Angela stared at me with her mouth open. Her breath came in frantic bursts, and her body twitched under the force of her anger. Finally, she threw her head back and laughed. The jarring, maniacal sound settled in bone deep – not a joyful laugh, no fucking way. She cackled like someone whose been cheated out of something. It sent shivers down my spine. I desperately wished that I hadn’t dropped the gun because nothing would feel better than stopping that infernal noise by putting a cap in her ass.
“Do you remember me now, Chase?” Angela asked, her tone saccharine sweet. I stared. Her voice had changed – higher, squeakier, softer.
“Uh…” I shook my head. “You mean from Banks? You’re an intern,” I answered, no idea what she was getting at. I was in no mood for a fucking quiz. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
Angela licked her lips. She stepped closer, glancing down at the floor. Then she tilted her head back and looked at me. She gnawed her cheeks to make her face more angular, and her eyes opened wide, like a doe.
“What if I had red hair?” Angela asked, in the same coquettish voice.
Suddenly, the realization hit me. My jaw dropped.
“Shit,” I muttered. “Katie?”
“Katie Jergens,” Angela said, lips curling upward in a twisted smile. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, then whirled to face Chastity in the corner. “Your boyfriend is a real asshole, you know that?” Angela gloated. “He slept with me – three times! And he didn’t even remember me! You’re next, you stupid bitch. Third times a charm but then you probably haven’t made it there yet. Don’t be surprised if he kicks you to the curb after he fucks you.”
“Come on,” I groaned. “That was over two years ago! Fuck! I wasn’t even working at Banks then!”
“You didn’t even have the decency to call me!” Angela’s chin wobbled, and I saw that her eyes had filled with tears. “Three times, Chase! Three times. I could see if it was just a one-night stand and we’d both agreed to it. But you made promises. You talked about a future just so you could get your rocks off.” She narrowed her eyes into slits and glared at me with pure hatred. “I hate you!”
“Yeah, and you started stalking me,” I replied, certain she’d lost it. “Those late night phone calls? You’d hang up every time I answered the phone? Hanging around outside of my apartment, crying and waiting for me to show up? Why would I want to spend one more moment with a woman who couldn’t handle it?”
“I only did that because you were ignoring me!” Angela yelled. “I tried so hard to win you over. I finally got you as Katie, but as Angela, the real me, you wouldn’t look at me twice. And then this low-life whore with no money and no connections comes waltzing in and not only does she get the plumb job without qualifications, she gets the guy too just because she spreads her fleshy thighs. How could you, Chase? How could you sleep with a fat-ass?”
I shook my head, not believing my eyes or ears. “You’re a crazy bitch. I can’t believe you thought this little scheme would work. Did you really think you’d get away with it or didn’t you care? I have a long memory, Katie… er, Angela. And I never forgive. Or forget. You’ll never work in NYC. Hell, you’ll never work anywhere in real estate. I hope you have your own broom and mop for your new janitorial gig.”
Angela crossed her arms over her chest and struck a defiant pose. There was no sign of her tears now. As I watched, her lips twisted into an evil grin.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Angela said. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and stomped on the ground. “I fooled you all. I fooled you, Chase, but most of all, I fooled Chastity!” She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, Angela,” she mimicked in a high-pitched, unpleasant voice. “You’re my new best friend! I can tell you everything! I’ve never had a friend like this before!”
“Shut up,” I roared. The sound of her voice made me want to slap her gloating face. How dare she mimic Chastity like that? “Shut the fuck up, you crazy bitch! You don’t have the right to even mention her name. You’re like the dog shit beneath Chastity’s shoe.”
Angela stared at me, her eyes glittering. Even without the dyed hair, she looked like a completely different person. I couldn’t believe that I’d ever thought of her as “mousy.” The girl standing in front of me looked dangerous enough to be a serial killer.
