by Eric Asher
“Better?” I asked her. She nodded as she gave me a faint smile. “Come. Let’s get you tucked back into bed.” I lifted her, placing her softly back in bed.
As I pulled away, she grabbed onto my arm for dear life. “Please don’t leave me.” Her voice was almost a whisper.
“I’m not going anywhere but to the other side of the bed.” She let go and I made my way back to my side. As I climbed in, she scooted herself over to me. “Shhh, sweetheart... Close your eyes and rest. I’m here, and I’ll never let anything bad happen to you.” She closed her eyes. Her breath became steady and even letting me know she had finally fallen fast asleep. We stayed cuddled like that the rest of the night. It made me think about wanting to be with her and only her. Made me want to move heaven and earth to keep her protected. One thing for sure, tomorrow I’d finally end things with Nykoda. The woman was toxic and she needed to be removed from my system once and for all.
FAITH
“Sweetheart, wake up.” I woke to a husky voice telling me to get up. I popped my eyes open a little disorientated from last night’s events. Ahh, hell! Last night’s events invaded my mind as I shot straight up in the bed. Ronin looked at me with soft, caring eyes. A look that I will never get used to seeing from him. “You okay?” he asked giving me a concerned look.
“I will be.” I pushed the blankets off me. “I need to pee.” My feet hit the soft, plush floor as I made my way to the bathroom. As I turned to close the door, I saw that Ronin was on my heels. “I’m all right.” I shut the door and break down into quiet sobs. Quiet enough so he wouldn't hear me. Why did last night’s dream scare me so badly? The thought of my family gone was just unbearable.
I finished up in the bathroom only to find that Ronin hadn’t moved an inch from where he was previously standing. “I heard you,” he said
He rubbed my tear stained cheeks and I leaned into his hand. God, his touch felt so soothing. “I figured.”
“Come. I’ve made breakfast for us.” He took my hand and led me to the breakfast bar where a feast was laid out in front of us.
“You cooked all of this.” He nodded. “When did you have time?” There was bacon, sausage, eggs, waffles, toast, pancakes, and fresh squeezed orange juice.
“I couldn’t really sleep last night, so I got up a little early and began to cook. It’s what I do when I’m stressed.” He smiled at me while handing me a plate so full, it was enough to feed an army.
“I can’t eat all of this.” He just smiled and pushed the plate forward. He sat next to me while we eat in complete silence. Again my thoughts wondered to what my future held. Does Ronin love me? Does he want us to be together? My mind was racing a mile a minute. I saw him glance over at me.
“What are you thinking about?” I frown at his question. What the hell does he think I’m thinking about? What the hell happened last night?
“About last night. Have you heard anything else? When can I go home?” All of sudden, I lost my appetite. I gently placed my fork on my plate and pushed it away from me.
“I promise everything will be okay, Faith. They are on it and have excellent resources to get us out of this.” Did he just say us? He had nothing to do with this. If all hell broke loose, I’m the one who would go to prison for first-degree murder. Maybe my mother could defend me. Make me plead insanity. Then again, how would I explain all of this to her? She thinks I work in an AD agency, for crying out loud. I push my face down in my palms as I finally feel myself start to panic.
“Faith!” Ronin growled at me. “Get it together, please. You’re stronger than this.” He got up and threw his glass into the sink breaking it. “You’ve got to snap out of it if we’re going to beat this.” Before I could utter a response to him, the doorbell rang. All the blood drained from my face. Was he expecting someone? Were the police onto us? I got up and ran to Ronin’s bedroom locking myself in. They would not take me voluntarily. I sat deep in the back of the closet and waited.
My knees were to my chest as my heart pounded against it. What the hell was I going to do? I could hear faint voices yelling in the background. Couldn’t be the police. Ronin wouldn’t argue with the police. I found myself inching my way out of the closet and putting my ear against the door to see if I could hear what was going on. I heard a furious woman’s voice. Ronin was pleading with her to stop yelling. She was telling him that he needed to start acting like he was in charge, or she'd find someone who would replace him. Damn. The voice sounded so familiar. Something breaking made me jump out of my skin. I gently cracked the door to see if I could see them. Dang it. All I could see was the couch and Ronin’s back.
“So help me God, Ronin, if you don’t pull it together, I’ll take her from you.”
She’d take who from him?
“You won’t. She is faithful to me and she does what I tell her to do.”
I move out from behind the door to see who this woman was and when I round the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks. My face burned with fury.
What in the hell? Mom!
NYKODA
My daughter was standing in the middle of Ronin’s living room looking dumbfounded. This wasn’t the way I wanted her to find out. For the first time in my life, my mouth became dry leaving me without a vocabulary.
“Mom! What the hell are you doing here?” She looked like she was going to explode. She looked at Ronin and then back to me. “Ronin, did you…” Her breath quickened making him move to her side. How pathetic. “Did you know about this?” she asked him.
He looked up at me as if to ask what he should tell her. “Faith, he knew. I’m the one who delivered you to him,” I stated matter of factly.
“What the hell is going on here?” She moved from Ronin’s embrace.
“How could you do this to me, Mom?” Her eyes filled with tears. Oh, dear God. What has he done to her? She used to be so strong.
