by Ashlee Price
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 told 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 h
ard 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.
Now I knew what. Elie and Travis were doing a perp walk and the police were smiling as if they had caught somebody important. He wasn’t that important, neither one of them was, but the charges were shocking. Both men were being arrested for murder. Scott had promised not to bring up my and Sasha’s ordeals with Elie and Travis, but he hadn’t agreed not to tell about the rest.
The prosecutor made a statement in which he guaranteed a conviction. Apparently he had an iron-clad case, and I had a feeling that it was Scott who’d made sure he did. I wouldn’t have doubted that he’d done it all and handed it to the man. Now he was going to get the two of them out of the city where they couldn’t harm anyone again. He’d done what he said he was going to do.
I sat down on the couch and watched several reels of footage. There were a few reporters at the club and just seeing the place on the TV gave me a bit of a chill. It was actually happening. Scott had talked about it a little, but I hadn’t really thought he would do it.
I don’t know how long I sat there watching the same information over and over again. It was big news in New Orleans. Travis was one of the richest businessmen here, and Elie was just notorious in his own way. Between the two of them, it became clear that nothing else was going to run at the moment. This was the only story today, and I was transfixed where I sat.
Later there were reports that a mysterious fire had broken out at the club. I had to wonder who had started the fire. I saw several girls there in the background of the on-scene footage. I hoped that everyone had gotten out safely, and I tried to call Sasha to see if she knew what was going on. There was no answer on her phone and I started to worry.
I didn’t have long to worry, though. Scott was soon home, and he pulled me from the scenes on the screen.
“You don’t need to look at that anymore, Mariah. I’ve got something more important for you to do.”
I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he pulled me closer for a proper kiss. It was our little tradition, and so was the way his hands were manipulating the bare cheeks of my ass.
“Anything for you, daddy.”
~The End for Now ~
Epilogue: The Virgin’s Dom
Sasha
“I’m so happy that I can be a part of this, Sasha. I was a little hesitant when you told me that you were going to buy the club. I should have known that you would have something great in mind.”
Mariah was gushing, and though I was proud of the club now, it wasn’t called the Fetish Club anymore. That part of the place had vanished when the building burned to the ground. Now it was something fresh and new. Now this place was going to be a place to heal, not a place to suffer like it had been before.
“I’m glad you like it. I know that some of the other girls are still not sure what to think of it all, but I know that it’s for the best. I still have to see stories about Elie in the paper, and it still gets my heart rate going high.”
“Yeah, but did you see the latest news? I heard that Elie rolled on Travis to get a lesser sentence, but he’s still going to be sent away for the rest of his life. He’ll be almost sixty when he gets out of there.”
I just nodded. I didn’t think that twenty-five years was enough time for the man, not after everything that he’d put the girls that worked for him through. I could have gotten him more time, me and many of the other girls could have if we’d wanted to, but we hadn’t. I didn’t want to go on a stand and admit to all of the terrible things that he’d done to me. It felt like I’d let it happen, and I was always going to feel shame for not standing up for myself more than that. I should have known what I was getting into. I should have left so long before.
“I’m glad that he got life. I just wish that life was longer.”
“Well, he’s never going to mess with us again. That’s all I care about. I wouldn’t even have cared if I never got that money back, although I don’t know how you got it before that fire started.”
It occurred to me that I hadn’t told her the truth. I’d been too busy trying to save the money that he’d stolen from all of us that I hadn’t even thought about the consequences of the fire. When I saw all the tapes that he had of all of us, I thought of all of the blackmail material that was there. Having all that in his hands was the very last thing I wanted to deal with at the moment. So I did the only thing that came to mind. I had to get rid of the evidence, and fire seemed like the most fitting way to do it.
“Well, it was just good timing that no one was in there when the place went up. It burnt down fast.”
“I heard a rumor that it was one of the girls that did it. Do you think that’s true?”
