Chapter 4
Gavin, as he asked me to call him from now on, gives me one hour to get my shit together. Fucking asshole. It takes me more than twenty minutes on a good day just to drive home. Not only do I have to pack, but I also have to make sure Lola is taken care of.
My chest tightens as I think of not seeing her for an entire week, of not holding her or hearing her chatter or laughter. The only ray of sunshine in my life will be kept from me.
It wasn’t a lie when I told Gavin I have no family. Dad died when I was two, or so my mother claimed. She abandoned me when I was fourteen, not giving a damn about what happened to me. At least she left me a letter to let me know not to expect her back.
I never met my grandparents. There’s an aunt in Arizona, but if she’s anything like Mom was, I’m better off alone.
Alone. All of my life I’ve been on my own, even when Mom was around. It was because of my own wits that I managed to stay alive, if it can even be called living. No one helped me. I wouldn’t accept it after experiencing the tough consequences of trusting the wrong person.
It wasn’t until after I came to live here with Lola, and the only way to survive was to depend on someone else, that I accepted a helping hand.
Miriam, my next-door neighbor has become the one person I can rely on. She watches Lola the four evenings I work, and I watch her son during the day while she’s at her job.
But with this bullshit being pulled on me, I’m both letting Miri down, and asking for more from her.
“Do you mind if I make a call?” I ask Nick, Gavin’s personal chauffeur.
I had planned on driving myself, but Gavin shook his head and said simply, “Nick will take you,” leaving no room for argument. Guess he was afraid I’d never come back. I’d be lying if I said the idea didn’t occur to me. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time I ran.
Nick glances at me through the rearview mirror. “Do you need privacy?”
“Is that an option?”
He nods, and before I can say anything else, a tinted partition appears between us, sliding upward until the backseat is obscured from his view.
Even with that, I keep my voice down when I call Miri to tell her everything that’s just happened.
“You should call the cops,” she tells me.
“So they can give me a ride to jail?” I retort.
“He’s the bad guy!”
“He’s also rich, Miri. Shit, he probably owns all of Vegas. And something tells me it’s not just what we can see.”
“What do you mean?”
“The way he talked to me…” I peek at Nick, hoping that he can’t hear my next words. “I think he’s part of the mafia. Which means he probably owns the cops too.”
“Shit,” she gasps. “I just got the chills.”
“You have to help me, Miri. I’ll pay you.”
She remains quiet for a long time. Miri knows as well as I do what men in organized crime families are capable of. “You don’t have to pay me, Andie. I haven’t been able to afford going anywhere anyway, so I have tons of paid time off. I’ll just take the week. Tell them I have that shit that’s goin’ around that everyone’s scared off. They won’t even question it.”
“Thank you so much, Miri. You’re a life saver.”
“You would have done the same for me.”
“Still…” I cut off, choked by the emotion of having someone I can count on. “Thank you.”
“What are you going to tell Lola?”
I’ve been giving that some thought since the moment I left Gavin’s house. “That my boss offered me a bonus to go with him to Reno.”
“Okay. I’ll back your story.”
We pull into the parking lot of my building and the partition goes down. Nick looks at his watch, then at me. “You have about fifteen minutes. Is that enough?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not exactly.” He shrugs. “The boss doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
“Then, I guess I’ll make it enough.”
Lola and I live on the second floor of a hotel that was renovated and converted into tiny one bedroom apartments. They’re nothing fancy, but the area is quiet, relatively safe and close to good schools. That’s all that mattered to me when I selected our home.
Quietly, I go up the stairs, past Miri’s door, and into my place. Since I don’t ever travel, I don’t own luggage. Luckily, I find a duffel bag stuffed under the bed.
Following Gavin’s instructions, I pack myself the only three pairs of jeans I own and a few T-shirts, along with a couple of pajamas. As I’m gathering my toiletries from the medicine cabinet, I get a glimpse of myself in the mirror above the sink.
God, why me? Why is Gavin Alexander doing this to me when he can have any bombshell of a model at his disposal? Instead, he chooses me, with my messy ponytail and bags under my eyes.
I place my palms on the counter and drop my head. All I need is one minute to just breathe.
You can do this, Andie. You have no choice. It’s just one week. Seven little days in which you will serve that billionaire in any way he desires.
Except, he’s not just a billionaire, is he? He said so himself. He’s a bad man who does bad things. The fact that I find him insanely attractive doesn’t change what he is.
