Chapter 6
Anna reclined on her couch, scrolling through the hundreds of photos she had taken on the mountain. Sure, she had hit her head, but at least the story had ended on a good note. She did everything she was there to do, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She had spent a little over twenty-four hours with Dom, and he had been nothing like she had imagined. He was hot. She got that when she had seen his picture for the first time, but he was more than two-dimensional now. He was kind, caring, and could cook his ass off. She felt a little guilty but stopped that thought before it could run its course. She was alone, and people on their own had to make hard decisions. She had had enough experience with hard decisions the past year from being homeless, dumpster-diving for food, and convincing herself she would get a degree in business administration even if it killed her. It was practical, and wasn’t she just the perfect Canadian for living up to their motif? She was going to sell her pictures and be happy. That’s what her parents would have wanted.
Her computer chimed, letting her know she had an email, and she clicked on it, hoping it was a confirmation of her payment. And it was. She sent the message hours ago, but her mystery client was unreachable.
Guy29834: You found Dom?
CameraChick: I did. He was right where you said he’d be.
Guy28834: I’ll transfer the money now.
Who knew there was a market for people who wanted to hire women to find men? She would call herself an escort, but Dom hadn’t taken her anywhere, and she wasn’t a prostitute. Dom also hadn’t acquired any of her services. She was just a broke college kid, doing whatever she had to for rent payments. It wasn’t like she was doing anything super wrong. At least that's what she told herself to clear her conscience. The guy hadn’t asked her to kill Dom or anything. If he had, she would have said no. Obviously.
He had just messaged her out of the blue on the Sugar Baby site, and she'd thought he was just another client. But then he'd asked her for services that were a little different than what she was used to. Who was she to say no to that? He paid well and had just asked her to do odd errands. She had never met the guy in person, but he messaged her consistently, and he paid well. So far, it had only been random things in relation to Dom. Find out where he lived, meet him, get him to like her, and leave a hint about what she did. So far she had completed all her tasks without fail. It was up to Dom what happened next. Even though she had met him under suspect circumstances, Anna felt butterflies in her stomach at the idea of seeing Dom again.
*****
Dom had always been suspicious. He was cautious, and even though he knew how to have fun, he didn’t take uncalculated risks. This was why he was still alive and why he had made it out of the drug bust alive when everyone else either had died or had gotten locked up. Some would say that was good luck, but seeing as it was the number one reason on a long list of why his family was no longer with him, he thought it was bad luck. Still, caution rang true as he checked his browser history. Sure, Anna looked harmless, and not even remotely dangerous… and sexy, and… he shook his head and refocused. She looked like she was innocent, but he needed to be sure. What if she was secretly a spy or something? It wasn't the first time that one of his enemies would've sent somebody after him, so the thought wasn't that irrational.
The browser history was almost nonexistent. He wiped it after every use, so it was easy to see what she had been doing.
Yahoo mail.
Gmail.
Twenty20.
Never heard of it. He clicked it to be sure. It was a website where you could sell your Instagram pictures. That made sense. He saw the camera; she was clearly a photographer.
He went back to the history.
Seekingarrangement.com
“What is that?” he wondered aloud before clicking it.
Mutually Beneficial Arrangements. Home to over 5 Million Sugar Babies, Sugar Daddies, & Sugar Mommas
Well, the website made it very clear what it was. Was Anna a sugar baby? Dom sat back from the computer with uncertainty. She was certainly beautiful enough to be a sugar baby. Any man would gladly spend time in her presence, even if they had to pay; he would. But why was she on it on his computer?
'I just need to check my messages.'
That was what she had said.
Dom looked on the site and saw there was no way for him to search her name unless he was on the site himself.
He stood up quickly, scaring Gelato who was resting by his feet, to pour himself a glass of whiskey.
“I really shouldn’t be doing this.” Gelato raised his head in confusion, and seeing his owner wasn’t in danger, laid his head back down. “But I’m going to do it anyway,” he said, clicking the register button to log in.
The internet was working slowly, but not slow enough to deter Dom from what he was doing. He set up his profile, not giving much thought to the answers. He wasn’t looking to make a connection with anyone. He was looking for Anna, so who cared what his favorite things to do were, or what his age was. He briefly considered the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be using the internet or social media as he could be tracked with it, but since he hadn’t put any of his real information on it and had a location blocker on his computer, he would be okay. He thought about what he should use for a profile picture and chose the one his sister had taken of him coming off the beach in Italy. The water was beautiful, and he was shirtless. It was one of the last memories of his family when it had been whole – not bullet-riddled and torn apart. He shook his head, clearing the images of his father shot and on the cement floor, holding a young Dom’s hand and telling him he had to be the man of the house now. The responsibility to take care of his mamma and siblings was a weighted crown he was forced to bear. It was a crown no one would choose and came with extra baggage that he had no idea he’d have to carry at the time. Like being so poor, his family was almost homeless, and trading his soul for gang affiliations just so he could get a decent pay and make sure his family stayed fed. He took everything life threw at him, even bullets, to get them out of that rough neighborhood.
He stood up quickly again, shocking Gelato for the last time. The dog huffed as he walked to the bedroom where he could sleep and not be disturbed. Dom refilled his glass and sat back at the computer, satisfied with his decision. He cropped the picture to only show his muscled torso and sat back stunned as he pressed complete and realized the profile was public. It was tiring and had taken forever. Internet out here was damn near the equivalent of dial-up. Still, it was done, and he decided it was enough for one night. He didn’t know how he planned to find Anna. He was sure the women didn’t go by their real names on there, but Dom was optimistic he had enough clues to help him find her.