by Ashlee Price
Leaving Mariah in the room with the door locked, I went out to get a few provisions for her. I didn’t know what she was on, but I needed her to come down off of it enough so that I could see the whole picture. It was time that Mariah and I talked. No more games until I’d gotten this all figured out and the men involved were handled.
Maybe I would give Yousef a try. He was seemingly eager to help, and now that I knew he wasn’t working with Travis, I could possibly use him for something else. I needed someone local to help me get a hold of what I needed.
Chapter 35 – Mariah
The room I woke up in wasn’t the one I’d passed out in after the car had taken us from the airport. I only remembered a vague impression of it, and the wallpaper and carpeting were the same, but certain things were different enough that I knew I was somewhere else.
I waited for a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brighter light and then I looked for my captors. Travis wasn’t a client and this wasn’t a job. They had taken me against my will and left no doubt about what they wanted to do to me. I shivered at the thought of what was going to happen. All I could hope for was that I would somehow be able to get home. If I did, I was going to stay as far away from Elie and the club as humanly possible. I’d learned my lesson.
There was no one in the room, though. I looked around and I didn’t see anyone. My things were not there, and neither were the bags of tools that Travis had brought with him. I was trying to figure out what to do next, but getting up didn’t seem to be on the agenda. My mind told me to just get out of there as fast as I could, and I wanted to, but the drugs in my system made it hard to move, let alone run away.
I could feel the draw of sleep coming back to me. I wanted to sleep more than anything else. I needed to get out of there, but where would I go? I was in a foreign land and I didn’t even have my passport. Would I even be able to leave?
The problems compounded and before long I was exhausted just thinking about it. The need to leave was beaten by the need to sleep. I didn’t think about the consequences if I stayed. All I could think about was how I needed to close my eyes for just a little while longer.
***
“Come on, baby! You need to get up, Mariah. We have to get out of here now!”
The voice got through my foggy mind and I woke up to see Scott sitting on the edge of the bed next to me. He looked worried, about as worried as I felt, and I couldn’t figure out what he was so upset about.
“How did you get here?”
“There’s no time for that. We need to get out of here right now. I’ve got a car waiting downstairs. Can you walk?”
I hadn’t even attempted to get up in a while, so I wasn’t really sure about that.
“Come on, Mariah. I hate to rush you, I really do, but if we don’t get out of here before the police come, I don’t know if we’ll be able to.”
The mention of police had me waking up a little faster. I wanted the police there, didn’t I?
“How did you find me, Scott?”
Scott didn’t want to talk about details. He wanted to talk about me getting up and getting dressed. He practically dressed me when he realized how tired I was. “What the hell did they give you?”
I shrugged. I really had no idea. The more I thought about what could have happened, the more I couldn’t stop the tears that were rolling down my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here, Scott. I didn’t think I was ever going to see you or my country again. Travis brought me here drugged. Elie sold me to him for the week. He drugged me and dragged me to a car and the next thing I knew I was on a plane.”
“We’ll talk about this as much as you want later, Mariah. Right now we have to get out of here or we may not see America again.”
He was worried, and that made me move a little faster. Scott was always so calm, but he didn’t look calm anymore. I looked down at the hands that were pulling back the covers on the bed. They were bloodied and looked like they hurt. He had blood on his shirt, as well as a few drops on his face. I wanted to ask what had happened, but I was too afraid. I didn’t want to know at the moment. I just wanted to get out of there.
I moved as fast as I could, but I was still rushed and helped along by Scott. He pulled me out of the room as soon as I was covered up, and we started towards the stairs. Everything in me felt sluggish, and even with my heart slamming in my chest, I wasn’t able to keep up.
“I’m sorry, Scott. I don’t know what they did to me…”
“It’s okay. Don’t think about it. Let’s just think about getting out of here.”
I did as he said and made sure there wasn’t any room between the two of us. I didn’t want to know what happened if we didn’t get out of here in time. I could hear sirens in the distance. They sounded different from the ones I was used to, but I was sure that it was the police he’d told me about. I was convinced that they were heading in our direction. Relief washed over me when we reached Scott’s car and got in.
Scott told the driver to go to the airport right away. He was a little calmer, but there was still something in his voice that made me sit up and take notice. Scott was not the type to get overwhelmed easy. What had happened that made his face so pale and his hands shake a little as he sat next to me?
My hand went over his to try and calm him down. I did my best to make sure that I didn’t touch any of the wounds, but that was hard, because they were all over the tops of his hands.
“What happened, Scott?”
His eyes met mine for a moment and then he just shrugged. Scott wasn’t going to tell me. Not now and maybe not ever. I had to decide if that was a bad thing or a good thing.
“Let’s just get to the plane. Once we’re in the air, I’m not going to worry about this as much, but let’s get out of here first. I want to get off the ground. The laws here are a mess, and I don’t want to get dragged into anything.”
