by Ashlee Price
What was wrong with me? I was there and she was just on the other side of the wall. Had I let the captain get into my head? Was that why it was so hard to move? Maybe I needed to observe things for a little while and see what was going on before I charged ahead.
Chapter 16 – Mariah
“Do you know who keeps calling, Kimmie? Did you break up with your boyfriend or what?”
“No, I haven’t. Why do you think that it’s for me? It could be for you or Sasha. You’re the ones who see more than one guy at a time.”
“Damn, that’s a low blow.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t know who keeps calling. I’ve answered it twice and there was no one there. It’s starting to get to me too.”
After three days of random hang-up calls, it was becoming clear that one of us had a stalker on our hands. Kimmie was right, of course. She always was. It was more than likely someone for me or Sasha. I didn’t think that it was anyone that I knew. No one would want to get ahold of me that much. But you never know. I hadn’t heard from Scott since the last time I’d seen him at the club. Anyone else, I really didn’t care.
“Well, I don’t know what to do. They’re coming through as private.”
“Since you changed your cell number, I thought that you knew who was calling all of the time.”
“What do you mean I changed my cell number?”
She pulled out her phone and dialed my number in front of me. I thought that the phone in my pocket was going to ring, but it never did. Taking it out of there, I looked on the screen and there was nothing. Kimmie was putting it up to my ear and letting me hear the recording saying that the phone number – my phone number – had been disconnected.
“Did you not pay your bill or something?”
I looked at her like she was talking nonsense. Of course I’d paid my bill. What was she thinking?
“I don’t know why they would cancel my number. That’s so weird, right?”
Kimmie nodded that it was. “I tried a couple of times. I was a little tipsy when it first came back like this, you know how I am. I thought I’d messed up the dialing, but now I know it wasn’t just me.”
“No, I didn’t know it had changed. I need to call them and see what happened. The phone is still on, though. It just doesn’t make any sense. I was trying to figure out why it was so quiet and no one had been texting or calling. At least now I know.”
Kimmie couldn’t understand what I was smiling about. I’d been so worried that I hadn’t heard from Scott, but now I knew that it was all a mistake. He hadn’t been calling because there had been some kind of fluke with the phone company. I didn’t care about the phone or anything else now that I knew Scott wasn’t mad or avoiding me. I would see him next week, and I couldn’t wait. The only thing I wished was that I had asked him for his number instead of giving him mine. Not that it would take much to find him. He was a powerful man, after all.
“What are you grinning about?”
“Nothing, I just thought someone wasn’t calling me, but I guess it’s because my phone is messed up. I didn’t see that one coming. I thought for sure he was just ignoring me.”
“Is it one of your clients? You’re not going to be like Sasha and fall in love with one of them, are you?”
I wanted to tell her that I wasn’t going to fall for one of them. It was a bad idea, after all, but the fact was that I had already fallen for him in a way. It wasn’t going to get any better, and if I had my way, I would want more than what Sasha had. I wouldn’t want to be with Scott if he was going to be with other women.
“Yes, but he’s more than a client.”
Kimmie rolled her eyes and told me that she didn’t know how I did it. I was thinking about Scott and I got sidetracked again. She had to rein it back in, and before long I was on my way to a restaurant for lunch. I hadn’t been off in a while, and all I’d wanted to do was sleep.
“Come on, Mariah, you need to get out. You’re even paler than usual.”
***
“You’re just seeing things. What would Greg be doing here?”
“I don’t know, but I swear I saw him when we were leaving the restaurant.”
I could tell that she didn’t believe me. There were hundreds of thousands of people in New Orleans, and more than likely there were one or two who looked like my ex. But something was nagging at me. It was all too coincidental. I didn’t put much stock in coincidence, so I had to go with the other possibilities, whether they made immediate sense or not.
“You’re just being paranoid. Are you sure you’re okay? You haven’t been acting like yourself lately. I just wonder what’s going on with you.”
“Nothing, I’m just a little spooked because I could have sworn that I saw him.”
“I know you think you did, but that doesn’t tell me what he would be doing here.”
“I don’t know. Greg has a side of him that you wouldn’t expect. That’s why I left when he was gone. There was no way that I wanted to face him right then to break up.”
“He didn’t hit you or anything, did he?”
“No, it was never anything like that, although I know there were times when he wanted to. I could just see it in his eyes, but he never really touched me out of anger. I just… I don’t know if he’s the type to not let things go. Sometimes I wondered if he would try to chase me down. You know, the whole ‘if I can’t have you no one can’ scenario.”
“I never got that vibe from him. He has a job. I mean, he can’t just take off whenever he wants to chase you around. I’m sure that it was just someone that looked like him.”
“You’re probably right.” I said it at the same time my stomach knotted thinking about it. I just had a feeling that Greg was around and sooner or later I was going to have to have it out with him. I don’t know why I was so nervous. I didn’t think he would hurt me, but Greg was known for his threats and he got particularly vicious when things didn’t go his way. He also knew far too much about my past for me to be at all comfortable.
