She has to understand, because I meant what I just said to Waverly. While I would hate to ever hurt Matisse, I can’t let my best friend die—or worse.
Chapter 18
Matisse
I’m a little nervous as I wait for Kendrick to pick me up for our date. I’m dressed appropriately for meeting the parents; although, in my case, I’ve already met them. It doesn’t hurt to make a good second impression, though. I’ve got a black dress that covers me from clavicle to mid-thigh, and has long black sleeves, ending in bows and white pleated cuffs. I’ve paired it with black and white lace-up heels from my closet, taken out my Monroe piercing, and toned down my make-up. I’m not me, but I can deal with that for a night.
“Whoa,” Kendrick says when I answer his knock on my door.
“You like it?” I ask, hoping he’ll say no.
“I always like whatever you wear, but I told you not to try and change for me, so I’m a little confused. You’re not you right now.”
“I thought I would try to be ‘normal’ today.”
“Normal is overrated. I just want you to be Matisse.”
“I know. It’s just for one night.”
“Do you want to change, because I really don’t want you doing this for me.”
Yes, I do. “No. I’m going to have to blend in for work, so practice is a good thing.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am. Let’s go.”
“Where are we going, by the way?” he asks as we get into the elevator.
“Cleo.”
“Yum.”
“You did not just say that.”
“I did. I’ll say it again. Yum. Yum, yum, yum,” he jokes as we walk across the lobby, where the security guys give us amused looks. “Ignore us gentlemen. We’ve switched personalities for the night.”
We all burst out laughing, and I pull him to me for a kiss while we ride in another elevator to the underground garage. “Some things will never change,” I tell him as I grab his cock through his pants.
“Thank God.”
The drive to the SLS is uneventful, and he takes my hand when we walk inside. As the hostess takes us to our seats at Cleo, I see Nate and Jade and roll my eyes at them. Kendrick doesn’t notice them because he’s staring at the table in front of us. Or rather, who’s sitting there.
“Mother, Father, Klas.”
“Hello, Kenyi. Long time no see.”
Kendrick drops my hand like I’ve burned him, and steps forward. “Yes, it’s been some time. What a pleasant surprise.”
He’s back in “uptight doctor mode” as he walks forward to greet them. I stand awkwardly to the side, not sure of what to say or do. He doesn’t seem interested in introducing me to anyone, or even acknowledging my presence.
“Are you going to introduce us to your companion?” Klas asks.
“Oh, yes. Of course. This is my colleague, Matisse.”
What the ever loving fuck did he just call me? I struggle for that training of mine again as Klas smirks at me. “She told us earlier that she’s your girlfriend.”
“Earlier?”
“They came to Corrigan looking for you and Waverly. I was in the lobby.”
“You should’ve told me you met my parents,” he says, his tone ice cold to match the way he’s looking at me.
“They said we should surprise you.” Why is this even a big deal? And why the hell is he denying who I am?
“Care to clear up the confusion about your relationship?” his mother asks.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he says, breaking my heart. “If you saw her earlier, you know that.”
“Excuse me?” I can’t keep my mouth shut, especially when he was just telling me to be myself.
“Yes, I told her I was skeptical. If you’re going to have a side woman, you need to choose more carefully. Her appearance earlier was an insult to Waverly,” his father says.
Side woman? What the ever loving fuck? “How would I be an insult to Waverly?”
“Any woman a wife allows on the side must be of her same caliber, or at least not so far below it,” his mother tells me.
“Wife?” I ask, grabbing onto the back of the chair in front of me as I feel faint.
“Yes. Kendrick and Waverly have been engaged for many years now. They’ve had their fun, but it’s time for them to return home. A beautiful wedding has been planned for them.”
I look at Kendrick, but he won’t look at me. He’s getting married to Waverly? I asked them both over and over again if there was anything going on between them, and they insisted there wasn’t.
“I think it’s time for me to go.”
“That would probably be wise. Shall we give you cab fare?” his father asks.
“No, you shall not.”
I turn and manage to hold my head high as I walk out of the restaurant. Jade is at my side before I reach the door. “Nate’s paying our bill. I’ll get our car, okay?”
“I’m okay.”
“No you’re not, and you don’t have to be. I was close enough to hear that, and I don’t know what’s going on, but there will be Hell to pay for this, Matisse. Do not doubt that Kendrick and Waverly will both be doing some explaining tomorrow.”
“I just want to forget I ever met him,” I say as we wait for their car to be brought around.
“Ainsley could wipe your mind, but you don’t really want that. Our experiences are what make us who we are.”
“Kendrick is the second guy I’ve fallen for who’s already had someone else he’s committed to. I could’ve lived without experiencing that a second time.”
“I’m not going to defend him because what went down in there was ugly—and Lord knows, I’ll be keeping Aiden from killing him—but there’s something wrong with all of this,” Nate says, coming outside to wait with us. “I have never once got a vibe from him or Waverly that they were into each other like that, and he’s never so much as looked at another woman when we’ve been out.”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore right now. I just want to go home. Please.”
