by Gina LaManna
My stomach clenched. I was running out of tools, and the boys in the van would be getting more and more anxious. But I didn’t want them to rush in here – there were big guns, and I was confident that their owners wouldn’t be afraid to shoot. Not to mention, I still didn’t have an answer for Carlos. Even if I somehow survived this psycho woman and her army of buff men, I knew only a few high up names. Mister Kim namely, who was dead, and Kitty, the woman with a hundred pseudonyms.
“All right,” I said. “I’m sitting. What now?”
Kitty paused for a second, and I hoped I’d caught her off guard.
“Now we talk,” she said. “Why does Carlos have an interest in me?”
“He doesn’t have an interest in you,” I said. “He has an interest in the prostitution industry.”
“Well, maybe he’ll get the message to leave me alone when I kill you.”
I didn’t like the matter-of-fact attitude with which she spoke, tapping a finger against her forearm in incessant repetition.
“You shouldn’t kill me,” I said, stalling for a logical argument that would bring her around. “You should work with me. Carlos isn’t looking for you, he’s looking for the top dogs. The men at the top of the ladder.”
Kitty took a step closer. “The top dogs?”
I nodded. “This...you’re just doing your job, and I’m willing to look past it. I’ll tell you what. If you give me the names of the head honchos, I will forget I ever saw you. I don’t even know your real name, and that’s a fact. Just tell me a name, and then you can disappear and we’ll never speak again.”
I waited, expecting some reaction from Kitty. Nervousness. Signs of cracking. Maybe anger. Something. What I didn’t expect was the hatred in her gaze, as she clicked her heels with each step across the room.
“The head honchos?” She approached me, seething like a rabid raccoon. A raccoon with very well done eyeliner.
I shrugged, my stomach dropping with each one of her spiky words.
“The men?” she asked, her voice poisonous.
Two new guards appeared at the door, and sensing the venom emanating from Kitty, stepped close to intervene. They each reached an arm out, locking my elbows with theirs. A third, somewhat smaller person appeared and began mopping up the bloodshed on the ground. It was eerie how quickly the men could make a crime scene disappear.
“Carlos doesn’t care about the middle men. Or – er, middle women. He only cares about whoever’s in charge,” I clarified.
Kitty suddenly threw her head back, as if about to laugh, but instead she took a few deep breaths. When she straightened her shoulders, her anger evaporated into what appeared to be amusement. Her eyes crinkled as she let out an easy, tinkling laugh. “Oh, Lacey. This has always been your problem. You and the rest of humanity. But, shame on you, Ms. Luzzi.”
Now, I was confused. Shame on me?
“You and I,” she paused. “We could have been friends in a different life. Coworkers, even cohorts maybe. See, you have also taken up a difficult job in a male dominated industry. Much like myself.”
It was starting to make sense, but I didn’t dare tell her I knew where she was going with the conversation. I needed to stall her; I needed to give Clay and Anthony time to get here.
Kitty strolled in a circle – disappearing behind my back for a moment, before reappearing in front of me and speaking again. “I am, as you say, the top dog. I run this operation. It’s mine.”
I’d figured out that she was high up, but still. To hear her admit it...I looked up.
“But what you’re doing to these women isn’t right,” I countered. “You’re using their bodies for money.”
“Each and every one of these women was giving their bodies away for free before I stepped in.” She brushed an imaginary hair from her face, despite her perfectly coiffed updo. “I rescued them. I showed them how to make a profit on what they were already doing as a hobby. Ask them, go ahead. Ask each and every one.”
I opened my mouth, but she cut me off.
“Ask your friends, Lacey,” Kitty said. “They’re grateful to me. Cammie can afford her ridiculous bad habits. Laura can go to school at night. Maria keeps a nice apartment.”
I gaped at her.
“Yes, Ms. Luzzi. I am their savior. I am the reason these girls are successful. They have me, and me alone to thank. Not society, who undermines the talent of capable women.”
