Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

  Getting frustrated she no longer cared about the fancy toiletries.

  “Oh my god, now you’re just being dramatic. I don’t do whatever Trevor says. He didn’t even ask me to stay. This is ridiculous. You know if it were reversed and I was the one stuck in New York, you would have killed him if he left me here alone, so why is it so hard for you to grasp why I would stay with him?”

  Turning from the stool, she stood and walked around the tub, disappearing into the tiled shower alcove to turn on the water. Braxton took a step back to hide before she emerged.

  “I am right.” He heard her say. Her tone a bit less defensive than before.

  “I don’t remember. I’m about to get in the shower, but I’ll ask him when I get out. It’s in the morning sometime.”

  Was she talking about her flight? Had it been rescheduled? He assumed the him she was going to ask was Trevor.

  “I don’t know. I think we’re just going to stay in. I’m pretty hungry so we’ll probably just order room service and watch a movie. Nothing too crazy.”

  Braxton, still hiding behind the wall and feeling like a coward took a step out.

  “We will.”

  Bethany unhooked the back of her bra, holding the phone to her ear with a shoulder. It fell to the floor and Braxton inhaled a deep breath. Fuck she was beautiful. He started to knock on the doorway to make himself known and then stopped short.

  “I love you too.”

  His arm froze, shit his whole body froze, tense with emotion at hearing those words and knowing they weren’t directed toward him. They never were. Bethany hung up the phone, set it on the counter and stared at the blank screen for a minute before turning around and gasping at the sight of him.

  “Shit Brax. You scared me.” She wrapped an arm around her breasts, shielding them from his view as if he’d never seen them before. “How long have you been there?”

  Braxton’s voice was caught in his throat. He didn’t want to admit to what he heard, wanted to move on and pretend like it never happened. “I just walked up. Brought you your suitcase.”

  “Oh. Thanks. Guess that might be helpful,” she smiled and reached for a white towel, wrapping it around.

  “What’s with the towel? I can’t see you naked anymore?” He felt frustrated, like they were back to the same situation they were in yesterday; her running home to her husband and him fighting to keep her. Lucky for him, fighting came natural. Her cunt bag husband didn’t stand a chance.

  “Did you tell Trevor?” she changed the subject.

  “Not yet.”

  “What are you going to say? You’re not actually telling him are you?”

  “I was thinking about it. I’m not sure what else I can say. He’s not going to back down unless we give him something and I don’t want you to have to lie to him anymore; to anyone for that matter. I’m sick of the lying.”

  “You lie to people every day Brax. What’s one more person? I don’t want you bringing him into this. What happens to him if he doesn’t understand? He’s not in your fucking gang. He doesn’t know the rules. I don’t want him brought into something he doesn’t know the consequences of.” She walked over to him with confidence, no longer intimidated by his presence. “Tell him the truth, tell them why they brought me in, and then deny every word of it. Just like I did.”

  Her body, petite in front of him, radiated authority. She was never afraid of him, but this was something new he hadn’t seen before. She was protective of Trevor like a mama bear protecting her cub.

  “Are you giving me orders now?”

  “I am on this. I’m telling you Brax, don’t fucking do it.”

  “Okay.” He was quick to relent. Part of his new strategy to get her to come to his side. If she were going to be his queen, he would start treating her like one. “You’re right. He shouldn’t be brought into something he doesn’t know the consequences of. I won’t tell him. Or at least I won’t admit to it.”

  Bethany looked at him skeptically. She didn’t believe it could be that easy.

  “I promise,” he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “You should know by now I’d do anything for you. If you don’t want me to tell him, I won’t. It’s as easy as that.”

  Braxton left Bethany alone to take her shower, though his dick was pessimistic to do so, but he needed to get back to his conversation with Trevor and fast, before she had a chance to come back down stairs. Taking the steps two at a time he hurried down and found Trevor in the exact spot he left him, rigid on the couch.

  Without acknowledging him, he walked over to the phone on the end table and dialed 7 for room service.

