“Do you live here?”
“Huh?” Breaker lifted his head from the top of the chair. I thought he’d been staring at the ceiling, but he blinked like he’d been almost asleep.
“Do you live here?” I repeated. “Or did you just rent this place out?”
“Rent,” he replied with a yawn. “Why do you ask?
“It looks a little clean for a guy like you, I was just wondering,” I shrugged. He rolled his eyes at me, and I could see that he was already starting to questions his decision to keep me around.
“You know, if you don’t like it, I can take you back to the bar.” His expression was inscrutable, and I couldn’t quite tell if he meant it. A tremor of fear ran through my belly at the idea of being back on that horrible stage, waking up in that disgusting room. How many other women were trapped back there? Had been trapped back there? Why hadn’t we heard about this?
“No,” I said. I meant it to come out strong and sarcastic, but the quiet fear was obvious in my tone.
He didn’t say anything, just nodded and laid his head back again.
If he fell asleep, I could run. In a t–shirt and underwear, yes, in a sketchy part of town. Without my badge. So I might actually be tempting more trouble than I was already in. Because, weird as it was, Breaker hadn’t hurt me. I hadn’t exactly intended that little scene in the bathroom to happen, but I hadn’t said no, either. But every time I glanced over, sneaking a look at him out of the corner of my eye, it seemed more dissonant than before. Breaker. Breaker, the asshole who’d been my first arrest, the guy who’d relentlessly caused me trouble across my entire career, was the one who had probably saved my life. And now, he wanted to work to bring down some asshole involved in trafficking with my help? I had no idea who this guy was, but he bore little to no resemblance to the Breaker I had become acquainted with over the years.
There wasn’t much of a plan in place yet. Breaker had suggested that we spend some more time in the club, get the inside scoop and figure out what exactly was going on before we got anyone else involved. I suggested getting in touch with my station and putting together a plan with their help, but he refused. He’d put his phone in his back pocket, so I couldn’t sneak it if he fell asleep, either. Asshole.
“Look, if you want me to help you, I need to call the station.” I tried holding my hand out imperiously, as if I expected him to just hand my phone over. As a move, it worked well when I was in uniform. This t–shirt was not a uniform. “And I need pants.”
“Are you sure?” He asked, reaching into his pocket slowly and pulling out his phone. He held it to his chest protectively, as though afraid I might lunge for it. I sighed and resisted the urge to snap my fingers at him.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I replied. “Come on. Or else they’re going to start looking for me.”
“Fine,” he tossed me his cell, and I caught it out of the air. “But I’m staying in the room with you the entire time.” He also tossed me a pair of sweatpants. They were absurdly large on me, but at least my ass wasn’t hanging out anymore.
I dialed the number from memory with a pause, and held my finger to my lips as it rang. I could just…I could just tell them what had happened. That Breaker had snatched me and I needed help. I could hold him off long enough to get those words out, for sure. But for some reason, when Natalie, our desk sergeant, picked up, I found myself going along with the plan we had already agreed upon.
“Hey, Natalie.” I greeted her.
“Angel?” She replied. “Everything okay?”
“I know I’m meant to be in today, but I’m really sick.” Getting her on my side was easy if I just tried. I knew she had a soft spot for me, and saw me as a kind of daughter figure.
“Oh, honey,” she sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that. What’s up?”
“Uh, a really bad stomach bug,” I pulled a face at Breaker, surprised at how easily the lies were coming to me. “I don’t know when I’ll be in, but I’ll keep you guys updated, okay?”
“Sure,” she replied, and I heard her clacking away at her keyboard for a moment before pausing and speaking again. “Uh, Angel?”
“Yeah?”
“What phone are you calling from? Because the system doesn’t recognize the number…”
“Oh, sorry,” I shook my head. “I got a new cell. My old one…I, uh, dropped it in the toilet and it got fried.”
Breaker smirked and cocked an eyebrow at my lie. I looked away from him to keep from breaking into giggles.
