by Nikki Chase
“You said you were going to call your brother. Nervous, my little flower? You’re starting to mix everything up .”
“No! I mean, yes, I was going to call my brother, but he lives with my roommate, and she was the one who picked up the phone .”
“Okay. I don’t care what your phony excuse is. Just tell me this, if it wasn’t you, then who was it? Who else was in here besides you ?”
“There was Bertha last night.” She quickly adds, “But she didn’t go into your room. I’m sure it wasn’t her. I’m sure there’s another explanation .”
“Yes, it doesn’t make any sense, does it? Just admit it. I won’t hurt you or anything. My family doesn’t do that anymore, in case you haven’t heard. I’m sure you just did it for the money, so tell me, who paid you ?”
“Caine! I would never do that to you !”
“Bullshit!”
She goes silent. Then, suddenly, her eyes light up with realization. “Oh!” She exclaims, covering her mouth with both hands .
How convincing. What a good actress. Maybe she’s been acting during sex, too. Is she even a real nurse? I wonder when this whole ruse started .
Did someone approach her at the party when I first gave her my business card? We were in a public place and I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. It could’ve been anyone, and I know I had lots of rivals at that party alone .
“Todd,” Daisy says when she finally opens her lips .
Is it crazy that, even in this moment, I want to crush those lips with mine and jam my cock in there? Maybe even more than usual, now that I’m fueled by anger .
“How do you even know him?” I speak in a calmer voice now. Having seen her true colors, I know not to pay attention to anything she says .
“He came by one day, when you were away. He said he’s your cousin, and he needed to use the bathroom, so he went into your room .”
I’m disappointed. It’s not even a good lie .
Todd doesn’t just visit ; we’re not so close that we see each other outside work and family stuff. We don’t hang out together or anything .
Besides, I have another bathroom outside that Todd could’ve used. There’s no reason for him to enter my bedroom .
“So you met Todd at my father’s house the other day, right? And now you think you can blame him. Pretty smart. I have to admit that .”
“No, I swear I’m telling the truth. He did come here once .”
“Okay, give me my phone.” I open the photo gallery and find a picture we took together for a company website. I point at Todd’s face. “This guy ?”
“Yes.”
“There’s no reason why Todd would do something like that to me. His father has been working for my father for decades, and he worked for my grandfather before that. He’s practically part of the family. My brother and I have called him Uncle Nathan since we were little. Todd’s an annoying fuckface, but you really think I’d believe your words over his? You’re pretty, but you think too highly of yourself, my little flower .”
“Did you say Nathan ?”
“Yes.” I should kick her out, but I can’t wait to hear what lies she’s going to tell me about good old Uncle Nathan .
“Bertha mentioned a Nathan. She said someone called Nathan threatened her, blackmailed her into giving you up to the Fosters .”
I drag air into my constricted chest .
It’s about the money. It’s always about the money with these girls. They don’t even have a sense of loyalty when it comes to who they work for. Have they never heard the advice to never bite the hands that feed you ?
“I’ve heard enough. I want you to leave. Now .”
“I’ll come back tonight. I swear .”
“I don’t want you to come back. I have no need for yet another money-grabbing whore. Sasha will send your stuff back tomorrow .”
Daisy flinches. Obviously my words have hit her where it hurts. Good .
She hesitates, but she soon runs to her room to get some of her stuff and bolts out the door, probably afraid of what I’d do to her now that I know she’s just another liar .
Ironic, really. I haven’t hurt her. Manipulated her into having sex with me, maybe, but she liked it—or she appeared to have liked it, anyway .
She’s the one who attacked me for no reason, just when I was starting to think I could trust her .
Caine
“P lease, if you won’t talk to me, at least take me to your father. You said he wants to see me,” Bertha pleads just outside my apartment door .
I shouldn’t have opened the door at all, but she was annoying me with the incessant pressing of the bell button. I was in the middle of sweeping the apartment for more bugs, and I needed some silence to continue working .
Some professionals will come and do the job properly tomorrow, but I don’t like the idea of sleeping in an apartment that has been compromised. Who knows what else they’ve planted ?
How could I have been so careless? I should’ve known better than to leave a girl alone in my apartment when I haven’t even run her profile through the usual checks .
“Please, Caine. I beg you.” Bertha’s eyes well up with tears. She clasps her hands together in front of her chest, so tight her knuckles are turning white .
“Fine,” I finally say. It’s probably a good idea to spend the night at Pop’s anyway, now that my apartment is fucked .
Then, once I deliver this woman to him, I can wash my hands off this bullshit. I don’t need more complications in my life .
“Really? Oh, thank you very much.” Bertha spreads her arms and pulls me into a hug .
I stand there awkwardly, waiting for her to let go .
I don’t really want to have anything to do with her. After tonight, I won’t have to see her again. Pop can find her himself next time if he really wants to see her that badly .
* * *
“N athan did what ?” Pop raises his voice, shocked and outraged by what Bertha has just told him, which is basically the same thing Daisy told me back at the apartment before she left .
