PART THREE
Chapter Thirteen
JACKSON
Something was up with Roxanne and I couldn’t put my finger on it. She seemed like she was hiding something from me. I felt like PJ might have been right about her, at least, a little bit. I didn’t think she was working for Stephano, but there certainly was something that she was trying to hide from me.
I was willing to wait and see what happened, but only because Roxanne wouldn’t be involved in the case.
“I’ll call Nate and get him on his way. You check in with your CIA contact. Let’s see if we can get a better plan together than just trying to buy Ana. Maybe we could all decide on something together,” Chase said as he went to the corner of the room and dialed Nate’s number.
“So, Nate is my brother. He’s really good. I trust him. I also have a friend named PJ who I’m texting right now. We will wait to move forward until we can all discuss the plan. Does that make you feel better?” I asked Roxanne.
“You don’t need to be condescending to me.”
I honestly didn’t mean to sound condescending. I was genuinely trying to keep her in the loop. But again, something was up with Roxanne and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a jerk.”
“Okay.”
She allowed my apologies much faster than most women I had known in my past. Typically, my experience with women showed that they liked to stay mad for a very long time before they accepted an apology.
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.
“You can keep Jordan company. I’m sure she is really upset and doesn’t like being alone,” Chase said as he interrupted us.
I could tell Chase was trying to keep things professional and didn’t want me getting close to Roxanne. I understood where he was coming from and took both a literal and figurative step back away from Roxanne.
“Where is she? Should we move hotels?” I asked.
“Sure. I got us a room on the other end of town at the Holiday Inn. We can get a couple more rooms there. I think it will be safe. It’s not like Stephano can search every single hotel in the city.”
We all gathered our things and made our way over to the new hotel. I sent a text message to PJ with the new address and that I would send the room number as soon as we settled in.
“PJ will be here soon. We can get settled into the hotel and meet up later this afternoon,” I said.
When we got to the hotel, Chase got Roxanne her own room next to him and Jordan. My room was just a few doors down, but it was clear that Chase was trying to keep us apart. It was funny how things had changed in only a couple of days. Roxanne hadn’t been someone I was tempted by when I had first met her.
Sure, the idea of having sex with her crossed my mind. Who wouldn’t think about that after a naked woman sat on their lap in a dance club? But I had been prepared to keep things professional between us.
Things had changed, though. I was going to be watchful of anything suspicious with Roxanne, but I felt closer to her than I had ever imagined. Something was going on with her, but I didn’t think it was because she was working for Stephano. I thought it was because she had feelings for me and was angry that I didn’t want her to help with the project. She also seemed really worried about the money that had been promised her and I would make sure that Chase paid her. Roxanne had done a good job at the club and it wasn’t her fault that Stephano had been angry with her and tried to have her killed.
“Get yourself settled and then we can all get together in a little bit to discuss things in my room,” Chase said as he helped Roxanne into her room.
I stood off to the side and tried to keep my distance. At least, I would keep my distance while Chase was around. But I had plans to visit with Roxanne later that evening and maybe even finished what we had started. I couldn’t help but imagine her naked body underneath me. I knew Chase would kill me for giving in to my desires, but I couldn’t help it.
About an hour after settling in, I texted PJ with Chase’s room number and said we would all be there at six o’clock. Nate had been up in Atlanta at his cabin and was already at the hotel.
As I walked down the hall toward Chase’s room, I slowed down at Roxanne’s and tried to decide if I wanted to knock on it or not. I was trying to keep my distance, but it was professional to knock and tell her we were meeting. Maybe just walk with her to Chase’s room.
Just as I was about to knock on the door, Roxanne opened it.
“Oh, my God, you just gave me a serious heart attack.” She laughed as she leaned up against the wall.
“That’s my goal. I like to scare people to death when I work with them.”
“You are very good at your job,” she teased me.
“I’m sorry about Chase. Please know that I think we can keep things professional still. We will just keep our distance around him. Does that sound all right?”
“Sure,” she said as she walked in front of me and knocked on Chase’s door.
She didn’t turn around, but I felt a desire for her as I stood behind her. My eyes looked down at her ass and all I could think about was what it would feel like with my hands on it. Maybe it was going to be harder than I thought to keep things professional between us.
As we walked into Chase’s room, I saw Jordan and Nate sitting at the table near the window. I secretly hated that Nate was there. Not because I didn’t like my brother, but because I knew Roxanne was going to love him. He was the bad boy type that I was pretty sure Roxanne normally went for.
