“I’m sorry if I’m late, sir,” he says.
“You’re not.” Raphael lifts himself up on his elbows. “I want your mouth on my cock. Now.”
Caleb kneels on the floor in front of the bed, and as he starts unbuttoning Raphael’s pants, Raphael lets himself fall back to the bed and closes his eyes. A quick peek at the shelf tells Caleb the camera is still where Isaac has left it. It’s barely visible in between the legs of the statue.
“Isaac is fine, you know,” Raphael suddenly says, and Caleb flinches. “I heard some woman got him.”
Caleb remains quiet, because if he says anything, it won’t be nice, and he’s sure he’s going to regret it, so instead he just focuses on satisfying the man as quickly as possible.
When Raphael finally sighs in contentment, Caleb sits back on his heels and hopes Raphael will go take a shower, as usual.
“Good job,” Raphael says as he gets to his feet, pulling up his pants and then patting Caleb’s head as he passes by. “You can go.” He strolls off toward the bathroom.
Caleb quickly gets to his feet and starts for the shelf with the statue, glancing back and forth between the shelf and Raphael. Careful not to move the statue, Caleb sneaks his fingers toward the camera.
“Caleb!” Raphael’s voice rings out dangerous close, and Caleb lets his hand drop.
“Yes, sir?” He turns toward Raphael, hiding his hands behind his back so that Raphael can’t see his fingers twitching.
“What were you doing?” Raphael raises an eyebrow, his lips pressed into a tight line.
“Nothing. I was just going for the door.” Caleb does his best to keep his voice steady.
Raphael’s face twists into a suspicious grimace, and he goes toward the shelf. As his eyes quickly examine the shelf, a frown line creases on his brow. “Nothing, huh?”
Caleb is barely breathing, his pulse racing. Raphael will see the camera; he’s sure of it, but there’s absolutely nothing he can do.
Raphael shakes his head and faces him. “Were you looking for something?”
“No.” Caleb swallows hard, his palms sweating.
Raphael scoffs. “You’re lying to me. I know you are.” He places a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, which makes Caleb jump. “Relax. I know what you’re after. Wait here.” With a smile on his face, Raphael strolls off.
Caleb blinks, unsure of what has just happened. Gathering all of his courage, he grabs the camera off the shelf and slips it into the pocket of his sweatpants. If Raphael catches him, everything be damned.
When Raphael returns, Caleb can see a packet of white pills in his hand. The tension leaves his shoulders as he realizes Raphael thinks he’s been looking for more pills.
“Since Isaac left, I’m sure you need a bit more of this to help you relax.”
Caleb wishes he could punch the smirk off Raphael’s face.
“Open your mouth,” Raphael says, taking out one of the pills. Caleb licks his lips and then obeys. Taking another pill when he’s had one earlier today won’t do him any good, but he has to make Raphael believe he’s right. Raphael lowers the pill into Caleb’s mouth, and he immediately swallows it because he knows Raphael will check to make sure he’s really done it.
“Come here.” Raphael place his hand at the nape of Caleb’s neck and pulls him in for a kiss, his tongue parting Caleb’s lips and exploring his mouth. When he pulls back, there’s a big smile on his face. “You may go now.”
When Caleb’s finally in the hallway and the door closes, his shoulders sink in relief, but he knows it’ll be even harder to find a safe hiding place for the camera and then get it to Lilith, but at least the first step is done. Feeling lightheaded from the pill, Caleb can sense a grin forming on his lips and he hopes he won’t do anything stupid until the pill wears off.
When I’m told Caleb isn’t available, but that he’ll be soon, I decide to ignore his advice to get Jade. If Raphael realizes I’m hiring only Caleb and his friends, he’ll know something’s up. Maybe the only reason he doesn’t suspect me yet is because I’m Alessandra’s friend and because of the video he has. Or maybe he’s just confident that no one will be able to do anything against him.
It takes a week longer, but I’m glad Caleb hasn’t been discovered or Raphael would’ve never let him come see me. I pace up and down the room, annoyed that I can’t just call the cops and trust them to deal with everything.
