Tainted Rescue

by Jenn Vakey

  She heard the elevator leave with Drake, then finally found the will to stand. She was alone now, or at least she was fairly certain she was. Everything within her told her to run now, to try and find a way out. As she thought about it, though, she knew it was too big of a risk. Drake wouldn’t have left her if there was even the slightest chance that she could get out. And although there was no way to know for sure, she wouldn’t have been surprised to find that he had the entire penthouse wired with cameras. The last thing she wanted to do was give him a reason to kill her.

  Not knowing what else to do, she cleared her plate from the table and took it to the sink. She washed it, along with the one Drake had already tossed in, then put them up before retreating to her room.

  She spent the next hour searching through the room. She looked through all of the drawers, under the bed, and throughout the closet. Everything was empty. Judging by the furniture tag she found in one of the dresser drawers, she was pretty sure the furniture had never actually been used before.

  After her search, she found herself growing bored. She was considering taking another shower when there was a knock at her door.

  “Who is it?” she asked nervously.

  There wasn’t an answer before the knob turned and the door opened. Standing in the middle of the doorway was a young girl, no older than sixteen if she had to guess. She was wearing a pair of black cargo pants, similar to the ones Drake had been wearing, and a worn, baggy shirt with the logo of a band she had never heard of. It was her hair that caught her eye, though. There were streaks of purple running through her black hair, which had been pulled up into a messy bun.

  “Hi, Bailey,” she said, her eyes moving up and down her half-dressed body. “I’m Clementine. You can call me Clem. Boss sent me over with some clothes and things for you. Do you want me to call the doctor to look at your leg?”

  Bailey shook her head, looking down at the bruised flesh. “I took care of it.”

  Clem didn’t wait to be invited in before she started dragging in the bags of clothes from just outside the door. “I hope you like this stuff. I tried to judge your taste based off of pictures I found of you online. And I also got some clothes you will need for work. Boss didn’t say what exactly you would be doing yet, so I got a little of everything.”

  Bailey watched as Clem heaved a bag up and dumped it onto the bed. She proceeded to grab the other one and do the same.

  Clem hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she got a little of everything. There was everything from yoga pants to fancy dresses. Bailey looked at the price tag of a short little dress and felt her jaw drop. It was more expensive than her first car.

  “Anything else you need I can order for you online and have it delivered,” Clem stated.

  Bailey nodded as she tugged the tags off of a pair of black yoga pants and slid them on.

  “What exactly is it that you do?” she asked. “Are you everyone’s personal shopper?”

  Clem chuckled as she grabbed a handful of clothes from the bed and carried them to the closet. “No, not really. I do get things for the others as they’re needed, though. But I do the computer work. There isn’t much I can’t do with one of those things.”

  Bailey sat down on the edge of the bed and watched Clem as she hung up each item and put it away. “So I guess you’re the one I have to thank for digging up my entire history.”

  Clem looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Guilty. But don’t worry, I didn’t turn over everything to the boss. Like the sex tape I found.”

  “What?” Bailey gasped. “What sex tape?”

  A large smile filled Clem’s face as she turned back to the closet. “I’m only joking with you. Besides, Boss would skin me alive if I held back something as juicy as that.”

  Bailey reached into the pile of clothes and started pulling out anything that needed to be folded. “How old are you?”

  “Seventeen,” Clem answered. “I’m the youngest in the inner circle.”

  “Inner circle?” Bailey asked.

  Clem nodded. “Most of us were there last night when Ernie and Julius dragged you in,” she explained. “The organization is worldwide, though. The inner circle handles each division and Boss oversees above that. Like Ernie, he’s the one that brought you here last night. He oversees the pharmaceutical aspects of the business.”

  “You mean drugs,” said Bailey, mildly amused by Clem’s choice of phrasing.

  “Bingo,” Clem smirked. “It’s his job to manage all of the people below him. That way Boss is free to handle big picture things.”

  “Like who to kill?” Bailey asked, but immediately wished she hadn’t. It wasn’t so much the question as the bitterness that escaped with it. Clem turned to look at her, studying her in a way similar to how Drake had, then turned back to the closet. Bailey didn’t wait for an answer. “So what brought you into the fold?”

