Chapter Three

Ella

 

After I finished filing the story I had been assigned and submitting it to Harry, I opened up the picture of Beckett Carter. The entire ride back to the office I couldn’t get him out of my mind. He was gorgeous, there was no denying that, the kind of man that made you hold your breath when you first caught a glimpse. He had a strong jaw, piercing blue eyes that seemed so clear they were almost inhuman, a contrast to his dark hair. In the photo I took he looked tall and strong, his hands in front of him while the city stretched behind him. There was a confidence to him, bordering on arrogance. Those hands folded together, the same strong hands that had caught me when I fell against his rock hard chest. He was fast, so fast, and there was a power to him that both intimidated and excited me. He may be stunning and powerful, but he was going to be pissed when he read my article. Nothing stops me from writing what I want, even a hot man in a suit.

I felt a tap on my shoulder that made me jump and close the picture. I leaned back in my chair and saw Seth looking down at me. From behind his back he pulled out two tickets and showed them to me.

“Boxing match tonight, front row where we can catch all the action up close and personal. Want to be my date?”

I sighed then started to power down my computer, slipping my things into my bag.

“I can’t, I have something I need to do tonight Seth. Raincheck?”

“Dinner tomorrow then,” Seth walked with me to the elevators. Before I got into the door he grabbed my arm, dropping his voice even though there was no one around. “Ella, this is me putting myself out there. I like you, and over the past few months I started to think you like me too, as more than a friend. Tell me I’m wrong and I’ll drop it. We’ll just be friends. But if I’m right… let me take you to dinner.”

His smile was so sweet, so genuine. With his messy brown hair and his easy smile, he was the ultimate boy next door. Exactly the kind of person I should be with. We had grown close since I started at the paper, and there was a flirtation there, but did I want to do something about it? I still didn’t know. But he was looking at me, vulnerable and waiting for an answer, so I nodded.

“Dinner sounds nice Seth. Just tell me the time and place.”

The brightness of his smile could have lit up a room. He let go of my arm.

“I will, we’re going to have an amazing time. I promise. Have a nice night Ella.”

I headed into the elevator, a mix of excitement and dread swirling in my stomach. This happened with every man I got close to, every time, and I knew exactly where it would lead me. This could only end one way, with me unable to fully open up and with Seth getting frustrated with me rejecting his physical advances.

I never planned on being a virgin at twenty two, but the thought of a man touching me that way was overwhelming. After everything that had happened to me, after what happened to my sister. Men were to be feared, not to be trusted with your body in the most vulnerable way possible. Maybe with Seth it would be different. Maybe I could trust him; he would never hurt me - would he?

I wrestled with my demons all the way home, transit packed with commuters, the smell of skin and sweat in the cramped space. It was a relief to get off and head towards my building. I walked up the stairwell to my apartment. I was slipping my key into the lock when my neighbor opened her door and popped her head out.

“Hey you,” Reya said. “I was wondering when you would get home. Want to come in for a glass of wine?”

“I’d love to, but I need to start getting ready for tonight.”

Reya leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her ample chest, looking at me and shaking her head.

“Girl are you going to get yourself in trouble again tonight?”

“I hope not, but yeah, I’m going out on an assignment again. But this time I’ll have a disguise.”

Reya grabbed me by the arm and tugged me into her apartment, sighing.

“If I can’t convince you not to do this, because you don’t listen to anything I say, then I can at least help you dress the part. Come on.”

There was no sense arguing with her, and besides, I really could use her help. Reya was an exotic dancer and if I was going to pass for a sex worker my wardrobe probably wouldn’t be convincing. Reya gestured for me to sit on her couch as she went to get a bottle of chilled white wine and two glasses. She poured for us, then handed me a glass. I took a sip, it was well-balanced and delicious. After a long day in the hot sun, cold wine was incredibly soothing.

“This is really good,” I told Reya as she headed for her bathroom.

“I have a new client at the club, he’s a wine importer for the top restaurants. He sent me a box of amazing wines.”

She came back with a large bag of makeup and sat beside me, turning my face in the light.

