by Claire Adams
He reached into his pocket and grabbed the room key. I took it from his hand and made my way back to the room as fast as I could. I hated how out of control I felt. It wasn’t me. It was some weak girl who I didn’t want to be. My whole life, I had avoided being that weak girl around men, but there I was crying over something stupid.
As I got to the room, I rushed in and shut the door behind me. Finally, I gave into the tears that had been filling my eyes. I needed to figure something out. I couldn’t lose this job. I couldn’t lose the opportunity to change my life.
I grabbed the landline in the room and dialed one of my old friends from the club.
“Michaela, it’s Roxanne, I need your help.”
I knew I had been lucky to get her to answer the phone and I held my breath to see if she would stay on the line with me or hang up. Michaela had gotten out of the business after almost being killed by a John. I hadn’t been a good friend after that incident and wished I had. I was afraid of Stephano and I didn’t want to reach out to Michaela, but now it had been several years and I felt safe talking to her.
“What do you want, Roxanne? Is this a safe phone?”
“Yes, I’m at a motel. I’m trying to help a girl who Stephano is trying to sell. Is there any way into his house without him seeing me?”
“Roxanne, I know you’re not stupid enough to think that you can outsmart Stephano. Just let the girl go. If she was dumb enough to get trapped in his web, then she deserves to get sold off. You know that’s not a bad life. Those guys overseas treat their girls really good.”
“Any doors he leaves unlocked? Time of day that is best to get in there? Come on, Michaela, help me out a little.”
There was a long pause while she decided whether I was worthy enough of her help. She had dated Stephano after her assault and he had treated her well, but she just never felt well enough to dance again.
“He goes to the club on Fridays and Saturdays. There are guards still at his house and they will have no problem killing you, but you might be able to sweet talk one of them. Don’t call me again.”
Michaela hung up the phone without another word.
I could tell Jackson about the information I had just received and maybe it would help him. But deep down, I knew I needed to try and rescue Ana myself. None of those guards were going to let a guy like Jackson onto the property. But I knew most of them, they might be willing to say that Ana escaped if I was sweet enough to them. It was worth a chance. I couldn’t risk Jackson and Chase thinking that I hadn’t done enough to earn the money I had been promised.
Only about a minute after I hung up the phone, Jackson was at the door. He knocked first and then came in. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t locked the door. I needed to do better in protecting myself. It could have been Stephano’s goons again, instead of Jackson.
“I’ll call my brother Nathan and see if he can come and help. He does private security for celebrities and diplomats. He’s got the muscle that I might need if I’m stuck dealing with Stephano. He’s also got access to some firepower. Would that make you feel better about the plan?”
“I don’t like any of this, Jackson. I like you. I don’t want you to get killed.”
He came and sat next to me on the bed and let his hand rest on mine. He thought this was all about me and wanting to get the money. But it wasn’t just about that, it was also about Stephano being willing to kill anyone he didn’t like. My heart hurt with the idea that Jackson could get killed by going to deal with Stephano and trying to buy Ana. It wasn’t a good plan.
“I like you, too. I’m not going to get killed, but I can’t risk having you out there with me. I watched you get strangled. It’s too dangerous. Can you please not fight me on this?”
I took in a deep breath and thought about my own plans for saving Ana. I was going to have to agree to stay in the room so that Jackson would just leave me alone. I felt much more confident with me going into Stephano’s home than I did with Jackson trying to deal with him. I had five years of a relationship with Stephano, he wouldn’t suspect that I would now try to go against him.
“I need to tell you something.”
“What?” Jackson said as he looked concerned about what it was I had to say.
“I did something. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“What did you do, Roxanne?” He stood up and looked out the window. “You didn’t tell Stephano where we are, did you?”
“What? No! Why would I do that? No!” I yelled.
I couldn’t believe what he had said. The first thing that had come to his mind when I said I did something was that I had called Stephano. Why on earth would I call Stephano?
Then it dawned on me. Jackson didn’t trust me. Maybe that was the real reason he didn’t want me involved. He didn’t think I was there to truly help him. He had doubts about my intentions.
It made me sick to think that I had almost slept with him – a man who thought I would risk Ana’s life and my own all to stay in the good graces of Stephano. Did he really think I was still on Stephano’s side? My mouth dropped open at the idea.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” Jackson said.
But then there was a knock at the door. It startled both of us, and for a second, I wondered if it was really Chase at the door or someone else. Maybe Stephano had followed us. Maybe it was one of his goons coming to try and hurt us.
I watched Jackson as he looked out the window and then back at me.
“Chase? You called Chase?” Jackson said as he opened the door more annoyed than ever at me. “She called you?”
Chase waved at me and gave me a little half grin before he answered Jackson. “She was worried you were going to get yourself killed with Stephano.”
“I’m a professional, Chase. You are paying me to help you with this job. You are not a professional. If anyone is more likely to get themselves killed here, it would be you.”
Jackson was really annoyed and I made a point to avoid eye contact with him and stayed on the bed. I saw a look in Chase’s eyes as he looked around the honeymoon suite we were in and realized there was only one big bed and a romantic bathtub in the corner.
