by Brooke Page
***
Tankini’s was a filthy place. The lighting was low with tacky music, and whenever you’d take a step, the crackle under your shoe lifting from the tile reminded you of spilled beer and God knows what else. The servers were meant to entice men, wearing only white tank tops without bras, and once midnight hit, their booty shorts disappeared and they only wore thongs. Customers were calmer here than a normal titty bar, but it made it grimier. The clientele was older and knew better. They were all creeps.
“Hey, Vance. I haven’t seen you in a while,” Tiffany, the server my father always requested, greeted. Her teeth were white against her tan skin. She was tall, all legs and slender. The dark curls were wild around her head, and her brown eyes danced along with the music. She really was an attractive and intelligent woman, and I had no idea why she stuck around this shit hole.
My father tipped her extremely well, and she had two kids to provide for.
She eyed me from head to toe. “You clean up nice. What’s the occasion?”
“Thought I’d change it up a bit.”
“You look very impressive. Where have you been?”
“I’ve been busy.”
She smiled and wiped down the table I was sitting at before placing a beer on top of it. “Got a girlfriend?”
“Nope,” I lied, taking a swig of beer.
She rubbed my forearm and gave me a wink, making a point to rub her erect nipple against my bicep. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
I smirked. “Beer should be fine, Tiffany. I won’t be here long. I’m waiting on a driver.”
Her smile faded. I made the mistake of sleeping with her one lonely night, and now she always offered in the subtle way a stripper would.
“Don’t be a stranger.” She smiled over her shoulder, walking toward another table with multiple men.
I took in my surroundings as casually as possible. If someone were watching me, which most likely Marcus had more than one pair of eyes on me, I wanted to appear indifferent, as if coming to the titty bar for a meeting was an everyday occurrence.
Pulling out my phone, I couldn’t resist but to swipe through the few photos of Lauren I had saved. She was so easy on the eyes. Gazing at her perfect smile and the spark in her eyes. All my tension relaxed from the sight of her.
An incoming text distracted me from the pictures, and I switched over to my messages. It was Abby, a simple, Hey. My brows furrowed. She had never reached out to me in the middle of the night, especially not this late.
Hi. Everything okay?
Abby: Actually, no. Sorry if I woke you.
What’s wrong?
Abby: My ex-boyfriend has been calling me all day.
Did you answer?
Abby: No. I’m afraid to.
I bit down on the insides of my cheeks. Her ex suddenly being interested in her again wouldn’t help me bring her to the Cage. She needed to be under the radar, not being searched for.
Maybe he found something of yours?
Abby: Or maybe he wants me back.
Is that what you want?
Abby: Not anymore…
My brows furrowed, my stomach knotting. I knew what she was getting at.
The phone began to vibrate in my hand. It was Percy, letting me know he was out back waiting.
I’ll text you later.
Abby: Are you changing the subject? I didn’t mean to scare you off.
No way. I have to finish some paperwork by tomorrow morning for a meeting.
Why was lying so easy for me?
Abby: I’ll let you work. Thanks for responding.
Any time. I’ll call you in the morning.
Finishing the remainder of my beer, I dug out my billfold and tossed a wad of money for Tiffany on the table, giving her a wave from across the bar. She was flirting with a group of men who were tugging on her tank top. Soon they’d be throwing money at her, and she’d be topless.
Straightening my coat, I gave the backdoor bouncer a nod. He knew who I was, I’m sure he’d been briefed by Marcus’s goons on who I was. I’d observed him turning away multiple customers and making them use the front entrance.
Sure enough, Percy sat in the SUV underneath the street lamp in the parking lot, his eyes on me with each step I took toward him.
My palms were sweaty, and although I’d been working and preparing for this day, my nerves were going into overdrive, and I hoped like hell I was stone-faced and hiding any sign of uncertainty.
“Vance,” Percy’s deep timbre huffed once I got into the car.
