Chapter 17 #3
I turn in my seat to face Vail. He doesn’t hesitate, but instead holds my face in his hands and leans in, crushing his lips to mine.
He kisses me hungrily, his tongue snaking past my teeth to roll over my own, and I feel lightheaded.
I held onto him, kissing him back just as deeply, not realizing until this moment exactly how much I needed this from him.
When he stops, he only pulls back the tiniest fraction, the tips of our noses brushing against each other.
“Be safe. Both of you. Stay close to each other. I want my family home with me tonight, you got that?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
“We’ll be fine, brother. As long as we can keep attention off of Shaw so he can get in and confirm our suspicions, then we can get the fuck out of there and hopefully move on to phase two.”
“Yeah…” Vail slipped a little; his voice strained ever so slightly as he slowly, reluctantly, released me.
“Okay. Let’s fucking get this over with.
” His hazel eyes roved over me, and for a moment, he seemed like he wanted to say something, yet after a moment’s pause, he shook his head and climbed out, closing the door behind himself before trudging on after Shaw.
Overhead, tiny flakes of snow were beginning to fall, giving the otherwise ominous-looking roadway a more ethereal appearance.
It felt out of place, the beautiful falling, fluffy flakes, given where we were and what we were trying to find out.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Lee said, and the Spade driving the SUV shifted into drive, turning the headlights back on, and pulled away from the curb. We passed the others, who stayed behind, readying for their roles in this insane plan.
“I’ll be in here the whole time,” the biker said, moving down the road before turning off onto another more desolate one. “So if you message the group chat, I’ll get it, too, and I’ll storm in there and get you kids out.” He passed back what looked like an ID, which Lee took.
“Thanks, Taz.” Lee pocketed the ID and pulled me close to his side, holding my head over his heart.
I could hear his heart pumping loudly in his chest. Despite his cool outer appearance, Lee was as nervous as I was.
From my angle, I saw the reflection of our driver, Taz, in the rearview mirror, and I held back a surprised gasp.
He was probably around our age, if not older by two or three years, and the poor guy had thick, heavy scarring up his cheeks towards his ears, as though someone roughly sliced into his face a little before forcing his jaw open.
His dark, shoulder-length hair was combed back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and his nearly black eyes are focused on the road.
He reminded me of Haldon, and I realized he must be Metis, if not actually Indigenous.
But his scars! Who the fuck would do such a thing? I quickly looked away from Taz, unable to bear thinking about what pain he went through to earn such a horrible fate.
“Two minutes,” he said from the front seat as we finally pulled off into a private drive.
The area was fenced off by a high chain-link fence, complete with barbed wire wrapping around the top.
There were security cameras, but the guys knew about them already.
I kept telling myself that the others knew what they were doing.
They knew how to get past the fence line and use the woods as cover.
They’d be safe. Lee and I, however… we were marching right into the lion’s den.
Taz drove us up the curved drive, the trees looming overhead, cutting off the night sky until finally, there was a break ahead, and we emerged from the treeline to a large, elaborate Georgian-style brick house.
It was two stories, with four white framed windows looking out the front and a black door beneath a grand, white stone archway with an ugly statue of a gargoyle leering overhead.
A large grey fountain stood empty in the middle of the drive, which circled around it, dead vines covering the entire thing, all the way up to the cherub that was perched at the top of its elaborate stonework.
Red uplighting lined the house, giving it a rather forbidding appearance.
Two men in black standing out front looked like they were almost as big as Animal, and though they stood stock still, their eyes watched our SUV approach.
Before we could pull up, one stepped forward, hand extended to stop us, to which Taz complied.
Lee lowered his window, pulling out the ID and two one hundred dollar bills, holding them aloft as the security came over to check him out.
“Mr. Chopard,” The guard said, reading the name on the fake-out loud, “This says you’re from British Columbia… you in town on business?” The security guard said, looking at the ID.