There were a myriad of thoughts I wanted to voice, examples of plenty of women who were successful in male dominated fields that didn’t include prostitution. The danger Kitty was putting these girls in – the twisted, warped logic that she used to justify this business to herself – was just disturbing.
“And that,” Kitty pointed out, “is exactly why you’re stuck in a sub-par job for your grandfather. You know, if you dropped a few pounds, you’d be a perfect candidate for my company yourself.”
“Kitty, please – these girls are in danger. You’re not helping them, you’re hurting them. I’ll tell Carlos this is a mistake – we’ll forget about everything if you disband your business.”
“Tie her up, blindfold her. Leave her legs free.” Kitty waved a hand at me in a lackadaisical fashion, as if she’d suddenly become bored with her plaything. “I’m done here. We’re moving her to The Chamber.”
“What’s The Chamber?” I asked as a black layer of cloth was tied tightly around my eyes, my hands cuffed behind my back with some sort of flexible, metallic material. I could feel that the guards hadn’t used normal handcuffs, though I couldn’t see the contraption binding my wrists together.
The guards roughly lifted me to my feet, twirled my body around and around, then rushed me through a series of what I could only guess were winding corridors. They spun me around once or twice more, so any attempt to count the number of rights and lefts we’d taken was impossible.
My feet dragged on the staircase, and the two meaty guards were forced to half-carry, half-drag me. Eventually, one of them tossed me over his shoulder. I lashed out with kicks and screamed at the top of my lungs, but was stifled by strong hands before I could make the slightest difference.
My heart rate sped up with each step. With my vision impaired by the blindfold, Anthony would no longer be able to see where I was located. The Chamber could be in the basement or the spa or halfway to Egypt, for all I knew. Plus, the audio and my weapons were gone. Since Kitty had spilled her secrets to me, I didn’t think my chances of being let loose in the world were high. My opportunities for getting out of this spa unscathed were looking slimmer and slimmer.
Flashes of what my funeral might look like invaded my mind. The Family would turn out, as per tradition. Nora would be sad, yes. Would Anthony? I had to think so. But the man didn’t show emotion. Would he shed a tear?
My pity party ended just as I was getting to the good part, and I was tossed unceremoniously onto a cold, cement floor.
A guard ripped the blindfold from my eyes, and I cried out. The fabric caught one of my earrings, and ripped it from my earlobe.
The cry was less from the pain of the earring, and more a mixture of surprise and anger. These people had stripped me of everything I owned. All I had left were my earrings, and now even one of those was gone. My fear and disappointment morphed slowly into fury with each breath I took. The guard stepped away from me, announcing to Kitty that I was ready.
I stared at the tiny diamond on the floor, refusing to make eye contact with her. The beautiful stud was only two feet away, yet I was utterly helpless to do anything. I averted my gaze and forced myself to look at Kitty, so she wouldn’t steal that too.
“Where am I?” I spat.
“Don’t you listen? I told you. The Chamber.” Kitty put her hands behind her back and paced in front of me like a drill sergeant.
“That means nothing.”
“You can step out, gentlemen,” Kitty instructed the two guards who stood dumbly by my side. They left without a word.
“You and I,
dear,” Kitty said. “Between the two of us, I had higher expectations of you. I thought, a woman in a man’s field – I can respect that. But this...”
I glared at her.
“You have disappointed me. I thought it’d be more of a challenge to silence you. Instead, you waltzed right in here. A few little tricks up your sleeve – I’m not sure about that cigarette, but the more I think about it the more I wonder its real function. The audio transmitter in your underwear – clever,” she said, eyeing me up and down, and I sensed sarcasm. “That’s never been done before.”
“How do you know there aren’t more tricks up my sleeve?” I asked. It was as much a shred of hope for myself as it was to cause her suspicion.
“Alas, I cannot be sure. I do have faith in your cousin Clay. Therefore, in case he has come up with some tricks of the trade I’m unfamiliar with, that’s why we have the Chamber. It is absolutely impossible to get a Wi-Fi signal down here. If you have any more transmitters in unladylike crevices, they’re useless now. I imagine you have visual somewhere on your body, but I’m going to ignore that, since it’s not going anywhere. And I have no desire to search you myself. You won’t be alive long enough for that.”
