Complete Innocence Boxset

by Stasia Black

  “Maybe,” Anna said softly. She poured the tea and cupped her hands around her mug, eyes still on Cora.

  “How long have you worked at The Orchid House?”

  Anna smiled absently. “Awhile.”

  Cora paused. “Should I not ask questions about it? Is that rude?”

  Anna laughed her delightful laugh. “It’s not rude, not unless you’re going to be rude.”

  “Why would I be rude?”

  “Most people like to judge.”

  “Well, I don’t. I mean, I won’t. I don’t like looking down on people.” Cora felt her cheeks heat. Why did she always get so tongue-tied around people she admired? “Anyway, your dance was amazing.”

  A smile curved Anna’s lips. “Well, thank you. I don’t mind talking about my dancing. I’ve been doing it about four years now.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah.” Anna gazed into her mug, a fond look on her face. “I love it, actually.”

  “I’d love to see your act.” It was the truth. Cora had never seen anyone move with such sensuous grace. An image of Marcus, naked and prowling toward her, popped into her head. Okay, she’d never seen a woman move with such sensuous grace.

  “You should come back, then. Don’t come alone. Come with a man. And I’ll make sure to mark you two, so none of the other girls fight over you. Although not many of them approach couples; they don’t know how to market to them.”

  Cora could never go back to AJ’s club, as nice as it would be to see Anna’s act, and she certainly couldn’t imagine asking Marcus to go with her. Still, she was curious. “Market to them?” she asked after the waitress had put down their meals and coffees and walked away.

  Anna pulled off her glasses and unzipped her hoodie to expose a fair bit of cleavage, then she grabbed her coffee and pulled out her phone. She smiled sinfully at the camera, the coffee at her lips and snapped a selfie.

  Then she zipped the hoodie back up and shoved a forkful in her mouth before her fingers were dancing over the buttons on her phone. She spoke around a mouthful. “It’s all about marketing yourself these days. Online and in person. It’s a business. If I dance, I get tips. If I dance well, people want more. And then I upsell. Champagne room. VIP section. Private lap dances.”

  Cora digested this, picking at her food. The Buddha Bowl was a meal in a giant bowl. The turquoise ceramic dish held spinach, kale, chunks of avocado, and some brown grain Cora couldn’t identify.

  “Quinoa,” Anna explained. “It’s good for you. Try it.”

  Cora did and found it was good. “So,” she continued after a few bites, “Iris worked with you?”

  Anna chewed for a bit before answering. “Iris was a dancer. She did parties, too, and another side business. That’s probably where she met The Orphan.”

  “What side business?”

  “She was an escort.”

  Cora thought back to some of the events she’d been on Marcus’s arm, surrounded by other couples. Some of the men had women with them that looked out of place. Too young and gorgeous for their partners. “Like, going out and being a date at parties?”

  “Sometimes. I’ve done the arm-candy-for-hire thing. But there’s also a side of it that happens in private, in a hotel room.”

  “Oh.” Cora blinked.

  “It’s alright,” Anna laughed, “It’s a pretty good gig. You can work for an agency or on your own.”

  “So have you ever…?”

  Anna just smiled in answer. Cora was torn between wanting to apologize for prying and wanting to ask a million more questions. She blurted out the most pressing one. “Why are you telling me all this? I mean, you just met me.”

  “You’re honest. And you seem like someone who wants to help. Which is kinda rare. And you don’t seem like a creeper. I mean, you’re my age and you could easily be working alongside me. And, I guess, I don’t know, I like the idea of someone looking out for one of us.”

  Cora nodded. “So any ideas on how to find Iris?”

  “Iris and I worked for the same agency. They aren’t the problem here. They were fine. They screened clients and I felt safer working with them than anyone else. But Iris was caught up in much deeper stuff. She hung out with a bad crowd.”

  Cora fell silent, trying to piece things together.

  Anna put her elbows on the table and leaned in. “A few months ago, Iris stopped dancing. But she was still caught up in the life—she came to the club a couple of times. I thought for a second that she was a sugar baby—”

  “What’s that?”