  “In room dining what can I get for you?” A woman’s voice answered, thick with a Hispanic accent.

  “Bring up ten of your favorite meals and deserts. I don’t care what. You choose, and have it here in thirty minutes.”

  He hung up, not waiting for a response. Bethany mentioned she was hungry and he was providing. He didn’t have time to dick around with the menu.

  Sitting down in the same chair he was in before, he leaned back and crossed a leg over his ankle. “I know you want answers and I’m going to give them to you, but I have some questions of my own first. Once you answer them, I’ll answer yours. Deal?”

  “Do I have a choice?” asked Trevor.

  “No.”

  “Then I guess we have a deal.”

  While Braxton was gone Trevor waited in the living room pondering who the fuck this guy really was. What could he have done that was so bad to warrant Annie getting picked up by the police? Could it really be that bad where he couldn’t tell anyone? And would Braxton really kill him if he did? The questions left him unnerved. He should never have called him. He overreacted like usual, thinking the police were going to put her in jail, but now he was having to deal with possibly being murdered instead. This was so fucked up. What’d she get herself into? New rule, she is never allowed to fake name a guy at a bar. If someone hits on her all she gets to say is Married asshole. Get the fuck away from me. It was a good rule, he agreed with himself and nodded his head.

  Looking up Braxton was glaring at him like he was a sociopath and he stepped back to reality. “Ask me. What are your questions?”

  Braxton cleared his voice before jumping right in to the strangest fucking question he’d ever been asked by a straight guy before. “If an attractive man said he was going to give you a blow job and wanted to pay you one hundred dollars for letting him do it, would you take the money?”

  “What the fuck kind of question is that?” The left field question stunned him and then realization popped into his mind. “Holy shit, is that what this is about? Are we talking about you? Wait, are you…” he trailed off and lifted a brow in question. “Into guys? Is that why you wanted her to leave the room? Or did she, did you to her,” Trevor motioned with his hands asking if Braxton paid Annie to let him go down on her.

  “You’re thinking too much. This is a hypothetical question. I’m not fucking gay and I didn’t pay Bethany to let me fuck her. I’m going to ask you the question again and I want a yes or no answer. If an attractive man said he was going to give you a blow job and wanted to pay you a hundred dollars for letting him do it, would you take the money?”

  Trevor thought about the question, still confused by why it was asked, but decided to play along. “If a hot guy wants to suck my dick and pay me, then sure. I would have let him suck my dick without the money so why not get paid for it. Hell, I’d probably let a girl do it if she was going to pay me.”

  “And it doesn’t bother you that it’s prostitution and illegal. You could technically get arrested for it.”

  Trevor shrugged and made a noncommittal noise. “Not really. It’s always been kind of a blurred line for me anyway. If it’s between two consenting adults, it shouldn’t be illegal. I used to smoke a lot of weed and I didn’t give a fuck that was illegal either. What’s your point?”

  “My point is exactly what you said, sometimes there’s a blur
red line between right and wrong. It’s not always cut and dry. And some things that are illegal don’t really matter as long as you don’t get caught.”

  “Is that what happened tonight?” Trevor asked. “You got caught? Or they’re on to you? Did you get her involved in your shit?”

  Braxton patronized him with a smile. “I’m getting to that. My questions first. Remember?”

  Trevor leaned back on the couch like an annoyed teenager, and waved a hand for him to continue before crossing his arms over his chest. “If I told you I was going to give you a hundred thousand to move something for me, would you do it?”

  And just like that, Trevor was up off the back of the couch and sitting at attention. “Is this another hypothetical question or are you being serious?”

  “I’m dead serious.”

  “Well what are you talking about here? What do you want moved?” Was it drugs? Fuck. Could he do that? What did he want him to do? Take them back home with him? How would he get them on the plane?

  “No, that’s not how this works. I’ll let you know when it’s your turn to ask the questions, but for now I need your blind loyalty. Yes or No?”

