Hold Me (23 page)

“Keep your head down, boy,” Raphael snaps, but Isaac doesn’t obey. Instead, Isaac climbs to his feet, curling his hands into fists.

“What’s gotten into you?” Raphael sounds bored. “Get down on your knees before I lose my patience and decide to whip Caleb or Jade. How would you like that?”

“You won’t do it,” Isaac says.

“Oh, no?” Raphael comes closer to Isaac so they are only inches apart.

“You need them.”

Raphael’s face turns into a sneer, and he backhands Isaac so hard that he falls to the ground. “You never learn your place, do you, slave?” Before Isaac can get to his feet, Raphael grabs him by the hair and forces his head up.

“Fuck you,” Isaac says through his teeth, a thin trickle of blood seeping out of the corners of his lips.

Raphael laughs, lets go of Isaac, and then kicks him in the stomach. “How many years have you been mine? Over four?” Raphael looks thoughtful. “I know your biggest fears. You have to know just how stupid it is to upset me.”

“Go ahead. Do what you’re best at!” Isaac yells, clutching his stomach. “Kill me!”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Raphael goes to the other side of the room, briefly disappearing from view. When he returns, he’s holding a syringe, and a sadistic smile twists his lips.

Isaac’s face is calm as he struggles to get to his feet. “Anything to get away from you!”

“Ah, so sweet. But you know what I’m going to do with you? I’m going to fuck you, then I’m going to give you to my boys to do with you as they please. I’m sure they’re going to love that.” Raphael runs a hand over the front of his pants, as if the mere thought of it excites him. “And then I’m going to sell you to the highest bidder. You’ll see what it’s like to be without my protection.”

“You won’t...” Isaac tries to charge him, but Raphael is faster. He grips Isaac’s arm and stabs him with the syringe.

I look away from the video. “That’s more than enough evidence, isn’t it?”

“I guess.”

I close the video player and click on the photos folder. “Can you take a look at these people and mark anyone you recognize?”

“Yeah.”

“Great.” I push the laptop toward him, hoping that checking the photos will distract him from what we’ve just seen. As he busies himself with it, I find my latest phone and dial Katherine’s new number. At this point, I’m using a different burner for each call.

“We got it,” I say as soon as she answers. “All I need to figure out is how to blur out Isaac’s face.”

“And if Raphael says the video was fabricated and gets his goons to back up his claim in court somehow?”

“He’ll still have to come out and prove it. And we’ll have Caleb’s and Isaac’s testimonies. Hopefully someone else’s too.” Once the video is out, there won’t be anything Raphael can do to stop it.

“Um, about that...” There’s a brief silence on the other end of the line. “Isaac doesn’t want to testify or get involved with any of that.”

“What? Why? But he has to...” I scratch my head, unsure why Isaac wouldn’t want to do it. “Are you sure that’s what he wants?”

“Of course I’m sure,” she snaps. “So don’t send the cops to my door because I don’t want any trouble.”

“Where will Isaac go?”

“He’s staying with me.”

My eyebrows arch up. “Are you sure about that? I mean...”

“Yeah, I’ll let him stay for a while until he figures things out.”

“Okay, then.” I still remember when she wanted to get rid of Isaac as soon as possible, and I know he would do anything to help take Raphael down, so what has changed? “Did something happen?”

“Well, he’s going through a terrible withdrawal, and I can’t just kick him out. If he changes his mind about testifying, I’ll let you know,” she says.

“Do you need help? I can find someone who can take care of him.”

“No! I can handle it. Trust me.”

“Right. I’ll call you later.”

“Sure. Bye.”

I squint at the phone. “That was awkward.”

Caleb looks up at me. “What?”

“Isaac is going to stay with Katherine.” I place my hand on my hip.

“Why wouldn’t he stay?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was wrong.” I shrug. “Oh, well. Did you recognize anyone?”

“Yeah.” He rolls his eyes. “I wrote their names down for you.”

“How much time do we have?” I can feel a knot in my belly when I think about Caleb leaving.

Caleb glances at the time on my laptop. “Half an hour or so.”

“That’s not enough.” I pad over to him and place my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. As he leans his head on my shoulder, I rub circles on his back.

“I know,” he murmurs. “I could hold you like this forever.”

“Then don’t let go.”

I stroll through the room full of people, ignoring the sounds of sex everywhere around me. When I asked Alessandra about another one of Raphael’s parties, she didn’t even blink before giving me the location, which I managed to secretly pass to Lloyd, who reluctantly agreed that the best thing for me would be to show up at the party so no one suspects anything and so I could alert them if the location changed at the last moment.

I smile at a couple kissing against one of the columns, the girl’s eyes closed as she moans. It’s hard not to keep glancing at my watch, because I know Lloyd must have contacted someone trustworthy and that a team is already on their way.

Hopefully Caleb has managed to identify most of the corrupted cops and no one will be able to warn Raphael. I can see Raphael sitting at one of the couches, his pants unbuttoned as some girl is sucking him off while he’s caressing her hair. I want the bastard to rot in jail forever.