***
The hang-up calls kept coming. I still wasn’t sure who it was, but each time I got one I imagined that it was Greg. I still couldn’t quite figure out what he was doing, but knowing him he was investigating me. That was what he did as a cop, and I didn’t like the idea that I was his target now. He was really good at his job.
Then I thought about what he would think when he found out what I did now. It wouldn’t take much to figure it out. In fact, chances were that if he was already down south, he already knew anyway. What did he want, then? If he knew what I was doing, and that I was no longer the delicate girl he’d fallen in love with, what could he possibly want from me now?
I called into work and told Elie that I wasn’t feeling well. The two days off had given me a lot of time to think, and I’d come to the conclusion that I needed to try to figure out what was going on in my life. But there was more to it than that. I couldn’t think when Elie was trying to sell me off to the highest bidder.
He wasn’t happy that I canceled, but he didn’t give me too much lip about it. All he said was that the next time I came in we’d have a lot to talk about. I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to like the conversation, but it was about time that we did have a talk. If I was going to keep working at the club, things were going to have to change.
The knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. I didn’t even check the peephole. The girls were out dancing, and I half figured that it was them and they had misplaced their keys again. Considering that we’d had to get a few extra ones already, it wasn’t that far out of the realm of possibility.
The words on my lips stopped when I saw who was at the door. What was he doing here?
“Greg?”
“Mariah! God, it’s good to see you! You don’t know how much I’ve missed you and how worried I was when you took off. I was afraid I was never going to see you again!”
He pulled me in for a kiss, and I was too shocked that he was there t
o stop him. I could feel the familiar pull that my body had to his. He’d given me many nights of pleasure, and even though I didn’t want to go back, my body was all ready for him in seconds. The kiss was broken when I realized what he was doing and what I was doing. We weren’t together anymore.
“Wait, Greg. I don’t know what you’re doing here, but this is not going to happen anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I left because it wasn’t working out. Did you really think that you were going to come chase me down and everything was going to be okay?”
His face changed to the one I’d seen over and over again when I told him no. Greg was nice and all of that, but once he was told no to something that he wanted, everything about his demeanor changed. Now was one of those times.
“I came a long way to see you, Mariah. Are you not going to let me in?”
He’d come a long ways and he looked good. There was a familiarity with him that I didn’t have with anyone else, and I was moving back to let him in before I really thought about it. After everything that Greg had done for me, I at least owed him that much. I needed to hear him out, and then I would give him whatever answers that he needed. I had no intention of going backwards, though.
“Come in, Greg, but I’m telling you now, it’s not going to be like old times.”
Greg didn’t look very happy, and I didn’t blame him. I wasn’t making anything easy on him, and I certainly wasn’t going to fall into his arms like I suspected he thought I would. Did he really think that just because he’d come down here I was going to be all beside myself trying to get back with him?
“I don’t want it to be like old times, Mariah. I want it to be better. Not having you was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever gone through, but it showed me how much I really love you, Mariah. It showed me that we were meant to be together.”
Chapter 17 – Elie
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but you have to come into work. I give you a couple of days off and now you’re asking for another one? You’re going to have to give me a better reason than you don’t feel like coming in. That’s not going to cut it, Mariah.”
“Elie, I can’t.”
“Why, what’s going on?” There was a tone in her voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stick up. Something was wrong, and I had to get to the bottom of it, one way or another. I had big plans for Mariah, and I couldn’t go through with them until I got her in the club to talk about it. I knew that once she heard what my plans were she would be willing to do what was necessary to benefit both of us, but I had to get her there first.
“It’s not really anything that I can talk about over the phone. I just don’t know how much longer I’m going to be in the city.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
My mind was racing with possibilities, and I was half-tempted to send Bruno over there to make sure that she didn’t leave. I was not above holding on to her until she started to see things my way.
“Just someone that I used to know popped back into my life, and he’s making a lot of threats. If I don’t go, I don’t know what he’ll do to me.”
“You think he’s going to hurt you?”
She snorted like the thought was preposterous, but I couldn’t understand what was bothering her so much. If he wasn’t going to hurt her, then what did he have to threaten her with?
“No, it’s not like that. I just… I don’t know, Elie. I have to figure this out and then I can come back in. I know that I might not have a job then, but I’ll still see.”
“That’s not going to work, Mariah. You need to go ahead and tell me what’s going on. I’ll come there if you want. You’re at Sasha’s, right?”
She told me that it was fine, but I was more than willing to go see what was going on with her. I needed to convince her that the last thing she needed to do was run off. Whoever it was, they could be taken care or, just like the problem that she thought she had. Maybe this was my moment to find my way in.
“No, it’s fine.”
