“This place. What is it? Where are we?”
The girl has large, dark eyes with full, fanned lashes. Her plump cheeks make her look like she’s no more than fifteen years old or so. She shrugs her shoulders and moves to the side, revealing two other girls.
One is dressed like me, barely naked. I don’t know who did it or where my other clothes are, but I’m wearing a ridiculous American flag bikini. They even went so far as to pin my hair up and slap red stilettos on my feet.
I tear my stare away from my gaudy clothing and scan the dark area. A makeshift clothes line holds torn fabric the other women are using as shirts. A bucket sits in the furthest corner. I wish I hadn’t seen it because now I have to pee.
I roll my neck to the opposite side and there’s another young girl and for the life of me I can’t bring myself to speak when I see her cleaning my throw up.
I prop my back up against the side to get a better visual.
Five of us.
In what looks like big, metal box.
My arm pulses at the injection site. One girl in the back, the one dressed like me, appears to be high or overdosed, but the others are coherent. Coherent, but bruised and battered.
“What are we doing here.” I didn’t think my heart could race any more than it already is from the forced speedball. I struggle to recall what happened. I remember being at the club. I remember arguing. I thought it might have been with Jewella, but it wasn’t. It was the giant in the suit. There was another man. The main suit. Mickey’s face. He was scared. I don’t think I’ve ever seen fear on the fat man. And now I know why. He knew what was going to happen.
I try to move, scooting up the wall, but instead I fall back down, slamming back into the nasty floor. I’m dizzy and my skin flushes with heat.
The door cracks then swings open. Blinding sunlight sends me scurrying to the back. I wish I hadn’t because now I have no choice but to watch as the man stalks through the container before throwing me over his shoulder.
The other girls watch helplessly as I hang upside down, bouncing with every step. I want to fight. I want to scream, but the injected cocktail won’t allow it. Not until the man throws me into the John boat, slapping my head against the metal bench seat.
“OWww!” I scream and the man on the boat raises his hand to strike.
“No!” The delivery man commands. “No marking this one. Boss wants her whole.”
The boss?
Whole?
I know it sounds like good news, but it’s actually the exact opposite. It’s sexual. Predatory. They don’t want to mark up the ones they consider prettier, higher end. The others dance when needed but are mostly used for hard labor and punching bags. From experience, I can say I prefer the latter.
I’m frozen and numb at the same time. I need to know who the boss is, but I’m terrified to find out. The boat pulls up to a fancy ship. Two men wait as the other forces me at gun point to climb up the ladder.
When I see Slade, my stomach hits the water.
I was actually hoping he was the boss.
As sadistic as he is, at least I would know what I’m in for. Not knowing is the worst.
“Fancy meeting you here.” I tease as my faculties begin to return. “Come here often?”
Slade throws his head back and laughs. I can see why Lucky always called him an ogre. I’m not as scared as I should be, and I know it’s what’s left of the heroin tingling deep in my veins.
Once on board, Slade guides me to the other end of the boat. I hear the music thumping beneath my feet as we draw closer. His hand clutches my elbow, with two men trailing behind.
“You don’t wanna do this. I know we have a history, but this is crossing the line. You don’t wanna hurt me.”
“It’s no longer about what I want.”
“I don’t know what that means.” I try to drag my feet like the girl in the cargo van, but he simply pulls me along. I know I’m going to die. There’s no question about it. It’s the ‘how’ that’s sucking my soul out through my eyeballs.
“Where’s Willow?” I decide to bite the bullet.
“Don’t know her.”
I try to shake loose of his grip with no luck. His huge hand wraps around my arm with plenty of left over.
“Yes, you do. Just like Lolli.”
Slade grips tighter, jerking around my slight frame.
“If she’s dead, just tell me.”
“I don’t know her. Now, shut the fuck up.” He throws me around the narrow stairwell that leads below deck. My heart stalls and my stomach lurches when I spot him.