“Nathan and I decided to work together,” Angela said. She giggled. “I found him moping outside of Chastity’s apartment one night, and would you know, we had similar interests. And Nathan has deep pockets which made the whole thing even better. My dad lowered my allowance and my Banks internship doesn’t pay me enough to maintain my lifestyle.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Angela giggled again, the sound grating on my nerves. I prayed that the cops would show up soon before I did something I might regret, like snap her twiggy neck from her skinny body.
“Well, we came up with a plan,” Angela said. “I had to work on becoming Chastity’s new best friend and gain her trust. Then, as soon as I had her, I lured her over to my apartment and called Nathan.”
“Why would you do this?” I demanded. “What’s in it for you?”
“Well, I’d soothe your hurt feelings and help you get over her, of course,” Angela simpered. “And Nathan felt a little… well, let’s just say scorned by the popular Miss Sexe. So I told him that as long as he kept her out of the way, I’d help bag her for him. Whether she wanted it or not. Hell, if she’ll fuck you, she’ll fuck anybody.”
That was it. I’d had enough of listening to this crazy cunt. I balled my hands into fists and angrily stepped forward, preparing to grab Angela and throw her down to the ground. Just as I reached for her throat, the door burst open.
“Don’t move!” One of the cops shouted over the roaring of anger in my ears. “NYPD!”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chastity
I recognized Officer Darmody immediately – the same inept cop who’d come to my apartment that night. But today he didn’t look quite so bumbling. He held a gun in front of his chest and stalked into Angela’s apartment, police-issue shoes hitting the floor in angry stomps like he owned the damn place.
“Don’t move!” Darmody shouted. “Everybody stay real still, and no one will get hurt. Now, what the fuck is going on here?”
I raised my hand from my perch in the corner. Despite the tremendous fear and anxiety I’d endured before Chase had burst in the door, I felt more pumped up than ever. Adrenaline rushed through my system, and even my blood seemed to be more alive than usual.
“Officer Darmody!” I called, waving my arms in the air. “Thank god you’re here!”
The cop pointed his gun at Chase, then motioned for him to move out of the way. Chase dropped his hands to his side and did as he was instructed. Nathan had come to, and now he and Angela stared, shell-shocked, at the cops. It was like they couldn’t believe their little plan had been foiled.
Part of me wanted to laugh, but I knew how wildly inappropriate that would be.
“Miss Sexe?” Officer Darmody walked closer, glancing in my direction while keeping his attention on the others. “That you?”
I nodded. “It is,” I answered, my voice weak in relief. In a moment, all the adrenaline seemed to drain from my system, and all I wanted to do was lay down and make it all go away. The drugged wine had taken a toll.
“What the hell happened here?”
Chase, Angela, and Nathan, and I all started shouting at once and pointing fingers. The room became abuzz with our voices until Darmody stuck a whistle in his mouth and blew hard. The piercing cry hit my ears in a painful shrill, and I slapped my palms up to the side of my face, shielding myself as best as I could from the intrusive noise.
“One at a time,” Darmody snapped.
He walked closer to me and stuck out his hand. After a second, I accepted and wrapped my trembling fingers around his. Darmody pulled me up to my feet. My wrists were red and raw from the ropes, but aside
from that, I knew that I’d gotten off light.
“So, Miss Sexe, you look like you’ve been through it. What happened here?”
I blushed. “Um, Angela – that one,” I added, pointing toward the girl who until an hour ago had been my closest friend in the world. “She lied. She and that guy, Nathan, were planning to kidnap me and hide me somewhere. I was drugged, tied up, and being held here against my will. And… and, Nathan wanted to rape me.”
Darmody took a step closer to the two villains, his gun pointing in their direction. He stared at Angela and Nathan until they shrank down, their hands raising above their heads. The sight of their fear overwhelmed my emotions, so much so that it brought tears to my eyes.
“We’ll need to question all of you down at the station,” Darmody said and motioned for the two to turn. “Put your hands on the wall, feet spread shoulder width apart.” Two new officers stepped into the room and patted them down, cuffing their hands behind their backs as one of the officers read them their Miranda rights as they were marched out the doors.