“You need yellow to cover bruises by the way,” she said as she used a makeup wipe to remove the half-assed job I had done. She took something out of her bag and started dotting it around my eye. “Do I want to know how you got this?”

“Depends, do I want to know how you became an expert in hiding bruises?”

She shrugged. “I dated an asshole when I was young and stupid. What about you, a guy do this to you?”

“Yeah, but not someone I was dating. My cover was blown and this was my parting gift.”

“I’d tell you what you’re doing is reckless and stupid, but would you listen to me?”

“I’m so close though,” I sighed as she continued to fuss with my makeup. When she went to pick up another tube I took another sip of wine. It really was good. I relaxed into the couch and let her make me over. Reya was one of the strongest women I knew. She worked hard and took no bullshit. She was also strikingly beautiful and kind. When I moved in she brought me a basket of fruit to say hi. We became closer with time, moving from a quick hello in the stairwell to sharing takeout and cocktails. It felt nice that I had someone so close by who cared about me. 

“Hold still or I’m going to give you a unibrow,” she snapped as she gently placed false eyelashes against my eyelids. I held my breath trying not to laugh as she adjusted them, then applied a few strokes of mascara to blend them in.

“Perfect,” she said as she looked at my face. “If you ever want a job at the club, you would make a killing,” she teased.

“I’d need a lot more wine to deal with my crippling fear of public nudity,” I giggled.

Reya held up a mirror and I looked back at my reflection with a gasp. I looked like a sultry, sexy porn-star version of myself. Smokey eyes and full pouty lips with my cheekbones accentuated by highlighter. The woman was a miracle worker.

“What were you thinking of wearing?” Reya asked me.

“I have a short black dress. And heels.”

Reya shook her head. “Come on, anything I have for work will be much more convincing.”

“You’re not going to send me out there dressed as a sexy nun or school girl are you?” I groaned.

“I also have sexy cowgirl,” she added. In her bedroom she pulled open the closet and rummaged around, looking at me closely, then pulled out a red dress and held it up. “Here, this is perfect.”

My jaw dropped at the dangerously low plunging neckline and the exposed back. There was barely enough fabric for it to be considered a dress. “I can’t wear that,” I shook my head.

“If you want to pass their test you will.”

“What if someone still recognizes me?” I asked, reluctantly accepting the dress.

Reya rummaged in her closet, taking a box from the top and fishing out something dark.

“Here, it’s a wig. Black bob, very chic and with your bone structure it will look great on you.”

I looked from the dress to the smooth hair, then to Reya. “Do you think this will work?” I was starting to feel nervous, especially after the warning they gave me last night.

“It should,” she told me. “But if it doesn’t then you better do the smart thing this time. Run, and run fast.”

I downed the rest of my wine, my hand shaking slightly. Reya placed her hand on my arm reassuringly as she refilled my glass. I had the help of an expert on my side this time. If this was going to work, if I was going to get in, this is how I was going to do it.

***

After getting changed into the dress and wig, then into a pair of black heels, I called a taxi to bring me to the warehouse where the club was set up. Downstairs was a bar with loud music where high-end patrons mingled with the working girls, and upstairs was where time alone could be bought by the hour. Members of the public went in from the front. In the back at a dark side door is where I had my last failed “audition” and I had to be a complete idiot to try this again. But I was so close, and like a dog with a bone I couldn’t let go.

Club Fantasy had a reputation on the street for bringing girls in who were unwilling victims of trafficking, grooming them into obedient sex slaves. The girls who disobeyed were punished, or went missing. If I could crack this case no amount of bribery was going to get them off this time. The public pressure from an expose in the media would force the police into swift action. Maybe it would save a girl who could go missing. Like my sister.

I took a deep breath and walked up to the back door where a burly bouncer was waiting. His suit looked too tight, stretched over brawny muscle and thick legs. I felt a bit of relief it was a different man than the one who had hit my face, but still, the risk was there that he could recognize me despite Reya’s best efforts. I plastered on a smile and swung my hips.

“Hi there,” I told the man. “I was told you were hiring and was wondering if I could have an audition.”

He looked me over, slowly, his gaze traveling from my legs to my exposed cleavage. He paused before answering me, letting me stand there and be evaluated like a piece of meat. Finally he nodded.