  Clem shrugged. “I hacked the wrong person one day. Boss brought me in before the people I hacked had a chance to.”

  “Well that was kind of him.”

  Clem laughed as she hung up the last shirt and walked back toward Bailey. “Boss doesn’t do anything out of kindness. This organization is like a family, but don’t think for a second that Boss wouldn’t put a bullet in my head if I ever crossed him. He would with any of us. He commands respect and loyalty, but he rewards us greatly for it. How many seventeen year olds do you know who own a house outright? Julius’ son already has his college completely paid for and he’s only five.”

  Bailey didn’t know exactly how she should feel in that moment. Clem must have seen the struggle in her eyes, because she placed her hand gently down on Bailey’s and offered her a kind smile.

  “You’re going to be fine,” she told her. “You’re not the first person to get offered a position like this. Although, admittedly you are the first to be brought back here. Truth be told, even I’ve only been here a couple of times and that was just to work on the security system. But just like the others, you’ll be fine as long as you follow the rules.”

  The first to be brought to the penthouse? she thought to herself. No wonder Ernie seemed so taken aback by the order.

  “What rules?” she asked.

  “First, no leaving the penthouse alone,” Clem stated, sitting down on the bed beside her. “Not that you really could if you wanted to, because I’m awesome at what I do.” Bailey couldn’t help but smirk at the pride Clem showed. She was sweet. More so than she would have thought from someone tied up in all of this. “After that, just do what you’re told. And don’t cross the boss. He won’t tolerate it.”

  “Am I in danger?” Bailey asked, although she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer.

  Clem’s face twisted as she thought about what she was going to say. “Think of us all like houseplants,” she said. Bailey raised a bemused eyebrow, but she let her go on without question. “You buy a plant, shape it, then give it the water and sunlight needed for it to grow. You do what you can to keep it alive, but you don’t care for it like you would a family member or a pet. At the same time, you need it around for the benefits of having a plant. But if something were to happen to the plant, all you would need to do is get another one to replace it. Does that make sense?”

  Bailey laughed. “Strangely, yes. Although, I don’t know if it makes me feel any better.”

  Clem was amused with herself as she hopped off the bed. “Well, I need to get back to the office. I left a bag of bathroom supplies just outside the door. Is there anything else you would like me to get you?”

  “I don’t imagine I’m allowed a computer?” Bailey asked, although she already knew the answer.

  “Not just yet,” Clem answered politely. “But don’t worry, it won’t be like this forever. There should be plenty of food in the kitchen for when you’re hungry. The maid comes twice a week to clean up, so don’t be frightened when she comes in tomorrow. Boss will be back later, but he said to tell you that you’re free to use the television in the livi
ng room while he’s out. There are panels on the walls throughout the house with a few buttons. Not in here, but there are a couple downstairs and in Boss’s room,” she said. “Don’t touch them unless there’s an emergency. And I mean an actual emergency, like an attack or a fire.”

  “An attack?” Bailey asked, any sense of security she had built up melted quickly away.

  “Yeah, but you don’t need to worry about that. Just a precaution,” Clem replied. “It will send an alert to the crew that there’s a problem. Help will be here in minutes. Anyway, see you around.”

  “Thanks,” she muttered as Clem turned and left.

  Bailey sat on her bed staring at the pile of clothes for a moment before she gathered the will to get up and put them away. As Clem had stated, there was a large bag of bathroom supplies just outside the door. She pulled it in and shut the door behind her.

  The next hour was spent putting everything else up, then Bailey changed out of the men’s shirt into one of the ones Clem had brought her. By the looks of it, there were several thousand dollars’ worth of clothing now hanging in her closet. Most of it was nicer than anything she had ever owned before. She had to keep reminding herself that it meant nothing, and she was still just waiting for her chance to escape.

  It was nearly three in the afternoon when Bailey finally gathered her courage to leave the room again. Drake was still out, so she made her way to the living room and turned on the television. She was hoping there would be something about her disappearance on the news, but she knew the chances were slim. Without anyone in the city that she was really close to, she knew no one would be looking for her. Especially with the steps Drake had taken with her job and apartment.

  She watched TV until just before seven when she finally gave into her hunger and ventured into the kitchen. For all she knew, he could be out all night. She wasn’t going to wait to see if he came back with food.