Darmody let out a long, yodeling yawn. “This is gonna take hours. So come on, kids. Time to go downtown after we make a trip to the emergency room.”
I stared at him. “Emergency room? Why?”
“You said you were drugged, so we need to do a blood test for evidence and make sure you aren’t seriously injured.” He nodded toward the bottle of wine. “The team will get that tested for a match. It will make a difference when it comes to charges and trial.”
I nodded. That made good sense.
“And what’s up with this dipshit?” Darmody waved in Chase’s general direction.
Chase stepped forward, hand outstretched. “Chase Bradenton, Chastity’s boyfriend.”
The officer clasped Chase’s hand and gave it a solid shake. “Bradenton, you say? I’ve seen your family’s name around town. Seems like you arrived just in time before Miss Sexe got raped or worse.”
Darmody put Chase and me in the back of a squad car together. Being alone with him made me suddenly shy. Now that the crisis was over, I knew it was only a matter of time before he broke up with me. In spite of her theatrics, Angela had a point about a man like Chase. He didn’t stay in one place long or with any one woman for more than a few encounters.
“Thanks for coming,” I said, head hung low in misery and fear. A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed, tilting my head to face the roof of the car so I wouldn’t cry. God, how I wanted to cry. To just unleash all my wild emotions and then wrap my arms around his neck and ask him to make it all better.
“I had to,” Chase said, his voice thick. Did he have the same crazy emotions that I did over this whole twisted ordeal? Wishful thinking. I sighed. I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him, tell him to hurry up and get the break-up part over with. The anguish of Chase’s rejection couldn’t be any worse so let’s just ride the pity train until it derailed at the station. But just as I opened my mouth to speak, the car pulled up to the hospital where a female officer met me at the curb. With a sinking heart, I watched Darmody drive off with Chase before I was escorted inside.
***
After a thorough examination and blood work, I was driven to the police station. The four of us were placed in separate rooms. I guess the cops didn’t want us collaborating on any stories – not that I would have lifted a fucking finger to get Angela and Nathan off the hook. I wanted them to rot in unflattering prison orange.
I sat in a small interrogation room on a metal folding chair. No ambiance to speak of with puke-green painted walls and dim fluorescent lighting that made my skin look yellow. I felt sick. The cinder blocks of the walls were placed unevenly together and even though I’ve never felt particularly OCD, it unnerved me. The temperature had been dialed down to meat locker temperature, and I couldn’t help the shivers that wracked my body. I hugged myself to keep my teeth from chattering. Blue lips? What a beauty statement that would be at Banks. My meager attempt to stay warm failed, and I exhaled so hard I swore I could see my own breath.
“Miss Sexe?” Darmody let himself inside and sat down across the table from me with a loud huff.
His aged skin looked even worse under the lighting, and for a second, I actually felt bad for him. I couldn’t imagine how depressing it would be to stay inside of this kind of room for more than an hour or two.
“Yes?” I looked up. “What?”
“Can you tell me what happened, please? From the beginning.” Darmody’s voice fell between us, tired and scripted. I knew instantly he used this same damn dialogue every day. Again, it made me pity him. But fuck it. I was the victim here. Why the hell was I sitting in an interrogation room? I’d been drugged. Abused. I should be resting, not being subjected to a beat cop’s bullshit. I’d never thought of police work as particularly monotonous, but Darmody made it seem more boring than watching paint dry.
“Well, I went over to Angela’s apartment earlier in the evening,” I said, measuring my words. For all I knew, the drugs could still be rampant in my system. I wanted to make sure I got everything right. “And I left because I wanted to go home. I don’t know, I was tired.”
“Why?”
“I just told you I don’t know,” I said in exasperation, throwing my hands up in the air. “But as soon as I got home…” I trailed off, biting my lip and blushing. I really didn’t want to talk about the photos I’d been sent. Just thinking about them was all the humiliation I needed.
“What happened when you got home?”