He was talking in riddles as far as I was concerned. It didn’t set my mind at ease at all. I just sat back in the seat and closed my eyes, sending up prayers of thanks that I was going to go home. I still didn’t know how it was possible, how he’d found me and why he’d done it all, but it didn’t matter. I was going home, and I was well aware of how lucky I was. I was finally going home.
Chapter 36 – Elie
“Scott. I see you’ve found her.”
Scott didn’t look very happy to see me. I’d heard from Travis’s men about what had happened in Dubai, so I can’t say that I was too surprised. I was more surprised that Scott had had the balls to start something, but I knew that it wasn’t going to end there. Travis was going to be back in a couple of days, and I already knew which side I was going to be on.
“She’s here for her money from the auction. Her cut, Elie, and then she’s not coming back here.”
“I think we should let the girl talk for herself. I didn’t know that she was going to be picking up a manager.”
“I’m not her manager. I love Mariah, and I’m not going to let her work here anymore.”
“Is that what she wants?”
“I didn’t want to go to Dubai with Travis, and you know it. You drugged me and forced me to go.”
I put my hands up like I was innocent. I wouldn’t have put it quite like that, but it was clear that she saw it that way. I would never admit to it. I didn’t have to. She knew that, and even though Scott was by her side now, that didn’t mean anything. He would get sick of her. She was only a whore, after all.
“I gave you an opportunity to make money. I don’t remember any kind of force being involved.”
Mariah was red in the face, and I could tell she was about to lose her cool. I didn’t blame Scott for wanting her. She was magnificent when she was mad, and the only regret I had was not buying her at the auction myself when I had a chance. Things could have been different if I’d ponied up the money. Maybe I could have made her want me like she did Scott. I was just as much of a man as he was.
“You’re lying!”
Sco
tt calmed her down. He was less emotional. After what he’d done to Travis, there was nothing that I wanted to start with him. I could end him like I’d done Greg, but there were too many witnesses who’d seen him come in, and he was too big of a name in this town to just disappear. Lisa and Greg were different because there hadn’t been any loved ones to really press a search. They were just written off as missing tourists. Scott was too visible for that.
“Now, Mariah, I can tell that you’re not ready to have a conversation about this yet.”
“Just give her the money that you owe her, and the money that you owe her roommate Sasha, and they’ll be out of your hair for good.”
I was losing both of my best girls in one swoop. My body was tense, and I wanted to do something about it. Who the hell did this man think he was?
“It will take me some time to get the money together.”
“The check cleared my bank, Elie, so I know that you’ve got the money.”
“I don’t keep that kind of money lying around. You know what kind of girls work here.”
Mariah made a face and I smiled back at her. “Are you sure you want to give this up, Mariah? Here you’re a star. In the streets you’re just another woman who’s getting older.”
“Yes, I’m sure. I hope you get closed down. No one deserves what you put us through.”
“I seem to remember you liked it. In fact, I’ve got tapes that prove that you’re a sick little girl with daddy issues.”
Scott was the one that came at me this time, and my hand went to the gun taped to the bottom of my desk. “Don’t come here acting like you’re going to take me out like you did Travis. I’m not as easy to catch unawares.”
His teeth were clenched and his jaw moved. “I promise you, Elie, that if you don’t give this girl the money I paid you for her, then I’ll make sure what I do you’ll never see coming.”
I sat back and smiled. The man didn’t know me very well, and his money didn’t mean shit to me. He might have more than I did, but the rich boy wasn’t going to talk to me like that. I didn’t take kindly to threats. I wasn’t going to give her any of her money anyway. Half of it was already spent in my mind. I just hadn’t gotten around to making the purchases. I certainly wasn’t going to let go of Sasha and her money, either. She’d been the one who brought the men in. Without her, I would lose too much business. This was not going to go down the way they thought it would.
“You do what you have to do. I’ll get you her money. It’s just going to take some time. Sasha, on the other hand, is not going to get hers. She has expenses that she owes me for. I think you need to talk to your friend before you come at me with all of this.”
Mariah wanted to give up, while Scott was looking at me as if he were considering breaking my face right here and now. I wouldn’t have stopped him, because then I could have sued him for everything he was worth, and that was a lot.
“Let’s get out of here, Scott. I told you that it was a waste of time.”
“I thought I would give you the option before I take care of this another way. You’ll regret not coming to a deal and forking over the money, Elie, that I promise you.”
“Promises, promises. I promise you that I won’t be as easy to take care of as Travis.”
Scott smiled in a way that made me a little nervous. He was so sure of himself that I had to wonder why. What did he know that I didn’t know?
“If that’s all… I’ve got a business to run. Tell Sasha that she needs to be in early Friday. Travis is back in town, and he was a little unsatisfied with his last order. I have to make sure that his appetite is fulfilled.”
“You and him are pieces of shit, and I’ll make sure that you get what’s coming to you, Elie.”
