by Theresa Papa
Samantha answers all of Joe’s questions about Jennifer and reveals the text to him. He leans against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest and explains the details he’s uncovered so far.
“Well, Samantha, I wouldn’t worry too much about your friend Jennifer. Or I should say Juliana. Jennifer Chambers was born Juliana Carmichael but changed her name after her younger sister went missing many years ago. Possibly to avoid the press, or debt collectors, or some other reason we don’t know right now.”
“I can’t believe she kept all of this from me. We’ve always confided in each other,” Sam says.
I shrug and grab her hand in mine.
“She might not have had a choice. We don’t know all the circumstances.”
“Well, evidence in her desk suggests that she’s running from bill collectors. Also, I found a persuasive letter from a Jerome promising that he would keep her safe if she stayed with him. The postmark is recent. So I’ll personally keep a watch out to see if she can be located and do a wellness check.”
He still has her sign papers in case Jen really doesn’t show up. “But I will wait the regulatory time to process the missing person’s report. And if you decide you still need to at that time, we will.”
Samantha nods and gives him an unenthusiastic smile.
“Okay. Thank you for all your help, Joe.”
Then he goes back behind his desk, opens a file, and fills us in on some of the background on Marcus Dent.
“Dent went to jail for child pornography, child endangerment, and statutory rape. So the assumption he has abducted Elizabeth or even Jennifer is unlikely because they are too old and don’t fit the type of victim he solicits. We don’t have any reason to harass him at this time. But I’ll unofficially keep an eye on the club and his place next door as a personal favor to you.”
I thank Joe for his help, and we agree to be in touch regularly to exchange information.
Chapter 33
Nico Pope
Sam and I both ride quietly, lost in thought as I steer the Tesla onto the Eden’s expressway heading northwest to the suburb of Hawthorn Woods where Samantha spent her childhood. She reaches over and places her hand over mine with a wide-eyed smile.
“Well, I hope you’re hungry because when I called and told my mom we were coming, she reminded me it was Sunday dinner. My large Italian family has pasta dinner together almost every Sunday.”
“Well, I can’t wait. Guess what? I’m mostly Italian too, and I miss having all the family together for pasta with gravy. When my mom passed away, my grandmother still made homemade Italian food for us, but then after she passed…”
Sam squeezes my hand and looks over at me lovingly. I’ve never been able to openly talk to a girl like this. I reveal these things to her as if I’ve known her my whole life. Just to have her here with me, listening to me, makes me somehow feel less empty with the memories of losing those I loved so dearly. She tries to make me feel better by redirecting the subject.
“So your family calls it ‘gravy’ too? The red sauce you put over pasta.”
“Yes, my nana called it that, and we always knew it as gravy.”
“Some people are easily confused because they only know of the brown stuff they pour over the turkey at Thanksgiving as gravy. And I tell them it is! But we call that ‘brown gravy.’ I guess it’s all in your own family traditions, but I’m glad you have the same one I do in this case.”
An hour later, we pull into her parents’ circular driveway. Sam looks over at me and squeezes my hand.
“I’m kind of glad that my cousins couldn’t make it today, so it will just be my parents, grandmother, and the two of us.”
“I’m relieved also. Not only because it’s the first time I’m meeting your parents, but I’m also leery of the conversation we need to have about Jennifer.” Sam nods and closes her eyes briefly, then reaches for the door handle.
Samantha’s childhood home is a two-story contemporary colonial with a grand front entrance that houses an elegant winding staircase. Antique furniture that cohesively blends in with newer pieces makes up the eclectic décor. As we step into the family room, her father greets us first with a hug for his daughter and then acknowledges me graciously.
“Hi, sweetie, I’ve missed you,” he says.
“I’ve missed you too, Daddy.” She turns, holding out her hand to me. “This is Nico.”
“Pleasure to meet you, sir. Thanks for having me for dinner,” I say.
“Nice to meet you too. Please come in and make yourself comfortable.”
He’s about five feet ten with a slender, muscular build, a full head of thick salt and pepper hair, and the same eye color as his daughter. Her mother comes around the corner, wiping her hands on a towel, and Sam hugs her before she leads her to me. The petite dark-haired woman walks up to me and hugs me as though she has known me forever. She has warm, dark eyes, and a welcoming smile. We all proceed into the kitchen to find her feisty little nana sitting at the kitchen table. Sam hugs her and introduces me to her.
Her nana informs me, “We are Italian, so we don’t shake hands. We give hugs. Come over here, young man, and give Nana a hug. Don’t you have the most brilliant eyes I have ever seen? They are angelic, God’s work of heavenly art. Paul Newman had brilliant eyes like yours. He was a heartthrob in my day. I can say those things out loud because I’m eighty-eight years old. If you get to be my age, you can say anything you want, and nobody is shocked.”
I laugh and do just as Nana asks me to while thanking her for the compliment. She’s very sweet and reminds me of my own nana. The food is ready, so we all sit down to a delicious meal, and by the time we’re finished, I’m stuffed.