“It’s true,” Bertha says. “He told me he knew where to find my family. He implied that he was going to, I don’t know, do something really bad to us if I didn’t give up the baby .”
“Jesus Christ,” Pop curses .
“You know how it was in those days, Robbie. I was worried about my dad getting beaten up in some alley, my mom disappearing, never to be found again .”
Shocking as the revelation is, I almost choke when she calls him “Robbie .”
He’s too wrapped up in the old stories to notice my reaction, though. He says, “If I knew that snake was up to something, I would’ve — ”
“Oh, let’s not get started with the should’ve, could’ve, would’ve. There’s no end to it,” Bertha says. “What matters is right now, and I think we’re all relatively happy people, living happy lives, right ?”
I have to admit, that’s a pretty cool thing to say, especially knowing she just lost her daughter last year .
Pop’s smile grows so wide I almost don’t recognize him. Who is this guy ?
“Birdy,” he says, taking her hand in his. “You were always so wise .”
This is, without a doubt, the strangest moment in my life now .
“Can I get some explanations, please?” I speak up. This lovey-dovey atmosphere is starting to piss me off. “Why would Uncle Nathan do that? I’ve never known him to do anything against us .”
“You mean against the family, Caine,” Pop says. “Birdy wasn’t family. Nora was family. I’m ashamed to admit this, but I was cheating on Nora, and Nathan was doing what he thought was best for the family .”
“I’ve also always suspected that he had feelings for Nora,” Bertha says .
“Right. That, too,” Pop agrees .
“Wait, so he went against you , Pop ?”
“Well, in those days, the head of the family was your grandfather. His first priority was his daughter, of co
urse. And a cheating son-in-law had to be put in his place .”
“And you were okay with that ?”
“Of course I wasn’t,” Pop says. “But, you see, it wasn’t just about Birdy and me anymore. There was you to think about. There were our families, our parents, our siblings. We’d be putting all of them at risk if we incurred your grandfather’s wrath .”
He pauses and swallows, his eyes focused on something in the distance. He takes a deep breath before he says, “I was depressed for a long time after that. But over the years, I learned to work with your grandfather and Nathan again .
“When your grandfather passed, I thought about letting Nathan go, but he was such a big part of the business by then, and the whole thing happened so long ago, and I also knew Nora wouldn’t have been too happy about that .”
My heart beats faster in my chest. I’ve been operating under the assumption that Uncle Nathan and Todd were one of us, that they wouldn’t do anything to seriously harm us under any circumstances .
Now, I’m not sure what they are anymore .
“Do you think Uncle Nathan, or Todd, or both of them, would be capable of betraying us?” I ask .
“Oh, definitely. That’s why I’ve always kept a close eye on them,” Pop says .
I expected him to say yes, but not that quickly or confidently .
“Lately, I’ve been lax on that because of my illness, but I should probably — ”
I cut him off before he can finish his sentence. I have another urgent question. “So if I were to tell you that I found out my bedroom’s been bugged, and there’s a chance that Todd was there, do you think it’s possible that he did it ?”
“Absolutely.”
Daisy
“L ook who decided to pay us a visit,” says a guy standing by the pool table. He has a long wooden cue stick in his hand. That thing looks like it’ll work as a weapon in a pinch—not that these guys would ever find themselves short on real weapons .
“I’m here to see Chad.” I squint, my eyes still adjusting from the bright sunlight outside. The smoke in this bar doesn't help my vision. What is this, the nineties? Who smokes indoors anymore ?
“Chad will be happy to hear that. He’s been missing you,” cue stick guy says. He yells out his boss’ name as he looks me up and down, his gaze tracing my hips and ass through my skinny jeans .
When Chad walks out of his office at the back of this dingy bar and sees me, he grins. I guess he really does miss me .
“What were you doing at my apartment?” I walk toward him with my hands balled into fists by my side, the adrenaline coursing through my veins making me bold .
“Let's talk somewhere private, sweetheart,” Chad says as he drapes his arm around my shoulders .
I flinch, repulsed by his uninvited touch, but I let him take me to his office. Chad may be an asshole, but he likes money and he wouldn't harm me when I'm just about to pay him .
“Take a seat.” Chad takes a seat behind his old, scratched up wooden desk and gestures at the folding chair across from him. He sneers and pats his thighs. “Or you can sit on my lap if you want .”
“We had an agreement,” I say as I sit on the folding chair. The cushion is thin and compacted, some of the yellow foam peeking out from underneath the red, torn fabric. “I pay you back in full in a few days, and you leave my family alone .”
“I changed my mind.” Chad shrugs casually, showing no remorse for having broken his word and scared the hell out of Jack and Katie. He looks around the room with exaggerated movements and asks, “Do you think this place needs some redecorating ?”
I glare at him. “You’re going to leave my family alone .”
“Oh yeah? Or what?” He puts a cigarette between his lips and strikes his lighter on the side, making a flicking metal sound .
“Or nothing! I’ll pay you what I owe you and you'll leave me alone .”
“You have $45,000 in cash?” He puts the lighter back on the table and leans back in his chair with the lit cigarette .