“But...” I gazed around at the walls.
“They’re all cement,” she said, following my eyesight. “Five feet thick, plus you’re about four stories underground. Believe me, nothing’s coming in or getting out.”
“But—”
“How?” she continued. “Are you going to ask how I know these things? It’s because I am a business woman. I’m smart. I’ve done my research. Otherwise how could I hope to compete with successful business owners like Carlos? I knew what I was getting into when I joined this industry. And just because I’m a woman...doesn’t mean I play nice.”
Obviously. I glanced around at the dingy room. Besides my tiny diamond earring on the ground, there was only grungy cement, rough against my skin even through the spa clothes. My hands were raw from resting on the floor. There was a drain in the middle of the room, and a few stains I chose to ignore. But there was nothing else. No toilet, no window, nothing. Which wasn’t exactly promising – this wasn’t a holding cell. It was an interrogation room. A room where people went in breathing and came out...not.
“Any last words?” she said. “Any message for Carlos?”
I rubbed my sore ear with my shoulder and looked away.
Her laugh echoed around the room. “Besides your corpse, that is?”
I glared at her and extended my foot, slowly pulling the earring towards my body. If I was going down, I was taking it with me.
She gave a small, almost remorseful smile as if thinking what might have been.
“Fine, then. Ciao, as you say.” Kitty turned towards the door, glancing back at me over her shoulder. Instead of looking at my face, her eyes followed my foot instead, which was splayed at an awkward angle. Though she already had one hand on the knob, the door twisted halfway open, she turned back to face me again.
I didn’t bother to retract my foot. There was no reason to. Kitty was about to have me killed anyway.
“What is this?” Kitty walked a little closer towards me.
“It’s mine.” I said. “It’s from a friend. Something you wouldn’t know about.”
“Well, let me relieve you of it,” Kitty said. “I always thought friends were overrated, but not diamonds. There’s money in diamonds.”
“But there’s love in friends,” I said, edging my foot closer to my body. “And you’ll never have that.”
Kitty’s eyes widened as she realized where my foot was headed. She lunged, grasping wildly.
I, however, had known that I’d never be able to clasp the diamond with my handcuffed hands. Instead, I was attempting to scoot the rock down the drain. If I couldn’t have it, neither could Kitty. As her outstretched hands neared the shining earring, I stomped down on her fingers with all my might. Her hand buckled under my foot, the earring pressed against the grates of the drain.
The next thing that occurred was a surprise to both Kitty and me. There was a giant bolt of white light, a resounding boom, and then the sweet smell of lilacs. Then, there was nothing; nothing except darkness.
Chapter 15
THE LAST PLACE I EXPECTED to wake up was in a bed. A soft, cozy, wonderful bed wrapped in thick, fluffy white sheets. I peeked one eye open, not quite sure how I should feel. Injured maybe? Sore? The sensation of not remembering a thing about what had happened was eerie. I had no idea how long I had been out, where I was, or what had happened. There were no memories. Zip, zero, zilch.
The scent of freshly brewing coffee seeped under the door of the room I currently occupied, and I took that as a good sign. It gave me the courage to fully open my eyes. With pleasant surprise, I recognized the bedroom – a guest room at Carlos and Nora’s house. I’d never slept here before, but I’d seen it on a tour given by Marissa and Clarissa when I’d first discovered the Family.
It was a cozy little room, with flowery wallpaper, old photo frames, and knickknacks on every surface. There was a sewing machine that sat in one corner, looking like it had never been used before, while an array of blankets and pillows lined the window seat on the other side of the room. I eased my body up onto my elbows, struggling to pull memories from the depths of my brain. I still had nothing. After I’d entered The Chamber and been tossed to the floor by the guards, all I could remember was Kitty and I tussling for the earring. Beyond that, I had no more recollections of the ensuing events. Not even a flash.
Just as I was about to pull myself from bed and find someone to question, the door clattered open with a bang, sounding as though a bull had decided to walk right through the wooden frame without bothering to try the handle.