When the doorbell rings, I rush to the door. As soon as I see Caleb, I grab him by the shirt, pull him inside, slam the door, and wrap my arms tightly around him.
He embraces me, his lips brushing my ear. “Hey, it’s okay. I got it.”
“You did?” I pull back, my voice bubbly.
He nods, and we head toward the living room.
“There’s one more thing I need you to do for me,” I say. “I got photos of everyone who works at the station with Lloyd, so if you could take a look and see if you recognize any of them, it would be really helpful.”
“I can do that.”
“Thank you.” I don’t let go of Caleb’s hand as we sit down on the couch. He takes out his phone and starts pulling it apart.
“I just got the memory card,” he says. “Don’t know what’s on it or if it’s any good.”
He hands me the card and I get to my feet, cradling it in my palm while I go fetch my laptop.
“So, what’s your real name?” I ask as I put the laptop on the table and turn it on.
“I’ve always been just Caleb. It’s the only name I know.” He shrugs.
“No last name or anything?”
He shakes his head.
“You told me you’ve been with Raphael for six years. How did you end up with him? Where is your family?”
“Before Raphael... Isaac, Jade, and I lived with an older woman. She called herself Marena. Raphael came for us when we were fifteen. He said that he’d been paying Marena to raise us and that now it was our turn to pay him back.” He stares down at his hands in his lap. “He said that our families never wanted us and that we should be glad he took pity on us and provided for us. Then we had to go with him to undergo training for our new jobs. He trained Jade and me, although he didn’t allow us to see each other. And Isaac was taken to someone else... I thought I was going to die during those two years.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat, pushing back tears that have formed in my eyes. “Do you remember where that woman lived? Maybe we can track her down.”
“Outside the city. It was a small farm.”
“Any neighbors? Anyone else you might know? Did you maybe go to school?” Finding the woman might give us a better clue about Caleb’s true identity and family. I don’t think we can trust Raphael. Maybe Caleb’s family is still searching for him.
“We had visitors. People would come to buy things we produced on the farm. We all worked on it, and Marena taught us everything. She used to be a teacher, so we didn’t have to go to school. She’d take us to some town from time to time, but I don’t remember much of it.”
I focus back on the laptop and insert the memory card in the slot. As I wait for it to load, I glance at Caleb, my head starting to hurt from what he’s just told me. As the video window pops up on the screen, I take a deep breath. “Do you want me to play the video now?”
Caleb comes to stand behind my back. “Yeah.”
“You don’t have to see this if you don’t want to,” I say, but he only smiles.
“I’ve seen and been through worse, believe me.”
“I know, but... doesn’t mean you have to see it this time.”
“Just play it,” he says, and I press the button.
The camera shows Isaac’s face as he turns it on. He adjusts it a little bit, and as he steps away, we can see a bed with dark red covers, a wooden nightstand, and also a part of a closet, but the camera mostly looks to the bed and the floor that is covered with a dark red carpet.
I guess red really is Raphael’s favorite color. Isaac is just standing there
, naked, and when something rustles, he immediately sinks to his knees, his head bowed, his hands on his thighs. Raphael comes into view, wearing a black suit. He smiles at Isaac as he takes off his suit jacket and throws it on the bed. Isaac lifts his head and glares at him.
“Keep your head down, boy,” Raphael snaps, but Isaac doesn’t obey. Instead, Isaac climbs to his feet, curling his hands into fists.
“What’s gotten into you?” Raphael sounds bored. “Get down on your knees before I lose my patience and decide to whip Caleb or Jade. How would you like that?”
“You won’t do it,” Isaac says.
“Oh, no?” Raphael comes closer to Isaac so they are only inches apart.
“You need them.”
Raphael’s face turns into a sneer, and he backhands Isaac so hard that he falls to the ground. “You never learn your place, do you, slave?” Before Isaac can get to his feet, Raphael grabs him by the hair and forces his head up.
