Page 31 of Captive

"Wait, you said the girls cameback."

He shook his head before I could ask. "Ten wasn't with them. I asked one of the girls where she was. Can't get a fucking word out of them. It's almost as if someone has threatened them that if they talk, they'll find themselves at the bottom of a trash dumpster. Only they don't act scared about it. They just tell me to fuck off. So the van is all Igot."

"What about that guy,Rowan?"

"When I packed up my things to leave the park, I noticed all of his things were gone. He seems to have disappearedtoo."

I flinch at the worddisappeared.

"Look, Maddox, she's a big girl. She can handle herself. You'll see. She'll shock the hell out of all of us when she emerges from this thing with the huge prize of bringing downFreestone."

I finish the beer and throw my money on the counter. "Is it the park at the end of town, near those old industrialbuildings?"

"Yeah, the one the city has designated as a safe place for the homeless. But you can't just show up there. I spent weeks there and couldn't get a shred of information out of thosewomen."

"Yeah? Well you're not me. Don't worry. I won't let any of this lead back toyou."

"If it does, then I will kick your fuckingass."

I laugh and slap him on theshoulder.

"Well, I'll at least give it a good fucking try," he says to my back as I walkout.

22

Angie

Ihaven't eateneggs Benedict often. I'm more of a strawberry waffle kind of girl, but the food Blake brought me was melt in my mouth delicious. My extreme hunger probably added to its perceiveddivineness.

Blake removed the plates and returned with a zipped up garment bag and rolling suitcase. "Here are a few things to put in the closet, then we can get you out of that towel." He opens a door that leads to a walk-in closet and disappears inside with the garment bag and suitcase before I can even see what's inside of them. Blake still seems tenser than he was earlier and that makes meedgy.

"Mr. Freestone has given specific instructions," he calls from inside the closet. He walks out carrying a sheer white lace teddy on a satin hanger. He's carrying something in his other hand that I can only make out as strips of leather. "You'll find soon enough he's very particular and likes things justso."

I'm absorbing the information. Freestone might have obsessive compulsive disorder but that new detail has less of my focus than the sheer lingerie in Blake's hand. "Is that tonight's party dress?" I ask with humor but there's plenty of hesitation in mytone.

"Yes." The garment looks as if it weighs no more than a butterfly's wings. "It's pretty, don't youthink?"

"Isuppose."

Blake seems to let go of some of the tension that had seized him since he walked in on his boss overseeing my bath. He smiles and shuffles in his unique, graceful way toward the vanity. "Look, darlin', I know this whole thing takes a little getting used to but at least you're off the street. You're safe and clean and well fed." He seems to be trying to reassure himself about something. "And besides, Mr. Freestone rarely chooses a girl for himself. Even then, when he does, he gets distracted quickly. He always has so much going on, he just doesn't have time for—you know—pleasure."

"So what you're telling me is not to get too used to my lovely room and the marvelous bathtub because I'll be back in my tent just as soon as he tires ofme?"

Blake motions me to sit at the vanity and starts brushing my hair with a silver brush. "No, that won't happen. I mean he might get tired of you soon. Although I have to say I've never known him to sneak in and watch one of the new girl's bathe. That's why it took me by surprise. Anyhow, he won't toss you back onto the streets. He'll keep you here for the clubmembers."

I stare at his reflection in the mirror. He pretends to be concentrating on my hair, but there's more behind his expression. "And that's better than being his personal pleasure toy?" Iask.

He laughs at the name I've given it, but he certainly doesn't try to argue against it. "No, it'll befine."

"You said that with about as much conviction as a serial murderer telling the judge he'sinnocent."

"Well, if I'm being totally honest, and I read you right away as a girl who prefers all the cards up front, it's just more stressful and frankly a little lonely when you're here for the boss. The other girls have a blast. They share rooms and they have almost all the same luxuries as this room. Club activities are only twice a week. And the security team, like the driver you saw on the night of the party, they make sure the club members behave. If one girl gets so much as a bruise or scratch or is mistreated, the offending member risks being kickedout."

It seems I didn't need to go to the pool after all. Blake is a huge source of seemingly unfilteredinformation.

"I guess some of these club members get pretty kinky,eh?"

Blake leans back to admire his handiwork. He pulls my hair around my shoulders. "He likes the hair down," he adds. "Every club member is different. Most of them are high powered businessmen with stressful jobs who come here to relax unfettered by the usual constraints of society. Some like to be the dominant and some prefer to be on the receiving end of a good eroticpunishment."

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