“Oh, okay,” Natalie replied, sounding surprised. “I’ll see you soon, though, right?”
“Right,” I promised her, my heart doing a little slip as I heard the concern in her voice. She gave a shit about me, she really did, and it seemed as though people like that had been getting harder and harder to come by since…well, since it happened.
I hung up and tossed the phone back to Breaker. He fumbled it, before tightening his grip and stuffing it back in his pocket.
“All good?” He demanded, even though he’d been in the room for the entire conversation. I rolled my eyes.
“You heard it, didn’t you?” I pointed out. “It’s fine.”
“Great,” he seemed to relax a little. “Thanks.”
“Sure,” I yawned and stretched. “I’m starving. Can we get something to eat?”
“I’ll order some takeout,” he said, reaching his hand out for his phone. “Chinese okay?”
“That’s fine,” I nodded, and settled back down on the bed. I was so swamped in his clothes that it felt as though I was already swaddled up in a duvet. I had to admit, though—it was more comfortable than my uniform, no questions about that.
Breaker ordered, and it was quiet between us for the twenty minutes it took for the food to arrive. Breaker made sure to close the door behind him when he went out to fetch it. Despite my cooperation, he still didn’t trust me. I would feel the same in his position, so I couldn’t blame him, but still—it made me feel like a prisoner. If I tried to leave, would he let me? Breaker must have known as well as anyone that I could have taken him down if I wanted to, and yet he was still standing. After he paid the delivery kid and closed the door, he started laying the cartons out on the small table near his miniscule kitchen.
“I ordered a bunch of different things,” he explained, passing me a paper plate and a plastic fork. I piled it high, not realizing how ravenous I was until the smell of the Chinese food hit my nose and my mouth started watering. I stuffed my face until I couldn’t manage another mouthful, and then flopped back, groaning, against the bed.
“I’m exhausted,” I yawned, and went to pull the covers over myself.
“Hey, don’t hog the blankets,” Breaker said. There was a tone to his voice, like he thought he was joking. I slowly turned over to meet his gaze.
I let my expression chill down to where it would have frozen water. “You don’t seriously think that we’re going to be sharing a bed, do you?” I demanded, raising my eyebrows at him in incredulity. He shrugged.
“Why not? This is my place, after all,” he reminded me. I sat up, irritation pulsing around my head.
“You fucking bought me, Breaker, don’t you remember? I didn’t exactly have much of a choice about coming here.” He just shrugged again, infuriatingly. How on Earth had I fucked this guy earlier today—and enjoyed it as much as I had? I flushed at the memory, and pushed it quickly from my brain so I could keep a clear head.
“Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean I’m crashing on the couch another night.” He pulled off his shirt and made his way to the bathroom. My belly cramped in sudden fear that he was going to be that close to me again, while I was asleep.
And then it clicked—he was worried I was going to make a run for it while he was asleep. Yeah, he had to get some rest, but I’d be a whole lot less likely to get out of there without him noticing if he was crashed out right next to me. I rolled my eyes, lay back down, and tugged the covers as tightly around myself as I could manage. Well, if he had to, it wasn’t like I was going to give him a show at the same time.
He brushed his teeth and returned to the bedroom, sliding down in the bed next to me and flicking off the light. I stared at the bedside table next to me, daring him to reach over and touch me—but he didn’t. Instead, he rolled over, let out a small snort, and started snoring, leaving me awake and alone in that strange little apartment. But, as I focused in on the pace of his breath, I found myself drifting off to sleep in not time.
***
I woke with a start the next morning. Once again, it took me a moment to remember where I was and what in the name of holy hell I was doing there. The last twenty–four hours flashed through my mind. Fucking Breaker, realizing I didn’t have to, and having him break the news of his plan to me. And…I agreed. I stayed. I was still here, after all. I flipped over and stared up at the ceiling, tucking my hand behind my head to prop it up. Whatever drugs they had given me the day before last had started to wear off completely, and I was almost feeling back to normal once again.