Giving him a nod, I fastened my seatbelt and continued to mentally prepare myself for what I was about to see. I knew it would appear clean and expensive on the outside, a place no one would suspect torture and destruction was being held behind the walls.
I clasped my hands together on top of my thighs. “Surprised you’re not with Marcus.”
Percy remained passive, his bulky hands at ten and two on the steering wheel. Small talk wasn’t going to happen.
“How far away are we going?”
Percy cleared his throat before speaking. “Not far. Do I need to remind you of the disclosure agreement?”
“That won’t be necessary. I was born with a disclosure agreement.”
We were silent the rest of the ride. I photographed every turn we took and every street name we passed in my memory. I had to remember and inform Riley where the Cage was located in order for the sting to be successful. No doubt he’d take the next week to scope out the area and where to plant men to invade during the sale the following week. Riley had been craving this moment, itching to get to the bottom of this case and crack it.
We turned down a dark, dirt road, surrounded by trees, the headlights shining on the pebbles with tire tracks. We were heading south, and by the directions we had been turning, we’d hit water soon.
A convenient place to dump the bodies of the girls who fought the drugs, changed their minds, or simply didn’t meet expectations.
“I’ll need your phone, now, Vance,” Percy grumbled, holding out his hand. I took my main phone from my inside jacket pocket, thankful I left the burner for Riley at my house, hidden behind my bathroom mirror with the others. I could have left it in my car, but I didn’t trust Marcus to not have a thug search it. I might have been his son, but he still had his reservations about me, rightfully so. If he had any inkling I was talking to the cops, he’d have thrown me in the ocean by now.
I’d deleted any sign of Lauren, except the picture of her perfect ass in the tiny bikini. No face was showing and it could be Abby’s ass for all they knew. Only Abby’s text trail and missed calls were left. I wanted those to be in plain sight.
Finally, the bundles of trees swaying in the wind cleared, and a giant aluminum sided warehouse came into view with a lighting pole guiding us down a path to the back of the compound.
“Welcome to the sanctuary,” Percy exhaled, turning down another dirt road.
Sanctuary? I thought we were going to the Cage?
The building was huge, spanning along a plain of tall grasses, a cliff with at least a fifty feet drop-off into the ocean grazed the side of the building. The roof was covered with solar panels, and the more you drove, the longer the building became, but was shorter in height and covered with stucco, limited windows were sparsely spread along the vast length of the shorter walls.
Once we arrived at the back of the building, the entrance appeared more refined, modern columns covered with green and blue sea glass from the bases to the tops of the overhang leading to the double door entrance. Vegetation was neatly planted along the walls and on either side of the pathway leading to the doors. It was warm and inviting, portraying a spa over a drug and sex trafficking empire. It was all a part of the lure I guess. If it looked nice, no one would realize how disgusting it was on the inside.
Percy stopped the car, giving me a nod to get out. Undoing my seatbelt, I remained stone cold, not revealing any expression on my face as I opened th
e door and was greeted by another one of my father’s henchmen.
“Mr. Everett, I’ll escort you inside.”
Fixing my suit, I gave the brood Hispanic man a nod, agreeing to follow him inside. He was someone I had never seen before. I inhaled a deep breath, releasing it in preparation for what would be on the other side.
“Christina,” he smiled at the attendant who sat behind a circular desk, a waterfall wall made of jagged stones with its stream sounding relaxing against the soft music. A green parrot was perched beside her, one eye following my footsteps toward the front.
“Luis, do you have the infamous Vance Everett with you?” She had a Spanish curl to her voice; it was seductive coming from plump red lips against a dark complexion. Her hair was pulled tight to her head, and then lolled in a ponytail showcasing its dark brown length.
“Yes, his first trip to the sanctuary.”
She raised a brow in my direction. “Without a girl on your arm?”
My expression remained passive. This woman knew what the underground of the building was, and clearly she agreed with the torment it entailed.
“In time.” I straightened my jacket. “Where’s Marcus?”