Nate hid his bad boy behavior by working a private security job, but his tattoos made it pretty obvious that he didn’t care very much what people thought of him. Nate was only a couple years younger and had served in the Navy Seals with me.
“Well, who do we have here?” he said as he stood up and made his way directly over to Roxanne.
I felt my stomach double over in knots at the look in his eye. Roxanne was dressed conservatively in jeans and a t-shirt, but there was no denying how beautiful she was. Her long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she didn’t have an ounce of makeup on, yet she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.
Chase eyed me as Nate made his flirtatious introduction to Roxanne. I could tell that Chase wanted to see how I was going to react, but quite frankly, by that point I didn’t care what Chase thought. He knew that I had warmed up to Roxanne and I was being nice to her – that was all he needed to know. I wasn’t about to tell him anything else about what personally went on between the two of us.
“I’m Roxanne,” she said as she held out her hand to shake with Nate. “You must be the infamous Nathan.”
“Oh, they have been talking about me? I like that. Now, how about we just leave this group to take care of things and you and I head to the beach?”
Everyone in the room laughed at Nathan’s humor, even Roxanne. I absolutely hated that he had made her laugh. I saw her face light up as Nate flirted with her.
“Come on, Nate. Roxanne is here to help. She’s got inside information on Stephano that can be really useful,” I added.
There was no way I was going to tell Nate that Roxanne had been a stripper. I didn’t want him thinking about her naked, at all. He needed to keep his hands off of her, that was for damn sure. Even if I had doubts about what was going on with her, I didn’t have doubts about how I felt about her. I wasn’t about to let Nate gets his hands on her.
“Nathan, it’s very nice to meet you,” Roxanne continued as she looked back at me and glared. It was clear she didn’t appreciate me meddling.
“Okay, Chase. I’m going to pull this lovely lady down to sit next to me and why don’t you give me the lowdown on what is going on and what you need from me.”
“Actually, Nate, I’m in charge of the operation. I’ll give everyone the run down as soon as PJ arrives.”
“Who’s PJ again?” Chase asked.
“She works for the CIA’s human trafficking division. She usually works more overseas but happened to be in Florida, so is offering us her services.”
The knock at the door came just in time and I made my way to let PJ into the room.
“PJ, it’s so good to see you,” I said as I opened the door and led her into the room.
The room wasn’t all that big and with six of us in there, it started to seem much smaller than before. I watched everyone’s faces as PJ made her way into the room. She always had the ability to throw people off kilter. I neglected to tell everyone that PJ looked more like a blonde supermodel than a CIA agent. But it was so much fun to watch people be shocked by her.
“Now that’s a CIA agent,” Nate leaned over and said to Roxanne.
“Everyone, this is PJ. She’s an old friend and one of the best agents I know.”
“Is she old enough to work? I thought you had to be at least twenty-one,” Roxanne said as she leaned over to Nate.
“Yes, I’m twenty-eight. I’ve actually just been very blessed to look so young,” PJ said as she reached her hand out to shake hands with Roxanne. “You must be Roxanne. I’ve heard a little about you.”
The kindness that PJ talked with Roxanne shocked me a little bit. Roxanne had been pretty rude to PJ and I wouldn’t have been surprised if PJ had returned the rudeness. But PJ was totally professional in how she dealt with everyone.
We took a few minutes to let everyone get introduced before we started to talk out our plan.
“All right, so here’s the situation. Jordan’s friend Ana has been with Stephano for about a month. PJ, that is a long time to sit without being sold, is that right?”
“Yeah, she is either sick or they are waiting on a high roller, possibly both.”
“Our information so far is that he’s been drugging her up and keeping her for himself while he waits for a high roller that is coming in soon. My thought was to try and bid higher for her and just take her off his hands.”
“No, sorry, Jackson, that won’t work. He’s likely got someone who he’s been working with before and he’s not going to piss that guy off for a little extra cash. International buyers sometimes purchase dozens of girls each month. But if he’s saving a special girl, it is likely that the buy has already decided he wants Ana for his wife.”
“His wife?” Jordan said as she jumped into the conversation.
“Well, probably one of many. I’d have to find out who the buyer is. But either way, it’s not going to work to try and buy her. What other plans are on the table?”
“We thought about breaking into Stephano’s house and taking her when he was gone,” I added.
The problem was my plan to break into Stephano’s house was a horrible one and I knew it. I really didn’t have any other good ideas and needed the input of PJ and Nate.
“What kind of security does he have?” Nate asked as he stared at PJ.