The politician.
He sits with a group of men surrounding a table. The table has two tiers, like a cake.
“On the table.” Slade demands with a forceful shove.
“No way.”
He marches toward me and a quiver crashes through my bones. Just like Lolli, and probably Willow.
“Dance before I find a different use for you.” The suit speaks. He sounds like I expected, a greasy politician. “Now.”
Slade pushes me from behind and I shuffle across the room. I’d almost rather be naked than in this bikini. The ass is a crazy mixed flag pattern. I decide not to cause any trouble because the old man’s ultimatum was a no brainer.
There’s no pole so I climb on the table. There’s no ignoring the groping and touching as I slip through the men. Finally, Slipknot blares through the room and I know these wrinkly old bastards are freaks.
“Dance!” The suit yells.
I begin to move, gliding to the music, waiting for that magical point when it takes me over and I don’t have to think about it. I pray for that moment, but it doesn’t come. It never comes. I get ready to force myself to finish, not knowing what’s going to happen next, when I feel like my eyes betray me.
I never saw her much, but I’d bet my right tit it’s her. It’s Willow.
She’s thin and pale. Her eyes are sullen and distant as she serves a round of shots. If she recognizes me she doesn’t give any sign. She’s wearing a torn shirt and baggy sweats, but it’s there.
I’m positive.
It’s without a doubt Willow, and she’s is without a doubt pregnant.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Lucky
“Mr. Gauthier, you have a call, sir.” Wendy’s been helping me out since Jade’s been gone. She knows more than she lets on and I intend to keep her close by.
Her and Drew, both. Who’s sitting across from my desk gawking at me like I’m a two headed alien.
“Take a message, Wendy.”
“Sir, you’re gonna want to take this.”
“Wendy…”
She cuts me off. “Sir, it’s Mrs. Gauthier. Your mother, sir.”
The expression on Drew’s face says he knows to hold his tongue lashing. For some reason, I still wish he’d thrown a punch. I’d more than happily reciprocate.
I put up my finger, signaling for him to wait. I know I’m testing him and also decide that I don’t give a shit.
“James Gauthier speaking.”
“James, it’s your mother, dear. Can you hear me?”
I jump out of my seat. “Mother, where the hell are you?”
“I’m in Venice, son. I only have a second. Joyce and I have been sailing. It’s glorious.”
“Mother, this is ridiculous. Get home. We have business to take care of. Damn, I was in an accident and never even heard from you.” I look at Drew and want to punch the pity right off his face.
“That’s why I’m calling. I’ve been at sea and just got the news. Now, I need you to listen. I only have a few minutes before we head back out.”
I sit up straight, ignoring Drew. “I’m listening.”
*
I mull over my mother’s words. Why hasn’t anyone told me the truth? Told me the truth about Carrie and her scam or about Jade and the fact that she truly does deserve half the business?
By the time she finished, I felt like I had a fairly accurate pictur
e of my mom in my head. And Joyce, I recognize her in my head, but I have no way to know if it’s factual or just my mind fucking with me again.
And now that I know I’m the one who gave Jade the Gauthier files, the weight of our night together stirs every part of me. She breathes life into every one of my cells. She’s light in all the fucking darkness.
I have to find her.
To tell her I love her.
I need her.
I’ll never be able to live if I let something happen to her. I may not recall our time together, but I should have known. I should have gone on my gut. The way she made me feel. Fuck that, I should have gone on my heart. I’m in love with this woman.
And now she’s in danger.
I filled Drew in on what I found out at the strip club and how I followed the cargo van. Now, we’re lurking outside the shipping yard. I point out on the water where lights flicker and dance off the pitch-black water.
Drew and I track down the same container from last night.
“Here, take this.” He shoves a Glock at me.
“If they’re hurting her, then I won’t need the piece.”
“I hear ya, but let’s just pretend it’s for my sake, ok?
I arch one brow. “We in some kinda bromance now?”