So far, the conversation has been congenial. But Sam gets a little nervous when the time arrives to break the news about Jennifer to her parents. I place my hand on her knee and whisper, “Would you like me to tell them?”
She nods her head unable to get the words out.
“We have some unsettling news about Jennifer. She hasn’t been home in a few days.”
Mrs. Marconi places her hand on her chest.
“Have you called the police? How long has she been gone?” Nana asks.
“Don’t get too worried! I got a text from her yesterday. But she won’t answer when I text back, and that’s unusual.”
I gesture with my hands as if weighing something.
“It could be nothing to worry about. We just discussed our reservations with a detective friend of mine at the station before we came here. Her disappearance may be voluntary due to some evidence in her condo. She changed her name from Juliana Carmichael to Jennifer Chambers when her sister disappeared and her parents died. Frankly, that’s common for someone who has left of her own free will and does so repeatedly. But in light of my cousin’s disappearance, they are still actively looking for Jennifer too. Just for a wellness check.”
I continue to explain to them as gently as I can the order of events so far, including the information about my cousin Elizabeth.
Sam’s parents are distraught, as anyone would be to find out this information. We rise to leave, and Samantha’s mom hugs her.
“Please, honey, don’t go anywhere alone and be more careful,” she says.
“I assure you that I won’t let anything happen to her and will do everything in my power to keep her safe,” I confirm.
Sam promises them frequent phone calls to keep them apprised of the situation.
When we get back to Sam’s condo, it is evident that my man Louis, who takes care of all my cars, has picked up her car at Club Beta and dropped it off at her house. I wish I could keep Samantha with me safely tucked away at my place. That way she wouldn’t even need a car. Both of her jobs are right there, and classes are close by too. She could use any of my cars whenever she wanted. I need to slow down my thought process. I don’t want to scare her away by suffocating her. She and I will decide together when it’s the
right time to take things to the next level.
My phone rings and brings me out of my contemplation. Jaxson wants to meet to discuss plans on the investigation into Beta. Samantha opts to stay at home to get laundry and some chores done before the weekend is over. School starts for her this week, making her time a valuable commodity. The meeting with Jax without her is a better choice in case his plans are a little shady. I miss her already. I take off to meet him at my place.
When I arrive, Jaxson is on the balcony with a scotch already in hand. I pour myself one and join him on my own chaise lounge next to him. The city sparkles, and the lake is a dark void with boat lights twinkling here and there in the distance. Jax takes a sip of scotch and sets his glass down on the small table next to him. He throws his legs over to one side to face me, then sits up to begin.
“Well, bro, how’s it going with the beautiful Samantha?” He smiles roguishly at me, waiting for an answer. I sigh and sip my scotch before I answer.
“I realize that the whole situation was extremely awkward. I want you to know how much I appreciate the way you handled it by removing yourself when you found out. That was a classy move, and I really owe you one.”
“Listen, you had just spent the morning telling your little brother how much you care for this girl and how she’s the only one you want to be with. I may be an asshole, but I know that when a guy realizes he wants only one woman, he should have her. Especially you. You deserve to be happy after what that bitch Ariana put you through. Me, I date many women all at the same time. You know that Sam was just another conquest to me. Don’t get me wrong, she’s gorgeous and sassy and intelligent, but that just makes her more fucking perfect for you.”
I sip my scotch.
“Thank you, Jax. She really is perfect for me. I actually met her parents today.”
“Whoa! You’ve only known her a week, dumbshit!” He leans back in surprise.
“Well yeah, but she needed to break the news about Jennifer’s disappearance to them, and I offered to go with her. Her family is great. They’re very upset about Jen and the fact that her phone was last located at Club Beta. Sam’s mom and dad have kind of taken Jennifer into their family since her parents died.”
“Well, I’m happy that you’re happy, bro.” He pats me on my leg.
“Thanks. Now what’s the news on the case? Where are we going from here?”
“Well, it really took some doing, but I sniffed out a guy who knows about the very exclusive Alpha side of Club Beta. According to him, they will set up scenes with submissive partners for the VVVIP customers. As you might guess, money is no goddamn object with these clients. Now, some of the stuff he told me sounds fucked up. For instance, the scumbags film everything that goes on in the chamber to sell the films. Due to the masks, no one will know either participant’s identity. Not only will it be difficult to get in there, but I’ll also have to bullshit Jennifer while I’m in there to make it look real on the camera. And then get the girl out before the person filming is warned about the malfunction.”
“And what about there maybe being two girls who need to get out? How do we do that?”
“I have it planned out so it will have to be simultaneous. But you being the other guy might be fucked up because Giselle knows you too well. So I called Tony Dragonetti to help us out.”
“Oh man, you called in the dragon? Did he already know Elizabeth was missing?”
“Yes, he’s loosely kept an eye on her over the years. But he thought she just gave him the slip again because she’d done it once before.”
“So she told him to back off too in not so many words, huh?”