  Like Clem had said, the kitchen was stocked with a nice variety of food. She dug out what she needed to make dinner. As she placed her seasoned chicken breasts down in the hot skillet, she started to sing. She knew she didn’t have the best voice, but it always seemed to calm her when she needed it. It worked better than she had imagined, because she was lost in the words when she heard something from behind her ten minutes later.

  “Smells good,” a deep voice said from somewhere across the room.

  Startled, she spun around with the knife she had been using in hand. Drake looked down at the knife before moving his eyes up to hers.

  “Shit, you scared me,” she exclaimed. “I could have cut myself.”

  Drake didn’t react as he stood watching her. His expression was blank. She turned back around to the chicken sitting on her cutting board. Her hand shook as she sliced into it, but she pushed through.

  “Pan-seared chicken breasts with green beans and cherry tomatoes in a butter basil sauce,” she said, trying to break the tension that now filled the room. “There’s plenty if you’re hungry.”

  Drake didn’t budge until after she sat the knife down. As soon as she placed it in the sink, he pushed off of the wall and walked to the table.

  Bailey didn’t wait for him to respond before making up two plates and carrying them to the table. It felt strange cooking for him. But model prisoners were the ones who got early release. She didn’t see much difference here.

  She placed his plate down in front of him, then took her seat. She picked up her knife and cut off a piece of chicken before popping it into her mouth. Drake looked down at the plate, then back at her. She rolled her eyes.

  “Eat,” she said, picking up a green bean from his plate and taking a defiant bite from it. “It’s just food.”

  She knew using his own words against him could be dangerous, especially given the warnings Clem had given her, but she couldn’t stop herself. Luckily, Drake seemed only amused by her actions as he picked up his silverware and started eating.

  Neither spoke again until they had finished. Bailey stood and collected both plates, leaving Drake sitting quietly at the table. She wanted to break the silence, but she didn’t know what to say. To her relief, Drake spoke.

  “I understand that you call your aunt on Saturday afternoons to speak with your brother,” he said. Bailey looked up from the sink as she washed off the plates and found him watching her. She nodded. “I’ll have your phone returned to you tomorrow for your call. I’m trusting that you understand that if you say the wrong thing, it will be the last thing you do.”

  His face was cold and hard. She remembered what Clem had said about him not doing anything out of kindness. He wasn’t allowing the call for her, but instead to keep her family from asking questions.

  “Thank you,” she muttered before turning back to the dishes in her hands. She washed them in silence, then put them away. When she turned around, Drake was gone.

  She didn’t go looking for him. Instead, she went straight to her room, shutting the door behind her. She wasn’t tired, but she didn’t want to get in his way. He was going to let her talk to Michael tomorrow, which was something she honestly didn’t think she would ever do again.

  Bailey stood in a steaming hot shower until her skin was pink. Then she bandaged her leg, got dressed, and climbed up onto the middle of the bed.

  She still wasn’t tired, so she grabbed the notepad and pencil she had found in her nightstand drawer and started drawing. Bailey loved to draw, more so than just about anything else. With her head constantly filled with randomness, it provided her with an outlet to clear things out enough for her to relax. It was especially helpful on nights when she couldn’t sleep.

  The pencil glided over the small paper as she thought to Michael and the call they would share the next day. It had been five months since she had last seen him, but she sketched out his face just as she remembered. She missed him dearly. When her aunt had suggested that she take custody of him, it took everything she had to keep from fighting her. Michael was the only family she had left, but she knew she was in no position to care for him. Not like her aunt could. Although it killed her inside, she knew he was in the best place. Especially with everything going on now. Had she brought him to New York with her, he would have also been a prisoner. This was no life for a child.

  After she finished with Michael’s portrait, she tore the page off and started again. This time she thought only of the last twenty-four hours and how much her life had changed. She wasn’t paying attention to what she was drawing at first, but it was no surprise that it started to resemble Drake. His eyes were cold and uncaring, and his chiseled facial features bore no expression as he looked back at her from the paper. Completing it with his Ivy League haircut, she stared down at the picture and sighed.

  “What have I gotten myself into?” she whispered to herself. She placed the notepad on the nightstand, then switched off the light, and slid under the covers.

  End of Preview

  Loving Danger by Jenn Vakey

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