“Let’s all sit down and have a chat, shall we?” I moved to touch her, but she backed away from me. I had to admit it stung just a bit. She had never moved away from me before.
“Listen, Faith. I’ve known since you were a little girl that you were different. You used to get these spaced-out looks on your face. Like you were in some far off land or something. Then, you became a teenager and started to explore your sexuality. Don’t think I didn’t notice the relationships you had with women and men. I knew you would never live what we call a normal life.” I tried once more to reach out to her, but she wouldn't even look at me. “So when you went off to college, I sent Ronin to look after you. I knew if I brought you into my world, we both could keep a watchful eye on you. All I ever wanted was to keep you safe... and happy, of course. All of it was fine until this screw up let you kill Mr. Kirkwood. I have to be honest with the both of you—this one is going to very hard to cover up. In all honesty, Faith, what were you thinking?” After all of that, she glanced up at me red-eyed.
“What was I thinking?” she screamed. She bolted up and began to pace the floor. “What was I thinking? Well, Nykoda,” she said mockingly. “I was thinking of saving myself from getting beat with a belt. That blade was the only thing that saved my life.” She stopped and looked over at Ronin. “And you…” She pointed at his face. “What was this to you? Was this some sort of game for you? Let me get Faith to fall in love with me. Let me get Faith to act out all my dark fantasies.” She stopped.
“Faith, sweetheart, please just listen to me.” His voice was soft and soothing
“Don’t you sweetheart me. I’m not your sweetheart. Oh, my God!” And there it was—the light bulb. The worst was yet to come once she figured it out. “You’ve had sex with her.” Her knees buckled and she fainted. I mean, she actually fainted.
“Why did you come here, Nykoda? You could have called me. You knew she was here, yet you came anyway. WHY?” Ronin scooped up Faith and placed her on the couch.
“I came here because you don’t know how to do your damn job. Plus, it was high time she found out the truth. I was growing
exhausted of keeping up this charade with her. If anything, she is going to be angrier with you than with me. She’ll learn to forgive me because I am her mother. Her own flesh and blood. You, on the other hand, are replaceable and trust me, she will get over you.”
“If that’s what you think, woman, then you are severely delusional. Faith doesn’t forgive easily, and the one thing I have that you don’t is control over her. She’ll do anything I wish.”
“Oh, Ronin, Ronin. You really don’t know who you’re messing with.” I walked over to him and looked him square in the eyes. Never in my life have I ever backed down from a showdown. “I own you, boy, and you will do as I say. Do you understand me? You will never be in control unless I say you’re in control.”
He backed away from me slowly no longer brave enough to look me in the eyes. Freaking pussy… This is why men should never be in charge. They don’t have what it takes to back up their words. Women, on the other hand, could be as tough as they come. Look at me. I went from a little scrawny freshman college student to marrying one of the richest doctors on the coast, becoming a successful lawyer, and owning a lucrative escort service.
“Sit,” I tell him. “When she wakes up, we need to get everything sorted.” He sat in the recliner with his elbows on his knees. “If you want to take over this business, you are going to have to stop being such a pussy. For Christ’s sake, man up…”
His eyes shifted up to me. “Don’t you talk to me like that. I’m trying to give you the respect you deserve. That doesn’t make me less of a man. It makes me respectable to my elders.” He drug out the word elder. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to do plus some. You will give me the respect, Nykoda. Contrary to belief, it’s not my fault Faith is in this situation. We always run a thorough background check on our clients, which Mr. Kirkwood passed with flying colors. So shut up, sit down, and let’s wait for her to wake up.”
Well, well. Maybe I had underestimated this little tyke.
We both sat in silence for what seemed like eons before Faith finally started to come to. When she popped her eyes open, she snapped her neck between both Ronin and me. The next thing that came out of her mouth would be a game changer for us all.
FAITH
“I want in on whatever you two got going. I want to be a partner, a cut of whatever the other girls bring in.” My mother’s face dropped as if she had seen a ghost. Never in a million years did she think I’d propose that.
“Faith, you couldn’t possibly want that. I’ve been grooming Ronin for years to take my place when I’m ready to retire. Which I want to be sooner rather than later. Your father is growing drained of this little side venture of mine. And I can’t really blame him since you’ve gone and screwed things up royally—once again.” Her voice was sharp and gut-wrenching. I couldn’t underestimate her because I was talking with one of the best lawyers around. Should have known if my mother was part of this, then my father wasn’t too far behind. My mother always did run the show in our family, although my father tried to pretend that he did.
“So let me get this straight.” My head was throbbing from all the events of the day. “Ronin and you are lovers, you own the escort service, and dad knows about everything,” I snapped out
“Well, he knows enough. He doesn’t know anything about you being an escort. I kept that part a secret from him. It would kill him to know what you have become.”
“What I’ve become.” I scratched my head. She had some nerve to try to degrade what I was doing. I can probably guess she started out as an escort herself. “What I’ve become,” I repeated like she was deaf. “If I’m not mistaken, you helped me become what I am. Don’t get me wrong. I have no complaints with the job until now. This life has always been exciting to me. I’m able to live my life the way I want with no judgment from anyone.”
