by Eden Rose
The Madam
The Chloe Chronicles Series
Eden Rose
Dedication:
These are getting harder and harder to write. I’m thankful to everyone that has allowed me to pick their brain about sensitive subjects.
Thank you to those that have supported me and my neurotic writing style.
This is for you!
Author’s Note:
This book contains sensitive subjects that may be upsetting for some readers. Please note that this book is intended for mature audiences. Reader discretion advised.
Copyright © 2016 by Eden Rose
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
No part of this is a reflection of a person- live or dead. This is a figment of my imagination.
Thank you!
*************
Due to dramatic flare, there is some words that are spelled wrong and grammatical errors that are intentional. I apologize in advance if this is bothersome. Thank you for your understanding.
Prologue- Now
I am awoken in a dirty room with a flickering light. My eyes scream from the onslaught of the light and I can’t help but wince. There’s a dripping noise in the background that is starting to grate on my nerves.
“Oh good, you are awake.” The voice is heavily accented and sounds disturbingly familiar.
My head snaps to the left as I try to track down the voice of whomever spoke. “Wh-wh…” My throat is raw and hurts to try and talk. What happened to me? I’m feeling so annoyed that I can’t express my feelings nor ask what is happening to me.
A male is in the corner with his fingers rubbing over his chin and panic is shooting through me. “And here I thought that you would be screaming the whole place down.” This voice definitely belongs to a mid-westerner. His accent is something that I’m used to hearing all of the time in Colorado.
Hell, it’s my accent. If I had one.
My eyes squint to focus and I can see the outline of a man in a suit leaning against the wall. What I can see for certain is the gun that he has pointed at my head. “Wh-huh…” Again, it’s no use and it’s fucking frustrating me too much trying to talk. I’m a federal agent and I’m having a hard time talking about what the fuck is happening. There is nothing more invalidating than not being able to use my voice.
The man saunters over and pulls a chair to sit in front of me in the dirty room. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the mother fucker that you tried to screw over. Did you honestly think that we would allow some fucking cop to infiltrate us?” When I didn’t answer, I felt a burning sensation in my cheek. “You fucked with the wrong people. Chloe Delacruz.”
The world went black.
Chloe- THen
I pull on my new fur coat that is part of my new life here is Las Vegas. Looking in the mirror, I would have never known it was me if I wasn’t staring at me in the reflection. My hair has been dyed brown and I’m tanner than I have ever been.
We have been prepping for this now for a couple of months ever since I left Grant and Christine behind. The bureau had rented me an apartment so I can stay there with Steve when I’m not busy which means I’m not here very often. So far, I have been prepared and guided for this role.
Privet , menya zovut Khloya.
Russian is a difficult language and I’m happy as fuck that they don’t require me to learn how to write it as well. I’ve learned the basics but other than that, I’m going to be screwed. Who can learn enough of a foreign language to be fluent in a matter of a few months?
Not this girl, that’s for sure.
Steve barks at the wall like a psychopath and I walk up to him to make sure he’s not eating something that he shouldn’t be. “What are you getting in to, Sir Psycho Puppy?” I crouch down and wrap my fingers around his snout to open his mouth. Sure enough, the moron has a piece of paper stuck to his teeth. “You’re crazy, baby.” I peel the piece of paper out from between his teeth and he barks at me. “Yeah, yeah. You shouldn’t get into that stuff. Dumb ass.”
I get off of the floor and walk to the door where the mirror is. “Well, Chloe. You can’t hide forever.” But I want to. I’m scared to fucking death to step into this sex trafficking business even if I have my brother, Barry.
There’s the knock on the door that I have been waiting for and I throw open the door. “You’re so fucking dumb. How could you not check the door to see who it is?” Barry yells at me. Prison had definitely changed him and now we are stuck in this situation together.
I pull my coat to the side and flash my piece. “Bring it, bitches.” Inside my coat, I have two guns that are untraceable in case someone were to search me and take them from me.
Barry charges into my new apartment and checks out the cameras that were installed by the bureau to ensure my safety. “What are you doing?” I ask with exasperation. He’s definitely frustrating me so much these past few months. It’s almost as if he doesn’t understand the amount of changes that have hit me.
I’ve long ago hung up my mourning of Christine’s friendship and Grant’s romantic relationship with me. However, it still hurts. The level of betrayal that had plagued me after finding out that my two best friends slept together and then kissed- is too raw and it’s difficult to let that go. I have not spoken to either of them and the only ones I have spoken to are Howard, Barry and my captain.