She eyed me from head to toe, playing with the tip of her ponytail. “I’ll bring you to him. Luis, please watch the counter.”
She swayed her hips from behind her desk toward me, so close I could smell her floral perfume. The snugness of her pristine white mini dress held little room for the imagination yet bordered the fine line of scandalous and refined. She was stunning, but no doubt a demon lived in her soul.
“Come with me, Vance,” she purred, her heels clicking against the dark swirled marble floor.
Luis threw me a smirk, then shamelessly watched Christina’s voluptuous behind lead the way.
Stepping onward after her, I kept my eyes peeled for doors and anything out of the ordinary. I’d need to map out this place mentally, and finding every nook and crevice was going to be difficult. Obviously, Marcus wasn’t going to let me wander, considering three different people have escorted me various places.
“Mr. Everett is in the Sanctuary. He enjoys the peaceful atmosphere before meetings. I assume you’ll enjoy it as well.”
I stayed quiet, peeking through windows of doors as unobvious as possible. No lights were on in the rooms, and it only piqued my curiosity more. What was behind them? Were they women’s rooms? Where they kept the Doves? I doubted it, unless they were soundproof. Images of Lauren possessed with the awful drug they fed to the Doves flooded my brain, and I had to shake my head to snap out of it. Christina noticed.
A devious grin touched the corners of her lips. “Are you nervous?”
I raised a brow. “I don’t get nervous.”
We stopped at a bolted door toward the end of the hallway with a keypad lock on the outside. She turned to face me, stepping completely in my space, cocking her head to the side while she examined me with her come-hither stare. She was eye to eye with me, reaching for my tie.
“I think I could make you nervous,” she whispered, licking her lips.
My arms remained at my sides, knuckles white from making fists. What was with women throwing themselves at me? Unclenching my jaw, I needed to focus and play the part.
I made a point of staring at her lips, a sly smile forming on my mouth. “I think you could ease some tension.”
Her eyes dilated with passion, her confident stature still firm in place. She didn’t want to give away I had gotten to her.
“Maybe… if you’re father doesn’t mind sharing.”
I wanted to throw up. Of course, this bitch was sleeping with him, most likely she was screwing multiple men in this fucked-up scheme.
I smirked, grabbing her wrist and removing it from my tie. Leaning forward, we were cheek to cheek, my lips barely touching her ear. “I don’t like to share.”
She inhaled a quick breath, then took a step back to collect herself.
Holding in my chuckle, I straightened my tie while she proceeded to press numbers on the keypad. I loved working these pieces of trash up and then leaving them uncomfortable.
A buzzer sounded, and the door clicked opened. “Allow me.” She nudged the door open, and my eyes were shocked with what it contained.
Chapter Thirteen
Vance
As if the Alabama Shore wasn’t hot enough, a thick block of heat smacked me in the face, humid enough for me to need to take shallower breaths. Thick greenery was everywhere, a variety of flowers and trees filling the large space.
Birds were chirping and squawking from different directions, some soaring through the mass space underneath the sun paneling of the roof.
“Welcome to the Sanctuary,” Christina informed, leading me down a stone path, a parakeet zooming passed me.
I flinched, refraining from swatting it out of my face. “As in, bird sanctuary?”
She glanced over her shoulder, “Not much gets by you, does it?” She deadpanned.
Both my hands found my pockets as I followed her through the twists and turns of the pathway through the vast vegetation. This was a whole new level I wasn’t expecting, Marcus taking his fucked up metaphors for his business to a whole new level. If an outsider heard him discussing compost, worms, Doves, or Vultures, he had a back story.
We came to an opening where a man-made pond sat peacefully with gentle waves from a small waterfall, more shrubbery and vegetation surrounding the rocky structure.
Marcus sat at a table in cargo shorts and a white t-shirt, a sight I hadn’t seen since I was a small boy during the rare occasions when he’d join my mother and me on the beach. I envied his lack of clothing. It was hot as hell in this room. Sweat was beading on my temples and down the back of my neck.