“We’ve got you, Matisse. We’ll get you home,” Jade assures me.
She climbs in the backseat with me, and holds me as I cry. I see her typing on her phone, so I’m not surprised to see Stella and Reina waiting in the lobby for us when we get back to the building. When Aiden comes stalking out of the elevator, I’m expecting that, too. What I don’t expect is to see Waverly coming out of the game room.
“Hey everyone, what’s going on?” she asks.
“Waverly, I need you to go to your apartment, and stay there. Until I can speak to you and Kendrick, you will not be allowed outside of this building. Do you understand?”
“No, Reina, I don’t.”
“Events occurred tonight which made your true relationship with Kendrick come to light. You both lied to not only me, but also Matisse, and that is not acceptable. I am not sure what the consequences for you will be, but you will be dealt with.”
“I thought you’d understand, Matisse,” she says to me in an accusing tone. “How can you not understand?”
I look away instead of answering her. I can’t look at her right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at her or Kendrick again. They’re both great at their jobs, and I don’t want either of them fired, but how can I see them every day at Corrigan?
* * *
Kendrick
“I was hurt when I found out you changed your name, Kenyi,” my mother tells me.
“It was easier to Americanize it,” I lie. Well, it’s not a complete lie, but it’s not the whole truth, either. I needed to remember who I was, but I wanted to forget the life I had been forced to live.
“I’m a little concerned about Matisse,” Klas tells me. “When I let you keep Waverly, it was because you insisted you were in love with her, and said you wanted to marry her.”
What I want is to kill this man with my bare hands, but now that I know who to look for, I see them. He
has men and women all over this restaurant. I won’t risk the people here just to mete out my revenge.
“Matisse was just a diversion.”
The lie is bitter on my tongue. I’m trying to save my best friend tonight, but I sacrificed the woman I love to do it. I’m on my chosen path, and I can’t deviate from it; and although I know it’s not possible, I’m sure my heart shattered in my chest when I denied Matisse.
“Where is Waverly?”
“She’s at home in her apartment right now.”
“I need to see her.”
“You’ll see her when we come home for the wedding.”
“She is my property, and I need to make sure she is well cared for. You have been missing for three years now, and it was only by luck that we found you. A small picture in a local newspaper, in case you’re wondering.” I was, but I’ll never let him know it. “I also need to decide if I am going to abide by our arrangement.”
I want to shout out that she doesn’t belong to him, but that will make things worse right now. “I paid you, and she is mine now. There is no reason for you to see her.”
“You are protesting entirely too hard, Kenyi. I want to see her tomorrow night at the latest.”
“You don’t dictate anything to me.” I tried to remain calm, but I won’t let this happen. He’s going to try and take her, and I’ll die before he does.
“Be reasonable, Kenyi,” my father says. “Klas has every right to make sure you’re taking care of Waverly. She was his most sought after trainee, and he was being very gracious when he allowed you to purchase her.”
“Yes, you were very lucky,” my mother agrees.
How am I related to these people? I need to get out of here now. “Fine. You can come to our apartment building for dinner. We have a nice private dining room there, where a world-class chef will serve us.” At least I hope she will.
“Why not your apartment? Or hers?”
“If dinner goes well, we can go upstairs after for a nightcap.”
“Very well. We will see you tomorrow.”
I get up and walk out, even though I want to run. I need to get to Waverly, and I need to talk to Reina. I can’t even think of how to fix things with Matisse right now, so I’ve got to just hope that once I’m able to explain everything, she’ll understand that I needed to protect Waverly more than I needed to claim her.
When I get home, the guards in the lobby won’t let me on the elevator. I’m not completely surprised, but this is going to complicate things. I can’t be separated from Waverly yet, because she needs to know what’s going on. The threat to her is real, and we need to make a plan in case Reina refuses to help us.
Matt is with Reina when she walks out of the elevator. “Is Waverly here? Please tell me she’s here,” I say, because I just realized that maybe she went out, and she’s not safe out there.
“Bad form, dude,” Matt tells me.
“What?”
“Why aren’t you asking about Matisse? I let you go after her, and you made me a promise not to hurt her,” Reina reminds me.
“In the choice between Waverly’s life and Matisse’s heart, I had to choose life.”
“You’re going to need to explain what exactly is going on. If Waverly is truly in danger, I will protect her, you know I will. But I need to know what I’m up against.”
“You’re up against the biggest human trafficker in Africa. The man who buys little girls and boys, and trains them to not only be sex slaves, but to be assassins and bodyguards as well. He once owned Waverly, but my parents ‘rented’ her as my bodyguard and companion when I was 11, and I bought her outright when I was 18. I will not allow him to have her back.”
“Nor will I, Kendrick, if what you say is true.”
“I swear it is.”
“We need a plan.”
“I have one.”
Chapter 19
Matisse
I stayed away from Corrigan today, but I wasn’t going to give up my shift at the tattoo parlor. My friends were tiptoeing around me this morning when I saw them, and Reina just told me she knew I’d be okay. I don’t know how she thinks that after what went down, but I want to believe her.