  Fuck. Trevor’s heartbeat sped up. This was one of those life-changing moments. He could feel it in his gut. He just didn’t know if it would be changing his life in a good way or a bad. “And if I say no?”

  “Nothing. You walk away. You pretend like today never happened and you go back to living what I presume a very boring, low-income life. You don’t ask Bethany questions, she’d never tell you anyways, and you continue your ignorance.”

  Trevor let out a breath and it whistled through his parted lips. He didn’t have to do this. He could walk away. Or he could make a bunch of money and stop feeling like a bum around all his friends whose incomes were at least three times higher than his. “One hundred thousand?” he reconfirmed. “Cash?”

  Braxton answered with a nod.

  “Would this be a onetime thing?”

  “Now that,” Braxton pointed toward him, “is a question I’ll allow, as it’s leading to my next point. If you choose to say yes, if you take the money, you work for me now. And by work for me, I mean, I own you. This will not be a one-time thing.”

  The words rang through Trevor’s head loud and clear.

  “You are literally making a deal with the devil, but I promise you will never want for anything again. No more buddy pass plane tickets, we don’t fly commercial, no more scrounging for cab money, you’ll always have a driver, and ordering a four-thousand-dollar bottle of wine will be as easy as asking for water. If you say yes, I will ask you to blur the lines, and you will perform because your allegiance is to me now. Not to Bethany or anyone else. Not even to yourself. Am I making myself clear?”

  Trevor shook his head yes, unable to vocalize.

  “I want you to understand, if you say yes, this is a verbal, binding contract. For life. But trust me when I say that I’ll take care of you. I’m not going to ask you to kill anyone or do something completely immoral, you will not get caught, ever, unless you’re dumb enough to walk into a police station and incriminate yourself, with which you will not last through the night. I have men everywhere. Remember that. So what’s it going to be? Yes or no?”

  Trevor knew there was something off about Braxton since the moment he saw him; the tattoos, the long hair, the muscles, but he had no idea the extent of what he was really in to. He still didn’t technically. He could only assume. In a matter of a couple minutes he mentioned having more money than God and giving him a cut, having men everywhere, being able to protect him, and being able to kill him if need be. What the fuck? Why was he considering this? Oh right. The money. Money had never been a luxury for Trevor. His parents saved every dime they had, living well below their means. They didn’t even splurge to send him to college. He had to get an academic scholarship and realized later that majoring in Art History was a stupid fucking decision, no matter how much he loved it. He was currently unemployed, laid off from his job at the Phoenix Art Museum due to government spending cutbacks and not sure how he was going to pay the bills if he didn’t get a job soon. He almost cancelled the trip all together if it hadn’t been for Annie’s neighbor giving him a buddy pass and the hotel being non-refundable. Seemed like a waste to not go on a vacation since he had the time, but it still didn’t alleviate the stress of needing to find a job. And here was a job, placed right at his feet. While unconventional, understatement of the year, he wouldn’t have to worry about money again. Shit, he’d be the one paying for his friends instead of always the other way around.

  Braxton patiently waited, giving him the time to think before he added to the stress. “This is a limited time type of deal Trevor. Once she walks down those stairs the deal is off.”

  Trevor instinctively turned for the stairs, checking for Annie’s presence and then turned back to Braxton.

  “All I have to do is send one text and your money will be here in a matter of minutes. It’s that easy. And think of it as a tax free signing bonus. I won’t even count it toward the other hundred grand I’ll pay you each month and we’ll make that legitimate. I’ll add you to the Cage Industries pay roll. You can have whatever title you want. What is it you do anyways?”

  “Art.” He could barely get the word out, thinking only of the money Braxton was offering. One point two million dollars a year. “Anything with art. I can make it, sell it, preserve it, teach it. It’s always kinda been my thing.”

  “Great. Then that’s what you’ll do; for company aesthetics at least.” He paused and then thought of something. “Shit. Do you even know about my company? Did Bethany tell you what I do?”