Howard is kind of like my keeper. It’s strange to think about it but he’s been staying around here with me for the past few months to ensure that I’m not getting into any trouble. But I like trouble. It’s what I’m good at.
“Just checking.”
‘Damn it, Barry!” I yell and make Steve jump. “I don’t have time for this over protective bull shit. You were in prison for years and I have managed to take care of myself. Now quit, and let’s get out of here.”
My purse is being stored in the hall closet with the rest of my personal things. The bureau had installed a safe to hold all of my documentations and my real identity.
“Anya Katz.”
I spin and look at Barry. “That’s going to take some getting used to.” My new name is Anya Katz and it’s crazy to think about it. I get that it’s important but it’s still weird.
There’s another knock on the door and I nod at Barry to answer it. While he’s taking care of that, I push my feet into some stilettos and adjust my chest. I’m wearing some provocative clothing as a madam. My shirt is a button down poplin shirt but is unbuttoned to show my cleavage. My pants are tight and I feel like you can see the outline of my pussy through my pants.
Fuck. I haven’t dressed this skanky since college.
“Hey, Chlo. How’s it going?” Howard says as he walks through the door. His good-boy-model look is still there and he’s looking extra hot in a designer suit. The broad shoulders that he’s now sporting, are stretching the fabric of the expensive suit. I can see his torso through the button down shirt that he’s wearing through the garment.
Holy shit. When did Howard get so fucking hot?
His light colored eyes gleam in the artificial light of my apartment and his hair is glossy from being styled. I take the opportunity to check him out in his new finery.
Since I have been in intensive Learn Russian Camp, I haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone and no one has been able to contact me. James, my captain, says that’s important because then people won�
��t know how to get in touch with me and blah, blah, blah. I’m just ready to start this mission so I can pick my life back up.
I walk towards Howard, a little shaky in my high, very high heels, and throw my arms around him. “Hey, how are you?”
Around our hug, he cups my ass in his hands and squeezes. “Yep, you still have a hot ass!”
“Ahem! If you ever loved me, you will not say that to my fucking sister and get your hands off of her! Gross!” Barry shouts and sprays cologne on. “We ready?”
I cough around the smell of his cologne and wave it out of my face. My nose has been very sensitive lately and all of these new smells are getting to me. “Yeah, let’s do this! Steve, pin!” I shout at my dog and he crouches down and runs to his crate. “Good boy!”
Howard- Now
Chloe is not answering her phone. It’s been about twenty minutes since she left the warehouse and she was supposed to call me when she got in.
Ashamedly, I check my phone for any messages that she might have sent since I last checked it twenty minutes ago. Nothing. Fuck. I throw my phone on the table next to me as I pace through the computer lab at the warehouse.
In the background from the computer lab, I can hear all sorts of different voices and I tense up. My ear strains to try and decipher if Chloe’s outside. Nope. Not her damn fucking voice.
Damn it. I pace back to my phone and check through the messages again. Still nothing. What the fuck?
I pull up my contacts and hover over her name. I already know that it’s going to go to voicemail since this is one of the burner phones but I do it anyway.
Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Doing something repeatedly and expecting a different result?
I do know that if Chloe doesn’t answer her phone in about two seconds, I’m about to go fucking crazy.
With the grace of God, I’m able to work through my obsession of not being able to get in touch with Chloe and look through the website. It’s this website that has women and men advertising for things that shouldn’t be sexual, but are. Like one woman says: “I’m available at any time to do anything.”
Fucking seriously?
Grant- Then
“What do you mean that you can’t tell me where she’s gone to?” I fight the urge to yell at the Cap, but it’s hard to not punch him in his shit eating grin of a face.
It’s been three months since I left Chloe in the parking garage with her dog. Now, no one is telling me where she went and they are telling me I should forget about her. Howard is being all secretive and it’s pissing me off since he’s not answering his phone, either. Where the hell is Chloe?
James folds his hands in front of his face and shrugs. “She’s undercover and she’s not to be bothered.” He’s stretched out behind his desk and his beer gut that has been growing is pushing over the ledge of the desk.
“What did you do to her?” I slump into my chair and fold my legs by resting my ankle on the other leg’s knee. I’m beyond pissed. The thought of Chloe being gone is killing me and it’s making me sick that I don’t know where she is. I haven’t slept the whole night through this whole time and I can’t stand it. I fucking miss her.
“Look, I don’t know what’s got your panties in a twist, but you need to realize that she’s gone right now and you can’t talk to her. End of fucking story!” He shouts out the last sentence and I flinch. He’s known for being calm and it’s strange to see him so frazzled.