“You have the right look, let’s see if you can pass the test.”

He opened the door and gestured for me to walk down a long, dimly lit hallway towards a door in the distance. I tried to hold my head high, fighting the fear building in me. It would work this time, it had to. My heels tapped loudly against the concrete floor as I walked forward, echoing in the hallway and mixing with the barely muted music blaring on the other side of the wall. I knocked on the door, and after a pause it was yanked open from the inside. Another impossibly large, imposing man stared down at me. Was every security guard a former MMA fighter? They were all terrifying and huge.

“You looking to join?” the man asked. I nodded, he stepped aside for me to come into the room. There was a man behind the desk, I recognized him as Dale Merrick. He was a high-level employee of the Venetti crime family, multiple arrests for assault and thanks to a well-paid mob lawyer he had avoided jail despite being the suspect in a number of missing and murdered women cases. He eyed me, then gestured for me to step closer.

“You a cop?” he asked.

I shook my head. He pushed something on a tray towards me.

“Prove it. Swallow.”

“What is it?” I asked, staring at the pale pink pill nervously. This didn’t happen last time I was here, but then again, last time I didn’t get as far as his desk without the bouncer noticing who I was. I made eye contact with a bored looking woman on a couch, then saw three other men in the corner at a table playing cards.

“Did I fucking stutter?” Dale snapped, pounding his fist on the table and causing me to jump. “If you’re not the type of bitch that takes orders, this isn’t going to be the place for you.”

I picked up the pill, eyeing in, and then placed it in my mouth. Dale shoved a bottle of vodka at me and I took a swig, washing the mystery pill down. As soon as I swallowed my resolve crumbled. What was I doing? This was all wrong.

“Felicia, leave,” Dale told her. The woman got to her feet obediently and left the room out the door and down the long hallway I had passed through. The bouncer closed the door behind her.

“Can you at least tell me what I took?” I gathered my courage to ask.

“Relax, it’s just ecstasy. I want you to feel good. What’s your name?”

“Bianca,” I told him as he stood up from his desk and walked towards me. He circled me like a shark, I tried to stand tall under his gaze reminding myself next steps. I would get in, get access. Then I was going to sneak around upstairs and take photos, speak to a few of the women if I could. Maybe I could even show them Dana’s picture. Maybe someone would recognize her. Then I would be out of here before they even realized I was missing.

“Bianca,” he murmured, stroking my shoulder then standing in front of me. “Take your dress off Bianca, let me see the merchandise.”

I froze and he laughed, looking over his shoulder. “We’ve got a shy whore guys.”

I lifted my head high then took a deep breath, slipping the dress down over my shoulders and standing tall with as much faked confidence as I could muster. I was strong. I could do this. I needed to think about the women I could help. This wasn’t about me.

Dale stared at me, his eyes raking over my body perversely and I had to hold myself still to suppress a shudder of revulsion while he hovered so close I could feel his hot, sour breath on my face.

“Lock the door Matt,” Dale said finally, his eyes not leaving mine.

I glanced behind me as the big man secured the door, then back to Dale.

“What are you doing?” I asked. Dale chuckled and took a swig of the vodka off his desk. The men at the table had stopped playing cards and were all looking at me. Their table was littered with empty beer bottles, and their eyes were glazed.

“This is an audition, Bianca,” Dale sneered. “And for you to pass, we’re all going to take a turn with you.”

I started to back away, pulling my dress up to cover myself.

“This was a mistake,” I stammered. “I’d like to go.”

Dale stepped forward and grabbed me by the throat, slamming me against the cold steel door.

“Oh no you don’t, not until we’re done.”

My eyes went wide and I started to shake. I raised my hands to grip Dale’s fingers around my throat but that only made him laugh as the table of men got to their feet. How could I have been so stupid? How could I be so naive, that I thought they’d just give me access to their building and women? These men were hardened criminals, and now, they had me to do whatever they wanted with. I could scream, but who would hear me? Who would help me, when no one even knew I was here? Harry was right. Seth, Reya, they had all warned me but I didn’t listen. I had finally done it. I had gone too far.