by Riley Ashby
It had been a week and a half since she first came to me, nine days with her in my bed as I fell asleep and underneath me as we awoke.
“Am I moving in?” she whispered on Saturday morning as we lay with the sheets tucked over our heads like a tent.
“I thought you had already.” I slid a hand between her thighs and pinched the flesh where they touched, just beneath her sex. Desire rippled down my spine, turning my body toward her.
“I meant your room.”
Her thumb was hovering around her chin. I had nearly broken the nail-biting habit, but it was persistent. Apprehension and insecurity laced every decision she weighed, from what clothes to wear to where our relationship was headed. I woke up alone one morning sure that she had run in the night, until I heard the shower running in my bathroom. I fucked her up against the wall, hot water scalding my back, before I even told her good morning.
“I’ve been bringing your clothes over already,” I whispered, and she giggled. A few nights she had insisted on returning to the white room, and I had let her, despite her promise to obey me. It seemed a necessary concession to let her work out her feelings. But she came back every night, walking light footed through the passages and slipping beneath my sheets, where I wrapped her against my body like a second skin.
I avoided Castel as much as possible, only speaking to him when we had actual business to discuss. I knew how angry he was, could feel the resentment rolling off him like a tsunami whenever he walked into my office and found Sophie with a book by the window or studying the chessboard. We’d fought like this before, leading to tense silences in our shared living spaces that could only be resolved with one of us buying the other a case of beer and leaving it like an offering in our tiny mini fridge.
I went to the office more often to escape him, Tori defending it with her line of questioning that meant he wasn’t getting into my office without a good explanation. Sophie came with me, spending time with Tori when I needed to concentrate. It felt better having her in a different room rather than a half hour drive away. She started asking questions about our operations—nothing too complicated, but she was gaining knowledge. Paying attention. Thinking about the future.
Saturday, we were dressed for another night out, this time at a condo downtown. Slightly more formal, but still sleazy as hell, and Chase would be there. I didn’t want to bring her, but she insisted as soon as she heard.
“I have to show my face again,” she said. She was already pulling on a garter belt and stockings that drove me absolutely mad. I didn’t even know women still wore those. “It’ll make him furious.”
That was what I was afraid of, but I didn’t want to argue for once in my life.
“Are you ready?” I asked her as we ascended in the elevator, hoping she’d say no, hoping I could convince her to take the elevator right back down, drive back to the house, spend the night in bed like we had every other night.
She didn’t get a chance to answer as the elevator doors opened into a bare lobby. We could hear music pounding from beyond the door leading into the main space. The guards in front of the door gave us a perfunctory pat-down. I stiffened as the man’s hands passed over Sophie’s waist, but he didn’t linger. She hooked her index finger through my pinky and gave me a tense smile.
No matter how she tried to hide it, she was nervous. If she wasn’t, I’d be worried she was ill, but I was still kicking myself for bringing her here. I should have found some way to make her stay behind. Tie her down, maybe.
I coughed and adjusted my tie, trying to tamp down the way my cock hardened at the image of her bound to my bed. Not yet.
We plunged through the door into a mass of bodies and thumping bass. Waiters with drinks on trays circulated the room, but I shook my head minutely when we were offered to partake. I’d watch our drinks being made in this place.
We filtered through the bar, brusque conversations shouted in ears over the music. Sophie remained a step behind me. Every time I turned around, I caught her regarding the room with an expression that reminded me distinctly of a deer I had come upon on a trail during one of my runs. Stock still, observing blankly without fully processing exactly what she was seeing. Ready to run at the first sign of danger.
I had handed her a glass of whisky, noticing how little she had touched the scotch at the last gathering, and she was sipping it with slightly more gusto. I turned away from the man I had been talking to, a partner at a company we hoped to work with soon, as she downed the last sip.
“Do you want another?”
She blinked, already a little unsteady. She was so slight that the alcohol went straight to her head.
“I probably shouldn’t.”
I nodded and swiped my thumb across her chin, licking up the drop of alcohol that had remained on her skin. I had held back from touching her all night, except to occasionally guide her with my hand on her back.
“You’re doing well. Are you feeling okay?”
She leaned into my hand before I could pull it away. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. The booze helped.” She offered me another smile, slightly looser now she was relaxed.
“That booze…” I made quotes with my fingers “…is two hundred dollars a glass. I’m glad you liked it.”
Her jaw nearly hit the floor, and she fumbled to keep hold of the glass. I laughed and took it from her, handing it off to a passing server. When I looked back, she had frozen in place with her mouth in a grimace.
I turned on my heel as Chase reached out to clap me on the shoulder. Josie stood at his elbow, shooting a shy smile in Sophie’s direction.
“Good to see you again, King.”
I preempted his reach for my woman with an outstretched hand, which he took with some surprise. I generally didn’t extend him any civilities beyond what was strictly necessary. It was one reason he was so keen to seek me out wherever we went. He wanted me off guard.
“Away from the office for a night.”
“Yes, of course. We all need a break now and then.”