  “A lady who gets an allowance from a man to regularly escort him, or be with him.”

  “Her sugar daddy.”

  “Exactly. So Iris was hanging around one of the guys who came to the club a lot. I thought she was getting an allowance, maybe good enough to keep her from dancing or being with any other men.”

  Anna’s voice dropped to a whisper. “But I don’t think that’s what happened. I think Iris was in trouble, and this man was holding something over her. And then suddenly she was with Chris.” Anna shrugged. “I saw her once. She seemed happy with him. She told me she was out of the life.”

  The waitress took their bowls away, and Cora realized how long they’d been sitting there.

  “Thank you for telling me all this.”

  “Happy to help,” Anna said.

  They stood up to go but had only walked a few steps when Anna pulled out her phone again, this time aiming it not at herself, but at an artful bit of stained glass in one of the windows nearby. She frowned and moved the phone around to different positions before finally snapping the shot.

  “But be careful,” she looked back Cora’s way. “The guy Iris was with before Chris, he’s bad news. I’ve seen girls get caught up with him before and then disappear. I think he runs a ring or something.”

  “A ring?”

  “Trafficking. Really scary stuff. Maybe guns and drugs, too. His name’s AJ.”

  “AJ?” Cora said his name slowly. “Are you sure?”

  Anna paused as several people passed by, then leaned in. “Have you heard of him?”

  Cora thought of the concert, Marcus’s tense standoff with AJ, and the girl, Ashley, dead on the bathroom floor.

  “I met him. At a concert.” She shivered. “He gave me the creeps.”

  “He’s definitely creepy.”

  “I heard he owns The Orchid House.”

  Anna nodded, grimacing. “He’s involved somehow. He hasn’t been around for a long time. I wish he’d stayed away. If he hangs around much more I’ll probably end up quitting.”

  “You thought I was one of his girls.”

  “You’re his type. Well, one of his types. I don’t know, I just try to avoid him.” Anna re-donned her large sunglasses and put the hood up over her hair. “He wants me to star in a porno. I mean, I wouldn’t mind it, but not with him producing.”

  Cora followed her new friend out of the restaurant, wondering at Anna’s incognito look. Right outside, Anna pulled out her camera phone again. Before Cora realized exactly what she was doing, Anna had lifted her phone and snapped a picture of Cora herself.

  “Please don’t put that up on social media,” Cora said. Marcus might freak out.

  But Anna just dropped the phone with a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t. That one’s just for me. I like taking pictures of beautiful things.”

  Oh. Cora felt her cheeks redden but Anna was already walking, so Cora hurried to catch up with her.

  They rounded the corner and a man came out of an alley and fell into stride beside Anna.

  “Hey, Annie,” he said.

  Cora gripped her purse tighter and looked around. They were on the sidewalk of a wide thoroughfare but for once, there were no Shades to call for if this guy made trouble. She hadn’t realized until now how much she’d begun to rely on them. And take them for granted.

  Anna didn’t seem fussed or worried, though, but she did pick up her pace. Cora kept up with her, ready to
run if the situation called for it.

  “Pete.” Her voice lost all of its sultry qualities. “Don’t call me that.”

  The man grinned and rubbed his chin where a three-o-clock shadow was already appearing. His stubble was grey and matched his closely shaven head. “Call you what, Anna Banana?”

  Anna growled and looked over at Cora. “Don’t talk to him. Ignore him and he’ll go away.”

  “I’m really a nice guy. Here to help. Protect the weak.” He flashed a badge. He was a cop? “Gather little orchids up and take them back to their house.”

  “Well, we’re no shrinking violets, so get lost.”

  “Huh,” he guffawed, shoving his hands back into his pockets. He looked around her towards Cora. “Who are you? You look familiar.” The cop frowned, and Cora wished she had large sunglasses and a hoodie to hide behind, too.

  “She’s a friend, Pete. Back off. You’ll get the info.”

  “Get it to me and I won’t crash your little party tonight. I know what goes on in the back rooms of that place.”