Will he do bad things to me? Will I like them?
Heat spreads through my core at the memory of our encounter. For nearly a year I’ve assumed Gavin didn’t notice me. But tonight, he proved me wrong. The way he looked at me, like a hungry wolf who’s cage door has just been opened, and the first thing he sees is a scared little bunny. That’s the way he looked at me, like he’d gobble me up and leave nothing but a quivering mass of flesh.
He circled me as if he was the predator and I was his prey. When he crouched behind me, I was so vulnerable, I could practically feel his teeth latch onto the back of my neck, holding me in place while he did things to me.
Shit. The things he’d do to me. He didn’t even try to hide what he was imagining. There was no missing the way his breath hitched when I turned to look at him. His pupils dilated as he zeroed in on my mouth, like he was going to kiss me, ravage me without waiting for an answer.
My lips pulsed with blood and need in anticipation of that kiss that didn’t come.
“Because of his gray morals,” I whisper. His twisted logic kept him in check.
But the kiss will come. More than that, actually. Gavin’s eyes promised that and so much more. He promised he’d make me come time and again, for his own pleasure. Something tells me he’ll keep that vow.
The question is, how? What sordid plans does he have for me? He didn’t seem interested in me wearing a maid costume, even though he made it clear keeping his house was part of whatever dirty little fantasy he has.
Will he watch me while I clean?
Will he touch himself while I do?
Am I going to do it naked?
Is he rough?
I grab my birth control pack and stare at the tiny pills. It’s been at least two years since the last time I had sex.
Troy was a thirty-second tryst, all I could afford on my break. He was fired the next day and I never heard from him again. It didn’t matter, he wasn’t mind blowing. But I tried to scratch that itch, the one I feel growing the older I get, and it didn’t even come close to satisfying me. No one ever has.
Even though I’ve never reached that peak other women talk about, it doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I’ve made myself like it, taught myself tricks that allow me to enjoy intimacy with men. It makes me feel normal, and not as broken. Hence, the birth control pills.
Dropping the pack into my toiletry bag, I wonder if Gavin is the sort to wear a condom? There are men who simply don’t like to. A rich man like him could have us both tested for STDs within hours. Then he’d be free to go bare.
So the question is, would he come inside me? Or is he the kind that will pull out and spread his stuff on my tummy or lower back.
The very thought of him holding his shaft as he spills all over me, shoots an unexpected pulse between my legs.
“Ugh, you disgust me,” I say to my reflection. “Being blackmailed turns you on? You are broken after all.”
That’s when I have a horrifying thought. What if he discovers what’s wrong with me? Worse yet, what if after all of these years, he’s finally the one that can satisfy my need, and it only breaks me more?
And on top of all that, it’s going to cost me my job.
How am I going to explain this to Lola? Giving her an excuse for my week-long absence will be easy. However, it won’t be as easy to tell her I’ve been let go. Not when she knows how much I rely on this job. I’d have to work far more hours than I do for the same amount of money anywhere else. She will be devastated.
I’ll just have to take all of the cash from Gavin’s closet. There’s no other choice. It will buy me time to find something else. He said I could.
That’s if he keeps his word and doesn’t call the cops anyway.
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” I grimace and let out another long breath.
With only a few minutes to spare before I must return back to The Red, I grab my things and head next door.
Miri answers quietly. She’s already in her pajamas, her huge curls hidden beneath a pink bonnet. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to wake her.”
I step inside her quiet place, a mirror image of mine. “It will be better if she sleeps.”
My beautiful girl is on the couch, a quilt drawn up to her chin. I peer down at her sleeping face, so peaceful and sweet it hurts. Normally, when I come in at around eleven, I wake her with kisses on her lids. Then I wrap my arm around her and guide her to our apartment, where I tuck her in and snuggle with her until she falls asleep again.
Tonight, however, she’ll spend the entire night here.
“It will upset her.” I fight the urge to graze her cheek with the back of my hand. “And she has a math test tomorrow. She needs her sleep. Have her call me as soon as she’s up.”
“I will. I’ll take good care of her. Don’t worry about anything.”
Placing a kiss on my fingertips, I very lightly touch my little girl’s hair. “I love you so much, Lola.”
Miri and I walk outside. She closes the door gently behind us to make sure neither Lola or her son are woken by us.
“I still think you should call the police, Andie. Not the Vegas police. Someone out of their jurisdiction that might be able to help.”