“Fuck you,” Isaac says through his teeth, a thin trickle of blood seeping out of the corners of his lips.
Raphael laughs, lets go of Isaac, and then kicks him in the stomach. “How many years have you been mine? Over four?” Raphael looks thoughtful. “I know your biggest fears. You have to know just how stupid it is to upset me.”
“Go ahead. Do what you’re best at!” Isaac yells, clutching his stomach. “Kill me!”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Raphael goes to the other side of the room, briefly disappearing from view. When he returns, he’s holding a syringe, and a sadistic smile twists his lips.
Isaac’s face is calm as he struggles to get to his feet. “Anything to get away from you!”
“Ah, so sweet. But you know what I’m going to do with you? I’m going to fuck you, then I’m going to give you to my boys to do with you as they please. I’m sure they’re going to love that.” Raphael runs a hand over the front of his pants, as if the mere thought of it excites him. “And then I’m going to sell you to the highest bidder. You’ll see what it’s like to be without my protection.”
“You won’t...” Isaac tries to charge him, but Raphael is faster. He grips Isaac’s arm and stabs him with the syringe.
I look away from the video. “That’s more than enough evidence, isn’t it?”
“I guess.”
I close the video player and click on the photos folder. “Can you take a look at these people and mark anyone you recognize?”
“Yeah.”
“Great.” I push the laptop toward him, hoping that checking the photos will distract him from what we’ve just seen. As he busies himself with it, I find my latest phone and dial Katherine’s new number. At this point, I’m using a different burner for each call.
“We got it,” I say as soon as she answers. “All I need to figure out is how to blur out Isaac’s face.”
“And if Raphael says the video was fabricated and gets his goons to back up his claim in court somehow?”
“He’ll still have to come out and prove it. And we’ll have Caleb’s and Isaac’s testimonies. Hopefully someone else’s too.” Once the video is out, there won’t be anything Raphael can do to stop it.
“Um, about that...” There’s a brief silence on the other end of the line. “Isaac doesn’t want to testify or get involved with any of that.”
“What? Why? But he has to...” I scratch my head, unsure why Isaac wouldn’t want to do it. “Are you sure that’s what he wants?”
“Of course I’m sure,” she snaps. “So don’t send the cops to my door because I don’t want any trouble.”
“Where will Isaac go?”
“He’s staying with me.”
My eyebrows arch up. “Are you sure about that? I mean...”
“Yeah, I’ll let him stay for a while until he figures things out.”
“Okay, then.” I still remember when she wanted to get rid of Isaac as soon as possible, and I know he would do anything to help take Raphael down, so what has changed? “Did something happen?”
“Well, he’s going through a terrible withdrawal, and I can’t just kick him out. If he changes his mind about testifying, I’ll let you know,” she says.
“Do you need help? I can find someone who can take care of him.”
“No! I can handle it. Trust me.”
“Right. I’ll call you later.”
“Sure. Bye.”
I squint at the phone. “That was awkward.”
Caleb looks up at me. “What?”
“Isaac is going to stay with Katherine.” I place my hand on my hip.
“Why wouldn’t he stay?”
“I don’t know. I guess I was wrong.” I shrug. “Oh, well. Did you recognize anyone?”
“Yeah.” He rolls his eyes. “I wrote their names down for you.”
“How much time do we have?” I can feel a knot in my belly when I think about Caleb leaving.
Caleb glances at the time on my laptop. “Half an hour or so.”
“That’s not enough.” I pad over to him and place my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. As he leans his head on my shoulder, I rub circles on his back.
“I know,” he murmurs. “I could hold you like this forever.”
“Then don’t let go.”
I stroll through the room full of people, ignoring the sounds of sex everywhere around me. When I asked Alessandra about another one of Raphael’s parties, she didn’t even blink before giving me the location, which I managed to secretly pass to Lloyd, who reluctantly agreed that the best thing for me would be to show up at the party so no one suspects anything and so I could alert them if the location changed at the last moment.