Nate was a ladies’ man for sure. He had no problem filling his ladies with wine and a good time and then moving on to the next woman who threw herself at him. That was the big difference between Nate and I. I didn’t sleep with every woman who threw herself at me.
“I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think he has any electronic security systems.”
“Oh, well, that’s just bad legwork, Jackson. He’s got to have something,” Nate said condescendingly.
“Actually, most people in the drug world and human trafficking don’t need electronic security systems. They use the lack of systems as a way to lure their enemies into their home. The person is killed on sight and either disposed of or turned over to authorities, if need be. It is ruled as a defensive measure, so they usually have video monitoring inside the house to prove that part of their defense,” PJ said as she addressed us all.
I could tell that her knowledge of security and confidence about the matter was a bit of a surprise to everyone in the room. But Roxanne and Jordan seemed the most surprised. They probably thought I had asked PJ to come help us simply because she was beautiful. But the truth was I knew PJ was really good at her job and I felt confident that she would be able to get our group onto the right path.
“So, what do you think? How would you suggest getting her out?” Jordan asked.
Jordan bounced her leg constantly as she sat in the chair in the corner of the room. I could tell she was horribly worried about her friend, and I hated that she didn’t have any final answers yet.
“Have you thought about trying to sell a girl?” PJ asked as she looked at Jordan and then back to me.
“What do you mean? Like bring another girl over and sell her? No, I couldn’t do that.”
“No, I mean like put a girl undercover so you had someone on the inside who could alert you and help you get Ana out,” PJ continued and she kept looking at Jordan.
“Absolutely not, I will not allow it,” Chase blurted out.
I could tell that he had caught on to what PJ was suggesting much quicker than Jordan had. He stood up and stood right in front of Jordan so we couldn’t even see her anymore. There was no doubt in my mind that Chase was not going to let Jordan go in undercover.
“I could do it,” Jordan said as she leaned around Chase.
“No, that’s the end of that. The answer is no.”
“Chase, if it means getting her out, I could do it.”
“Actually, I think it would be better if we had someone with a little more street training. How about you, Roxanne? Does Stephano know you?”
I worried that PJ was going to try and suggest that Roxanne worked for Stephano like she had said on the phone. My gut was tight as I observed the conversation and waited to hear what Roxanne responded with.
“Oh, yes, he knows me very well. I could probably get in the house, but the last time I was around him, he had me strangled. I only lived because Jackson was there. I don’t think I could go into his house alone,” Roxanne said as she lifted her neck and exposed her bruise. She had been hiding it well with makeup, but when her neck was lifted, you could see the outline of the bruising.
“I’ll do it,” Nate volunteered as he raised his hand. “I’ll be Olga, a fat and unattractive woman from the Czech Republic.”
Again, he had the whole group of us laughing as we imagined him in a dress and presenting himself to Stephano to be sold. It was a horrible image that I couldn’t get out of my head.
“I think Stephano is going to want someone a little more petite,” I told him.
“I could try. I mean, he likes me, he just didn’t like that he thought I was sleeping with Jackson,” Roxanne said as she looked at me and then at Chase.
I looked over at Chase and then quickly looked away. I knew exactly what he was thinking – even Stephano thought I was taking advantage of Roxanne. But I wasn’t taking advantage of her, I hadn’t don’t anything she didn’t want to do. We were both adults and we could decide for ourselves if we wanted to have naked fun or not. No one else was going to make that decision.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” PJ said as she talked with Roxanne. “Stephano will kill you if he thinks you’re trying to play him. What would be the cover story for going over there?”
“No, she’s not going,” I blurted out.
Chase smiled at me and how I had become so protective so quickly of Roxanne. It was very reminiscent of what he had just done with Jordan and I knew that, but there was no way in hell I was going to allow Roxanne to go to Stephano’s house.
“To be clear, Jackson doesn’t get to decide this. What do you think would be a good cover story? Do you think it is possible for me to help?” Roxanne asked.
No way, there was no way Roxanne was trying to put herself back into danger with Stephano. She had almost been killed the last time. I watched silently though as the two women talked because I knew enough about women to know that me telling Roxanne she couldn’t do something was a really easy way to push her into doing it.
I had to wonder if she was just doing this because of the money, though. I knew that $250,000 was a lot and to Roxanne, it meant a new start to her life. But I had already told her I would make sure she the full amount. Either Chase would pay her or I would give her the money out of my own accounts.
