by Steve Richer
“I admire your faith, Emma. I lost mine a long time ago.”
She reached out and placed a hand on his. It was nothing romantic, he decided. She was comforting him because she was that kind of person.
“Don’t lose faith in your marriage, though. Things have a tendency to work out sometimes.”
“Other things are beyond repair,” he said, finishing his drink. “I knew my wife had been with that guy before, but I’d idiotically believed it was a one-time thing. I didn’t want to acknowledge that our marriage is over.”
He vaguely remembered getting stupid drunk after finding out and picking up a strange woman in a bar. It had never happened again and it hadn’t made him feel any better.
“I don’t have faith in shit these days, Emma. Not religion, not God, not my marriage. Christ, I don’t think I even believe in my job either. We catch bad guys. Lawyers put them back on the street. What’s the point of anything anymore?”
He reached for the bottle and refilled his glass. He had a feeling it would take quite a few more to fall asleep.
Chapter 18
Sierra had trouble keeping up with Ridge since he was basically dragging her along, pulling on her hand.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
He turned around and winked. It made her heart beat faster. There was something about him, that steel in his eyes, it made her knees weak. Or maybe it was the Russian koala.
He had explained to her that these pills were some sort of mix between ketamine and ecstasy, Adderall and benzos, whatever those were. He said that Rush-K was designed to be the ultimate drug, making you hallucinate, feeling like you were in love, giving you energy, and at the same time forgetting all your problems and pain.
She’d only taken a half a dose with him today and it had been amazing. And scary. She had never lost control that way before. It was simultaneously the best thing ever and it made her afraid of what she’d be willing to do while under the influence.
That was part of the attraction too.
The effects had worn off by now and she should have gone home. Yet, she couldn’t seem to tear herself away from Ridge. She wanted to stay with him forever.
“Just a little further,” he said.
They turned a corner and entered an alley. It was dark and smelled like a sewer. There was garbage everywhere and she had to lift her feet high so she wouldn’t step in anything too disgusting.
Then she heard it, a faint thumping bass. Music.
“Are we going to a club, Ridge?”
“The best club in town.”
“What’s it called? Maybe I’ve heard about it.”
For her, hearing about clubs was the extent of her experience. A few months back she had tried getting into Verboten with her friends. Even though in her opinion they’d all looked at least twenty-one, they’d been turned away at the door in less than two seconds.
“It doesn’t have a name,” he replied. “It’s secret, exclusive. You’ll see.”
They finally reached a door and went inside. They were in some sort of antechamber barely larger than a phone booth and the music was louder now. There was another door in front of them. Ridge pressed a buzzer and seconds later a speakeasy port slid open. Someone was looking at them.
“Yo.”
Ridge was apparently known because the door opened and a huge bald man stepped aside. “Wassup.”
The two shook hands and Sierra wondered if Ridge had given him something. She’d seen that in a movie once.
She didn’t have time to ponder this further since Ridge took her hand again and led her down a flight of stairs. The music was thunderous now, making her organs vibrate inside her body. She loved it.
The lighting was low and mostly turquoise, with strobe flashes every few seconds. It wasn’t a big place and there might’ve been only fifty people for all she knew, but it made the place packed.
They walked through the crowd and thankfully Ridge held her close to him. They stopped every three feet to say hello to someone, introducing her in the process, although she didn’t remember a single name. She had a feeling he was showing her off.
Her heart lurched with love for him!
“Let’s get drinks,” he practically shouted in her ear.
They waded through the crowd and found a bar in the corner. There were dozens of elegant bottles lined up against the wall. The barmaid had a tightfitting T-shirt on and all her exposed skin was covered with tattoos.
Ridge spoke to her like an old friend and thirty seconds later they were handed drinks in plastic cups. She didn’t have to pay and she wasn’t even carded! She tasted the cocktail. She almost choked because it was so strong, but it was fruity and delicious.
“Come on, we have a table.”
She didn’t want to sit down. She wanted to dance with him, the electronic music making her want to jump up and down and grind against his body. But he was in charge. It was kind of cool the way he was in control. She had never felt anything like that before.
They climbed onto a platform which was some sort of VIP area and they sat down on a firm couch. There was a table in front of them and it could almost pass for clean.
“Come here, baby.”
He pulled her to him and kissed her hard. At first, she recoiled. It wasn’t something she was used to doing in public, certainly not in this hot-and-heavy way. Soon, though, she got into it. She let him play with her hair, caress her legs. She was his!
They took breaks to drink and watch people dance. Most were in their twenties, she guessed, but there were a few older guys in suits. They looked like they’d come in straight from Wall Street. Women were flirty, kissing guys and pressing themselves against them. She saw girls making out with each other. It felt weird, but at the same time, it felt sexy.
“Sierra, give me your hand.”
Before she could answer or ask why, he gripped her wrist and placed her hand between his legs.
“No! What if people see us?”
“Nobody cares, baby.”