I smile at a couple kissing against one of the columns, the girl’s eyes closed as she moans. It’s hard not to keep glancing at my watch, because I know Lloyd must have contacted someone trustworthy and that a team is already on their way.
Hopefully Caleb has managed to identify most of the corrupted cops and no one will be able to warn Raphael. I can see Raphael sitting at one of the couches, his pants unbuttoned as some girl is sucking him off while he’s caressing her hair. I want the bastard to rot in jail forever.
Caleb steps in front of me, a seductive smile on his face. He’s only wearing a pair of black pants and his bare chest is adorned with glitter. “Looking for me?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I’ve been walking around alone for too long. I don’t want to attract too much attention. Not that anyone has noticed me while they are busy enjoying themselves. Caleb leans forward and captures my lips with his, so my mask almost slips off my face. I deepen the kiss, wrapping my arms around his strong muscles, not caring that his glitter is ending up all over my pale pink dress.
He tugs me toward the corner of room, and once we’re hidden behind one of the columns, we break apart, breathless. Caleb takes a quick peek around the column, a concerned look on his face. I follow his gaze to a redhead who is in the embrace of a dark-haired woman. The girl must be Jade.
A couple of moments later, my heart threatens to jump out of my chest, my mouth dry. Is anyone coming? What if something happens? What if Raphael’s men get away?
“Hey,” Caleb says, placing his hand on my cheek. “You’re beautiful tonight.”
“Thanks.” I know he’s only trying to distract me, and I can’t believe he’s the one who has to do that. I should be comforting him, so I push my dark thoughts away.
“What’s with all the glitter?” I run a finger across his chest and come away with another layer of sparkly dust.
“Keeps most people away.” He grins. “They don’t want me to ruin their precious clothes.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Nice.”
“Not really.” His smile falters. “Raphael wanted a special performance before you came.”
Before I can say anything, the door across the room burst open, and a dozen armed, masked men dressed in black uniforms rush in. “Nobody move!”
People start to scream and the room erupts in
chaos. Caleb tugs me behind the column, and from the corner of my eye, I can see Raphael rushing for the back exit but finds it blocked. Then shots are fired, and Caleb pulls me closer to himself, shielding me with his body.
“Stay here,” he says, and before I can ask anything or stop him, he jogs across the room. A woman hobbles toward me and blocks my view. I try to spot Caleb, but I can’t see him anywhere.
“On your knees! Hands on your head!” a voice behind me yells, so I raise my hands up. The man comes over to me and tugs on my arms, cuffing them behind my back. “You’re under arrest.” He takes me by the arm and leads me toward the others.
But as the group of cuffed people is being led away, I realize Caleb isn’t there. And neither is Raphael. Black spots dance in my vision, my pulse racing. Where are they?
“You’re free to go,” my lawyer says as she enters the small room where I’m being held. “There will be no charges against you. I still think you should go into witness protection. Your parents could say you went to study abroad and...”
“Where is he, Cassandra?” I ask, unable to focus on anything else. “Where’s Caleb?”
Cassandra tucks a strand of her shoulder-length dark brown hair behind her ear, her green eyes cast down. “I don’t know.”
“What does that mean?” My voice cracks a little.
“He wasn’t with the others. He, Raphael, and a couple of his guards are missing, but don’t worry. They’ll find them.” She takes a seat across from me, reaching for my hand, but I pull away.
The door opens, and I look up at Lloyd, whose serious face breaks into a relieved smile when he sees me. “They finally let me see you. Are you all right?” he asks, concern filling his eyes. “I have some good news. We figured out who Raphael’s contacts are, found the places where he held the victims, and identified their families. We’ll make sure they’re all protected.”
“That’s great, but I have to find Caleb. If he’s with Raphael...” I stumble to my feet and Lloyd catches my arm.
“Whoa, girl. We’re working on it. You did your part of the deal. You should go home to your parents so their bodyguards can protect you, get some rest, and I’ll call you immediately as soon as we know something, okay?”
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