Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Charlotte Mitchell
I don’t know what kind of car this is, but it has to be expensive. There is only enough room for two people: the driver and the passenger. And I can tell just by the purr of the engine that it’s built for speed.
It’s the middle of the night, and the clouds have rolled in to cover the moon. I wasn’t able to see the true color of the car, but it looked some shade of gray. We had strode out of the condo like I hadn’t just gotten myself off in front of a stranger, walking outside in absolute silence. Once I realized what car we were getting into, he stepped in front of me, reached for the handle, and helped me get inside. It’s a low car, and it made my dress ride up, but it would have been worse if I had gotten in alone.
As we drive through East Harlem, I can’t stand the silence of the car though, so instead of letting it suffocate me, I spin to face him slightly. His eyes are focused on the road, and his jaw is clenched so tight I can see the muscles straining along it. He is, however, as beautiful in the dark as he is in the light.
While I was on the bed, pleasuring myself, I had snuck looks at him, fantasized that he was the one doing all those things to me. It had worked better than it should have, considering I don’t know this man from Adam. The purple hue of the room had played against the carved outline of his face and made his eyes sparkle in such a different light that I couldn’t help but soak them in. There was lust there, and because of that, I’d never felt more beautiful than I had in that moment, naked before him, moaning and stripped bare of any dignity that I had. I hadn’t cared, to be honest, because even though I know it won’t be … that someone else will view this video – in that moment, it was just me and him.
But now, as I focus on him and study his tight expression, I wonder what he’s thinking; in that room, his expression wasn’t tight. Not like this.
“I could have walked,” I whisper. It would have been quite a distance, but I could have.
He clutches the steering wheel a little tighter as he turns a corner. I had told him where to take me. It’s not where I live, but it’s close by. Over my dead body will someone in this business know where I sleep at night, even if I fantasized about him twenty minutes ago.
“A woman shouldn’t be out in East Harlem once the sun goes down.” God , that voice. It goes straight to my clit more than the vibrations of the car.
I glance at my lap and twist my lips to the side. “I can take care of myself.”
He spares me a quick look. “I don’t think you know what lurks at night around here.”
I fight a sigh because, as a cop, I know exactly what prowls in the night. “Well, thank you for taking me home. ”
“It’s my job,” he says tightly.
“Oh really?” I grumble sarcastically because I can tell he doesn’t like it. “Do you take all the new girls home? Because I have to say that you don’t seem the type.”
His brows pinch together, but he keeps his eyes on the road. “I prefer to take care of things myself. Do I take them all home? No. But –” His frown deepens.
“But what?” I press and then chuckle without humor. “Am I different or something?”
“Or something,” he repeats before turning another corner. I grab the edges of my leather seat because he takes it a little too fast.
“Okay,” I eventually say, drawing out the word. “Well, thank you anyway.”
His nod is my only answer. That frown is still on his face, and I’m sure he can’t think past whatever put it there in the first place.
“How many girls are under your employment?” I ask as I glance out the window and watch the streetlamps go by.
“More than enough.”
“Do I have competition to worry about?”
He doesn’t answer me at first, so I look back at him. Eventually, he says, “Yes, if you get the job.”
“When will I know if I get the job?” I squeeze the leather a little tighter, hoping for a positive answer. I need this, and honestly, I can look past the fact that it’ll strip me bare in more ways than one. Not only do I have to prove to Visser, and to myself, that I’m not my father and that I’m capable of more than basic arrests, but I also want to save the women being trafficked from their horrible, unthinkable fate. I may have only gotten a taste today, but I can tell there are so many layers. I plan to strip them all away until I find out who is in charge of all this then make the arrest myself.
I’m a little shocked when I see a smirk tilt his lips. “A little desperate?”
“I need the job.” It’s only a half-lie. I want to see him again too. Even though he’s a criminal, and probably the worst of the worst, I find myself completely drawn to him. It’s entirely unhealthy. “Or is it Andre that I need to –”
His mood switches with a snap of two fingers. “You won’t be talking to Andre,” he nearly growls.
“Why?” I ask with a cock of my head.
“Andre doesn’t stick his nose in my business. That’s all you need to know. You’ll be dealing with me, and me alone.”
Okay, now my interest is piqued. “He just seemed –”
“I don’t care what he seemed like to you. You’ll stay away from him.”
There’s more to unbury there, but I can tell by the anger in his tone that he doesn’t want me to press further, and truth be told, I don’t want to press my luck and make it obvious that I’m here to bring everything down like a house of cards.
“Okay, fine,” I answer, holding my hands up in surrender. “No Andre. Do I ignore his existence or . . .”
“How much more plain do I need to make it?” His tone is so growly, and his rage is starting to perfume the car. “I don’t want to see you within twenty feet of him. Not even if you don’t get the job.”
I wet my bottom lip. “Why? Will he try to offer me one?”
His jaw flexes once. “Andre won’t offer you anything. He takes what he wants, and trust me when I tell you, don’t give him any reason to.”
“And you don’t? ”
He huffs a slow sigh. “End of discussion.”
Silence falls over the car once more as both of us mull over the conversation, what’s said and left unsaid. It does nothing for my curiosity, and again, I wonder what exactly Andre does in the porn business and why Nix is so against him. And chiefly, why would he care anyway? He’s got enough girls. I’m just a tiny number on that scale. Why would he care?
It’s food for thought at a later time because the questions flee as soon as he murmurs, “You’re her .”
Confusion twists my features. “What?”
He shakes his head a little. “You’re her. I don’t know who yet, but I know you from somewhere.” He looks over at me as he pulls up to the destination, an apartment complex that’s a few blocks from mine. “You may hide who you really are now, but trust me when I say that I will either find out who you really are, or I’ll remember.”
I try like hell to keep my breathing under control. I don’t know if that’s a threat, but it sure as hell sounded like one. “I don’t even know who I am,” I answer truthfully because, when caught in a lie, you always sprinkle some truth.
He studies my face, travels the slopes and plains across my features, and finally, he stops on my lips. I don’t give him any reason to not believe me, so I hold still and let him take me in, even though I don’t entirely know what to make of it. “You better figure it out, become real comfortable with yourself, because you’re about to figure out exactly what you’re made of.”
I swallow thickly, and his eyes zoom to my throat before they return to mine. “Does that mean I got the job?”
His nostrils flare a little, but other than that, it’s the only expression on his carefully blank face. “We’ll see how well your video goes over. ”
“To your boss?”
He shakes his head slowly. “It’ll be uploaded tonight to the website. If your video gets rated well enough, you’ll be hearing from me.”
The idea of hundreds, if not thousands, viewing me cum makes my heart beat faster. I try not to make it obvious that I can hear it pounding in my ears. Instead, I scowl. “How? You broke my phone.”
He blinks at me, slow and measured, and when he says nothing else, he reaches across me and opens my door. I keep my eyes on him, and he reaches once more and digs out of a phone from the tiny compartment between us. Passing it to me, he says firmly, “End of discussion.”
I chuff inside my head, and a dribble of annoyance seeps out of my pores. Climbing out of the car, I shut the door and whirl toward him. He spares me one last, long glance through the window before he pulls out onto the road. I’m not even part of the business yet, and already, I’m being handled.
Once the car is gone, I start making my way toward my apartment building. I bring the phone up to view and swipe it open. Somehow, there’s no password to gain access, and I wonder how in the hell he did that.
Deciding it doesn’t really matter, I open the contacts and find only one name in it: Nix.