  “Legal lap dances.” Anna almost sounded bored. “You have nothing.”

  “Oh, and the side business in the hotel room afterwards?”

  “Time spent between consenting adults. Don’t be a dick, Peter. I know my rights.”

  “Careful, tiny dancer. And lovely friend, if you ever need to call on the boys in blue…” He shoved a card towards Cora and, for lack of knowing what else to do, she took it and dropped it in her purse.

  The man stopped abruptly at the corner of the block facing The Orchid House. Anna and Cora continued walking briskly. He seemed like he wanted to say more but simply watched them go.

  “Oh my gods,” Cora breathed in relief once they were on the steps of The Orchid House.

  “I know. He’s a dick but he’s harmless.”

  “What was he talking about?”

  Anna shrugged. “Just something I’m helping him with.” She rolled her eyes towards the door as if to say, Anyone could be listening. “Hey, I’ll dig around and let you know. Come visit me again?”

  Oh. Cora glanced behind Anna at The Orchid House. She’d gotten lucky today but did she really dare push it? If Anna called with news about Iris, they could meet somewhere else again, like at the little restaurant. All she said though, was, “Sure.”

  Cora had actually really enjoyed spending time with Anna and adding her to her fledgling group of friends would be kind of great.

  “Ok, come soon.”

  Cora waved and started to walk away when a thought struck her. “Anna,” she called. “What’s your stage name?”

  Anna’s smile this time was mysterious, enticing. “Come to the show and find out.”

  Cora walked back to the shelter slowly. She’d seen AJ’s club and met the charming Anna. Talk about beauty and beast. She wondered if she should’ve warned Anna, telling her to get away from AJ.

  He had to be behind Iris’s kidnapping. He was acting as the Orphan’s manager. He needed the singer so he could do his business in New Olympus.

  Maeve took one look at her and sat her on the couch in the office with a mug of steaming tea.

  “How did it go?”

  The whole story came out. The older woman listened without moving a muscle.

  “I don’t like this. I don’t like that you were there alone. Take someone next time.”

  “I don’t intend on there being a next time. Anna’s great but AJ’s too dangerous.”

  “And Anna? Do you trust her?”

  “What do you mean?” Cora frowned.

  “It’s possible she was throwing you off the scent.”

  Cora thought for a moment and conjured up Anna’s sweet, honest face. “I don’t think she was lying.”

  “She was very quick to open up to someone she’d just met.”

  “I think she recognized that I didn’t have an agenda. She was friendly, sure…but she’s friendly as part of her profession. And maybe she does have an agenda of her own, but she’s still worried about her co-worker. She told me she was glad that someone cared about Iris.”

  Maeve’s mouth moved into a small smile. “Well, you state your case for your new friend quite well. I think this excursion was good for you.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “You seem to have a lot of strength to tap into when you’re working on behalf of others. But what about for yourself?”

  Cora jerked her head in a quick little no. “I just—”

  “You have more energy now talking about helping these women than in the past few months combined. It’s like you’ve come alive.” Maeve frowned. “I’ve been worried about you.”

  Cora was about to start babbling about how she was fine, how everything was fine, when Maeve continued.

  “And I want to ask something else, but I’m afraid you’ll get upset at me.”

  Cora shook her head. “I’d never get upset with you for asking a question. You’re my closest friend.” It was the truth, age difference be damned.

  Still Maeve hesitated a moment, but then she finally asked, “Why are you coming to me with all of this instead of going to your husband?”

  The question hit Cora like a load of concrete, but Maeve didn’t notice. “Is it possibly because you think he might be involved? In the girl’s kidnapping?”

  Cora shot off the couch and paced away. An immediate denial was on her lips but she didn’t voice it. She couldn’t. Because…Maeve had just said out loud one of her deepest fears.

  Nobody knew better than her just how ruthless Marcus could be. Especially when he felt like he needed to be in control. Having AJ, an obvious enemy, as The Orphan’s manager might have thrown him. So he could have sought out the upper hand to regain control over his investment by pinching Chris’s pressure point—Iris.