“No, I just expect you to cover my back. I prefer a weapon over your scrawny fists. No offense.”
“Yeah, none taken. Asshole.” I scrub at my face with the butt of the gun and I chuckle when he ducks. “You’re safe today. Can we get this show on the road, please?”
Drew nods and I dart off to the right while he takes the left. We meet at the entrance after ensuring there’s no night watchman standing lookout. Once we feel it’s safe, I cut the lock off with a set of bolt cutters. The metal hits the pavement, clanking, and someone from inside squeals.
I point the weapon and heave open the door. Drew stands at the opposite side and the sight before me churns my stomach like curdled milk. The overwhelming stench of urine gets caught in my throat.
Two women crab walk to the back of the container. Another moans and the final is straight up dead. Probably hasn’t been gone for too long, but it’s obvious there’s no life left in her glazed over gray eyes.
I may not remember shit, but I know death.
I look to the left and see Jade’s jeans and sweater hanging from the clothes line.
“Where is she?”
“Que?” One girl squeaks.
I rush to the rear of the container and they scream out in fear. Snatching the clothes from the line and wave them through the air. “Where’s this girl? Wore these. Where is she?”
My insides burn with frenzied waves of fire and ice.
*
Drew waits with Wendy and the young girls as the fourth girl is wheeled into the back of an ambulance. Her ashen face is now covered with a black zipper bag.
“I’m going in.”
He jumps in my face. “That’s a bad idea. The officer said no one leaves. They’re calling in a boat.”
I shake my head, speaking through clenched teeth. “There’s no way I’m going to wait another second. There’s no time. She’s gonna die out there when those fuckers get desperate and you know it. Her life won’t matter to them when they spot these lights.” I yell through a harsh whisper. “You got my back or not?”
“Yeah, I got it. Go get the girl, man.” He cups my shoulder with approval and I suddenly don’t want to kill him.
I wonder if that sensation will fade.
I slip into the dark and untie the John boat tied off in the brush. I leave off the noisy engine and paddle with every ounce of energy and muscle I can scrounge up. I bob in the water a ways off and then dive in, going undetected as I shimmy up the ladder. I follow the voices and obnoxious techno music. I have no idea how I know what, but I know I don’t like it. Hate it, actually.
The tense grip I have on the gun causes my stiff arm to cramp, but I refuse to relent. I hear a man shout!”
“Dance!”
A woman cries, but it’s not Jade.
“Do it, before I give her a good pounding. Better yet, I’ll call in our big friend to take care of her and that baby.”
I peek through a small, compartment window. A man in a suit whistles and a blonde man crosses the room. I see enough to know he raises his arm before it comes crashing back down.
Two screams follow and the old man bellows.
“Dance!”
I crane my neck but can’t make out the stage, or table.
I can make out feet. Red heels. It’s killing me not knowing if Jade’s ok or not. I aim the Glock at the ogre’s head.
Ogre?
He’s clearly the biggest threat. There are two other blow hards, including one standing point. I can’t blow my entrance, so I jump the guy from the side. No doubt looking like a spider monkey on crack wrapped around his neck.
The popping sound of his bones is almost soothing.
I check the door and my heart is beating in my throat when I find it’s unlocked. Probably out of fear of being attacked. Ironic. I try to swallow, but my mouth is a scorched desert. I don’t question when I open fire on the blonde muscle with a ponytail. The old man jumps, pulling a weapon and knocking the young girl to the floor.
Before he fires, I dive, and he blasts his own henchman.
I point my barrel at his head. “Don’t move.” I follow his aim and see it’s directed toward the table.
On the dancer.
I scan to make sure she’s in one piece, and that’s when I notice she’s naked. The fact makes me storm the man and press the weapon into his temple before he even has a chance to react.
“I’ll kill him and not blink a fucking eye.”