“’Bout time, Lacey,” Meg said, marching straight over to my bed. “The English dude made me wait outside until we heard you moving.”
“Hi,” I managed, my voice croaking.
Meg clapped me so hard on the back that I thought I might’ve lost a tooth. “I heard you were in some crap. Man, I give a lot of fudges about you, girl, so you better tell me why I didn’t have an invite to this party.”
I sighed. “I suppose this can’t wait?”
Meg stared at me. “You almost got blown to bits, and you didn’t tell me you were getting your nails did? No, honey, this can’t wait.”
My stomach was still a little queasy, the scent of lilacs still present in my nostrils – but I nodded. “I’ll tell you the stuff I can remember. Where’s Anthony?”
“Mister Butler made him go downstairs to eat something. Anthony hasn’t left your side since he brought you back here, but if you ask me...” Meg leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “Nora threatened the butler. Said if he didn’t kick Anthony out of your room, she’d fire him and send his squeezable tushie back to England. Anthony went downstairs a few minutes ago, but I bet he’ll be back up here real soon. So get talkin’.”
A few minutes later, I’d filled my best friend in on every detail I could remember, and I was exhausted. I didn’t want to talk anymore. I didn’t want to search my memory for details that had disappeared into a black abyss. I wanted answers. I wanted to know the ending. There had to be an ending. I’d escaped, hadn’t I?
“Can I talk to Anthony?” I asked Meg. “I would like to fill in some of the blank spaces.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You wanna talk? I’m telling ya to get doin’.”
“Thank you for the advice,” I said. “Talk first.”
“Yeah, you should go downstairs. You’ve been out eight hours, so you should probably replenish the calories you been burning in here, just snoring away.”
“I was snoring?” I asked, aghast. “In front of Anthony?”
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Meg said. “Since you just wanna talk to him, anyway.”
“I don’t snore,” I said, trying to convince myself.
“Well, I have to go anyway, so I’ll send him upstairs on
my way out,” Meg said. “I wouldn’t leave, except I gotta get to the bar. I entrusted Julio with it for now, but he tends to give away free booze to anything that walks in with breasts. You sure you don’t want to come with me and grab a drink? Sounds like you need one.”
“Later maybe,” I said. “I need some answers first.”
“All right, chickadee.” Meg stood and gave me a gruff hug. “Don’t think this means I’ve forgiven you for ‘forgetting’ to invite me for the manicure. Next time you do that crap I’ll break your fingers.”
We exchanged a best friend smile before she disappeared from the doorway, the sounds of wreckage following her every move. I heard her mention something to Mister Butler, and not long after, Harold poked his head in the room. “Why, hello, Ms. Lacey. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” I smiled. “Thanks, Harold. Is Anthony around?”
Harold crooked his eyebrow with a sly grin.
“He has been sitting right there since he carried you in here.” Harold gestured towards the window seat, and I now noticed the pillows were a bit smushed, apparently by a large, male frame. Harold smiled.
“He sat there the whole time?”
“Don’t worry,” Harold said, with a wink. “I sent him away as soon as you started snoring.”
“I don’t snore!”
“You can join him in the kitchen, if you’re feeling ready. Otherwise, I’ll send him up when he’s finished his meal,” Harold said, standing straight and guarding the door.
“I’ll join him,” I said, slowly getting out of my bed. I tested my limbs, but they seemed to work just fine. I hugged the unfamiliar robe that’d been placed around my body, and padded past Harold, a few guards, and the statue that might be David on my way to the kitchen. I passed through the great entryway, barely noticing the magnificent chandelier or the beautiful new display of handmade candles along the wall. I passed through the hallway where my spelling bee certificate hung with pride.
A warm, glowing light emitted from the end of the swinging door at the end of the hall. The kitchen awaited me – the coziest room in the house; its yellow walls inviting full bellies and entertaining banter, knees knocking against family as we ate together, stories told over handcrafted wine and spirits. A feeling of excitement bubbled in my stomach. I was alive. And I was happy to be home.