“We need to talk alone. Come out here,” Chase said as he grabbed Jackson and they shut the door behind them.
“Are you kidding me, Chase? You seriously came all the way down here to babysit me? I can handle the job.”
“Are you fucking her?”
I stood up and kept my ear to the curtain near the window as I listened to their entire conversation.
“No! Why would you say that?” Jackson protested.
“Well, you’re in a romantic room with a king-size bed and hot tub in the corner. She’s acting all worried about you, and when I left, the two of you before you seemed to hate each other. But now she’s calling me worried that you’ll get hurt.”
Jackson was quiet for a minute and I could tell he was trying to decide just how much information he should admit to his brother.
“We’ve made out. That’s it. No sex. It really doesn’t matter, anyways. I’m a grown up and so is she – we can do whatever the hell we want to.”
“Jackson! Come on. I trusted you to get this job done. I’ve got Jordan at the hotel crying because she thinks her friend is being raped and tortured. I’ve got you here trying to get laid with our best inside informant. I don’t like this.”
“Listen here, Chase. I’m your older brother, let’s not forget that. I know what I’m doing. I know how to do this job. Now, if you want to do it yourself, you are more than welcome to. But I’ve got a friend from the CIA trafficking division coming down to help today and I was just about to call Nate in on the deal, as well.”
“You were going to call Nate?” Chase said as he calmed down.
“Yes, now do you want to come in and talk about this some more or should we stay out here and just throw some punches to get this over with?”
I ran back to the bed and sat down as I waited for the guys to come
back in. They seemed like typical brothers, yelling at each other one minute and then best friends the next.
“Did you boys make up?” I teased as they made their way back into the room.
Both Chase and Jackson were a couple of the best-looking men I had ever met. Of course, I was much fonder of Jackson than Chase, but they were both delicious hunks. I was secretly really excited to meet their other brother Nate. I could only hope that he was equally as delicious.
PART THREE
Chapter Thirteen
JACKSON
Something was up with Roxanne and I couldn’t put my finger on it. She seemed like she was hiding something from me. I felt like PJ might have been right about her, at least, a little bit. I didn’t think she was working for Stephano, but there certainly was something that she was trying to hide from me.
I was willing to wait and see what happened, but only because Roxanne wouldn’t be involved in the case.
“I’ll call Nate and get him on his way. You check in with your CIA contact. Let’s see if we can get a better plan together than just trying to buy Ana. Maybe we could all decide on something together,” Chase said as he went to the corner of the room and dialed Nate’s number.
“So, Nate is my brother. He’s really good. I trust him. I also have a friend named PJ who I’m texting right now. We will wait to move forward until we can all discuss the plan. Does that make you feel better?” I asked Roxanne.
“You don’t need to be condescending to me.”
I honestly didn’t mean to sound condescending. I was genuinely trying to keep her in the loop. But again, something was up with Roxanne and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a jerk.”
“Okay.”
She allowed my apologies much faster than most women I had known in my past. Typically, my experience with women showed that they liked to stay mad for a very long time before they accepted an apology.
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.
“You can keep Jordan company. I’m sure she is really upset and doesn’t like being alone,” Chase said as he interrupted us.
I could tell Chase was trying to keep things professional and didn’t want me getting close to Roxanne. I understood where he was coming from and took both a literal and figurative step back away from Roxanne.
“Where is she? Should we move hotels?” I asked.
“Sure. I got us a room on the other end of town at the Holiday Inn. We can get a couple more rooms there. I think it will be safe. It’s not like Stephano can search every single hotel in the city.”
We all gathered our things and made our way over to the new hotel. I sent a text message to PJ with the new address and that I would send the room number as soon as we settled in.
“PJ will be here soon. We can get settled into the hotel and meet up later this afternoon,” I said.
When we got to the hotel, Chase got Roxanne her own room next to him and Jordan. My room was just a few doors down, but it was clear that Chase was trying to keep us apart. It was funny how things had changed in only a couple of days. Roxanne hadn’t been someone I was tempted by when I had first met her.
Sure, the idea of having sex with her crossed my mind. Who wouldn’t think about that after a naked woman sat on their lap in a dance club? But I had been prepared to keep things professional between us.
Things had changed, though. I was going to be watchful of anything suspicious with Roxanne, but I felt closer to her than I had ever imagined. Something was going on with her, but I didn’t think it was because she was working for Stephano. I thought it was because she had feelings for me and was angry that I didn’t want her to help with the project. She also seemed really worried about the money that had been promised her and I would make sure that Chase paid her. Roxanne had done a good job at the club and it wasn’t her fault that Stephano had been angry with her and tried to have her killed.
“Get yourself settled and then we can all get together in a little bit to discuss things in my room,” Chase said as he helped Roxanne into her room.
I stood off to the side and tried to keep my distance. At least, I would keep my distance while Chase was around. But I had plans to visit with Roxanne later that evening and maybe even finished what we had started. I couldn’t help but imagine her naked body underneath me. I knew Chase would kill me for giving in to my desires, but I couldn’t help it.