  It didn’t fit with the Code he supposedly lived by… But then again, that had been his father’s Code. Marcus had made it very clear that everything had changed the moment the Titans killed his sister, Chiara.

  “I’ve upset you. I’m sorry,” Maeve said.

  “No, no. It’s fine.” Cora flashed a smile that both of them knew was fake. “It’s okay.” Her phone beeped with an incoming text and she pulled it from her purse.

  It was from Marcus and had all of two words: Home. Now.

  What had crawled up his ass now? Then she bit her lip. Had he somehow found out about her excursion to The Orchid House? “I have to get going anyway.” She walked over and gave Maeve a long hug.

  Maeve rose too, and started walking her out.

  “Good, get some fresh air. The next hour of my life is going to be giving this puppy a bath. Meet Brutus. I’ll need a few hours at the spa afterwards.” Maeve pointed to a large grey dog lying in a cage. Cora stopped to stare.

  “That’s a puppy?”

  Maeve chuckled. “Few months old. His mother was a Great Dane and got out when she was in heat. Breeder dumped the pup on a family that couldn’t keep him when they realized how big he was going to get.”

  “What did the mom breed with, a horse? Look at his paws—he’s going to be huge.” Cora dropped to her knees and reached her hand through the bar to pet the puppy. He immediately raised his paw up as if to “shake.”

  “Is he trained?” Cora shook the gigantic paw.

  “I’ve been working on it.” Maeve smiled as she watched the two. “He just seems to like you. Want to help?”

  “I’d love to.” The mutt was rolling over now, ears flopping. Cora laughed. Her phone buzzed again and she stood reluctantly. “I’ve gotta run.”

  On the way out, she checked her texts. She had some older ones she hadn’t seen yet. One from Armand, thanking her for doing the show and coming to the party. One was under a name she didn’t remember programming in: ‘Goldwringer’: Hey, bitch! It’s Olivia. Let me know when you want to party again.

  Cora smiled and texted back polite replies. While she did, two more texts came in.

  She scrolled down; they were fr
om Marcus.

  Are you on your way yet?

  Don’t ignore me unless you want the consequences.

  It was wrong, so very wrong that she thought about not texting back just to see what these consequences might be.

  But then she thought of Maeve’s words and her fingers were flying over her phone screen. Leaving now.

  Sharo was waiting outside with the car.

  Eleven

  “What the hell is taking so long?” Marcus barked into his phone.

  Sharo’s cool voice responded back. “The fans are mobbing the bottom of the building. Security and cops are trying to hold them back from the lobby. I’ve arranged with Marco, Stan, and Lorenzo to head the team guiding Mrs. Ubeli into the building from the southeast entrance. We are approaching now.”

  “I’ll meet you there,” Marcus said, thumbing the phone closed and jamming it in his pocket. His jaw clenched. How did the fucking vultures even learn The Orphan was here? But no, he knew the answer the second he asked it.

  AJ. He was trying to put pressure on them and see how they’d react. Force their connections out into the open. The sooner that bastard was six feet under, the better. But keeping The Orphan playing shows was important, too, and not just because of ticket sales. Mobs needed appeasement. Even the ancient Romans knew that.

  It was the off-season for the Spartans, the New Olympians favorite sports team, and Marcus needed the people distracted.

  Look over here at the shiny, sparkling attraction—instead of seeing what I’m actually doing under the table in the dark. Keeping the people amused and happy was one of the first lessons Marcus had learned as unofficial king. He could keep them safe and drugs mostly off their streets and the gambling halls and prostitution rings regulated.

  But it was a mistake to forget that people always wanted a little bit of sin.

  Try to clean up the drugs completely and the city became combustible. The one and only time he’d tried, he’d nearly lost his crown to an upstart gang who took it as an opportunity to try to usurp him. He’d taken the little shit down easily enough and learned the lesson. He eased up on the drug trade, deciding it was enough to keep it out of schools. Consenting adults could do whatever the fuck they wanted.