“If you’re not coming in to work, it’s not fine. Tell me what’s going on or I’ll be over in a few minutes. We need to work this out and get you back on the books. I have too many people that want to see you, Mariah. What’s causing you all of this trouble?”
“It’s my ex.”
“Well, that’s no big deal. Does he know where you work now?”
“Yes, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“Well, if he’s just an ex and he finds out you work for me, I’m sure he’ll leave you alone.”
“Greg’s from Michigan, and he’s a cop.”
That was a little more complicated. A cop couldn’t just disappear like most other people could. His brother officers, especially his partner, would never stop looking for him. I was going to have to be smart on this one.
“So what’s he blackmailing you with?”
“I did something a long time ago and Greg knows about it. He could tell on me and I’d go to jail. That’s what he’s holding over my head. My hands are tied and he knows it. There’s nothing that I can do.”
“Mariah, there’s always something that can be done. This situation is no different.”
I wanted to ask her what she’d done, but I decided that I didn’t need to know. It really didn’t matter what she had in her past. I didn’t care. I didn’t like the idea of dealing with a cop, but he was a long way from his jurisdiction, and I could send a message that wouldn’t cause half of the police force to look into it. I was already planning what I was going to do next.
“You don’t understand, Elie. Greg is kind of scary.”
She didn’t know me very well, and I was glad that she still saw me as harmless. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone was so wrong about me, and I was sure that it wouldn’t be the last. I didn’t have to act scary. I had hired thugs who would get their hands dirty so I didn’t have to.
“Don’t you worry about him, Mariah. Just tell me his name and where he’s staying, and I’ll make sure to take care of it.”
“I don’t know where he’s at, Elie. That’s the thing. He just showed up last night, although I think he has been following me, because I saw him while I was out the other day. I just want to get out of town for a little while. I can’t deal with him, and he told me he was going to give me a day to think about it before he called it in. I know that he’ll do it if I’m still here when he comes back.”
“He’s going to meet you at your house?”
She told me that he was, which sounded perfect to me. I wouldn’t have to worry about chasing him down because he was going to come to me.
“You get out of there for the night and come in. Or you can come and stay with me, but I’ll make sure that someone is there tomorrow to send a message for you. You don’t have to be afraid, Mariah. I told you that I was going to take care of you, and I meant it. There’s no need for you to go anywhere.”
She didn’t sound entirely convinced, but she would after I did exactly what I promised. I was going to make sure that everything was taken care of.
“What are you going to do to him?”
“I don’t think we need to talk about all of that.”
There was a pause on the other end. I’d forgotten how delicate she was. Even after being at the club for over a month, she didn’t have the hardness that many of the other girls had or developed. Mariah was just so fragile, and I think that was why I felt so protective over her. It was one of the reasons that I wanted to help. That, and to get on her good side so that she’d agree to what I wanted her to do.
“I don’t want him to be hurt, Elie. Greg helped me out when I needed him most, and I don’t want to see him hurt.”
That was exactly what I was going to do. It was the only way to really send a message, and even though he was a cop, I was more worried about Mariah leaving than what would happen with that.
“I’ll do my best not
to.”
“You have to promise me.”
“Mariah, you’re ready to leave the city because of this guy. I think that you need to worry more about you than him. If he’s threatening you and trying to blackmail you, it’s beyond your control what happens.”
She was quiet for a time, and I reminded her that it was all going to be okay. I knew that this guy wasn’t going to be a problem, not to me and my guys. The only thing that was going to make it hard to deal with was what he did for a living. That was the only part of the new plan that bothered me. A cop was harder to get rid of. But not impossible.
Mariah tried to get me to tell her what I was going to do, but I wouldn’t come clean with anything. She didn’t need to know the details.
“Don’t worry about any of it, Mariah. You’ve told me and now I’ll take care of it. This is what we do for each other here at the club, Mariah. We’re like a family, so we help each other out.”
“Thank you, Elie. I don’t even know what to say right now. I was sure that I was going to have to leave town, and I don’t want to start over somewhere else.”
“You won’t have to, Mariah. We’re going to take care of everything.”
Mariah thanked me again before she hung up and I was left to think about the unexpected developments. I needed Mariah to do some things for me, and now that she was going to owe me, I had the perfect idea of what going to be payback. I already had something in mind.
Sitting back in the seat, I was trying to figure out how everything had changed. Here I was worried about how I was going to maximize my profits from Mariah and the idea of it came to me. Now all I had to worry about was one man who happened to be a cop. It was a lot easier than trying to convince Mariah to give up her virginity. Once I got it taken care of with Greg, I was going to be able to use that to my advantage. The whole ‘family’ speech was going to be helpful later.
I made a few calls and rounded up a few bad men. I needed to find out where this cop was and a little bit more about him before I made my move. It was hard to do anything in New Orleans without everyone else finding out about it, but I did have a few people that I trusted with such information.