Chapter Two
ROXANNE
He was cute, but his pretty boy looks and money did not induce confidence that he would be able to help find Ana. Normally, if an investigator type had been sniffing around the club for one of the girls, I wouldn’t get involved. It really wasn’t my business. The world wasn’t set up to take care of us and I wasn’t about to risk my own well-being to get involved in the life of someone I didn’t know.
Ana was different, though. Ana had been placed with me in my apartment shortly after she arrived in town. She had been scared, and I had comforted her. It was the first time I had seen the whole process up close and personal. I had been working for Stephano for five years, but it had been me who came to him for help. I was 18 years old at the time and I wanted money. Not the kind of money I could make working at the local mall – I wanted to be rich. Stephano helped me get what I wanted.
Sure, I knew I wasn’t rich in the traditional sense of the word. I still lived in an apartment and didn’t have a fancy mansion with a swimming pool. But I had plenty of money to get me by each month, name brand clothing, and trips to the spa each week. For me, this was rich enough for now.
Stephano wasn’t all bad. He took girls off the street and gave them something a little better. It was the girls’ responsibility to decide how much better they wanted their life to be. I actually didn’t fault him for taking advantage, he was a businessman and that’s what they did. But it didn’t mean I needed to stay around and be taken advantage of. I had big plans for my life and they didn’t involve Stephano.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize just how dangerous it would be to ever consider changing my life. I wasn’t just making money for myself, I made just as much money for Stephano and he wasn’t going to let his little cash queen leave him. So, I had stopped thinking that a new life was even possible. My whole focus had to be on making him happy so he could trust me and let me make some of my own decisions.
Over the last year, I had fought for some independence. I got my own apartment without his security system to watch me. I had my own security system now. I had my dog named Bull. He was a huge Rottweiler and not anything that Stephano could tap into or trick to working for him. Bull loved me and fought to protect me whenever necessary.
On the night that Stephano showed up at my house to drop off Ana, I knew I had to take her in. Bull barked to warn that someone had arrived, but he instantly calmed when I opened the door and Ana was there. He liked her and, therefore, I liked her.
Ana had looked scared when she stood in my doorway – more scared than I had ever remembered feeling when I had first gotten involved with Stephano. I wasn’t sure at the time where she was from or what she had been through up to that point. All I knew was that Bull liked her and that meant she was a good person and I should try and do my best to help her.
Bull didn’t like Stephano. I’m sure he felt the fear the man brought to my body when he was around. I’m sure my sweet dog felt the terror that still sat deep down in my soul for such a horrible man. Even though I had grown and gotten away from his hold a little bit, I was still clearly held captive by him.
Luckily, I didn’t fear that Stephano would hurt me as much as I once did. Things between us had calmed down, and I tried to show him I knew my place around him. I gave him his cut of my private lap dances and made sure he knew I was there to make him money. As long as his money kept rolling in, I wouldn’t have to worry. But the second I wasn’t delivering him cash, he would turn nasty again, I was sure of it.
When the knock came at my door around 7 o’clock in the morning, I knew it was the man I had met at the club. It was dangerous to have him come to my apartment. Not for me, but it for him.
I had been up most of the night and wanted to sleep, but first I needed to see what this man knew about Ana. She was the only one of Stephano’s girls that I had actually grown attached to. I assumed she had already been sold off, but I didn’t know for sure. Maybe this man would have more information or maybe the information I had would be helpful to him. But I hoped he hadn’t been followed by Stephano because that would make life very unsafe for the man at my door.
Bull started to bark and I told him it was all right. “I invited them over. Shhh, it’s okay, Bull,” I said.
He sat near me as I opened the peephole and looked out. My Bull was a good dog. I would know right away if the people at my door were good or not simply by the way he reacted to them. Dogs had the ability to sense the good in people, as well as the bad. If my dog didn’t like someone that I thought was all right, I listened to my dog. He had much better sense than I did.
“It’s Jackson, from the club. This is Ana’s friend Jordan and her husband, Chase. Chase is my brother, that’s how I got involved in all this. Can we come in?” the man called through the door.
I smiled at the long explanation Jackson gave for who everyone was and why they were all there. He was such a cute guy that in any other circumstances, I would have tried to flirt with him for sure. Slowly, I opened the door a crack to see how Bull would react to the group. He sniffed them and seemed calm, so I let them all in.
“He’s friendly if you’re not here to hurt me.”
“No, ma’am. We just need help finding Ana,” the man named Chase said.
Bull sniffed around the two men and then moved to the girl. He liked her a lot and instantly went to her. I couldn’t help but remember how he had been toward Ana. It was almost exactly the same. When Ana had arrived, I couldn’t keep Bull away from her. He had even tried to sleep in front of her door. I felt like he could tell she needed protecting. I wasn’t exactly sure why Bull liked Jordan so much, though; she obviously had plenty of protection in Jackson and Chase.
