwise, for sanity’s sake, it’s best not to assume anything.

  32

  Ramon hadn’t asked any questions while we were in England. It was as if we were both living in the moment. On the plane ride home he finally asked the burning question: “How did you get into the industry?”

  “I guess I was young and dumb.”

  “I can’t imagine you being dumb.”

  “Well, I guess I must have been at one time.”

  “I always thought prostitutes were dumb, but you’re definitely not what I typically imagined one to be.”

  “It was always hard to consider myself a prostitute. I know that’s what it was technically, but I felt that my line of work was a little more on the classier side.”

  “I can give you that. Thorne has a different type of business going on. I’m surprised he trusted you to take over.”

  “Well, he didn’t technically hand it over to me. He told me that he was quitting and if I wanted to coordinate hookups I could. I think at that time he was focused on his family and he didn’t care what happened with that part of his business.”

  “Yeah, I can imagine that. He loved his wife. But now those kids need him more than the business.”

  “You got a point,” I said, as I reflected on how distraught Thorne had been when he came to tell me what had happened.

  I was quiet for a moment, thinking about Thorne and wondering if I would ever have someone dedicated to me. It hurt thinking that it might never be a reality, so I switched to a less sentimental topic. “So, have you done a lot of security work for Thorne?”

  “No, only when there’s a code red problem, like yours. I don’t do the sitting-in-the-hotel kind of gigs. But the women he’s paid me to guard have all been unbearable.”

  “Unbearable?”

  “Yeah, kind of like your girl Taina. But you seem rather levelheaded.”

  “You think?”

  “The women I’ve protected for Thorne were all crazy. They piss their clients off and then they need help. I hate those jobs, but I can honestly say this has been a pleasure.”

  “Thank you.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was trying to say the job was over or not. I was prepared for either, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to pursue something further with someone who knew about all my dirty laundry. If there is one thing I knew about men, it’s that they want to believe their woman has never been touched.

  When we arrived in the States it was about five in the evening and a car met us at Dulles Airport. As Ramon put our luggage in the trunk he leaned over and kissed me. “I really had a good time with you.”

  “Me too.”

  We sat in the car and I said, “So how am I supposed to let Ervin know she’s gone?”

  “Well, if you get another phone call, just let him know that you’ve handled it.”

  “Do you think I still need protection?”

  “Yeah, because I want to still hang around. And no, because you handled your business.”

  “Well, I’m flattered that you still want to hang around.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “So are you going to hang around for free or am I still paying for protection?”

  “You don’t have to pay me. I want to protect you.”

  I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. Was he really trying to let me know he wanted something serious with me? I didn’t know how to respond or what I should say. I took the honest road.

  “Ramon, I would love to have you around to protect me. But let me tell you, it’s been a long time since I had someone around just because they wanted to be around. I’ve sacrificed so much being in this business. I’m sort of at a loss when it comes to loving for free.”

  “My business is different, but pretty much the same. When I’m doing twenty-four-hour protection it’s hard to develop relationships, and it’s been a long time for me too. Let’s just take it one day at a time and see how it works out. You down for that?”


  I couldn’t resist, so I asked, “How do you feel about my past?”

  “Everybody has one.”

  “But not like mine.”

  “At least I know what it is.”

  He came to my house that night and it wasn’t hard. He understood me and I understood him. He would be my protector and I didn’t have to hide any of myself from him.

  33

  The day after I got back to DC, I spoke with an attorney about creating a subsidiary company that sold dog apparel. Once we narrowed down the business structure I spoke with Thorne about partnering with that company, but he declined. After the Taina ordeal, I realized that Thorne was an invaluable asset to me, and though he still wanted to play hardball, I gave in to his wishes and offered him the fifty-fifty split of all bookings.

  A few days later someone called for Ervin and said, “What’d you do with the girl?”

  “I flew her back to Germany.”

  “Did you make her get rid of the baby?”

  “Yes.”

  I knew that was a lie, but I wasn’t ready to deal with the harassment again. Although Ramon was there to protect me, I just wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.

  He said, “Good job.”

  Then he hung up the phone. I was glad that the situation was pretty much over. Although I had gained Ramon, I still mourned the loss of Bruno. It was so unfair that he had to lose his life because of that dumbass Taina. Bruno had been through everything with me and there were nights when I dreamed his little feet were running into my room. He didn’t deserve what had happened to him. I had him cremated and his ashes were in an urn over the fireplace. My baby would always be with me.

  It seemed like Ramon spent one night and never left. It was three months into the relationship when I causally asked, “So are we monogamous?”

  He laughed as we sat in bed watching a movie. “Do you think I’d be here every day if we weren’t?”

  Ramon couldn’t take the financial liberties that most men I’d been with could, but he was a good man. He was dependable, the type of guy you could set your watch to. Every day that I woke up to him, I was surprised that he’d really taken a relationship with me seriously. Not that I didn’t think he should, but Thorne had warned me no man who knew my past would. So it was hard to believe and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be completely secure.

  When I opened the front door one night, the lights were low. I could smell food cooking. “Honey,” I said.

  “I’m in here.”

  After taking off my shoes, I walked into the kitchen to find him pulling lasagna out of the oven. It looked and smelled great. I always let him know how much I appreciated his efforts.

  He said, “Go sit down and relax yourself.”

  It was days like these that really amazed me I had ended up with this type of guy. I walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs to the bedroom. He had sprinkled rose petals all over the bed. I stepped into the shower and put on a silk nightie. I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed Ramon’s waist from behind and lay my head on his back.