“My father is in town for business. Thought I’d…
explore what Ashland has to offer?” Lee gave the guy a smile that would make me shudder if I didn’t know him.
It reeked of skeeze and a cockiness that I knew Lee didn’t embody.
He was always sweet and confident. But I knew he was playing a part right now, so I pushed it all aside.
“And this is?” The guy eyed me next, his gaze roaming over my fishnet-covered legs with interest.
“My pet.” Lee slid his hand up my thigh, getting dangerously close to my center, his hand partially moving beneath the material of my coat.
“Is she for sharing?” The guy asked, and Lee’s hand tightened on me for a fraction of a second before he quickly composed himself.
“She’s just for me, if you know what I mean?”
“Got it.” He handed back his ID, then pulled out a black marker and held his hand out to me.
What the fuck? I thought, not having been told about this part. What was he doing?
Lee sighed, as though impatient with me and seized my wrist, thrusting it forward so that the guy could draw a star on the back of my hand, then he stood back so we could drive forward.
“Just playing the part, okay?” he whispered as we undid our seatbelts. “I might be a little rough, but I love you more than anyone in the world, and I would never actually hurt you, babe,” he said, catching my chin in his fingers and forcing my attention to him. “Do you trust me?”
I stared into Lee’s dark eyes, breathless from hearing the words, I love you, over and over again in my head. I tried to say it back, as I was feeling the same sense of safety wash over me, but instead, I breathed, “Absolutely, I do.”
“Good. Now forgive me for how I’m going to treat you…
” I could see the distress on his face when he released me and opened the door, stepping out into the cold air.
I followed, a little unsteady on these insane, black heels.
It was still snowing, but the flakes had gotten bigger, and the eerie stillness in the lot, with the woods, gave me a sense of foreboding. I didn’t feel right about this.
But before I could voice my reservations, Lee grabbed my arm and pulled me forward towards the stone steps leading up to that somber black door. I slipped a little on the steps, but he just laughed with the security guards at my fumble and grunted at me.
“Pick yourself up!” he snapped. “Don’t fucking embarrass me in there!”
“Yes, Sir,” I said meekly, bowing my head to him.
I hated it. I fucking hated it, but we were just playing a part, I reminded myself.
A member of security let him in, and I continued following.
The inside entry was about the size of the bedroom I shared with Vail.
The walls were made of dark wooden panelling with intricate carvings along the baseboards and along the top where it joined to the ceiling, which was made of copper tile.
There was a plushy, red cushioned couch, fancy fern plants in black marble vases, and the dark wooden floorboards were shiny, my heels clicking off of them as we walked in.
There was more security around, and they checked us in after looking at only Lee’s ID.
They didn’t even bother asking for mine, for my name, or anything for that matter.
They glanced at the star drawn on the back of my hand and looked away, nodding respectfully to Lee as he handed them hundred-dollar bills as tips.
“Bienvenu dans La Maison Rouge,” One said, nodding towards the double doors leading into the mansion. Behind them, I heard the bass of the music pounding away, and though Meredith had briefed me on the layout of the place, I didn’t know how I’d feel going back there.
When the double doors opened, I truly understood that descriptions could never have really prepared me for what we walked into.
The room descended down by two steps, into a seating area, with rich, plush red upholstered couches and chairs, like the one out front.
There were mini-stages around the room, where girls danced seductively, some dancing with the poles, others simply using them to hold themselves up as they slowly worked their bodies to the music, looking like they were either exhausted or drugged up to hell.
The song playing overhead was one I recognized by The Kills, U.R.A.
Fever… and the feel of it with the scene sent a chill through my blood.
There were men in suits, maybe ten in total, of various ages, scattered about the space.
Some had girls dancing on them as they drank from crystal glasses or smoked cigars.
Others were talking with other men; their heads bowed close together as they leaned over a table lit with a single candlelight in a crystal vase.
When I peered closer, I saw girls beneath the table, their feet sticking out from the other side, and I instantly felt sick.