Saving Sky

by Natasha L. Black

  I guess probably because I hated it. I hated that I had to resort to taking my clothes off for money. That I had to let gross strangers ogle me and grind on their laps while they licked their lips and got hard underneath me. Just the thought of it was enough to make me shudder there in my own home.

  The woman must have sensed that somehow. She nodded and smiled and tried to make small talk with me. I was polite but evasive. Just before my stop, she did something that surprised me.

  She reached into her purse and pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen. After scribbling something on it, she handed it to me and held my hand for just a second as I took it from her. She gave my hand a light squeeze before smiling kindly. “Call that,” she’d said. “It’s a friend of mine who has been looking desperately to hire someone to help out at his restaurant. He can accommodate any hours basically. He really needs the help.”

  I was so shocked at her kindness, I almost dropped the paper when she handed it to me. Another job. A way I could get out of the club. I hardly dared to call but forced myself to as soon as I got home. The man on the other end of the line sounded overwhelmed and stressed.

  But then, I probably did, too.

  We set up an interview for that morning, and I wanted to make it on time. If I were to get the job and say goodbye to the club, I’d be so much happier than I was now. I’d have a fighting chance. I didn’t care if I had to work twice as many hours to make the same money. To me, it would be worth it. I’d have an honest form of work that would pay the bills. As hard as it would be to make the transition, I was willing to take the chance if it meant I could get away from Rocco and that horrible club full of perverts.

  I got out of the shower and quickly dressed, eager to get down to the restaurant.

  “We run this place as a tight ship,” he’d told me over the phone. “I need you here on time.”

  “I will be,” I promised. I was just about to the restaurant when my phone rang. Startled, I looked down.

  Rocco.

  There was a moment’s hesitation. I wanted to get in to the restaurant as fast as I could, but for all I knew, he could be watching me. He was like that, and I didn’t dare not answer him for fear he’d come find me in the middle of the interview and blow my chances of a normal job all to hell.

  “Hello?” I said, putting my phone up to my ear.

  “You’re coming in today,” he said; a statement rather than a question. His tone was flat and cold.

  “I can’t,” I said. My mind was spinning. I looked around the street, wondering if he was somewhere out there, watching my every move.

  “Why?”

  My mind went blank. I hadn’t thought about why, but I knew it wasn’t going to go over well if I reiterated the fact I wanted to quit. It would be even worse if he found out I was trying to get another job.

  “Answer me,” again, with the cold, flat tone. There was something about the tone that was sending chills throughout my entire body. I could only imagine him sitting at his desk in the back of the club, his coffee on the table, whiskey flask right next to it.

  “I’m sick as a dog. There’s no way I can dance tonight,” I lied.

  “Convenient,” he said. “Especially after what you pulled yesterday.”

  “You know the flu is going around,” I said. “Do you really want me there getting all the girls and potentially the customers sick?”

  I knew he didn’t. If there was an outbreak of any sort of illness at the club we’d have to shut down until it passed. Time was money to Rocco, and he really hated losing any of either. But, the silence on the other end of the line wasn’t very reassuring.

  “You sound like you’re outside,” he said at last. “If you’re too sick for work, what are you doing?”

  “Getting medicine,” I said in an exasperated tone. I looked down at my phone to check the time. It was eleven on the dot. I had to be inside immediately. “So if you’ll let me go I can work on getting better.”

  “I see,” I tried not to read into his tone any further, but I had a feeling he knew I was lying. I wasn’t going to change my story, however. If he wanted to see if I was really sick, he could come to my place and I’d fake the hell out of it. I just had to get through the interview first.

  “Sorry,” I said, exasperated. “Not how I would have chosen to spend my day.”

  “Take today off. You’re going to be there for your shift tomorrow, and you’re not going to be late, do you understand?” he asked. Relief washed over me, but I said nothing. I had a little bit of time now, and I didn’t know what I was going to do, but at least I could get in for the interview.

  “I asked you a question!” he snapped.

  “I understand. Thank you,” I said. I hung up the phone and shoved it in my purse, both pissed and relieved at the same time. I had to get inside, I was two minutes past when I should have shown up, and I hoped it wasn’t going to have an effect on the outcome of the interview.

  “Hey, I’m here to see Mr. Carducci,” I said to the hostess.

  “He can’t talk right now. He was supposed to have an interview this morning, and she’s late. He’s not really in a good mood,” the woman said.

  “That was me,” I said. “I got here as fast as I could, but without a vehicle it was hard to guess how long it would take me to walk exactly.”

  I finished with a weak smile, but I noticed the way she looked me over from head to toe. Then, she motioned for me to follow her. We walked through a fancy dining area and into a crowded kitchen, took a turn down a narrow hall, and she announced me in Mr. Carducci’s office.

  I walked in with a smile and held out my hand. “Mr. Carducci. Thank you so much for this opportunity.”

  “You’re late,” he said flatly.

  “I’m sorry. I walked here. I thought I would have the time but with the lights and traffic–” I tried, but he cut me off.