I smiled at Mariah. She’d had so much promise. I should have kept her far away from Scott. How was I to know that the man was going to fall in love with her and ruin everything?
“I look forward to it, Mariah. Of course, I’ve heard that all before from better women than you.”
They stormed out, and I almost burst out laughing because I knew there was nothing they could do. But something stopped me. The confidence on the man’s face had me questioning everything. What made him so damn sure of himself?
There was a bad feeling that came over me, but I decided I was just going to ignore it. That’s what Scott wanted. He was trying to get underneath my skin, and I wasn’t going to let him. I just had to let it all go. I was going to keep the money, but the rest of it I would have to walk away from. Travis would be smart to do so as well, although I doubt he would listen. It was far better for me to have the two of them battle it out. I would stay on the sidelines and out of the way. That was the best way I could think of for it all to work itself out. Better to let someone else get his hands dirty so I could keep mine as clean as possible.
But that look on Scott’s face… That damn look had me wondering what he had on me. What did he know that made him so smug?
Chapter 37 – Mariah
“I don’t really want to talk about it, Scott. I just want to forget that everything happened. I want to stop thinking about Elie and the club.”
“You were just going to leave, Mariah. I think that we need to talk about it. I need to know why you were so ready to go.”
It was hard to explain. I still hadn’t talked about it much. It was hard to think about everything that had happened. Elie wasn’t going to give up the cash. It had been a week since the whole ordeal was over, and I was ready to move on. Scott was not. He said it was a matter of principle. But as long as I stayed away from Elie and never had to see him again, there wasn’t much else I cared about.
“He’s just a scary guy. I learned early on that Elie would go to great lengths to get what he wanted. If he thought that you were a threat, he would have taken care of you like…” I stopped. I was telling him too much, and my voice cracked just thinking about it.
“Like who?”
“My ex.”
“Who?”
“He came down here after I left. I told Elie that he was trying to persuade me to come back and I didn’t want to go. I said that he was bothering me. Something happened between the two of them at his house. They were both shot, but Greg died.”
“Do you know for sure that he did it?”
“He told me he did. And Sasha heard it all happen. She saw the body getting taken out of the back and dumped in the trunk of a car. I’m pretty sure she knows where his body is, or at least how to find it. They were together, so she knows a lot about what happened that night.”
Scott shook his head and said something under his breath that I didn’t quite hear. “What?”
“Nothing. I think I’ve found a way to get rid of him for good.”
“Why can’t you just let it go?”
“I can’t let it go. He killed your ex and sold you to a monster. Considering all that he’s done, I don’t think that I can let it go, or that I should. I need to be able to look at myself in the mirror, and both of them have to be put down.”
He made me nervous when he talked like that. I didn’t know what had happened in Dubai, just that he’d come back to the hotel room with blood on him. I knew that it wasn’t his blood, and it didn’t take much of a guess to realize that it was Travis’s. I didn’t have the courage to ask either way, though.
“I just want to forget about it all, Scott. There’s a lot that I’ve done that I’m not proud of. He has tapes of me, of us, and I know that he would use them if he felt like it would help his cause. I don’t want to give him a reason. He would do it just because, if we went after him. That’s just how he is. I thought you were worried about your reputation?”
“I’m more worried about the next girl that he abuses. I can’t let it go with a clean conscience. He’s just going to do it again and again unless someone stops him.”
“It doesn’t have to be you, Scott.”
“No, it needs to be us.”
There was no arguing with him. I tol
d him all that I knew about what had happened with Greg. Scott wrote things down and said something about talking to his lawyer. He wanted everything done right, although he wouldn’t tell me what he was thinking about doing.
When we got to talking about Travis, I told him about all of the things I’d heard. I didn’t tell him everything that he’d done to me, or what Sasha had said. Those were things that didn’t ever have to be brought to the light of day. But I did tell him about Lisa and how Elie had said something about it before to me. It was almost common knowledge in the club.
“Do you think the girls would rat on him?”
“A lot of them are still loyal, the ones who haven’t seen the bad side of him, but I would think that if there was a good chance that he was going to be taken out of commission, more would talk. They’re afraid of him, it’s just that simple.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of him anymore, Mariah. I’m going to make sure that he never hurts another woman in his life.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Scott just shrugged and pulled me to him. “Don’t you trust me?”
“I trust you with my life, daddy.”
He groaned and kissed me before I could get away from him. I’d been staying at his house since we got back. We hadn’t had the talk about what was going to happen next. He told me he loved me, and that was more than enough to keep me satisfied. Scott was everything that I could have possibly wanted and more. Sometimes he was hard to keep up with.
***
I watched the news with my mouth hanging open. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the screen. Scott had been gone a lot this week. He said that it was because of work, and I think it partially was, but there was something else going on as well. Lawyers had been to the house several times, as well as a couple of men who introduced themselves as investigators. I didn’t know if they were hired by Scott or if they worked for the police department. All I knew was that something was going on and Scott wasn’t sharing it.