He made her fondle him. She really didn’t want to do this, but she couldn’t stop him. And she couldn’t stop herself either.
He slid her closer and pressed his lips against hers. Between this and the alcohol seeping into her bloodstream, she became more relaxed and went with it. She groped him and let him do the same to her. After a minute of this, she couldn’t even see the people around them.
“Hello, lovebirds.”
Sierra’s heart skipped a beat. It was okay to do this as long as they were anonymous but now somebody was standing over them. Watching them. Ridge pulled away from her and she hurriedly took her hand back.
There were two men. One of them was the guy she had come to see as a twitchy ogre, Boomer. The other one was taller and older, probably near thirty. He was wearing a dark blazer and a red open-collared shirt. His hair was bleached blond.
“Yo, Zhirov. What’s shaking?”
“You know me, work work work. People go out to clubs, they party, but people like me, we have to work.”
“That’s cool.”
Boomer was keeping quiet. Sierra realized that this time he wasn’t in charge. He was this guy’s – Zhirov – assistant.
“What’s less cool is that I didn’t get confirmation yet, Ridge. Have you, or have you not, made that delivery for me?”
“I… uh…”
“You know how important it is for my business relationship, yes?”
In a flash, Zhirov sat on the couch next to Sierra – she was in the middle of the two men. He smelled like a mixture of BenGay, tobacco, and cologne. He smiled at her and delicately ran a finger down her cheek.
“Hey, leave my girl alone, okay?”
“Oh sure, no problem. I’ll do this for you as soon as you’ve done that other thing for me. That’s how business transactions work.”
“I’m on it, Zhirov,” Ridge said.
“Yeah? I’m starting to think that it’s okay if you don’t, my friend. This littl
e girl here could be a nice compensation for me.”
This time, Zhirov’s finger traveled down Sierra’s neck. Even though she pulled back as much as she could, he drew circles on her upper chest.
He was going lower… lower…
Chapter 19
Sierra wanted him to stop. She didn’t want him to touch her there. But what would happen if she said so? Would he hit her? Worse? He looked like somebody who wasn’t afraid of getting violent. Plus there was Boomer who was cracking his knuckles and grinning like a hyena.
“Zhirov, I got it. I swear.”
This man – she could detect a slight Russian accent now – leaned over her, his mouth an inch away from her face. Was he about to kiss her? To lick her face? Why wasn’t Ridge doing anything?
After an eternity, her boyfriend put a hand on Zhirov’s arm. “I’m on it, man. I’m doing it right now.”
The Russian straightened up and smiled broadly. “Great! That’s all I wanted to hear. You see how easy it is to do business, Ridge? I give, you take, you work. It’s the basics of commerce.”
“It will be done tonight, I swear.”
Zhirov stood up and buttoned his jacket.
“Wonderful. Come on, Boomer. I need some coke.”
He walked away and Boomer lingered a few more seconds. Sierra didn’t know much about guys like these, but understood that this was some sort of threat. And it was working because she was trembling.
But then they were gone. She chugged her drink until nothing was left.
“Who are these people?”
Ridge shrugged. “Just some guys I know. It’s not important.”
“Not important? He was practically grabbing my boobs!”
“It’s just his way, that’s all. I wouldn’t have let him do anything to you.”
“Ridge…”
“I’m telling you, baby. I’m always here to take care of you. I’ll always protect you.”
His forehead was against hers and once more she found herself under his spell. What was it about him? He was so dreamy…
So perfect.
“I believe you,” she said before kissing him.
All was right in the world, but soon he broke the kiss.
“Let’s get out of here. This club sucks.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Five minutes later they were out of the club, out of the alley, and back into his car. It was a Cadillac, but it was at least twenty years old and covered with rust. They drove around and she had no idea where she was.
“This place was great!” she complained.
“It was a snooze fest.”
Was he kidding her? This was the best party she’d ever been at, Zhirov notwithstanding. “Let’s go back and dance. I want to dance with you.”
“The music there is terrible. It’s okay, we’ll find something better.”
“But…”
“You trust me, baby, right?”
He looked at her as they drove down the street. His eyes were practically glowing and she had no powers against that penetrating gaze.
He said, “Let’s just cruise around for a little. See if we can find a better party. What do you say, baby?”
“Okay.”
With a smirk, he leaned toward her for a quick kiss. In the process, he almost lost control of the car, heading toward a fire hydrant. He swerved just in time as Sierra yelped as he recovered.
“See? That’s the effect you have on me, baby. You make me lose control.”
“You’re so bad,” she said, giggling.
“You know what? I just thought of this great place we can go to. I know this guy, there’s always a dozen people hanging out at his pad, celebrities sometimes too.”
Sierra perked up. “Yeah?”
“Totally. I saw that guy from The Big Bang Theory once.”
“Which one?”
Ridge shrugged. “I don’t know, one of the nerds. Anyway, this guy, my friend, he has the best weed, I swear. So what do you say? Want to come with me or would you rather go back home?”