Caleb steps in front of me, a seductive smile on his face. He’s only wearing a pair of black pants and his bare chest is adorned with glitter. “Looking for me?” he asks.

“Yeah.” I’ve been walking around alone for too long. I don’t want to attract too much attention. Not that anyone has noticed me while they are busy enjoying themselves. Caleb leans forward and captures my lips with his, so my mask almost slips off my face. I deepen the kiss, wrapping my arms around his strong muscles, not caring that his glitter is ending up all over my pale pink dress.

He tugs me toward the corner of room, and once we’re hidden behind one of the columns, we break apart, breathless. Caleb takes a quick peek around the column, a concerned look on his face. I follow his gaze to a redhead who is in the embrace of a dark-haired woman. The girl must be Jade.

A couple of moments later, my heart threatens to jump out of my chest, my mouth dry. Is anyone coming? What if something happens? What if Raphael’s men get away?

“Hey,” Caleb says, placing his hand on my cheek. “You’re beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks.” I know he’s only trying to distract me, and I can’t believe he’s the one who has to do that. I should be comforting him, so I push my dark thoughts away.

“What’s with all the glitter?” I run a finger across his chest and come away with another layer of sparkly dust.

“Keeps most people away.” He grins. “They don’t want me to ruin their precious clothes.”

I raise an eyebrow at him. “Nice.”

“Not really.” His smile falters. “Raphael wanted a special performance before you came.”

Before I can say anything, the door across the room burst open, and a dozen armed, masked men dressed in black uniforms rush in. “Nobody move!”

People start to scream and the room erupts in chaos. Caleb tugs me behind the column, and from the corner of my eye, I can see Raphael rushing for the back exit but finds it blocked. Then shots are fired, and Caleb pulls me closer to himself, shielding me with his body.

“Stay here,” he says, and before I can ask anything or stop him, he jogs across the room. A woman hobbles toward me and blocks my view. I try to spot Caleb, but I can’t see him anywhere.

“On your knees! Hands on your head!” a voice behind me yells, so I raise my hands up. The man comes over to me and tugs on my arms, cuffing them behind my back. “You’re under arrest.” He takes me by the arm and leads me toward the others.

But as the group of cuffed people is being led away, I realize Caleb isn’t there. And neither is Raphael. Black spots dance in my vision, my pulse racing. Where are they?

“You’re free to go,” my lawyer says as she enters the small room where I’m being held. “There will be no charges against you. I still think you should go into witness protection. Your parents could say you went to study abroad and...”

“Where is he, Cassandra?” I ask, unable to focus on anything else. “Where’s Caleb?”

Cassandra tucks a strand of her shoulder-length dark brown hair behind her ear, her green eyes cast down. “I don’t know.”

“What does that mean?” My voice cracks a little.

“He wasn’t with the others. He, Raphael, and a couple of his guards are missing, but don’t worry. They’ll find them.” She takes a seat across from me, reaching for my hand, but I pull away.

The door opens, and I look up at Lloyd, whose serious face breaks into a relieved smile when he sees me. “They finally let me see you. Are you all right?” he asks, concern filling his eyes. “I have some good news. We figured out who Raphael’s contacts are, found the places where he held the victims, and identified their families. We’ll make sure they’re all protected.”

“That’s great, but I have to find Caleb. If he’s with Raphael...” I stumble to my feet and Lloyd catches my arm.

“Whoa, girl. We’re working on it. You did your part of the deal. You should go home to your parents so their bodyguards can protect you, get some rest, and I’ll call you immediately as soon as we know something, okay?”

I nod, but I’m not about to go take a nap when Caleb’s life is in danger. Raphael’s little empire has just fallen apart. I can’t image he’ll be calm or reasonable about it. One part of me hopes Caleb escaped on his own, but I know better. He’d never abandon Jade. “Is Jade here?”

“Yeah,” Lloyd says. “She’s fine. Well, a bit shaken, and she refuses to say anything, but hopefully she’ll see we’re not going to hurt her.”

“What about Raphael? Do you know anything about him? His real name, address, anything?”

Lloyd licks his lips. “Not yet, but...”

“Cassandra, please take me to my parents’ house,” I say, then turn to Lloyd. “Thanks. Just call me if you find out anything.”

“Sure.” He inclines his head and lets go of me. “Don’t forget to pick up your things.”

After Cassandra and I finish all we have to and walk out of the building, I stop and look around. “Actually, take me to Katherine’s place. I need to talk to her.”

“Okay,” she says, her brow creasing. “But isn’t it safer to go...?”

“No, I need a friend. My parents would be too worried and ask too many questions. Just call them and tell them I’m fine. They can send a bodyguard for me, okay?”

“Yeah,” she says.

“Good. Let’s go.”

“You two need to tell me everything you know about Raphael’s hideouts,” I say as I stride into Katherine’s apartment. She just stares at me, still at the door, her mouth hanging open. Isaac jumps up from the couch and approaches me.

“What happened?” he asks.

“I put that video of Raphael up on the Internet and made a deal with the cops. They arrested everyone and found Raphael’s accomplices, but he and Caleb are missing. We need to find them,” I blurt out. “If you know where they could be, you have to tell me.”