“Faith,” Ronin interrupted. I’d almost forgotten he was still in the room. He had been so quiet. “It’s not what you think. Nykoda and I haven’t had sex in a while.”
“Oh, yeah. That explains it and makes me feel so much better.” I snapped sarcastically. “I’ve never felt like a whore until this very moment, Ronin. I could kill you for making me feel like this.” He walked over to me and tried to reach for me. I moved quickly from his grasp. “Do not touch me!” I screamed. What the hell was I still doing here? Oh, yeah. I had no place else to go. I’m definitely not leaving with my mother. There was no way I could face my father right now. No way could I disappoint him with my lifestyle. He was the only person I truly looked up to. All the memories of my dad and I came flooding back to make me feel even worse than I already did. He would disown me for sure.
“Sweetheart, please. You know I care for you and wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do. Just look at me.” I looked at him. The man actually had tears in his eyes. What a pussy. How could my mother want to leave everything to him? I needed a plan.
“Here is what is going to happen. You and Ronin are done with whatever relationship you had.” My mother’s face turned sour. She opened her mouth to say something then quickly snapped it shut. “There is no negotiating this.” My eyes wandered over to Ronin as he sat smirking at my mother. But I wasn’t done with his ass yet. Did I believe when he said it was a while ago? Even still, it was gross and I wouldn't stand for it. Both of them would pay for this.
“Does Jessica know what you’re doing? Does she know that her mother is also a high-class whore?”
She walked over to me and slapped me across the face, hard, really hard. So hard, it made me see stars. “Don’t ever talk to me like that. I made so many sacrifices for you and your ungrateful sister.” She was pacing around the room throwing her hands in the air. “If it weren’t for the business, you wouldn’t have the lifestyle you are accustomed to living. Think about that before you go racing off on your high horse. As far as Ronin, he is all yours. Do with him as you please. But know that you will respect him. I gave you everything you have and you are due to remember that.”
I didn’t need a lecture from her. All I needed from her at this point was for her to leave.
“I get it, got it—now if you’d be so kind as to leave. I have a massive headache from these events. By the way, if dad knows about you and this business, then he should be aware you’re still turning tricks.”
“What goes on between your father and I is none of your concern. The only thing you should be concerned with is making sure you keep a low profile until I can get your mess cleaned up.” She turned to leave. “Oh, and remember—don’t mention this to your father or sister or you’ll pay. Don’t think just because you’re my daughter I won’t cause you pain.” Before storming off through the front door, she turned to Ronin, winked at him, and then proceeded to the front door, slamming it behind her.
“Well, that went well.” His lips thinned as I darted my eyes over to him.
“Is there a place I can stay besides here? I can’t bear to look at you right now,” I snapped.
“Please, don’t say that. I want to care for you. You can stay in my room, and I’ll take the guest room. Just please don’t leave.” His eyes were pleading with me and I couldn’t help but to give into his request. Yes, you guessed it. I became one of those women we love to hate. You know the ones who have a cheating man who says they are sorry, and then we let them come back. Except, I think this situation was a tad bit different. There was no way I could leave Ronin even if deep down I wanted to. He held a power over me that couldn't be explained, but believe you me, I had a plan of action in mind. All of them would pay for their lies—especially my mother.
RONIN
The way she was looking at me made me want to die. Never in a million years did I think she’d find out her mother was the boss or that we were intimate. I remembered the day when Nykoda came to me and asked me to recruit her daughter. I thought she was insane. What mother wants their daughter in this type of business? And then I met her. From the second she encountered me, I knew she
was dark and twisted.
Nykoda came to my office late one afternoon to find me drowning in paperwork. Yeah, this business has bookkeeping just like any other business. The girls had been busy over the last few months, which put me behind on the paperwork end. “I need you to do something for me,” she muttered.
“What is it? I hope it’s not big because right now, I’m pretty busy,” I told her.
“I keep telling you, Ronin, you will never say no.” I rolled my eyes at her.
“Just tell me what the hell it is.”
“I need you to bring my daughter on board.” Had I heard her right? She wanted me to recruit her daughter?
“I must be mistaken. You want me to do what?” I looked at her in confusion as I threw the papers I was holding down on the desk.
“My daughter. I need you to recruit her.” I was still looking at her dumbfounded. “Look, she is going to eventually end up as an escort. I would rather her work for me so I can keep an eye on her. Plus, I trust you will keep her safe and out of trouble. Here is a file on her.” I stood as she tossed the manila folder on my desk. “Oh, and Ronin, I’ll be watching.” With that, she sashayed out of my office clicking the door closed behind her.
I leaned back into my chair with my arms crossed. How the hell am I going to recruit her? I thought to myself. Sighing, I picked up the folder and opened it to see Faith staring back at me. She was beautiful, just like her mother. Same golden brown eyes, same curvy body. Boy, was I going to be in trouble. Then again, what man didn't want a mother-daughter combo? Especially when they were both this gorgeous. I devised a plan to enroll in school and recruit her from there. Like her mother said, it would be easy to get her. All it took was one flashing smile from me and she was hooked.