Bull followed Jordan for a minute as we walked over to the couches, then he moved back over to sit next to me. I was relieved that Bull liked everyone, and I felt much more comfortable talking to them about what I knew.
“Thank you for letting us come visit. I’m Jackson, by the way,” the cute, blond muscular guy from the previous night said.
“I don’t know how much help I can be. Stephano is really good at what he does. I’ve seen dozens of girls brought over here and either forced to work or sold to the highest bidder.”
“Whatever you can do is much appreciated. I haven’t seen or heard from my friend in months,” Jordan said.
I knew Jordan right away by her long, dark brown hair and sweet smile. Ana had talked about her and how worried she must be. We had tried to call Jordan to get help for Ana, but her number had been disconnected. I could see that Jordan had had much better luck in the man she chose from the website. Chase, Jordan’s husband, appeared very wealthy by the clothing he was wearing. He also seemed to really care about her. Simply by watching their body language, I could tell he was a good guy.
“She was a nice girl; I’ll do what I can. But just talking to you puts me in danger. What questions do you have? I’ll try to answer them,” I said as I looked back and forth between Chase and Jackson.
Obviously, they had to know I was putting myself in danger by talking to them. If they had done any research at all on Stephano, then they knew he would have no problem killing someone if he thought they betrayed him.
“How long did she stay here with you?” Jackson asked.
“How do you know she stayed with me?”
“She was a nice girl, but unless you knew her well, I doubt you would put yourself at risk with Stephano. Since she only worked at the club one night, naturally, I assumed she had spent more time here with you,” Jackson said with a hint of superiority in his voice.
I could tell he was the type of man that was used to being in charge. I could also tell that he had done his research and did know how dangerous Stephano was. Right away I liked Jackson, despite his obvious need to feel superior to everyone else in the room. He had done the work ahead of time and I liked that. I also felt like he wouldn’t purposely expose me to danger and I liked that a lot, as well.
Damn, this guy is smarter than his big muscles and blond hair let on, I thought.
“They brought her to my apartment a few nights after she arrived, I think.”
“Where was she before?”
“Stephano grooms the girls. Wines and dines them and gets them to fall in love.”
I noticed Jordan looked away from me and tears started to form. She was obviously one of those sweet girls who couldn’t take care of herself well. That had been Ana’s problem, too. You couldn’t show emotion in my world. Emotions were a sign of weakness; weakness was Stephano’s chance to win. I learned a long time before that I didn’t have any use for emotions.
“How long has she been gone?” Jackson asked me.
“About a week. Stephano got a buyer who is coming over from Dubai at the end of the month. He paid Stephano to take her out of circulation.”
“So, why not just leave her here with you?”
“My apartment isn’t controlled by Stephano. When he realized she wanted to get away from him, he needed to take her back with him.”
“How did he know she wanted to get away from him?” Jackson asked.
“One night at the club, Ana just got up and walked out the back door. When Stephano’s guys dragged her back, she was pretty bruised up. She came home with me that night and I took care of her, but then they came and took her to his house.”
“You just let him take her? You just let her be kidnapped!” Jordan cried as she stood up and yelled at me.
Bull became defensive and started to bark at her, but as I reached for him to pull him back, he ran towards Jordan. He was just trying to protect me and I knew that, but I also didn’t feel threatened by her at all. I knew she was just angry her friend was missing.
“Bull, heel!” I yelled.
I watched as Jackson stepped right in front of Jordan and just stood still. He didn’t yell at the dog. He didn’t make any fast movements. He just stared right into Bull’s eyes and calmly talked.
“Sit.”
“He’s not going to listen to you…” I started to say, but then realized that Bull had, in fact, sat down.
“I guess he listened,” Chase said as he looked between Jackson and me.
Chase looked like he was only a split second behind Jackson and would have also stepped in front of his wife to protect her. But Jackson just had faster reflexes and a bigger ego, so he did it first.
Jackson seemed to be one of those cocky guys who could do anything he wanted and never had to struggle. He had a level of confidence about him that left no room for anything else. I suspected he had once been in the military. Those were the men who would come to my club and act like that. But then again, he could have just been a rich spoiled man – they acted the same way.
“Okay, so you don’t know where she is?” Jackson picked up the questions again.
“I’m not sure. I assume he has her at one of his home or business locations, but he’s got a few throughout town. I’m not even sure she’s still in town. She could have already been sold.”
“But you said the guy was coming at the end of the month,” Jordan said as she stood behind Chase.
Bull had returned to sit near me and I honestly didn’t think he would attack Jordan. Her yelling had just made him nervous. He was a good dog and could tell good people from the bad ones. Even though Jackson annoyed the shit out of me, I thought he and the other two were genuinely just trying to find their friend.
“Do you think you could show Jackson the locations and help him find her?” Chase asked me.
“Here’s the deal. I liked Ana, she was really nice, but I’m not about to get killed over the girl. I think you just need to accept that she’s gone.”