My phone buzzes and I pull it out. Seeing that it’s a text from Kayla, I slip it back into my pocket. Kayla is a beautiful brunette from my old precinct and she’s currently pregnant with my baby. I had the paternity test done last time I was in Fort Collins and got the results a few months ago that I’m the father. Hence why Chloe ran.
I should have known it was only a matter of time before she ran. I’m surprised it took her this long to run off. Mother fucker. Chloe has a warped sense of relationships because her parents have an open relationship with each other. I know that when she found that out, she changed a lot.
“I’m in love with her,” I admit the words that I haven’t spoken in three weeks to anyone.
James shrugs and then picks up his coffee cup. “I know and that’s why you can’t know where she is. I can’t have you knowing where she is because you will jeopardize everything. Get out of my office before you don’t have a job anymore.”
I storm too dramatically out of James’ office and run into Colin. “Did he tell you anything?”
This guy is really starting to piss me off. He’s always asking about Chloe and I’m about to flip my shit on him. I get that the two hooked up, but she’s my girl and I’m sick of this shit.
“No, dude. Back the fuck off.” I walk away from him and into my office that I used to share with Chloe. They emptied her desk and it’s almost as if she never existed. It’s strange to see her bare desk.
It’s just too fucking bare.
The heavy feeling in my chest cavity proves that she was here because I dream about her and think about her. It’s fucking shitty how we ended things and I hate myself for letting her drive away. If I wouldn’t have left her in the parking lot, none of this would be happening and she would still be here with me.
I pull out my phone and dial her number.
“Hey, it’s Chloe. Leave me a message. Bye!”
I take a deep breath and begin to leave the message I have been trying to leave all along. “Hi, Chlo. It’s Grant. I just… Shit. Please call me. I miss you. I’m so sorry.” I took a deep breath and then said: “I love you, baby.” To my horror, I started to choke up and I hung up as fast as I could.
“She’s still not answering the phone?” I looked up and found Colin staring at me.
“Jesus!” I yelled at him and then got up from my chair. “Look, you little punk. Lay off of me and back off!” I stormed away and made my way into the gym.
Since Chloe and Howard fell off the face of the planet, they have shut down the sex trafficking unit and we are now being directed to work on terrorism. It’s a different pace but it is what it is. I’m curious as to why the previous unit had been canceled but I’m not going to ask about it.
“Hey, man,” I hear out of the corner of the gym locker room and see William walking in. “Have you heard anything?”
I shake my head and roll my shoulders back in a sign of being done with this conversation. I change into my gym clothes and head immediately out to the punching bag. All of my frustrations have been directed to this bag for the past few months. I punch the bag to make myself feel better and I punch it as hard as I can so when I go home- I can sleep. Christine shows up at my apartment every once in awhile and I do my best to ignore her.
Right now, she shows up because she feels bad for stepping into my relationship with Chloe. I don’t want to hear her sorrys or anything because it all sounds pretty fucking fake to me. She’s glad that Chloe’s gone and I know it. Christine’s happier and is having more and more people over at their apartment.
Well, it’s Christine’s apartment now.
After thirty minutes of punching the bag, I stop to take a breath. My chest is rising and falling pretty hard and I know my face is red from the anguish and frustrations. Where the fuck is she?
*
I stuff my key into my door and open it to the quietness of my apartment. It’s so unbearably quiet that it makes me sick to be here. The quiet just proves how alone I am and it’s disgusting.
Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I call my mother. She’s always good at putting things in perspective and I need that, very badly.
“Hi, baby. How are you?” Her breathy voice filters through the phone and I’m relaxed a little bit.
I never realized how much I missed my mother until I hear her voice. “Hi, Mom. I’m all right… Just getting home from work. What are you doing today?”
“Well, I went to the doctor’s today and found out that I need to start exercising. Your dad needs to come to the gym with me too.”
I take a deep breath and listen to my mother discuss her health problems and also I hear my dad kicking in. “I don’t need to work out! I work out enough!”
“Yeah, right, Dad!” I call and then hear him yell.
“I told you that kid was a little asshole. You should have given him more hugs!”
Mom shouts at him: “He got plenty of love. I picked him up twice a week!”
They yell back and forth about how I got enough love as a child for the next few minutes before they grew quiet. This is a normal conversation due to the fact that I have so many siblings. It used to be funnier than it is now but it’s doing what I need. I’m able to be distracted from feeling as if my heart has been ripped apart.