  He spun around. “What’s up, babe?”

  “I’m just curious what this is all for.”

  “It’s for you. Now go ahead and sit down at the table. I got this.”

  His effort to please me outweighed the mess that he had made in the kitchen, plus I knew he’d take care of that after dinner. When he brought the plates into the dining room, I couldn’t wait to eat. After lighting a candle in the middle of the table he sat down.

  I smiled at him. “You done now?”

  “Yes, I’m done.”

  “Thank you.”

  He started the conversation by saying, “When we met, I had no clue we’d be here. But I’m glad we are. The other day you asked me if we were monogamous and I just wanted to give more than a verbal confirmation. This is something like a ceremony.”

  Ramon was a romantic and he proved it more and more each day. It was weird that he was the strong bodyguard and at the same time he could be so sensitive.

  34

  Being with Ramon gave me a strong desire for a family. I had never thought I would have that opportunity. I rushed home daily to give him all the things I felt a man should have. He was my soul mate. It just worked. I’d cut down on the number of hookups I arranged per week and I was no longer aggressively recruiting girls.

  Love is funny. It makes money so insignificant. The more money I’d made, the more money I’d convinced myself I needed to make. Maybe that was because money was my only relationship of significance. Having Ramon made me lose the desire to grind like I once had.

  We spent a lot of time hanging out and traveling with Kari and Ian and that seemed like more than enough. It was as if I had finally grown up. I was living an acceptable life now and I loved it.

  I planned to bring my booking activities to an end as soon as the latest roster of girls I had fell off. Unfortunately, there was not one of them I thought I could pass the business to and Thorne wasn’t interested. Unleashed’s profits had begun to do well and we could survive on that. Ramon got personal security contracts from time to time. But when it was all said and done, all we really needed was each other.

  I pulled up to the house at around seven in the evening and all the lights were off. That was strange because I always gave Ramon the blues about every light in the house being on when I came in. I stepped into the house and called out for him. He said, “Up here, baby.”

  I walked up the steps and he sat on the edge of the bed. “You know Ervin got the job as director.”

  “Ervin Calhoun?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, good. I heard from Taina and she’s happy being a mother. I don’t think she’s tried to contact him. She told me she’s engaged to some diplomat. Sounds like she’s over Ervin.”

  He nodded, but didn’t say very much. It seemed like something was bothering him. But I figured he’d tell me when he felt like it. I went downstairs to put dinner on.

  My cell phone rang. “I will kill you if you say anything.”

  My heart dropped. I wasn’t sure where that came from. I assumed it was Ervin again. I rushed upstairs to tell Ramon. He said, “Don’t worry. You got free protection.”

  My head started spinning. I didn’t want to deal with this anymore. This was the final straw. I was done with the business. My home phone rang and it was a lady. “Hi, is this London Reed?”

  “Yes it is.”

  “Do you run an upscale prostitution ring?”

  “No!” I said, slamming the phone down.

  I yelled out for Ramon. He came running down the stairs. “What’s up?”

  I told him and he hugged me. My heart raced. I wasn’t in the mood for this shit again. Ramon said, “London, the media found out about Taina and your name was leaked too.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “The phone has been ringing all evening. Your picture is all over the Internet.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t want you to have to deal with this.”

  I paced around my living room. I couldn’t believe my ears. In seven years in the business I’d been able to maintain privacy. I wanted to run away. The phone rang again. The next thing I knew there was a knock on my door. I opened up. It was the FBI.

  “Are you London Reed?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re under arrest on charges of prostitution.”

  “Arrest?” I shouted.

  “You’re being charged with eleven counts of prostitution. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.”

  I nearly blacked out. Thorne had taught me how to run this operation in such a way that I’d never get caught. So why now? When I had downsized the operation to almost nothing? My knees buckled as they placed the cuffs on me. I couldn’t imagine being hauled out of my house in my upscale community. What would my neighbors think of me? I was scared and helpless. I looked at Ramon. He looked at me like for the first tim
e since we met he couldn’t help me.

  They took me to the local FBI headquarters and stuck me in a room for questioning. The first agent walked in and told me that they’d been watching me for years but never had any hard evidence. I said, “So what kind of evidence do you have now?”

  “Phone conversations. Letters.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Someone close to you sold it all to a tabloid magazine and it’s ours now.”

  “Really. Show me what you got.”

  “Here’s the deal. If you give us your client list, maybe we can make a deal.”

  “I thought you already had evidence. Why do you need anything from me?”

  “We have you trapped in the case against Ervin Calhoun, but we know there are others. Tons of others, but we just don’t have the facts. If you help us, we’ll help you.”

  “I would like to speak to my attorney.”

  “Sure, but we’re going to offer your attorney the same plea that we just offered you. So you need to think about it.”

  “If the plea is for me to ruin people’s lives, I won’t do it.”

  “Fine. You’ll just go down alone.”

  “I want an attorney. I’m done talking to you.”

  He walked out of the room. Anger wouldn’t allow me to cry. I couldn’t imagine who’d exposed me. Who would have taped conversations?

  I didn’t get a bail hearing until the next day and bail was set for five hundred thousand dollars. I called Ramon and authorized him to take fifty thousand out of the bank. When he came to pick me up I cried for the first time. I apologized to him. He was involved in a big mess now. I wondered if he still felt like my past didn’t matter. Ironically, he said he was sorry too.

  Why would he apologize? He said he hated that I had to go through this. When we got home we sat on the couch and he held me tightly. He said, “I changed the phone number.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now you’re starting to get death threats. But as long as I’m here, no one will hurt you.”