I looked at my friend and wondered if she knew or if she was really trying to figure it out. “I don’t know. There’s no telling who did it, Mariah. That was months ago, and I try not to think about any of it anymore.”
“Me too, but it’s hard not to when we’re here.”
The opening of the Southern Battered Women’s Shelter was today, and I was so glad that Mariah and many of the other girls were there for the launch. It was because of all of them that I’d taken most of my money and set the place up. I’d wanted a shop to sell my clothes in for as long as I could remember, but everyone had to get a new dream. Now I just wanted to help people in the same position I’d found myself in.
It had taken a month in rehab and lord only knows how much therapy to get to this day. I had the resources because of Scott. I wanted other women to have the same chance of getting out of an abusive relationship like I’d done. No women should have to go through that. It was a fight that I was willing to take on for the good of everyone. I’d found a strength that I didn’t know I had. Now it wasn’t going anywhere.
“I know it’s hard to come back here, but I thought that this was the perfect place for it. I want this place to be a good one now. There will be new memories to make here. You’re still going to come in once and a while and help, right?”
She said she would, and I made the comment, “Even though you’re a kept woman?”
“I’m not kept.”
Mariah was kept, whatever she might say, but I was happy for her and Scott. It seemed that all of the girls had found someone. Even Kallie, who’d only been in town a couple of months, was living with her new boyfriend. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for all of that. I didn’t know when I would be ready for more than just a one-night stand. I had too much inside still to work through. One day I would be ready. That’s what I told myself, anyway.
“Is Kallie going to be here?”
“Yeah, her and Kimmie are doing some last minute work on the decorations for tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kimmie so happy in all of her life.”
“Me either. I hope that when I get married I’m as happy as her. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled the way that she does.”
“You do, Mariah, all of the time. Every time you start talking about Scott, all you can do is smile. It’s a little sickening.”
She acted like she took offense, but we both knew that I was just joking. While I never would have imagined it possible with a man from the club, I had a feeling that Scott had always been different. Maybe I’d been wrong. Either way, I was happy for my friend. I was happy for all of them.
“I’m just happy, is all. I didn’t think I was ever going to be happy again, but somehow it all worked out.”
It hadn’t worked out as smoothly for me, but I was okay with that. I was okay with whatever path had gotten me
here, because I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be. It was a hard road, but one that I knew was worth traveling.
“I wish things had worked out better for you, Sasha.”
“Things are good. I built this place, and with the grand opening, I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be too busy to worry about men for a while. I’ve had enough of them for a time. Kallie is going to come and help me out when she isn’t working, and I know I’ll see you and Kimmie around. Other girls from the club are going to help. It’s good. Sometimes happy endings don’t have to have a man in them.”
I believed my words more than she did, and I was okay with that as well. I’d found some weird sense of acceptance that was hard not to appreciate. I was done worrying and ready to just let things work out the way they were going to.
“You’re going to do good things here, Sasha. I just know you are. I hate that there’s a need for a place like this, but I think what we went through is far more common than it should be. There are a lot of women out there who need a place like this, a safe place. I wonder if Elie knows what happened to his club?”
I smiled and told her that I was sure he did.
“How do you know?”
“I went and saw him about a week ago. He didn’t look very good. I don’t think that prison life is agreeing with him.”
She smiled back at me. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t help being happy about it. I liked to think that maybe he was being forced to do some things that he didn’t want to do. It only seemed fair.
“Well, if you ever go back there, make sure to tell him that I said hi.”
I wasn’t going back there, ever, and I told her that. The last thing I was going to do was look at that man again. That part of my life was over, and I was committed to bigger and better things now.
Scott
I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Mariah wasn’t paying attention to me. All of her friends were gathered around, talking about the wedding that had just taken place. The three women were waiting for Kimmie to come out with her groom, and I was left standing there lost without my sunshine near me. I didn’t see the other two women standing with her, not really. All I had eyes for was the blonde beauty across the way.