  Trevor shook his head.

  “I am CEO of Cage Industries. It’s a holding company where we buy businesses from all over the world, strictly for financial gains. I own hundreds of businesses. In a nutshell, I go in when they’re down, fix them up, and either sell for profit or occasionally, if the consumer profits outweigh the overall sale, I keep them. It is legitimate in every way and I am very good at keeping that part of my life separate from the other. You could fit in perfect. I need an artist’s eye. Someone who could go in and style up the places.”

  “What kind of places are we talking about?”

  “Restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, those seem to be what I buy most. They’re easy to flip. I’m brokering a deal right now for a casino resort in Vegas and when I’m done, it will be the most desired place to stay on the strip. You could help with that. Meet with my design team, give opinions. Trust me, it will be very fulfilling.”

  “You’ve never even seen my work? How do you know I’d do a good job?”

  “You’re right. I don’t. But let’s just say, if you don’t fit in with the design division, then I’ll find you a place where you will fit in, and I’m guessing because of that, you’ll work your ass off to make sure you do a good job.”

  “So what, I’d go to work like a normal person during the day and then carry out your dirty jobs at night?”

  “Sometimes. Not always,” Braxton leaned forward from his relaxed position, uncrossing his legs. “Look, you’re asking a lot of fucking questions. You’re either in or you’re out. I can’t tell you anymore unless I get a decision from you and then I can tell you everything. I’m looking for a right hand man, someone who has no affiliation to the fucked up shit I’m involved with. Someone I can trust, who will be truthful and loyal. If Bethany trusts you, like she seems to, then I think you’re the right man for the job. But this will change everything for you, and not just monetarily. I need you to understand the consequences of your decision and have your eyes wide-open going into this. You need to know that I will come first. If you’re out to dinner and I call, you step away and answer, if you’re in the middle of getting fucked, you stop and answer. If Bethany, just for example, were to tell you something and ask you not to tell me, you will lie to her and agree, but I better be the first fucking call you make when she leaves. Your loyalty
will one hundred percent lie with me. Don’t bite the hand that feeds and all that. If I ask you to do something, that as we put it earlier, blurs the lines, you’re going to do it. No questions asked. And in exchange I will pay you handsomely. If you ever want anything, all you need to do is ask. I’ll become the friend you never knew you wanted, but if I find out you purposely betrayed me, I’ll have no problem getting rid of you. Sometimes things don’t go the way I want them to and that’s okay, but if you do something on purpose to sabotage me, that will be the end for you. This is your one and only warning. Now I’m done waiting for your response, we have other things to discuss before she comes down. You have five seconds.”

  Braxton looked down at his watch, counting the seconds ticking by. The life he painted was everything Trevor ever wanted, besides the whole killing him thing, but he didn’t have betrayal in his nature; especially if he was being paid a million dollars a year. While it should have been something Trevor needed more time to think about, the truth was, he didn’t. He knew right when he heard one hundred thousand a month, that he would say yes. When you live your life scraping by and someone offers you the chance to live how you always wanted, you take it. Who cares if he would have to do some shady shit, it would be worth it. He’d get his dream job and make millions. Every job had its ups and downs. With this job, his life might be in danger if he ever fucked up bad enough to warrant it, which he wouldn’t, but technically every day his life was in danger. He could die tomorrow just by getting into a car, it happens all the time. At least with this job he’d have something to show for his life. “I’m in,” he said, right as the five seconds were up.

  “Excellent choice.” Braxton extended a hand across the coffee table. Reaching forward, Trevor accepted the gesture and they sealed the deal with a clasp of palms. Pulling his phone from his pocket he typed out something quick. “Your cash is on its way.”

  Trevor picked up his glass from the table and Braxton’s as well. Standing, he walked over to the bar needing a refill. “So what do you want me to move,” he asked while pouring the bourbon. “Or was that just your segue into the conversation?” Placing the bottle down, he walked back to the sitting area handing Braxton his glass.