Chase’s break had been going on since his early twenties. He outsourced most of his work to interns and reaped the benefits of a passive income. But it was his active income I wanted to learn more about.
I shifted so Chase had to turn and face me, watching Sophie sidestep over to Josie so they could talk surreptitiously.
“How’s your pet doing? She was a bit redder the last time I saw her.” He made to look over his shoulder, but I snapped my fingers, pretending to flag down a waiter and pulling his attention back to me.
“You weren’t exactly intact yourself, if I recall. I have the most pleasant image of you landing on your ass at her behest.”
He scoffed and sipped his drink in an attempt to mask his discomfort. “I’ll admit, she’s got a bit of a kick.”
I wanted to get the conversation away from Sophie and onto a safer topic. I led him to a slightly more isolated corner, shooting a glance at Sophie to ensure she knew where I was going. “How’s business doing?”
“Booming as usual.” He stood straighter, eager for the chance to brag. “Lots of product coming in from overseas in addition to domestic. We’re seeing huge profits this quarter.”
I put my hands in my pockets to hide my fists. “I’ve been wondering when I might be included in those profits.”
He arched his eyebrows. “I didn’t think that was in your purview.”
“I’ve been thinking about breaking in.”
“Well then.” He clapped his hands, eyes glinting with malicious joy. “Why don’t we get together to discuss more? We have a large fundraiser coming up. Maybe you would like to join us.” He cast a glance over his shoulder. “Your toy would be welcome as well.”
I frowned. “I’m not interested in selling.”
He shrugged, eyes flicking over my shoulder and then back to me. “You might change your mind. Everyone needs an upgrade after the new-car smell wears off.”
I wanted to crush my glass in my hand and grind the s
hards into his gums. But I heard Castel’s voice in my head, reminding me how behind schedule we were, how I had fucked everything up with our entire timeline. It made me sick to even think about any woman this way, but I had to make up for some lost time. If I walked out of this party with anything, it had to be an invitation to this event.
“And what kind of price might I get for such a specimen?”
He didn’t answer for a long moment, just stared over my shoulder. My stomach sank as that damnable slow smile rose up the side of his face. There actually was the sound of breaking glass, and I thought for a second I had finally shattered my own. But when he started laughing—a dark, low sound that sent shivers down my spine—I knew that I was very, very wrong.
I turned to see Sophie staring at us, mouth set in a furious line, fragments of glass at her feet begging to spread across the floor as she swept in a circle and headed toward the door.
I refused to believe it. Could she have heard our conversation? Impossible. Even if she had, how would she know what we were discussing? We used coded language like this on purpose. I always had been extra careful to guard my words around her, making sure she never caught wind of this. But the look on her face … it was fury.
“Excuse me,” I said to Chase, cutting him off mid-laugh. I stepped toward Sophie with my arm extended, but she was already out of reach.
Exclamations followed me as I pushed through the crowd, upsetting trays of drinks and sending more than one person stumbling. I didn’t hear a single word. By the time I made my way through the entryway and into the lobby, she was already in the elevator, and I barely stopped the doors from closing before I slipped in beside her.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, immediately reaching out to touch her and check for injuries, pretending she hadn’t understood what was going on. There must be some other explanation for her behavior. She didn’t look injured, but what if one of the less savory characters here had spiked her drink? The moment my hands touched her she recoiled. She was pressed into the corner of the elevator like a cornered animal.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” she growled, still not looking at me. I held my hands aloft but didn’t step away from her.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” I commanded, slipping into that tone that always made her respond. The voice I knew would make her relax and become pliable.
It didn’t work this time.
She finally looked up. Her eyes bore through me like she saw the entire truth of the world. The elevator dinged as we reached the ground floor; it sounded like a death knell.
“I heard you,” she said. Her voice was a gravel whisper. “I heard you both.”
Every drop of blood in my veins turned to ice as she stepped out of the elevator. “You don’t know the whole story.”
“Really, Ellery? You think I couldn’t figure out what you mean with all your barely camouflaged code words and knowing glances? You think I didn’t figure out exactly what Chase’s business is about the moment I stepped into his house?”
Fuck. I had been too quick to underestimate her. She was new to this part of the world, but she wasn’t dumb. She always saw too much. When I thought she was too afraid to focus, she was seeing everything.
I should have known better. I should have given her more credit.
“You need to tell me exactly what you heard. Then I can explain it to you.” If I could get her to listen for a second, it would all make sense. Castel would be furious with me, but it didn’t matter anymore. I had to stop her from walking out the door.
“I don’t need you to explain anything to me,” she snapped, walking out the door. “I don’t need you at all.”
It had surprised me how happy I was to see Josie. The last time we had spoken had ended traumatically, between finding out the truth about my father’s gamble and the fight with Chase. But seeing her here was a reminder I wasn’t alone in this strange situation, even if we weren’t exactly the same. I wasn’t naïve enough to think she was with Chase due to any voluntary arrangement. But she knew what it was like to have to depend on a stranger for everything. She knew what it was like to lose a family.