“No, I can’t,” Jordan said as she started to cry in her husband's arms.
This girl certainly had more emotions than I think I had ever shown in all my life. She must have had a sheltered life if she was so willing to let her feelings out like that. I had never felt safe enough around any man or woman to break out in tears.
“Jackson, go talk to her, please. Convince her to help,” Chase said quietly, although I still clearly heard him.
Jackson grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway toward my bedroom. He was a handsome guy, and I would have loved to take him for a ride in the bedroom. But I didn’t think that was why he had dragged me down the hall.
“Help us out here. We are just trying to find a scared girl before things get too out of hand.”
“I can tell you’re the kind of guy who always gets what he wants, but I’m not going to get myself killed for some girl I only knew a couple weeks. Besides, I’ve risked enough by having you all at my house today.”
“Listen here, if it were your friend, you would want someone to help. Just give us the addresses and I’ll go check them out myself.”
“I don’t know the addresses. Do I look like Google?”
“Fine, just tell us the names of the businesses.”
Just then my phone rang. It was Stephano. I froze solid as I looked at Jackson and then went to look out the window. Stephano’s car was right out front. My heart sank, and I instantly felt like I was going to pass out. If he found the three of them in my house, he would demand an explanation. Since he knew I didn’t really have friends, it would be really hard to explain why I had the trio in my apartment.
“It’s Stephano. He’s here!”
“Tell him you have a John up here,” Jackson told me just before I answered the phone.
I wanted to be offended by his thought that I would sleep with any of my customers for money. But I knew way too many girls that would easily take a guy home for a thousand dollars. Being offended would have to come later.
“Hello,” I said to Stephano.
“Who’s there?”
“A customer from last night.”
“The high roller?”
“Yes.”
“Get rid of him. He’s had enough time with you. And, I get a fifty percent cut of this side job you tried to sneak in.”
“Of course, Stephano. I’ll leave five hundred dollars for you at the club.”
“You told me you would never whore yourself out and now you’re doing it. Don’t start whoring yourself around every night. You’ll look sloppy on the dance floor.”
“Okay.”
Stephano hung up and I looked up at Jackson, who had clearly heard every word of the conversation. I looked away, unable to look him in the eyes. Even the idea that I would sleep with a man for $1,000 was disgusting to me.
My knees felt weak as I watched Stephano drive away. It felt awful that he even thought I would sleep with a man for money. It wasn’t me, I would never do that, and I didn’t want Jackson or his friends to think that I was that kind of girl. I might not have been the best woman in the world, but I had some dignity.
“I’ll get you some money to give him,” Jackson said as we walked out into the living room.
“I know you guys are rich and everything always works out the way you want it to. But this isn’t a game, this is my life. I can’t get away from Stephano, and he’ll kill me if he finds out I was helping you. You are going to have to leave.”
“We’ll pay you,” Jordan blurted out. “Right, Chase? We will pay her for her time. What do you need? We will help you get out if you help us find Ana.”
“Come on now. I make almost ten thousand dollars a week. There just isn’t a place for me in this world without dancing.”
I didn’t believe the words as I said them, but it wasn’t going to be as easy as Jordan thought for me to leave my life. If I was truly going to leave Stephano, it would require me moving far away so he couldn’t track me down and that would require money.
“You don’t want to get married and have a family some day?” Jordan asked naively.
I laughed at her assumption that I was the kind of girl who wanted to be stuck in suburbia with a house full of brats. That certainly wasn’t even close to what I wanted for my future.
“Girls like me don’t get married.”
“One hundred thousand dollars,” Jordan said. “It’s enough for you to start fresh.”
“That’s only ten weeks of work. I’ll need five hundred thousand.”
“I’ll give you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and you agree to work with Jackson to find Ana. I’ll give you the money even if you don’t find her, but only if you agree to work with him until he feels like the case is over,” Chase said.
A quarter of a million dollars was a hell of a lot of money and plenty enough for me to start over fresh and get away from Stephano. I wanted to keep negotiating, but I actually liked Ana and wanted to help find her. It made me sick to think that Stephano was going to sell her to some sleazeball.
“Okay, I’ll do it. But I can’t quit my job yet, he will know something is up. And when it’s all done, you have to do everything you can to keep me safe.”
“Jackson is ex-Special Forces. He can keep you safe if you stay with him.”
“I’m going on record as this is a bad idea. No offense, but we don’t even know if this girl really knows Ana at all. She could be playing us,” Jackson said as he stood near the window and watched the driveway.
“Fuck you. I wouldn’t have risked my well being to have you over to my house if I didn’t know her.”
“I’m just saying, this is on you, Chase.”
“I’m going to take Jordan back to Atlanta. I’ll have fifty thousand dollars wired to your checking account today and the rest when Jackson says the job is done. Deal?” Chase said as he reached his hand out to shake mine.
“It’s a deal.”