“The problem is, I don’t know how powerful Gavin Alexander is, Miri. What if he has friends everywhere? What if I trust the wrong people?”
She shakes her head. “Fucked up shit always happens to us. I’m so sick of it.”
“It’s because of where we live. When this is over, I want to leave.”
A sarcastic snicker escapes her. “How? Neither one of us has enough saved to move. Besides, where the hell would we go?”
I gnaw on my lower lip as the idea I’ve given up on so many times suddenly seems possible. “North Carolina. There’s a small town on the coast called Morehead City. It’s where I was born,” I add when she frowns. “Every once in while I’ll look it up. Miri, it’s the perfect place to raise our kids. Near the beach, humble, innocent. Not as expensive as it is here.”
“It all sounds great, but again, I ask, how?”
“The money I stole… There’s at least twenty thousand in there.”
She purses her lips. “You’re in this mess because you stole from Mr. Alexander.”
“Except it wouldn’t be stealing this time. He told me I could use that money to pay for Lola’s care or anything else I need. He has no idea about childcare costs. I could just say it was really expensive.” I grab hold of her shoulders. “Miri, this could be our chance to get the fuck out and have enough to start over.”
“You’d take me with you?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation.
She glances toward the door, then shifts her attention to the city she’s been stuck in since her deadbeat boyfriend threw her and their son on the street. “I just hope you’re right about the money. Otherwise, it will be a long time before you return to North Carolina.”
I sigh and nod. If I’m right about the money, our lives could change for the better.
If I’m wrong, it won’t just be a long time before I return to North Carolina.
It will be a long time before I’m free.
* * *
When we return, Nick pulls into a garage on the side of the building. I’d seen the gated entrance every time I came to work and wondered about it. I assumed it was for Gavin’s personal use, and was correct.
Earlier, Nick picked me up from the employee garage at the back. But this time, he’s dropping me off directly at Gavin’s front door. Sort of.
Inside the garage there’s a collection of expensive sport cars— Jaguar, Ferrari and Maserati. At the far end, I spot the one Gavin usually drives, a red Lamborghini Aventador.
I once commented to Miri that he seemed too big of a man to fit in such a small car.
She laughed and said, “Oh honey, don’t you know big things can fit into tight spaces?”
An army of men dressed in all black come to attention when Nick parks the car in front of an elevator.
One of them comes to my side and opens the door for me. “Miss Burrows,” he addresses me formally and inclines his head.
Nick steps out of the car and goes to the trunk for my bag. I cringe a little because in this light, he’ll be able to see how beat up it is.
He hands it to me as I exit. “Have a nice evening.”
“Thanks. You too.”
“This way, Miss Burrows,” the man in black tells me as he extends his hand toward the elevator.
Yet another guy slides a card in front of an electronic key reader and the elevator doors open.
I clutch the bag to my chest as I enter all by myself. The guard leans in and presses a button, sliding his key card once again before looking at me. He smiles, though I’m not sure if it’s out of friendliness or pity. I doubt they see the help going up this way often.
Then the doors shut and I’m left struggling to breathe. It’s all I can do not to press the stop button.
The display shows the ascent to the penthouse, and the higher the floor number shown, the faster my heart beats in my chest.
Forty. Forty-one. Forty-two.
Blood rushes to my head and I back into the wall.
Forty-three. Forty-four.
“You can do this, Andie. It’s just sex.” With a man that stirs something inside me I thought was dead and buried in spite of the blackmail.
Or maybe it’s because of it.
That unheeded thought frightens me more than anything else. What if I’m so broken, the only way I can feel anything with a man, is if he threatens me?
Blood rushes to my head, the sound of it so loud in my ears I barely hear the ding of the elevator reaching its destination.
The doors slide open as if in slow motion to reveal Gavin waiting for me in the foyer.
“Welcome back, Andie.”
“Gavin.” I take a step forward, but stop when he raises his hand.
“This is your last chance to make a choice.” His voice deepens. “Once your foot touches this floor, you are mine in every way. Do you understand what that means?”
My mouth goes completely dry because it’s very clear to me what he means, but something tells me I’m fooling myself if I believe that’s all there is to it. “Yes.”
“Choose then. The police. Or me.”
I swallow down hard. Both terrify me. But only one allows me a future with Lola.
So, I walk inside, and give myself to Gavin Alexander.