I licked my dry lips, biding my time. I didn’t know how much to reveal. “Someone had sent me a package,” I said, trying to keep emotion out of my voice. “With Chase… Mr. Bradenton, I mean, and some girl. They were sitting together at a restaurant.”
Darmody scribbled something down on his notepad. “I see. And what happened next?”
“The photos upset me…” I trailed off, feeling the same lump come back in my throat. “They upset me because Chase and I have been dating over the past few weeks.”
“I see,” Darmody replied. He made more notes. “And then what?”
“I was too upset to stay home alone. My roommate Trina, um, she wasn’t home. So I went back to my friend Angela’s. And as soon as I got there, I found a pair of shoes by the door that looked like mine, which had gone missing a while back. It confused me because they fit my feet perfectly and they had a scratch that my cat, Trouble, had put there in a naughty kitty episode.”
“You asked her about this?”
I nodded and then met his brown eyes filled with ennui. “She denied everything. She told me I was crazy for even thinking it.”
“And then what happened?”
As I relayed the story of being surprised by Nathan, tied up, and taunted, I felt my mind slip away from my body. Detachment felt good. Imperative. Even though the horrifying events had only happened a couple hours ago, I felt like they were distant, like years had already passed. I was able to get through the story in a strangely detached way. At least Darmody wasn’t asking any more questions.
“Okay,” Darmody said. “We need to do some work, but we’ll be holding both Nathan and Angela here for some time. You’re free to go.”
I smiled gratefully and got up from the chair. “And Chase?”
“Mr. Bradenton was released an hour ago,” Darmody said. “Call it a perk of being loaded. We’ll contact you if we need anything else, Miss Sexe. Don’t worry, seems like a strong case with eye witnesses. They’ll pay for what they did to you.”
Numbly, I walked toward the door. At least they let Chase go already, I thought. And that way he can just dump me by email, or text or whatever. Maybe he won’t even call, just like he did with Angela. Shit. I guess that means I have to find a new job.
The tears came back to my eyes when I thought of how happy Chase would be with his gorgeous ex with the perfect hair, body, and designer labels. She’d hurt him so badly, I imagined that he was more grateful than ever to have her back. That�
�s the kind of woman Chase deserves, I thought bitterly. The rich, beautiful kind. Arm candy. One that won’t embarrass him at his society events.
To my shock, Chase sat in the lobby, his long, lithe legs in front of him and a chiseled arm thrown over the back of a faux leather chair. He flipped idly through Popular Mechanics with a disgusted smirk on his face.
I frowned. “Did they ask you to stay longer for some reason? Darmody said you’d already gone?”
At the sound of my voice, Chase let the magazine slither to the floor in a flurry of shiny pages. He stood up and stretched. I had to work hard to tear my eyes away from his muscular, brawny figure. His trousers and sport coat clung to his powerful frame as if he’d just come from fancy cocktails, and he stood out in the dingy police station like a sore thumb.
“No.” Chase grinned and my heart lurched to the side. “Why would I leave?”
“Why not?” I tried to look cross as I stared at him, but I felt the same stupid smile tug across my face. Dammit, why is it so impossible to stay angry with him? I knew I should throw his ex in his smug face, but I didn’t have it in me. I just wanted to go home and fall into my cold bed.
“I was waiting for you,” Chase said. “Like I’d leave you here alone after everything that happened tonight. I know it’s late, but we can still find an all-night diner. Come on, I bet you’re starving.”
Just as I was about to protest, my stomach rumbled loudly. I glared at him as blood rushed to my cheeks. I needed an excuse to blow him off and I’d just been betrayed by a curvy girl’s worst enemy. Hunger.
“Come on,” Chase repeated. He held out his hand. “I owe you brunch.”
“It’s like, late,” I said, glancing down at my watch. “Shouldn’t we just go home and sleep?”
“Chastity,” Chase said as all traces of mirth erased from his face. “I think food is exactly what you need right now. Come on.”
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