About an hour after settling in, I texted PJ with Chase’s room number and said we would all be there at six o’clock. Nate had been up in Atlanta at his cabin and was already at the hotel.
As I walked down the hall toward Chase’s room, I slowed down at Roxanne’s and tried to decide if I wanted to knock on it or not. I was trying to keep my distance, but it was professional to knock and tell her we were meeting. Maybe just walk with her to Chase’s room.
Just as I was about to knock on the door, Roxanne opened it.
“Oh, my God, you just gave me a serious heart attack.” She laughed as she leaned up against the wall.
“That’s my goal. I like to scare people to death when I work with them.”
“You are very good at your job,” she teased me.
“I’m sorry about Chase. Please know that I think we can keep things professional still. We will just keep our distance around him. Does that sound all right?”
“Sure,” she said as she walked in front of me and knocked on Chase’s door.
She didn’t turn around, but I felt a desire for her as I stood behind her. My eyes looked down at her ass and all I could think about was what it would feel like with my hands on it. Maybe it was going to be harder than I thought to keep things professional between us.
As we walked into Chase’s room, I saw Jordan and Nate sitting at the table near the window. I secretly hated that Nate was there. Not because I didn’t like my brother, but because I knew Roxanne was going to love him. He was the bad boy type that I was pretty sure Roxanne normally went for.
Nate hid his bad boy behavior by working a private security job, but his tattoos made it pretty obvious that he didn’t care very much what people thought of him. Nate was only a couple years younger and had served in the Navy Seals with me.
“Well, who do we have here?” he said as he stood up and made his way directly over to Roxanne.
I felt my stomach double over in knots at the look in his eye. Roxanne was dressed conservatively in jeans and a t-shirt, but there was no denying how beautiful she was. Her long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she didn’t have an ounce of makeup on, yet she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.
Chase eyed me as Nate made his flirtatious introduction to Roxanne. I could tell that Chase wanted to see how I was going to react, but quite frankly, by that point I didn’t care what Chase thought. He knew that I had warmed up to Roxanne and I was being nice to her – that was all he needed to know. I wasn’t about to tell him anything else about what personally went on between the two of us.
“I’m Roxanne,” she said as she held out her hand to shake with Nate. “You must be the infamous Nathan.”
“Oh, they have been talking about me? I like that. Now, how about we just leave this group to take care of things and you and I head to the beach?”
Everyone in the room laughed at Nathan’s humor, even Roxanne. I absolutely hated that he had made her laugh. I saw her face light up as Nate flirted with her.
“Come on, Nate. Roxanne is here to help. She’s got inside information on Stephano that can be really useful,” I added.
There was no way I was going to tell Nate that Roxanne had been a stripper. I didn’t want him thinking about her naked, at all. He needed to keep his hands off of her, that was for damn sure. Even if I had doubts about what was going on with her, I didn’t have doubts about how I felt about her. I wasn’t about to let Nate gets his hands on her.
“Nathan, it’s very nice to meet you,” Roxanne continued as she looked ba
ck at me and glared. It was clear she didn’t appreciate me meddling.
“Okay, Chase. I’m going to pull this lovely lady down to sit next to me and why don’t you give me the lowdown on what is going on and what you need from me.”
“Actually, Nate, I’m in charge of the operation. I’ll give everyone the run down as soon as PJ arrives.”
“Who’s PJ again?” Chase asked.
“She works for the CIA’s human trafficking division. She usually works more overseas but happened to be in Florida, so is offering us her services.”
The knock at the door came just in time and I made my way to let PJ into the room.
“PJ, it’s so good to see you,” I said as I opened the door and led her into the room.
The room wasn’t all that big and with six of us in there, it started to seem much smaller than before. I watched everyone’s faces as PJ made her way into the room. She always had the ability to throw people off kilter. I neglected to tell everyone that PJ looked more like a blonde supermodel than a CIA agent. But it was so much fun to watch people be shocked by her.
“Now that’s a CIA agent,” Nate leaned over and said to Roxanne.
“Everyone, this is PJ. She’s an old friend and one of the best agents I know.”
“Is she old enough to work? I thought you had to be at least twenty-one,” Roxanne said as she leaned over to Nate.
“Yes, I’m twenty-eight. I’ve actually just been very blessed to look so young,” PJ said as she reached her hand out to shake hands with Roxanne. “You must be Roxanne. I’ve heard a little about you.”
The kindness that PJ talked with Roxanne shocked me a little bit. Roxanne had been pretty rude to PJ and I wouldn’t have been surprised if PJ had returned the rudeness. But PJ was totally professional in how she dealt with everyone.
We took a few minutes to let everyone get introduced before we started to talk out our plan.
“All right, so here’s the situation. Jordan’s friend Ana has been with Stephano for about a month. PJ, that is a long time to sit without being sold, is that right?”
“Yeah, she is either sick or they are waiting on a high roller, possibly both.”