  “I thought I made it clear to you on the phone you have to be punctual. I run my entire staff on a strict schedule, and there’s not time for you to be late. If I’m hosting a party, then I’m going to need the food out, on the plates, by the hour I say. Two minutes is too late,” he snapped.

  My heart sank. “I apologize. I promise you I’m not this way ordinarily. If you can give me a chance, I’ll prove to you that I can keep up with the speed of the kitchen, I can.”

  He looked me over from head to toe, and I rose up, holding myself as tall as I could. Then, he nodded to the desk. “Sit and tell me what you do currently.”

  I cringed. It was something we hadn’t discussed on the phone, and I really didn’t want to tell him. But, with the way he was staring right into my eyes as though he could see my very soul, I didn’t feel I had much choice. I forced a smile as I sat.

  “I’m a dancer,” I said. I left off the word ‘exotic’ intentionally.

  “Where?” the question came fast and hard. I hesitated again, and he looked at me with the same penetrating gaze.

  “Smitty’s,” I said at last. I quickly tried to explain myself. “I didn’t want to work there, but at the time I was hired it was all I could find. Now, I’m trying to get out of the business.”

  “You realize this is one of the highest rated restaurants in this side of town,” Mr. Carducci said. “We require the utmost class and professionalism.”

  “I know, and I am classy and professional, I just had to do what I had to do,” I tried.

  “Education?” he moved on.

  “High school diploma,” I said.

  He looked up at me. “How many jobs have you held?”

  “Two,” I said. “I worked at a Starbuck’s in high school, then what I do now.”

  “I see. Well, thank you for your interest in the position, I’ll let you know,” he said. He rose but didn’t offer his hand. Defeated, I also rose from my chair. I knew it hadn’t gone well, and my heart was sinking down to the pit of my stomach.

  I desperately wanted the job, but it was slipping away. All because of Rocco’s ph
one call and his hold on my life.

  “Thank you for the opportunity. I can assure you, I won’t let you down,” I said with a smile. He nodded toward the door.

  “You may head out the way you came in.”

  With another forced smile, I obeyed. But there was a lump forming in my throat, and I knew I’d have to fight the tears once I got back on the street. I knew I wasn’t going to hear from him again, and there wasn’t any way I could avoid going back to the club.

  Rocco gave me one day off, and for that I was grateful. I was going to go back to my apartment and have a nice, long cry. My world once again came crashing down around me, the glimmer of hope now gone.

  Would I be forced to bend to Rocco’s will forever? I hoped to God the answer was no.

  But it sure looked like I didn’t have any other choice.

  7

  Jack

  I sat back in my chair, waiting impatiently for Captain Markel to show up. He would often call these meetings with the task force, then be late to them himself. I was on time for this one. Early, in fact. I wanted to know what he had to say.

  Welsh had been reaching out to various other PDs across the country, trying to dig up any information he could on Rocco. He texted me when I was out in the field, telling me that he found something, and had taken it straight to the Captain, but that was all he was able to get to me at the time.

  I wanted to know everything, right now. I wanted to know what kind of situation we were dealing with, and whether we should go into the club with guns blazing and free all those women who were in there.

  The more I thought about it, the more I felt the entire thing was a show. Perhaps none of the girls who were dancing in the club wanted to be there. Maybe he treated all of them the way I’d seen him treat Sky. But, most of all, I was still dreaming about Sky and what she did to me that night.

  No woman had ever been able to make me feel so on fire or fill me with such need. I wanted her. More than anything I wanted her, but I had to get closer to her to figure out what was going on. With them giving us fake names, it was hard to get any sort of information about her.

  I’d tried looking her up in our own data base, but clearly, Sky wasn’t her name. Until I got to know her, I wouldn’t be able to find her anywhere, and that was driving me close to insane.

  “Okay boys,” Captain Markel walked into the room, and my attention was immediately given to what he was saying. “We’ve got some news.”

  Welsh had followed the captain into the room, and he now took a seat near the back. He made eye contact with me briefly along the way but couldn’t say a word. I’d have to wait to hear what was going on along with everyone else.

  “We’ve got our eyes on a man,” Captain Markel said. “Rocco Andretti.”

  He pulled up the photo of the man on the projector, and a slight murmur came from several men in the room as they recognized him. I hadn’t told anyone but Welsh what had happened at the club the day after the party, but since Rocco had come over to the table when we were all seated, they clearly remembered him.

  “Isn’t that the guy from Smitty’s?” Drake asked.

  “Yeah, he’s the owner I think,” Deichman replied. He turned his attention to the captain before adding, “What did he do?”

  “It’s not proven that he’s done anything yet, but we have reason to believe that he’s a high-ranking organized crime member. Both the LAPD and the NYPD have confirmed they suspected him of crimes in the past, but they weren’t able to arrest him. He’s elusive, and he’s good at what he does. There’s always just enough lack of evidence to bring him in, and that’s been the problem for a long time,” Captain Markel answered.

  “Why is he on our radar now?” Adam, one of the senior members on the force, asked. I could always count on him to ask the most practical question during these meetings, enabling me to sit silently and gather information.