I had four appointments today, doing more intricate work than I’ve done before. It makes me proud to know Zane believes I’m ready for this after only a few months of working with him. I knew the basics before I got here, but I couldn’t have done anything like this. He’s a great teacher and a good friend.
As I step outside, the heat instantly hits me. The sun is still out, even though it’s early evening, and it’s hotter right now than it was when I got here hours ago. I probably shouldn’t have worn these tight, black leather pants, but I wanted to look badass, even though I don’t feel that way. At least my shirt is sheer in the back; although, it’s sticking to me right now. Inside it was nice and cool, so I was comfortable. Oh well, I’ll be to my car soon.
My spiked and chained black heeled boots make noise as I walk down the street. I turn the corner, and stop short. Klas is leaning against the wall next to my car. I ignore him as I walk to it, but I’m so focused on him that I don’t see the other threat in my peripheral vision until it’s too late. I feel a jab in my arm, and I pretend to fall.
Whatever I was injected with won’t affect me, because Audrey has already injected me, and everyone else, with chemicals that make us immune to almost everything. But if I let them see me unaffected, it will be worse for me. I’m not skilled enough to take on four people alone, and since that’s how many pairs of shoes I see, I close my eyes, and fall back on my training again. Literally.
* * *
Kendrick
This plan is going to work because it has to. Reina, Tegan, Stella, and Ainsley took the plan I had and improved on it. I spent most of the night, and all of the morning with them, making sure it was as foolproof as possible. Because we’ll be in this building, we have advantages that Klas can’t even think of, and I’m pretty sure we’ll need most of them.
Right now, I need to talk to Waverly. Reina told me she confined her to her apartment, and I know she has to be going crazy. I couldn’t waste any time going to see her when we were working on the plan, because that was more important.
That’s all my life has been reduced to at the moment—choosing which of the options I’m presented with is more important. I’ve already lost Matisse, and I can’t lose Waverly, too. She needs to know what’s going on, and how we’re planning to end this all tonight.
“Oh my God, Ken,” she yells when I open her door. “I didn’t know what they did to you. Reina was so mad, and then I couldn’t leave. Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not okay.”
“Matisse is such a bitch! I can’t believe she didn’t understand, and sicced Reina on us.”
Whoa! I wasn’t expecting that reaction, and it couldn’t be further from the truth. “What do you think happened last night, Wave?”
“You told Matisse, and she flipped out. I saw her crying, and I told her off for you.”
Shit. This is worse than I thought. “I didn’t tell her. She was crying because she heard about our engagement…from Klas.”
“They found us?”
“Yes.”
I explain everything to her as she covers her mouth in horror. “No wonder Matisse looked so devastated. I can’t believe I yelled at her.”
“I did much worse.”
“You should’ve told the truth.”
“And put you in danger?”
“Denying who she was to you hasn’t saved us. If Klas believed you, he wouldn’t be insisting on seeing me. You hurt her for nothing.”
I sink down on her sofa when I realize she’s right. We’re dealing with the same outcome now as we would have if I’d told them Waverly and I weren’t together, and that I was with Matisse. “I didn’t know it at the time. I thought I could protect you if I downplayed my relationship with her.”
“I told you she’d understand about us, but now that
you told me about the guy in D.C., I don’t know. She thinks she was with a cheater again, and that’s gotta really suck.”
“Not helping, Wave.”
“As your best friend, I have to be realistic with you. I’m going to do anything I can to help once we deal with Klas, but you may have lost her for good.”
“That’s not an option.” I won’t let it be.
“Unfortunately, it’s not up to you now. I’m sorry, but you need to accept that.”
“I can’t, Wave. I can’t lose her for good.”
* * *
Matisse
I keep up the charade until I’m locked in the storage container with the other women and children. As soon as the doors are closed, I hop up and look around. The container is equipped with low wattage lights, and there’s a line of toilets along the back wall. Bags of chips and cans of soda are on a table to my right, and that tells me they want us to be alert, not starving, but they don’t want us too well fed, either.
“How long have you been in here?” I ask one of the women near me. She looks to be around twenty, and seems a little less scared of me than the others.
“A week. How did you wake up so soon?”
Spy 101 teaches you not to trust anyone, because even if they aren’t a plant, desperate people often make very bad decisions. “I don’t know. I was drowsy, and then I wasn’t.”
“All the blankets are gone, so you’ll have to sleep on the floor.”
“I’m not staying in here, and neither are any of you. We need to fight next time that door opens,” I say, walking among the fifty or so inhabitants of this container.
“They’ll kill us. They said they’ll kill us if we cause any trouble,” another woman tells me.
“You think they’re going to let you go if you behave? I’d stake my life on the fact that they’re going to sell us all as sex slaves. Is that how you want to die, underneath some smelly dude who bought you and decided to get too rough? Because I’m not going out like that.”
“We don’t have weapons, and we haven’t been fed much,” one of the other women says.
Society Girls: Matisse Page 13