“He was told to back off in high school when she was going through all her shit. But you know Tony; it takes a lot of shit to piss him off. He’s no pussy, though. When he wants something, he gets it. No matter how long it takes. He once told me that he’s a very patient man regarding Elizabeth.”
I smirk at my brother and shake my head. I hope this is a good idea.
“Okay, so you and Tony will both have Alpha scenes booked at the same time, and this is where they use the girls they have detained against their will?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know that you’ll get the right girl? Assuming they are really there.”
“In these particular high-end services, the bastards offer a choice through pictures for an additional fee. We will, of course, be using that option. Can you get me a picture of Jennifer?”
“Absolutely. I’ll ask Sam to text you one right now.” I text Sam for a picture, and she sends it to Jaxson.
“What the fuck? You didn’t tell me she was smokin’ hot. Now, I’m the son of a bitch hoping she’s at the club and not running away with her boyfriend,” Jax says with a smirk.
We discuss more of the details that need to be firmed up before the extraction takes place.
By the time my brother leaves, it’s past midnight. I pick up my phone and send Sam a text.
Nico: r u still up?
Sam: in bed thinking of u call me
I dial her number and lie back in bed to take in the sound of her sexy voice.
“Hi, how did the meeting go?”
“It was good. We planned a way to get in there and get them out if we have to. We are operating on the assumption both girls are there. Jaxson found out that there’s an underground part of the club for people who can pay big money for scenes that aren’t so legal. They send pictures to the buyers of the women who are available. When they clear Jaxson and our friend Tony as clients, the next step will be to send them the photos. Then they pick Jennifer and Elizabeth. That is if their pictures are among the ones sent.”
“I hope not. I don’t want to contemplate about the unspeakable things they’d be forced to do there. How soon will we know, and when would they rescue them? Will you be going too?”
“I can’t be one of the clients because Giselle will recognize me. So Jaxson recruited a longtime friend of ours who knows Elizabeth very well. In fact, Tony is devoted to her in his own way even though they haven’t seen each other in years.”
“Sounds like there’s history between them?”
“Yeah, I don’t know the whole story, though; my cousin can be extremely stubborn when she gets something into her head.”
“So how soon?”
“In a couple of days at the most. The money has already changed hands. I’ll be with Joe in a surveillance van outside of the club, and we will be listening in on microphone devices. Joe is strictly working off the grid on this as a favor for me. If the wrong people find out, he could lose his job.”
“I still hope Joe is right, and they’re not at the club. But as long as he keeps you safe, that’s what matters most to me.”
“Thanks, beautiful. So what are you wearing?” I ask, laughing at my own joke, and I continue to smile while she giggles on the other end. The only sound as spectacular is when she sings.
~~~
Mondays have always been my least favorite day of the week. Many salons stay open on Saturday and close on Monday instead, but ever since I opened Salon de Nico, the traffic has been as steady on that day as well as all the others. Up until now, I never had anywhere else I longed to be to warrant taking any time off, so staying open six days a week has been just the way it turned out. But now, I have Samantha. She has me thinking about all the possibilities of new projects and even places I want to take her after she graduates.
The day is going by slowly while I wait for Sam to finish her internship duties at the law firm. I’m in a bad mood as I deal with all the women from my past who have resolved to communicate their thoughts to me today. First, I get a phone call from Giselle this morning stating that she can no longer work with me. She states that my rejection has affected her deeply and borders on sexual harassment. I thought I was being the good guy by telling her the truth and not leading her on when I needed information about Elizabeth. Of course, as the gentlemen I always try
to be, I apologize for the misunderstanding between us and wish her well in her future endeavors. Then, later in the day, Lisa pays me a visit in my office. She comes on strong and begs me to reconsider our relationship. I’m honest with her, citing a new serious monogamous relationship as the reason we cannot see each other again. She is still begging for a secret liaison on the side when I escort her out of the salon with a business card for another hair stylist.
No sooner do I sit behind my desk than my Samantha steps into my office. The woman who has become the center of my thoughts all day is such a welcome sight. It’s like the clouds have parted to reveal the sun. She wears a sexy light gray slim skirt with a turquoise silk blouse unbuttoned just enough to show her enticing cleavage as it peeks out for my mouth to devour. Unable to hold back my enthusiasm at her arrival, I bolt around my desk to greet her with a bear hug. All I can think of is making love to her again. If I didn’t have a client soon, I would bend her over my desk right here.
Chapter 34
Samantha Marconi
Singing in the shower is how I start my day. My head is in the clouds after the magnificent weekend I spent with Nico. Thoughts rewind to his hands and his mouth on my body. The proficient way he brought me to climax repeatedly, unselfishly caring for my needs before his own. Not that our bedroom activities aren’t extremely important, but Nico excels at all other aspects of our interactions too. Most importantly, my mom, dad, and nana loved him. Then there’s the way that he takes care of details like when he broke the news about Jen to my parents, fixed my car, or cut my hair, just to convey my significance to him. I might be falling madly in love with this man.