by Tia Siren
I walked away knowing that something shifted in me tonight. I had become a dirty cop. I’d just made a deal with a crook with money that I didn’t have. I didn’t know how the fuck I was going to make all this work, but she was worth it. Girl number two was worth it. I glanced back at her. She was watching me with eyes full of curiosity.
One of the other girls stepped forward, and they started her auction. The men seemed to get into the auction of a new scared virgin, and I sat down at the table as Brandon stared at me.
“What just happened?” he demanded when I raised my eyes to look at him.
“I wanted her. I bought her,” I admitted as he gave me a disbelieving gaze. I was always the good guy who followed every rule so a case could get handled as fast as possible. I was the logical cop who never strayed from his path when it came to work. I just had though. Big time.
“You bought her? You’re going to fuck one of the victims?” Brandon asked me softly, anger rising in his voice. “Remember what happened to me when I got involved with someone while on duty? I almost fucking lost my job. How the fuck do you expect this to work?”
“I needed to save her, Bran. I can’t explain it.” It wasn’t that I didn’t feel an attraction toward her because I did. It was stronger than anything I had felt before but much more than physical.
Understanding crossed his face, and he leaned back and took a deep breath. “Out of all the women here in Vegas, it had to be her?”
I shrugged.
“How much?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
“More than I have right now. I need to figure something out fast,” I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
We both turned our attention back to the auction and watched as the remaining girls were auctioned off for over ten thousand dollars each and pulled off the stage. Mine was already gone. I watched the buyers make their way into the hallway as the stage lights went off and the music started playing. I wondered where she would be staying, and if she’d be safe all alone since the others had been purchased.
Brandon and I left to go to a diner and write down our notes about this case. Leaving the part about buying the brunette out in a silent but understood agreement, we broke down the night and the club’s activities. While we didn’t see money exchange hands, we knew enough to send someone with a search warrant in to check things out. Our part was done here, and Brandon sipped his water as he finished the report and looked across the table at me.
“I’ll get this to the captain in the morning,” he said. “I can’t believe that I’m the good cop for a change.”
I stared at him, still in shock with what I’d done. “I’ll figure this out. I’ll make up a story about how we met or something. I don’t know. I just didn’t want any of those guys to have her. Did you see her, Bran? She looked so scared and innocent up there.”
He nodded in agreement. “She did. That first girl seemed a little too into it. I wonder if she was a repeat customer,” Brandon told me as he scratched his rough goatee. “Hell, that’s a lot more than an auction. She’s getting paid to fuck as a virgin and lying about the situation.”
“There is a lot wrong with the entire thing. How do they get the girls there to begin with?” I knew that I could get that information out of my girl once she was with me and maybe make more of a case. I’d at least know.
“Maybe it’s part of a trafficking ring. The only one that looked happy to be here was the first girl, and the others looked terrified. If she was a repeat, she could change her appearance and name. He didn’t seem the type to care too much about those kinds of details,” Brandon told me as he tore a piece of toast and chewed it thoughtfully. “They’re all legal, from what I could tell. But they all looked to be of age. Maybe they knew what they were doing.”
“I can’t imagine anyone being okay with that,” I murmured as I thought about the ones who were auctioned off tonight. It made me sick to think what might be done to them tonight, and I shifted in my seat, hoping my girl was safe somewhere.
“This is Vegas. People do strange things to survive here. If the girls got a cut, they might have enough to get by for a while. Maybe some of them start turning tricks for more money. I don’t know. We need to get in there.” I felt a rush of adrenaline as I spoke and pushed away my plate. “Let’s get this report on the captain’s desk tonight. I can do some more research online about the club and check the reports again.”
How many girls have done that? I needed to stop it even though I knew that we’d get involved in more cases that were similar.
I’d never let a victim affect me the way this one did. Hell, I’d never let any woman affect me like this. I was all about work and catching the bad guys with the occasional one-night stand thrown into the mix. I wish I knew why this girl mattered to me so much as her face still haunted me.
We stopped at the station to leave the report on the captain’s desk and check in our own office for any new information, and then I took Brandon home. I claimed to be tired, but my mind was racing as I parked in the garage. I needed to make that money soon and get my girl out of that club, and I longed to know her name. They only gave them numbers at the bar, no names.
I looked around my house while I sat down to catch up on some sports scores, wondering if she’d like it here. Jesus, did I really think she’d want to be here with me? She could tell me to go fuck myself and just go home, fifty grand or not. I wouldn’t force her to stay here, but the idea of her in my bed made me pause as I caught the highlights of a basketball game.
I saw most of her body tonight. She was on the lean side but still had some curves on her. Her skin was creamy, and her eyes were large and sultry with the heavy makeup and bright color. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and I cursed the fact that it had to be tonight in the middle of a case.
If she was a virgin, she’d never been fucked. I didn’t know what else that meant, and my intention wasn’t to fuck her, but what if she wanted to stay with me here? What if she was attracted to me as well? I could easily imagine the things I wanted to do to her once that ridiculous belt was off her body.