“It's $40,000.” I shake with anger, my voice becoming unsteady .
“You seem like a smart girl, but you don't seem to understand the concept of interest.” He inhales deeply through his poison stick. I imagine him with black lungs and severed digits like the people I see on smoking PSAs .
“If I give you $45,000, will you leave us alone?” I’m probably not going to see the remaining half of Caine's money and what I have won't be enough to put Jack through college, but I can at least pay off my debts and start saving up my salary .
“I don't know, sweetheart. Seems like your new sugar daddy has way more money than that .”
My heart drops. The tips of my fingers and toes turn cold. “What are you talking about ?”
“Ouch!” Chad puts a hand over his chest like he's hurt. “You left me for someone with more money, and now you're lying to me? I thought what we had meant something .”
“What are you talking about?” I repeat. I wonder if he's been spying on me .
“Caine Foster, sweetheart,” he says with a big grin on his face. He raises his unibrow. “You caught a big fish. Congratulations .”
I stare at him angrily while the gears in my head turn. Maybe I can use this to my advantage. “I didn't want to bring it up before because I wanted to be fair to you and pay off my debt. If you know Caine Foster, you know he's got people. Your guys are nothing compared to them. He won't be happy with the way you're treating me .”
“Is that so?” Chad leans forward in his chair, his interest renewed by my threat. “That sounds scary and all, but I don't give a flying fuck. You know why? Because he's a dead man .”
My heart stops. I’m frozen in place with my jaw open .
He has to be bluffing, right? Like I just did before? There's no way Chad Murray has the manpower, or firepower, required to do anything to Caine .
In my haze, I almost miss the sound of the door opening softly behind me, but I snap back to reality when I hear a familiar voice, a voice that isn't supposed to belong here in Chad’s dingy bar .
“Hi, Daisy .”
I turn around .
Todd stands in the doorway, blocking my exit .
He’s holding a gun in his hand, pointing it right at me .
Caine
“D aisy!” I knock on her apartment door .
It took me a while to get here. I was waiting downstairs for ages for someone to let me in until, finally, a woman with four heavy grocery bags climbed up the stairs. I helped her carry the bags and slipped into the building with her .
“Daisy! Open the door!” I knock again impatiently .
I know she took her cell phone with her when she left my apartment, but she didn’t pick up when I called. It just rang forever and went to her voicemail .
She must hate me now. I’d hate me if I were her .
I imprisoned her in my home and used her like a sex doll and yelled at her about only doing it for the money .
Of course she’d only put herself through that for the money. Why would she willingly put herself in that vulnerable position for nothing ?
I told her she was just a liar like everybody else. Worse, I called her a whore, even though I’m the only reason she was selling her body in the first place. I’m the one who pushed and pressured her into it .
She’s just a young, naïve girl, and I used her inexperience to manipulate her .
“Daisy! Please! I need to talk to you !”
I shouldn’t even be here. I should disappear from her life; she’d be better off without me .
But the way her eyes filled with fear, and the way she just ran out of my apartment …
Something’s wrong. I feel it in my gut. She’s in danger .
If Todd really did put that bug in my room, he would’ve heard me and Daisy talking. He’s even seen her living in my apartment and visiting Pop .
He would’ve concluded that he could use her to get to me .
I would’ve found that
notion laughable two weeks ago, but now, with my heart hammering in my rib cage and cold sweat running down my temples, I can’t deny it .
I care about her, and that makes her the perfect pawn for Todd to use .
“Caine Foster?” A woman’s voice comes from the other side of the door, the sound slightly muffled by the wood. But it’s not her. That much I know .
“Yes. Can I please see Daisy ?”
“Are you alone ?”
“Yes.”
The door cracks open with the chain door guard secured. One brown eye appears in the gap. It looks me up and down and scans the hallway behind me .
“Why are you here?” She asks, her tone suspicious .
“I need to see Daisy. Please, it’s important .”
“Why do you need to see her?” She lowers her one eyebrow that’s visible through the small opening .
“I don’t have time to explain, but she may be in danger. Please,” I beg .
“What kind of danger ?”
It’s obvious this girl is not going to let me in without getting some information herself .
“I can’t say for sure, but if my suspicions are right, she could get seriously harmed,” I say .
“What makes you think she’s home ?”
“She told me she was going home an hour ago .”
The girl slams the door shut. Just as I’m about to beg her to open the door again, I hear the metal sound of the bolt sliding. She opens the door and swings it wide this time .
“What do you mean she was going home ?”
“She’s not home ?”
“No, I haven’t heard from her since we got off the phone an hour ago,” she says. Evidently, she’s the person Daisy was calling from my phone. Again, I’m learning, too late, that she was telling the truth .
“Is there anywhere else she could’ve gone to ?”
“No. She’d definitely come home first.” She pauses, her eyebrows furrowing. “Unless …”
“Unless what ?”
“I called her about this guy, a loan shark, who came here looking for her. She could’ve gone to find him,” she says, horror in her eyes as she realizes the danger Daisy could be facing .