Chapter Thirty-Eight – Luke

 

“I’d say I’m sorry,” I said as I wiped the wealthy man’s blood from my forehead with a wad of toilet paper, “but I’m really not. You can probably afford the surgery to get that corrected.”

One butt from the head was all it had taken to knock him unconscious. Now he lay chest down on the lid of the toilet, his arms wrapped around the base of the commode. I’d locked his wrists together with a pair of handcuffs I’d found in his jacket’s inner pocket and tied a strip of cloth I’d torn from Kevin’s robe around his mouth as a gag.

Both his masquerade ball mask and bow tie in hand, I went to the mirror and rinsed the rest of his blood off my face. Jaw clenched, I pulled his mask down over my face, making sure it was snug. I draped his bow tie around my neck, unsure of how to tie one. Normal ties? Fine. Bow ties? Not my cup of tea. I decided to just unbutton the top two buttons of my dress shirt and leave it hanging.

As I straightened out my ill-fitting suit coat and patted myself to make sure everything was where it should be, the man I’d just knocked unconscious began to stir. His words, or attempts at them, were drowsy and incomprehensible at first. Confused.

I fished his ID from my pocket and walked back over. Hand on his back, I crouched down next to him. “All right,” I said. “This is how things are going to work. You’re in an out-of-the-way bathroom at a sex party, and I’ve taken pictures of you chained to a toilet with your pants and underwear down around your thighs.”

I hadn’t done any such thing, of course. All that mattered was that he thought I had.

He twisted his head, looking at me with watery, terrified eyes. His nose wasn’t obliterated, but dried blood still caked it.

I held up his license in front of his face. I didn’t recognize the name, but from the gold band on his ring finger, I figured he wouldn’t want these supposed pictures being released to anyone besides him. Anyone who was at this party, besides Molly or me, of course, probably had a lot to lose by being found here. Not that I’d release anything, or try to hurt him any further. After all, I didn’t even have any pictures to blackmail him with.

The only thing that mattered, though, was whether or not he believed me.

“Do you understand so far?”

He nodded, feebly.

“Good. Now, if you make a noise to draw attention to yourself, I’m going to send these pictures to your family. Am I clear?”

He nodded.

“Excellent.” I got up from my spot beside the toilet and went back over to the mirror. One more spot check to make sure I looked halfway decent, and I was back in the hallway making a beeline toward Molly, my nose in the air as I tried to catch a scent of vanilla and citrus.

Less than a minute later, and I was in the room that had been occupied by commercial cleaners that morning. One look, and I could see why they’d needed professionals.

Sex everywhere, flesh on flesh, and the musky smell filling the air enough to cover even the smell of rotten plums.

Women and men passed by with trays of powders and pills held out to each guest, and I watched as one man did a line of coke off a girl’s back as she made out with another hired woman.

Blinders on, I kept moving, following that distinct trail Molly had left through the crowd. Around the back of the crowd, where she’d stopped for a moment at the back of the crowd surrounding a king size bed. Back down the hall towards the private rooms where we’d been earlier in the day. Past the seemingly unending row of darkly stained doors.

The whole while, I kept my eyes forward, not locking gazes or checking out anyone else. I watched them from my peripheral vision, but no more. The best way to move through a place where you shouldn’t be is to walk like you actually should. Don’t give anyone any room to doubt. Just be the king of the jungle till someone calls you out on it and asks to see your invitation.

And if there was anything I was good at, it was being king of the jungle. It was kind of in my blood.

I stopped as I got to the additional group area at the end of the private rooms, with its myriad couches and chairs, and couples. Another hall with additional rooms led off to the left, down around the side of the house. The smell of limestone was heavy here as it wafted down from that hall. Limestone, just like Tabitha had confirmed was sitting underneath this house, with a hint of damp like you’d find in an underground tunnel. I strolled over to the opening of the hallway, sniffing deeply.

Yeah. It was down this way. And close.

Now all I had to do was find Molly and get in there. I turned around, picked up her trail again, and headed back into the private area like a bloodhound sniffing after a convict.

And that’s when I saw them. Outside, on the patio. Molly in his arms, her upper body bent back and away as she tried to twist from his grasp. Every signal she was sending off said “don’t touch me,” but he sure as fuck wasn’t listening.

My blood surged, and I saw red. I was at the side door before my brain could even register what I was pissed about.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to keep trying to find my friend?” Molly asked as I threw the door open. “She’s around here, I swear. Just saw her a few minutes ago.”