I wondered what she’d sound like as she came. Women were known to be quite vocal with me.
I needed that money and to get that club owner arrested so he couldn’t do this to any more women.
Chapter 6
Nicole
I was confused when my auction suddenly ended, and I was led from the stage and returned to the backstage room. Wendy was gone as well, and I assumed she was off to her buyer’s house, wondering for a moment if they cared that she had lied.
Of course not. They wanted sex, and if I ever met a girl willing to go great lengths to provide it, it would be Wendy. Her client would be happy either way.
As I was pushed into the room and the door was locked, I stared down at the clunky chastity belt with a frown. I wanted this off, and since I didn’t appear to have a buyer, when would that happen?
I thought about the way the man came up to talk to Ricky before my auction started. He was a little hard to see in the dark, but I did catch blond hair and a handsome, rugged face. Was he my buyer? That might not be so bad, and I blushed at the thought. I suppose if it had to be someone, a man like that would be bearable. Why didn’t he go through the normal process, though?
I grabbed a blanket from the worn couch in the room, trying not to let myself wonder how filthy it was. I was cold and sick of this damn bra, but the woman had taken our robes earlier when she left.
I sighed and thought about Noelle, hoping that I’d at least be able to talk to her soon. It was safe to say that I wasn’t going home tonight, but I also still didn’t have my phone. Who knows where that was now?
I rested back on the couch as comfortably as I could and closed my eyes, trying to ignore Ricky’s voice as it bounced through the building. It was shrill and annoying, and the exhaustion from the last couple of days took over as I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up and shifted, feeling someone
’s eyes on me as I blinked and looked around. Ricky was leering at me with a pleased smile as I pulled the blanket tighter around me.
“You just made history in my club, Nicole. I don’t know what to do with you for the next few days, though.” He crossed his arms and walked toward me.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded. “Why am I still here?”
“You’ve been bought to be a bride.”
“That wasn’t our deal at all. We signed a contract,” I said, raising my voice.
“Ha!” he said. “The contract was only so you wouldn’t back out. It didn’t give any specifics on exactly what would happen to you. It only verified that you would complete a transaction.”
My eyes widened as I shrank back against the couch.
“It’s more than I’ve ever made on a girl here, and he’s bringing me the fifty grand soon. He seemed serious, too. There is no way you are getting out of this. What is it about you?” He looked me over and shook his head.
“What happens now?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“We’ll take you back to the hotel room. Same deal as before.” Ricky brought his eyes back to my face instead of staring at my breasts. He gave me a warning look. “Clean up and get some rest because you’re going to a whole new life soon.”
“Who was the buyer?” I asked.
He scratched his scruffy chin for a moment and shrugged.
“No idea. He was some new guy, but he’s giving me a lot of money for you.” That smile crossed his face again.
“What’s my cut?” I asked, feeling sick.
He narrowed his beady eyes. “Five grand, just like I said.” There was no kindness in his voice.
“You got more than the usual amount!” I frowned.
“You’re walking away with a few thousand dollars and a man that is willing to pay a lot for you. I think you’ll be just fine, Nicole.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m going to have Mac take you to the hotel. He’ll have the key and be watching you the entire time. There’s no fucking way I’m losing that money. You’ll get your cut when he comes to collect you.” With that, Ricky turned to leave the room and pulled the door closed.
I sighed. Asshole. I deserved more than five grand. However, I didn’t seem to have a choice. It would still help Noelle and me. We could figure out the rest later.
The club was quiet when we left. I was dressed in a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt since Ricky told me he’d put the belt back on me later to go home with my new husband. I stared down at the ground as I was pushed into a car and the door was locked before we drove to the same hotel as before. Mac was huge and silent when he handed me a bag of food and shoved me inside of a room, locking the door after he slammed it closed.
It was just me tonight. I didn’t so much as get to say goodbye to the other girls. Tears slid down my cheeks as I pictured them in my mind. I hoped they were safe. I forced myself to eat the fast food down while I sat in the quiet room. I showered when I was finished, using the meager supplies they had given us to share and dried my hair with the thread bare towel. I put the shirt on and turned on the television, trying to lose myself in the show that was on instead of obsessing about my situation.
I slept fitfully in the uncomfortable bed, nervous and unable to relax. I left the television on for background noise as we had before and woke up in the morning to another bag of greasy food that was shoved at me. Mac was charming if that was who kept giving this shit to me. I laughed bitterly as I wondered if my new husband could cook.
I didn’t want a husband. I just wanted some cash to give my sister and me the boost we needed. I hoped there was some way I could convince the buyer to let me go home and just live my life. I didn’t know how to be a wife. I didn’t even know how to be a girlfriend. I was a mess, and he’d find out and wouldn’t want me.
But he seemed to want me now.