A white Cockatoo was attached to his forearm, feeding it from the palm of his other hand. “That’s a good bird,” he hummed, reaching into a bucket and grabbing more seeds. The Cockatoo cawed affectionately, bobbing his head downward for more food. It was odd to see there weren’t any body guards in sight, and I was curious if they were hiding somewhere, or if Marcus wanted the rare solitude.
“Vance, welcome to my haven,” he smiled, a rotten twinkle sparkling in his eyes. “Thanks for bringing him to me, Christina.” She smiled at him, then turned to leave, giving me a wink on her way.
“What do you think?” Marcus asked once Christina was well on her way back to her desk.
I met his smile, taking a seat at the table with him. “Glad I’m finally able to see it. You’ve kept it hidden from me for a long time.”
His attention went back to the bird. “Everyone has to earn entrance. You’ve done wonderfully the past few months. Seems once the soft spot was taken away, your instincts and strengths kicked in.”
“I don’t have soft spots.” I ground my teeth, convincing myself to not play into his goading. I knew he was talking about how he killed my mother.
“Good to hear, although it’s not the truth.”
“How do you know?”
He glanced toward me, reaching into the bucket for more seeds. “If you didn’t have a soft spot, you wouldn’t give a shit about the Vulture I want to sell Ms. Owens to.”
“Maybe I’m leery of your Vultures.” I clenched my jaw. “And it’s not Ms. Owens who’s going up for sale, it’s Abby.”
Marcus’s lip twitched with amusement. “They’re ran through a very intensive background check, and I have them and their businesses surveillance. I guarantee she’ll be well taken care of.”
He laughed during his last sentence, and I forced a smile.
“I trust your background checks, I only want the transition to go smoothly. I don’t need a bunch of information, I want to meet him is all.”
Marcus nodded, then flicked his wrist so the bird would fly away. Setting both his hands on the table top, he zeroed in on me. “You’re too attached to this girl, Vance.”
“If I were attached to a girl, I wouldn’t be selling her body.”
&n
bsp; Marcus smirked. “Which is why you’re trying so hard to keep her from me.”
My eyes found the ceiling while I chuckled. “Marcus, I’ve told you, she’s not a good fit. She knows too many people, she’s too involved. The cops would search for her. Abby ran away from home and the only somewhat of a relationship she has is with me. She trusts me. Lauren on the other hand, doesn’t.”
Marcus took a deep breath, his eyes squinting while he thought.
“We’ll give this Abby a try, show the Vulture a few photos, and see if she’ll please him. I can’t make any guarantees he’ll want her.”
I celebrated inside, a weight lifting in the hopes Marcus’s infatuation with Lauren had faded. At least for now. If it bought time for me to get Lauren out of town, I’d take it.
Marcus stood from his seat, brushing off a few crumbles of bird food from his shorts. “Let’s go to the meeting place. I need to get changed.” A different bird flew to his shoulder with bright blue feathers. “And you need to not look like a sweating pig. There’s a place for you to clean up and cool off before he comes.”
My brows furrowed in his direction. “I thought this was the meeting place?”
He patted the bird gently on the head. “Vultures aren’t allowed in the sanctuary, son.”
I swallowed, realizing even Marcus considered these people pure evil.
***
The cooler room and constant wipe with a towel didn’t stop my sweat from forming on the back of my neck. I was nervous as hell, anxious to meet the monster client who wanted Lauren so badly.
Marcus came out of his room, changed and dressed to impress in his charcoal suit. I hated when I looked at him, I was seeing a mirror of myself, only thirty years down the road.
“This is a day to remember, son,” he patted my back, leading me forward. Percy found his way behind us, his stature as big as both my father and I combined.
“Here’s where all the magic happens,” Marcus smirked, knocking on a pair of floor to ceiling mahogany doors.
“Magic?” I asked.