It was something Dad could never have prepared me for, being a woman on the force. To him, policing was an entire community built up entirely to make sure that he was supported and cared for. The guys loved him, the women looked after him, and the force made up a whole other family in his life, especially on those nights that he was forced to stay away from us to keep us safe. But he never realized how different it was for women. How could he? Why would he? He was old–fashioned, a man of his time, and I didn’t hold that against him. I just wish that I’d known how to deal with something like this, known how to wriggle out of circumstances like this one when they arose. He had never taught me that. Still, I was pretty sure I was doing the right thing.
I turned to check if Breaker was in bed next to me, but he wasn’t. I could hear the shower going from the room next door, and enjoyed the few minutes of solitude I got before he returned once again. I had a feeling that he would be keeping a hawk–eye on me as long as I was under his care, but that was probably for the best for the time being. We were about to try and gather information on a criminal organization that went far beyond dealing and swaggering around town intimidating the locals. We were talking human trafficking, prostitution, maybe sexual slavery. My palms itched when I thought about all the terrible things these men must have done over the years, and the fact that I was finally getting a chance to take them down. Yeah, we were being idealistic, but I was a cop. I had to have a little of that running in my veins, else I’d have given up years ago from the cynicism of it all.
Breaker appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, wrapped up in a towel. My eyes swept appreciatively up and down his body before I could stop them, and I scolded myself internally for my actions. No need to swell his already oversized ego more than it already was.
“Morning,” he greeted me, and I had an odd moment of déjà vu. This moment, it reminded me of something I’d shared with one of my exes. Well, aside from the kidnapping and human auction side of things. I just…I had to admit, I was attracted to Breaker, and being in such close quarters with him didn’t make that any easier to handle.
“Morning,” I yawned, and pulled the covers up to my chin.
“So, I got a call from the club,” he went on, dropping the niceties. “They’re having a poker night tonight and they’ve invited me to join them. I thought you could come with me, as my date?”
“How will that work? They all know me as a cop, and as the toy you bought.” I scoffed, unable to keep my incredulity under wraps.
“It gives you a chance to see how they function up–close,” he replied patiently. “It’s not much, but at least it’s an in.”
“Fair enough,” I held my hands up. “But I’ll need something to wear.”
“Didn’t like other dress, huh?” he teased, and I almost hissed. “I’ll pick you something up later today, but we need to start on our game plan. Figure out what we’re going to go in there looking for.”
“Can I wake up a little first?” I protested his deluge of orders.
“I thought cops were meant to be good in the mornings,” he teased. “Oh, wait, you need a donut and a coffee first, don’t you?”
“I don’t need them, but if you’re offering…” I was starving again, and realized that I must have gone twenty–four hours or so without food before I got my hands on that takeout.
“There was some leftover Chinese. I put it in the fridge.” He gestured through the door that led to the kitchen and I managed to pull myself out of bed. My head was still pulsing with a little pain from the drugs, but I was feeling substantially better than I had the day before. Maybe that had more to do with the fact I knew I hadn’t been purchased to enter into sex slavery with a man who hated me, now that I actually thought about it. I grabbed myself a bowl of dry cereal– there was no milk in the apartment, unsurprisingly– and Breaker got dressed.
“What size are you?” He asked gruffly. I wanted to make a comment about the fact that he’d already seen enough of me to make an educated guess, but I knew that wasn’t going to get the two of us anywhere.
“Uh, small,” I replied.
“I’m going to go out and get you a dress now,” he went for the door. “But you’re…shit, just don’t go anywhere, right? If someone catches you running out of here, they’re going to put you right back out there and sell you again, and I don’t have another ten grand to keep you safe this time.”
“I won’t,” I threw back at him. “Oh, and I’ll need shoes, too.”
“Size?”
“Six and a half.”
“See you soon,” he went for the door, and I made my way over to the window to watch him wander down the street and towards the cheap clothes shops at the other end of the road. I had never had a man buy me clothes before– this would almost have been romantic, if it weren’t for, you know. All of it.