I kept the television on and watched it every now and then as my mind raced. Everything was so uncertain in our lives, but a man claimed that he wanted me forever. What did that mean?
I didn’t want to leave Noelle behind by herself in this frightening city, even if she was the driven one out of the two of us. She was working hard on her small show and barely making anything. The director told her that she was too new to make real money yet, but Noelle persisted, working long hours. She was my hero. All I’d done was a little writing and then sell my virginity only to end up possibly married.
What the fuck? I dropped back onto the pillow and groaned at the ache in my back from the awful mattress. I wanted real food and a comfortable bed. Scratch that. I wanted to be with my sister again. I wish they trusted me to just go home, but Noelle might drag me out of Nevada herself once she found out what I’d done.
I slept off and on and ate what they brought me, wishing I could ask for something different. I was starting to hate this hotel room and wished I at least had a phone or even my laptop so I could get some writing done. I hated just sitting here with my own thoughts. There were limited channels on the TV, so I just left it on HBO and watched whatever was on. We never had cable of any sort growing up or even now, so this was a bit of a treat. I saw some of the new movies and special series and marveled at what they were coming up with these days.
I also obsessed about what was going to happen to me. The guy looked attractive enough from what I saw but what if he had a basement that he planned to tie me up in? No normal man went to a club to purchase a woman’s virginity and then decided to marry her. I did watch a lot of true crime and listen to podcasts about it enough to know it wasn’t normal.
I never believed in love at first sight. I never saw my parents or anyone else in my family happy. I’d spent years pushing men away and just focusing on my baby sister and me. I didn’t know what would happen now, but I missed her badly. Frustrated, I turned to my other side on the bed and rested against a thin pillow.
There was a point where I wondered what would happen if the man changed his mind. Would Ricky put me right back on the stage the following weekend? It was a lot of money to pay for a bride, and he might come to his senses if he were a normal man. My mind conjured up a lot of stories in all my free time, and some were terrifying. None of them had a happy conclusion since I wasn’t used to those to begin with.
It was sometime Sunday evening when the door opened, and I looked to see the woman who did our makeup entering the room, with her head turned as she spoke to someone. She came in and examined me, sprawled out on the bed as she set some bags down. “I see they still use the good rooms for this.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked as she sat down at the table.
“I heard about what happened and figured you might need some stuff. I brought some clothes, shower stuff, and some real food. I am guessing they’ve been giving you fast food all this time?”
I nodded. She pulled a container out of one of the bags and handed it to me with a fork as I sat up and stretched.
I opened it and found turkey and mashed potatoes with some vegetables. “This looks amazing.”
“It’s from the diner on the corner. It’s my comfort food, and it beats the shit out of the drive-thru around here that Ricky favors.” She watched me eat for a moment as I moaned over the delicious bites of real food. “Marriage, huh?” she said and smiled.
I looked at her. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know what to make of it.”
“It’s not the norm. Most of those guys are pigs looking for a fun night, maybe more.” She offered.
“How did you get out of it?” I asked as I looked her over.
She shrugged. “I wasn’t a virgin anymore so didn’t qualify any longer. And I’m not sick like Wendy. She’s asking for trouble and just needs to take the money and make her life better.” Another shrug.
“Why do you still work for Ricky?” I asked as I stabbed a carrot with my fork.
“I guess I just want to make sure that everyone is okay. I know I can’t do much for them once the night is over, but I like to h
elp the girls. I like to know what they look like.”
I heard the tone in her voice, and I looked at her, pausing in mid-bite. I raised my eyebrows as I realized what she was implying.
“I haven’t seen any of them on the news but with this operation going? Who knows?” she said with a tormented look on her face.
“Why don’t you walk away?” I asked her.
“I got through my night, and I just want the others to do the same. I ended up marrying my buyer a few months after the auction. We have some things in common, and he’s a decent man. I can only hope the same for you,” she offered as she held up her left hand with a diamond ring on it.
“I’m not going through with it,” I whispered. “How do I marry a stranger? I have a sister to take care of.”
She nodded. “They’re not all bad, though”
I wanted to believe her as I took another bite of food.
Chapter 7
Allen
I got a little sleep Saturday night and met Brandon for lunch Sunday at our favorite pub to go over the plan.
It was odd having a plan to collect my new possible wife, but nevertheless, I needed one. I dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt, ignoring the looks that women gave me as I strode through the door and to our usual table in the back. Brandon wasn’t there yet. I nodded at Laurie when she approached and asked me if I wanted the usual. I always had a beer or two here when it was my day off. Hell, some of the cops drank nightly at the local bar, so this seemed casual to me.
“Sounds great,” I replied as I looked at the menu automatically. I’d slept with the pretty redhead a time or two, and I felt her eyes hot on me today. I glanced up and dismissed her with my gaze. She blushed and walked over to the bar, making her hips sway along the way. Fucking women. I should be turned on by that, but I was distracted by hazel eyes and gorgeous curves today.