“Oh no, no, no,” the guy with his hands on her said, grinning. “Believe me, you’re more than beautiful enough by yourself. Come on, let’s go back—”

“Molly?” I asked as I stomped across the deck, my combat boots louder than any dress shoes could ever be. “You all right?”

They both turned at the sound of my voice. Dickhead frowned, stepping back. Molly, on the other hand, sighed in relief and smiled a little.

“Do you mind?” Dickhead asked, his arm still around her waist. “I found her first.”

“Did you, now?” I asked, balled fists at my sides. I suddenly realized why all of this had been such a bad idea. Not because Molly couldn’t handle herself, but because I couldn’t. “Because I’d beg to disa-fucking-gree.”

He glanced down, clearly disturbed by the expression of pure bloody murder on my face, and saw my fists. “Just who in the fuck do you think you are? Do you know who I am?”

Molly saw the look, too, and her opportunity. She disengaged his arm from around her waist. “Luke!” she said, stepping away from him. She glanced from me to him, biting her lower lip. “Luke, don’t hurt him. He doesn’t understand what’s going on, that’s all.”

I advanced on him, fists still at my sides. A little smile quirked up at the edge of my lips as I tried to look nonthreatening. There wasn’t much I could do to accomplish that, though, especially not with the thoughts running through my mind. I wanted blood. I wanted to hear him beg for mercy while I pummeled him into the ground, wanted to hear him apologize to Molly for touching her in such a rude manner.

“What’re you two going on about?” Dickhead asked. “What is this?”

“Sorry,” Molly said, stepping between me and the asshole. Facing him, she pushed her slight figure back against me to stop me from moving any farther. “Luke is one of my regulars. He kind of keeps me on…retainer.”

Dickhead shook his head. “Retainer?”

I stopped in my tracks, suddenly remembering that Molly was supposed to be a whore. That all this was just a show, and that Dickhead wasn’t in on our little ruse. He was just part of the public, interacting with us like we were, for this world of high-dollar prostitutes and wealthy clients, at least, completely normal.

She shrugged. “He pays my rent and my car payment, and he gets my time when he’s around.” She spun around, pressing her body against mine.

Instinctively, my arm went around her waist, pulling her closer.

She squealed a little and grinned up at me. “I had no idea you were going to be here tonight. Getting tired of just little ol’ me?”

I looked past her at Dickhead’s downcast face. “Not one bit,” I growled. “Now, come on, let’s find a room.” Turning, I went to lead her back inside.

“Took you long enough to get here,” Molly whispered.

“Knocking two people unconscious and tying them up takes time,” I muttered back, reaching for the door.

“Wait a second!” Dickhead said from behind us. “This retainer thing? How about I quadruple it?”

Molly rolled her eyes.

“How about a factor of ten?” he asked when she didn’t respond.

We both sighed in unison, and I turned back to him. “Look, buddy, she’s not for sale. Or rent.” I squeezed her waist, my thumb stroking her side. “She’s with me. That’s the way it is. Deal.”

“Deal?” Dickhead growled, taking a step towards me. “I’m one of the wealthiest men in the western hemisphere. I don’t just ‘deal.’”

I took my arm from around Molly’s waist and stepped right up to him before she had time to react. “Well, guess what?” I asked as I put my chest inches from his, forcing him back a step. I kept my voice low and even, as cold and menacing as possible. “I might not be one of the wealthiest men in the western hemisphere, but I am one of the most dangerous. When I first saw you out here, I was prepared to beat the shit out of you and toss you over that railing down onto the rocks, just wait for Dominic’s men to find your body. But now I’m pissed. You touch her again, whether I’m around or not, and I’ll fucking gut you. I’ll take my time, too, start from your collarbone and work my way down so I don’t puncture anything vital too soon. Molly said no. I don’t care if she gets paid for sex or not—she’s a human being, and she gets to make her own decisions. And you have to respect that, or face the consequences.”

By the time I’d finished, his mouth was hanging open, and he was backing away again. “Y-y-you can’t talk to me that way.”

“Sorry, but it sounds like he just did,” Molly said from slightly behind me as she reached down and grabbed my hand, squeezed it hard, trying to let me know to let it go. “Come on, Luke. Let’s find a room, okay?”

Even as we headed back inside, I could feel the eyes on me. Not Dickhead’s eyes, either. No, these were the eyes of the creature we were stalking. It was close, and I could practically feel its rotting breath on the back of my neck again.

I squeezed Molly’s hand right back. “Yeah. I know just the room, too.”