He arrived back a half–hour later, carrying a small bag. He tossed it in my direction and I opened it and looked inside.
I wrinkled my nose up when I saw what was in it.
“What? Is it the wrong size?” Breaker sighed, and I shook my head. I plucked at the fabric between my fingers, holding the dress up and peering at it, moving it back and forth in front of me.
“It’s just not really…uh, me,” I commented.
“Sorry, but you’re going to need to play the part if we want to find anything out,” he reminded me. “Come on, put it on. We should get there on time.” He paused, then grinned. “Think of it like going undercover.”
I resisted the urge to flip him off. “When does this thing start?”
“Soon,” he glanced at his watch. “Cops aren’t going to come bust places during the day so this is the safest time to do it.”
“Fair enough,” I muttered, making a mental note to pass this information on to my colleagues when I got of here. If I go out of here. I pushed the thought from my head at once, peeled off the clothes I had been wearing, and changed into the stuff Breaker had brought for me.
I didn’t have any make–up, but I did my best to clean myself up and look as presentable as possible. That was tough, considering what he’d gotten me to wear. The dress was short, hitting a few inches above my knee, and tight, hugging my hips and my waist all the way up to my chest. The straps were thick, and the dusky teal color suited my skin. I wondered how much time he’d spent picking this out, if he’d thought about how good it would look against my coloring. He’d probably just wanted me to look like the nicest eye candy in the room. I grabbed the heels he’d picked up—black, simple, and very, very high, and slipped into them. I was instantly reminded why I didn’t like to wear anything but the flats I wore on patrol, or the sneakers I used to go running in. I fluffed my hair, washed my face, and dabbed on some of his aftershave to cover up the smell of sleep and Chinese food that was clinging to me like nobody’s business. I looked in the mirror—not bad. I could pass for a trophy girlfriend in a pinch.
I made my way back outside, and Breaker’s jaw hung open as he looked at me. I stared back at him, tugging the hem down as far as I could.
“You look…” he trailed off, leaving the words unsaid. I didn’t want to hear the end to that sentence and I knew it.
“We should go,” he suggested, offering me an arm. I took it, stumbling forward slightly in my heels.
“Shit,” I muttered to myself. I wished I could wear something a little closer to the ground, but I remembered the way those women who’d been all over Breaker dressed, and I knew that heels were part of that uniform.
“I think we’re going to keep you away from the booze tonight,” Breaker remarked with amusement as I grabbed for his arm to make sure I didn’t tip over on the spot. I shot him a look, one that warned him that he was already pushing his luck and that he should play it very, very careful if he wanted to keep me on side. He held his hand up in apology.
“Sorry,” he grinned, and I could tell that he barely meant it. “Come on, let’s get going. It’s going to take us at least a half–hour to get you down those stairs, after all.”
He was right, the bastard. Eventually, I had to take off the heels and clutch them in my hands as I made my way down the steps, worried was I that I was going to tumble down and break my nose. How did other women do this? I had no clue—I would have to get someone to teach me, for the next time I needed to play at being a willing sex slave in order to take down a human trafficking cartel. Police work required skills that I hadn’t even thought of when I’d got into it, that was for sure.
When we arrived at the club, I was surprised to see that it was already buzzing with activity. I had assumed that a place like this would usually operate under the cover of darkness, but then, it wasn’t as though the criminal underworld had much of a schedule to keep. Breaker led me over to one of the tables at the other end of the room and sat me down, and I did my best to ignore the little looks I was getting from the rest of the clientele there. I was the only woman in the place, and the way they were looking at me made the hair on the back of my neck prickle with discomfort. I knew I shouldn’t have let them get to me…but damn.
“Stay here,” Breaker murmured. “I’ll be right back.”
He vanished in the direction of the bar, leaving me alone under the gloomy lights—and I found myself staring at the stage, reliving the moments I had spent up there and praying that I would be able to stop any other woman suffering the same fate.