The mention of home brought on an instant headache. Ever since she had forgotten to pick up her mom, she had felt bad about it. She hadn’t replied to any of her text messages or voicemail. Her parents would kill her for sure, especially now that it was way past her curfew.
But she still had her freedom and she intended to use it to its full potential while she still could.
“Let’s do it,” she said.
“Awesome, baby. First I got to stop somewhere. Just need to drop something off. Don’t worry, it’s on the way.”
“Okay.”
She put on some music and they drove downtown, somewhere on the East Side. Before long she didn’t even know where she was. The streets were dark, the buildings looked abandoned. It was a little scary.
Then again, it wasn’t much different from where Ridge lived and that was fine, right? And everybody knew that the best parties were off the grid. It would be okay, she decided.
Two songs later, he parked on the curb. He leaned to his right and produced an envelope from the glove compartment.
“Do you mind putting that in your purse for me? It doesn’t fit inside my pockets.”
“Uh, sure,” she said. “What is it?”
“Just some paperwork I have to deliver.”
He placed the envelope in her hand and she didn’t have a choice. It didn’t feel like paperwork. It was heavy and she could feel bumps inside. Anyway, she trusted him. She loved him and there was nothing she wouldn’t do for him.
“It’s that building over there,” he said, pointing at a walk-up with cracked windows. “Apartment 3B.”
They stepped out of the car and he left the keys in the ignition. That’s how cool he was. No one would dare steal his car because of who he was. He had told her that on their first date and she’d been impressed.
They went up the stoop and she did her best to ignore the stench of urine as they entered. They started going up the creaking stairs when he stopped.
“Shit, somebody’s calling me,” he groaned as he pulled his phone from his jeans. “I gotta take this. Go on up, I’ll join you in a second.”
“I can wait.”
“No, it’s okay. Just go knock and I’ll be right up. The faster this is done and the faster we can go to the party, yeah?”
“Oh, okay.”
It made sense, Sierra thought. She climbed the stairs and had no trouble finding apartment 3B. She knocked and it took a few moments before the door was opened. In fact, she was hoping it would take longer so Ridge would join her.
A Hispanic guy in a dirty tank top looked down at her. “Yeah?”
“Uh, I’m with Ridge. I have an envelope for you.”
“Where is he anyway?”
“On the phone, he’s coming up. Here’s the envelope.”
She got the package from her bag and handed it to him. He took it indifferently and looked over his shoulder toward his living room. He nodded. What was going on?
She understood a second later.
“Police! Get your hands up!”
She was frozen as she saw four men in blue windbreakers rush toward her. Two came from inside the apartment, another two came from the fourth floor, running down the stairs.
“NYPD! Hands in the air, now!”
She was tackled, thrown against the wall. She dropped her bag and within a second she was being cuffed. From the corner of her eyes she noticed Ridge at the bottom of the stairs running away.
“You’re under arrest.”
The officer said something else, but she didn’t hear any of it. She could only hear her heart threatening to burst out of her chest.
Chapter 20
It had been a long time since Donnie had woken up with a strange woman.
Nothing had happened with Emma, but the feeling was peculiar anyway. Once you were married for a long time, you had your morning routine down pat. Bathroom use, breakfast, who made coffee, who got to shower first, it was essentially muscle me
mory.
It wasn’t the case this morning. What’s more, he could tell it was weird for Emma as well. She smiled coyly every time her eyes met his, as if she had done something wrong.
Regardless, he let her shower first while he busied himself making coffee and toast. He was disappointed that she didn’t have any Froot Loops. What kind of person didn’t have Froot Loops anyway? All she had was that healthy junk which tasted like cardboard and sawdust.
He checked his messages and there was nothing from Sierra. Jesus, that kid… Nicole had left a message on his voicemail but he discarded it. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to her. Either she would apologize for last night and he knew she’d be lying. Or she would be giving him shit again and it was the last thing he wanted this morning.
Donnie had already drunk two cups of instant coffee by the time she came out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a sober gray pantsuit and he wondered if that had been part of her everyday attire when she’d been a nun. It wasn’t exactly stylish. On the other hand, she looked sexier because of it.
Thinking a nun is sexy, I gotta be losing my goddamn mind.
“You can go,” she said indicating the bathroom. “I think there’s still hot water left.”
“Thanks.”
As he showered, he was immediately stunned that her bathroom wasn’t littered with seventeen bottles of conditioners, shampoos, and lotions. He wondered if it was because she was more down-to-earth or if it was because she was a cop.
He came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, dressed in a fresh suit. Emma was at the kitchen counter eating that disgusting muesli.
“You know you’re a cop now, right? Where are the doughnuts? The jelly rolls?”
She didn’t take the bait and just smiled over her cereal bowl.
He was walking toward her, considering having yet another cup of coffee, when his phone rang. It was the FBI guy.
“Agent Garza? What’s happening?”