The man pivots when he hears sirens, as do the rest of the elderly men around the table. The background is on fire with reinforcements. The NOPD must have gotten their hands on a boat and I see it in the man’s beady eyes.
He panics and the sound of his gun rings in my ears.
“Baby!” I see her fall and her stomach is marked with a long, puckered scar.
Our son.
We lost our child. Me and Jade, no, Baby Jade have lost a child together.
I remember.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Baby Jade
Nine Months Later
I’m sorry. It’ll take some getting used to is all I’m saying. Lucky and I sit on the swing hanging from the massive Cypress. This is the perfect time for a family get together. This place is certainly a little more humble than the Gauthier’s are used to, but it’s homier than anything I’ve ever experienced.
“So, when’s the wedding?” I try to help ease his mind.
“Mom says six weeks. It’s really fast though. Don’t you think?”
“Joyce is efficient. I can see it happening.”
“You think she’s going to plan her own wedding?”
I chuckle. “Of course. It’s Joyce. I would.”
“You know, it’s not that I’m upset about them getting married or being lesbians. It’s that they’re the only true family I have outside of ours and I don’t want to lose either one of them. What happens if it doesn’t work out? If I had my way, I’d walk them both down the aisle.”
“I know, babe. You have a new fondness for your family. I get it. And look at them. They’ve been waiting decades to share their love. It’s a forever kinda love.” I watch Joyce and Tilly hold hands while walking out to see the garden. They’re both giggling and smiling from the inside out.
“It took a long time coming, but yeah, my family is my everything.”
“I hope dat include moi.” Ma’Linn teases.
“And me too.”
It’s been almost a year and my mother is like a new woman. “I’m so thankful we hired Ang.”
Lucky winks and I know he gets it.
My mom lives with us now on this new family adventure. We sold our new place and Tilly’s selling the manor. We bought this farmhouse and property
to build a home for troubled girls. Runaway teens or survivors of rape and assault.
Willow is going to help run the school, along with Ma’Linn, Lucky, and myself. Momma will be pitching in on her good days, which are more often now that she’s off all that pharmaceutical shit and on straight cannabis. She smokes and lives the most normal life she’s ever had. Her dark skin glistens in the sun as she rakes and moves rocks. Her dreads are piled high up on her head. She’s a vision. An inspiration.
It does something to my heart. Sets me on fire to make changes and leave a lasting impact on the world.
Lucky tries to change the subject. “Look at all these beautiful ladies. It sure is a good thing we got us an extra dose of testosterone around here.”
“Yas. Give me dat der bundle. Ti bebe.” Ma’Linn reaches and reluctantly, I pass over my new bundle of joy. My reason for breathing every day. Breathing clean oxygen and not pumping myself full of toxic shit.
Ma’Linn dances, her rump bouncing with her arms full. “Dis here my Phillipe Flanagan Gauthier. Yas dis here boy is. Me pride ‘n joy. I jus’ wan’ to be huggin’ dat der Willow e’ery day.”
“Yeah, me too. She gave us a gift we could never have gotten on our own. And one day she’ll be ready for the same.”
“When do we open?” Ang asks while packing Roz another bowl.
“Yeah, we open in August. We should be ready. Everything’s on track and I just wanna spend this time with my two men.” I pick up Phillipe and give his chunky belly a kiss. I think we finally had our last day in court. This last one was for Carrie. Good riddance.”
“What about the club?” Momma asks.
“Oh, that’s the best part. Mickey had no choice but to take my offer. I got the place for pennies on the dollar. Once Jewella gets out of rehab, she’ll be the manager. We’re stopping alcohol and going BYOB.”
“Do you think you can trust her now?” Lucky’s now hovering, and everyone is focused on my sweet boy and his love of cooing.
“After finding out that she was the one trying to help Willow, I’d say the odds are good. Besides, six months of rehab is pretty committed.”
A car pulls up and I get a look at Drew’s dazzling blue eyes. The man’s in love and so is the girl on his arm.
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