And it turned out she could give me information I needed to know about Ellery. Like how not only he knew that she came from human traffickers, but that he was getting involved.
I didn’t have to question her to know it was true. I moved to where they were talking as quickly and as quietly as I could. The moment I tuned in my ears to their conversation, he confirmed it himself. He thought I was stupid enough not to read between the lines of his conversation, but once I knew what they were talking about … it became clear as day.
I only made it a couple of steps down the sidewalk before I heard the clatter of Ellery’s shoes behind me followed by Castel’s.
“What’s going on?” Castel asked at the same time Ellery called out, “Sophia, come back here. We need to talk.”
“I’m not talking to either of you,” I called over my shoulder. My arms were folded across my chest. The insubstantial clutch I had brought with me was just for show. I had no money or even my ID, reminding me how wholly I had allowed myself to be taken in by this man. I listened for sounds of pursuit, not expecting that Ellery would let me walk away but hoping all the same. He told Castel to wait with the car and then his running footsteps caught up to me once again. I jerked away the moment his hand touched my arm and nearly sent myself tumbling. Shit, that booze went to my head.
“Sophie, come back to the car.” He didn’t offer an explanation. And why should he? He didn’t owe me one. He had told me as much the day we met. But when he had said some of his dealings were less than legal, I assumed he meant an occasional bribe. Not this.
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“We had a deal. Stop walking.”
The authority in his voice, the way he commanded me, spoke to me on a molecular level. I could feel my body responding to him. My steps slowed, and I even started to turn before my brain caught up with my heart and I walked even faster.
We were a full block from the building we had come from and utterly alone on the streets. Even in the heart of the city, he managed to corner me.
He finally jumped in front of me and clapped his hands on my bare shoulders.
“What did you hear, Sophia?”
I snapped out of his grip and turned down an alleyway.
“What you’re doing with Chase. With the girls. What you’ll do with me.”
He cursed under his breath.
“I told you there were aspects of my—”
“Not like this!” He stepped back at the force of my outburst as I finally halted. “This goes beyond not telling me about your business. I told you not to deceive me again. And now I find out you’re involved with this. Were you going to … you were asking about my price.” Saying the words made me sick.
We stared at each other for a full minute. I counted every second with my pulse. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Let’s go home. We need to talk about this.”
Oh my God. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” I turned on my heel and tried to walk with purpose.
“I’m trying to get them back!”
His outburst had the intended effect. I stopped in my tracks but refused to turn around.
“What did you say?” Could that be the truth or was he toying with me? All he had to do was get me back in the car and I would be at his mercy. There would be no new chance to escape.
I could practically hear him running his hands through his hair in frustration.
“I said I’m trying to get them back. Please don’t make me go into this here. Let’s go home.”
“She said she’s not going with you.”
We turned in unison to the source of the new voice. A tall man in a tattered leather jacket was leaning against the wall of the alley not five feet from me.
“How long have you been standing there?” Ellery demanded as I recovered my sensibilities. “You know what, never min
d. We’re going.”
He grabbed for my arm, but still I pulled away. I didn’t want to be caught with this stranger, but I wasn’t sure I trusted Ellery much more at this point. But as I jerked away from him, I bumped up against another hard chest. I turned my head to see another shorter man in a similar jacket and combat boots. His grimy fingers encircled my wrist. I jerked my hand away, but he held fast. My flight halted, Ellery was able to grab my other arm.
“Let me go,” I said. “Both of you.” Of course, neither did. I twisted and lurched, freeing myself from Ellery but not from Combat Boots. Ellery stepped forward to grab me again but was stopped by Leather Jacket’s hand against his chest.
My mind raced. I was stuck between three men, two of whom probably wanted to do me harm, all of whom were stronger and taller than me. I was barely able to walk in these towering heels, and running was out of the question. I hadn’t noticed any open shops as we walked, so screaming wouldn’t do me any good. Unless … could Castel hear us from here?
“You two look pretty dressed up. Got somewhere to be?”
“We’re going home.” Ellery made to step toward me again but stopped short with a quick inhale. Moonlight glinted off the sharp edge of a knife Leather Jacket was holding against his chest.
I reacted before I could think. Despite my anger at him, the thought of Ellery in mortal danger was too much for me to handle.
“Get away from him!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, praying for once that Castel was close enough to hear and come running. I pulled away from Combat Boots so quickly I almost missed the sound of a gun being cocked, but definitely not the noise it made when it clattered to the pavement. There was a pause the length of a heartbeat, and then Combat Boots and I were both diving for it at the same time. I heard grunting to the side and knew Ellery was making a move too.
Damn you, I thought. Stay still for two seconds.
I laid hands on the gun a moment before Combat Boots. My ankle rolled as I scrambled to my feet, my knees burning where they had scraped the asphalt. I held the gun toward him and hoped the shaking in my arms wasn’t too noticeable. I was already unsteady from the alcohol, and now my ankle was throbbing. I was in no condition to be holding a firearm. I could hear Ellery and Leather Jacket struggling, but no one was saying anything. I couldn’t risk a glance.