Just because I was a knuckle-dragging ex-military man didn’t mean I was poor. I had plenty of cash. Not as much as Chase, that was for sure, but Chase took over our father’s corporation and had access to infinite money, while all of the other brothers still held regular jobs. Well, not exactly “regular” jobs. But we all worked in some form or another. Chase, on the other hand, had been moved into the CEO position and had hardly been home enough to even run the company. Although, I was pretty sure running a company could be done while away, but I wasn’t willing to give him the benefit of the doubt just yet.
“You could go to Stephano, tell him you wanted his help starting your own dance club or something like that. Maybe say you could bring more girls in and manage the place. Does he trust you? Do you dance for him now?” PJ asked.
Nate, Chase, and I sat back and listened for a moment while the two women talked. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of either one of them and I suspected it was about the same problem that both Chase and Nate were having.
“I’m the top girl at his Feather Kitty Club. He does have another club in South Beach, but it’s a dive and he doesn’t put any of his good girls there. I like that idea, I think it could work.”
“Could one of you guys draw up a business plan? Just something basic that talked about a strip club and some numbers. It doesn’t need to be too legit, just good enough to get Roxanne in the door. It’s all right if Stephano thinks the business plan is horrible.”
“Why? Because I look like the kind of person who isn’t smart enough to put a business plan together for a strip club?” Roxanne said as her attitude flared up.
“I’m sorry, no, that was a bad generalization. I apologize, Roxanne.”
“Will a hair salon do for a business idea?” Roxanne asked.
“Sure, if you think he would be interested.”
“Well, he knows that I have wanted to start my own salon and was saving up my money. I actually have a business plan on my Google Docs drive, if we could find a place to print it out.”
I was impressed. Roxanne was serious about starting her own salon. I knew I had certainly underestimated her when I first met her, and I could see PJ and Nate as they realized they had also underestimated Roxanne.
“There will be no need to print it off, Roxanne. I’m with Jackson on this one. We can’t have you going in there. PJ, she was almost killed only a couple days ago. I don’t think it would be safe. I don’t see any logical reason that she would decide to ask Stephano to go into business with her after he had her almost killed.”
I shook my head in agreement with Chase and was grateful he had stood up for what he knew I was thinking.
PJ pondered what Chase had said and then sat down in a chair next to me. She seemed defeated by the realization that we weren’t going to be able to send Roxanne into Stephano’s house to help us.
“Okay, hear me out,” Nate started as he stood up and addressed our group. “I’ll go get us some semi-automatic guns. We will approach his house by water and come up slowly. We will start shooting everyone we see until we come across the girl. Bam, problem solved.”
“Really? You don’t think that the police will be there within thirty seconds? Star Island is one of the richest neighborhoods in town. They probably have police officers sitting within eyesight of the island at all times,” I said as I laughed at Nate’s plan.
We all sat quietly as we let our minds think through potential ideas.
The silence was hard, and I looked over at Roxanne as we tried to think about new plans. Finally, I moved over to sit next to her. Not for any particular reason, only because I really liked being next to her.
“What if Nate…sold me to Stephano?” PJ asked with a smile on her face.
She seemed pretty proud of herself for her plan. It was unusual, that was for sure. But she also worked for the CIA, so I knew it wouldn’t get her boss’ approval anytime soon.
“We don’t have a week to wait for approval,” I added.
“No approval. I have full authority to take on projects I deem necessary. I won’t be able to get a team down here, but if Nate could sell me to Stephano, I could get Ana out from the inside.”
“I like it,” Nate added.
“I don’t know; what if they kill you?” I added.
“I’ll go in prepared. They aren’t going to search a poor starving girl from Russia. They won’t see me as a threat, at all.”
“I could do your makeup to make you look sick,” Jordan said as she finally appeared to feel useful. “We could talk about some of the things Stephano said on his profile. I think I still have the one where he called himself Gordon.”
“So, basically, I just tell him I want to sell you?” Nate asked.
“No, maybe say you ordered me online and I’ve been acting up and not listening. You don’t want to deal with me anymore. I’ll pretend not to speak English, or maybe just a little. Before we know it, they will have me in the room with Ana and I can plan our escape. I’ll bring a small pistol and knife with me.”
“I like this plan,” Jordan said as color rushed back into her face.
Actually, I liked the plan as well. PJ was much better equipped to fight off the bad guys than Jordan or Roxanne were. Plus, it wouldn’t take much to make her look like a young Russian girl.
“Well, let’s get started then,” PJ said as she made her way to the door. “Jordan, come with me to my room. Roxanne, you come, too. I have questions for you.”