  That was how I liked to do things, and I was all ears for this case.

  “There was a minor incident witnessed at the club shortly after we were there. No official reports were made, but since Jack saw it with his own eyes, we decided to look into what was going on behind those doors exactly,” Captain Markel replied.

  I had a feeling Welsh was going to fill him in on what I’d seen, and I didn’t mind it. But I hoped the captain wasn’t going to focus on that exclusively. I wanted to know more about the guy’s background. What he was capable of, and what he had been doing before.

  If he was involved in the mob, then there was a good chance we were dealing with a murderer. Whether he pulled the trigger himself, or he had someone else do his bidding, it was all the same in my book. I felt sick for Sky, and any of the other women who were working for him.

  “We didn’t have anything in our own database, so we reached out to others,” Captain Markel continued. “He’s a prime suspect for murder in multiple states, as well as connected with the disappearance of a lot of women through the years. He had a club in LA that was shut down after a woman went missing and her body found a few days later.”

  My stomach tied itself in a knot. My gut instinct had been correct. The guy was way more dangerous than he appeared on the outside. I was suddenly very fearful for Sky’s life.

  “In New York, two men were murdered and found outside a hotel he was running. It was later discovered there was a prostitution ring being run inside the place, but lack of evidence pointing to whether he knew what was going on. The women involved refused to say whether he had forced them into the lifestyle or not, and ultimately, only three arrests were made,” Captain Market read from the report in his hand.

  “God, how the hell does a man get away with something like that?” Drake muttered.

  “He’s good at what he does,” I said. “And if he’s connected with the mob, I have a feeling he’s got people to either cover his tracks or take the fall. Not to mention a high-priced lawyer on retainer for just this type of thing.”

  In Chicago, we didn’t have much interaction with people who were in the mob. There were plenty of drug lords and gangs to combat, but as far as the mob went, that was more centered in the NYPD’s jurisdiction. I knew little about the Chicago Outfit, and largely assumed they weren’t nearly as active as they had once been.

  Little did I know how wrong I was.

  “So what’s the plan?” I asked. “If we’ve got an eyewitness account of this man abusing a woman, and we know that he’s already a suspect in connection to other cases, can’t we arrest him and bring him in for questioning?”

  “You know he has to do something and be arrested in the act if he’s going to be brought in,” Captain Markel replied. “So we’re going to wait until we’ve got more evidence. If he’s a volatile as we assume he is, then we’ll only have to bide our time until he fucks up.”

  I sat back in my chair, trying to hide my frustration. I knew he was right. We couldn’t just arrest him because he had a record in another state. There wasn’t any evidence. Hell, none of the other forces had been able to prove his connection to the cases they had dealt with, either.

  He was slippery as a snake, and he was going to have to be caught in the act of something. At the same time, Cap was right when he said it was just a matter of time before that happened.

  Anyone who was engaged in criminal activity could only do so for so long before they slipped up in one way or another. Even Al Capone had gotten himself arrested and thrown in prison eventually. If this guy was as cocky as he acted, he’d fuck up, and when he did, we’d be there to lock him up.

  “I want everyone in the force to be on alert for any sort of activity connected to him,” Captain Markel said. “But I’m going to remind each of you, this is just a suspect case for now. We can’t go in there and harass him or do anything that prompts him to react.”

  He looked at me as he spoke, and I bit my lower lip. He knew me too well. When I thought someone was in danger, especially a woman, I would do anything in my power to make sure she was okay. I wante
d to go down there and confront Rocco myself, but I couldn’t.

  We had to do things by the book or risk blowing the case and letting a criminal go free on a technicality.

  “I’m talking to one of you in particular,” Captain Markel said. “And I’m sure you know who you are.”

  A chuckle ran through the group and Drake clapped me on the back. Since they knew I was the one who brought it up in the first place, I was clearly going to be taking the heat for liking the girl. And I didn’t care; I did like her. I wanted her to be safe and away from the clutches of that monster.

  “Stay safe out there today,” Cap said, and we rose. He turned his attention to the paperwork in his hand, but he stopped me as I walked by.

  “I need you to promise me you aren’t going to do anything stupid,” he said. “Really.”

  I put my hands in my back pockets and looked away. “I promised the public I would do what I had to do to serve and protect.”

  “And you need to maintain that promise, not harass someone we are considering a person of interest. It’s not even going to be released to the public that he is at this point. We need to be able to prove he is guilty or else he’ll walk,” Cap replied. “Come on, Jack. I need to be able to count on you.”

  “I won’t do anything stupid,” I said. He nodded and clapped me on the shoulder before I left. But, once I was in the hall, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep that promise. I’d be careful, I’d do things as much by the book as I could, but I was going to get this son of a bitch, and I was going to do it before he could hurt anyone else.

  “Are we doing this?” Welsh asked as he ran up to me. I gave him a look.

  “Do you have to be so loud about it?” I asked.

  “Just wondering if we’re going to have to go save all those poor girls from this guy. The SWAT team gets to do all the cool shit if you ask me,” he said.