Raven's Revenge (The Pleasure Pros #2) (7 page)

“Now what’s on
your mind?” he asked as he buttoned his shirt in front of me.

“Torturing
Carter.” I smiled, turning to allow him to zip up my dress.

“I thought maybe
you were mad at me,” he replied, brushing my hair to the side before raising
the zipper.

“I was a little
annoyed with you earlier, but you redeemed yourself in those last few
minutes.”
 
I turned toward him and
latched onto his shirt. “I really like how you feel when you are inside of me.”

“I’m glad because
you feel amazing, too.
 
I was a
little nervous that I was going to come too soon… and that’s a first for
me.”
 
A sigh of relief crossed his
face.

“I was just riding
the waves,” I explained. “It was almost an out of body experience, kind of like
I was watching or something.
 
It’s
so cool.”

“Whatever you did,
it really turned out to be a great show.
 
The members loved it when you rebelled and tried to tell me what to do,”
he replied, leading me toward the exit.

“That’s good
because I like telling you what to do.”

“I’m not so sure I
want to reverse roles with you.” He smirked.

“Well, I’m not so
sure you are going to have a choice.”

“We’ll see.
 
For now, you’ll have to settle for
this,” he said, handing me a check for over seventy-two thousand dollars.

“Holy shit!
 
Part of me is sad that there are only
four more levels to go.
 
These
checks are
fricking
amazing!”

Once we were out
the door he added, “The money kind of makes up for the fact that Carter can be
an asshole, doesn’t it?”

“Kind of… but I’m
still planning my revenge.”

“I can’t wait to
see it.
 
Now let’s get you home.”

“Home?
 
It’s nine thirty on a Friday night.”

“True.
 
What do you want to do?” he asked with a
sly grin.

“Well, we just
finished doing that… but I could use a glass of wine,” I replied as the black
limo turned into the driveway.

“Carter needs to
see you,” Toby relayed through the partially opened window.

“Can you tell him
that I’ll catch up with him in the morning?” Gunner asked, giving me an eye
roll.

“Sorry, he wants
to see you now.
 
You head over to
the mansion and I’ll give Raven a ride home,” Toby replied.

“I’ll give you a
call later,” Gunner assured me with a subtle kiss on the lips.
 
At
least he is getting comfortable with kissing me in front of Toby.

“Alright…this
sucks.”
 
I tugged slightly at the
lapels of his jacket.

“Don’t worry, it’s
only temporary.”

There was a spark
in his eye that told me there was something going on.
 
There was something that he knew, that I
didn’t
.
 
I hate being left out.
 
Why wouldn’t he tell me what he
knows?
 
Doesn’t he trust me?
 
I could feel the pout on my face as I
walked over to the limo and took the back seat.

“I’m sorry, did
Carter spoil your plans for the evening?” Toby smirked into the rear view
mirror.

“Not at all…
thanks for the lift.” I smiled, denying him any sort of satisfaction.

Truthfully, it was
hard to keep the pout from returning as I watched Gunner and his Ferrari turn
the corner and head in the opposite direction.
 
Yes,
Toby, you and your butt-buddy Carter ruined my plans.
 
Hannah is at Mom’s and Gunner was done
for the evening.
 
Apparently, Carter
felt the need to intrude once again.

I sat back and
closed my eyes, thinking once again about how things would turn out in the
end.
 
I pictured myself giving
Carter a good jolt with the cattle prod.
 
That always makes me feel better.

~~~

Gunner

Fucking Carter.
 
That little prick is really getting on
my nerves.
 
Considering the way he had acted at the
end of our scene, I knew exactly what our little meeting was going to be
about.
 
I could feel my temper
flaring as I accelerated through the curves.
 
I’m
going to give that little fucker a piece of my mind.
 
By the time I reached the gates of the
mansion, my blood was boiling.
 
Good thing I didn’t meet a cop anywhere
along the way
.

Just as I passed
through the main entrance, I saw Suzanne.
 
She gave me a crossways glance, as if she was trying to relay a
message.
 
She had obviously just
finished meeting with Carter, too.
 
He was still standing just inside of the doorway.

“What’s going on,
Carter?”

“You tell me,
Gunner,” he asserted, glaring at me with crossed arms.

“Nothing.
 
I’m just focused on putting together a
string of record breaking shows.”

“Don’t play dumb
with me.
 
Neither you nor Suzanne
are any good at it.”

“Suzanne?
 
I thought that you were fussing about
Raven and me again.”

He shook his head
and gestured for me to enter his office.
 
“Any idiot can see that you two have something going on, but that’s not
what this is about.”

“Ok, what’s up
then?”
 
I sat back and waited for
him to elaborate because I was clueless.

“Victoria Love has
disappeared,” he announced, focusing intently on my reaction.

“I’m sorry?”

“You don’t have
any idea how or why this happened?”
 
He shifted nervously in his chair.

“I don’t have a
fucking clue,” I replied, completely bewildered.
 
“The last time I heard her name was when
you told me she was working on a new project.”

“Have you been in
touch with Renegade?”

“No, I tried to
get him to come back and help us out, but he blew me off.”

“So you don’t have
anything to do with whatever is going on with either of them?” He stood up and
began to pace nervously.

“No.
 
Are you saying that Renegade has
something to do with Victoria’s disappearance?”

“I don’t
know.
 
One of my guys gave me a
description of a guy who was hanging around outside the warehouse.
 
It sounded a lot like Renegade,” he
replied with a crack in his voice.

“I’ll give
Renegade a call if you want,” I offered, pulling out my phone.

“Don’t bother,
I’ve already tried and the line has been cancelled.”
 
He cupped his hands and slid them down
over his face.
 
“I’m sure Suzanne
knows what’s going on.
 
See if you
can get anything out of her.”

“She wouldn’t tell
you anything?”

“No.”
 
He shook his head and gazed at the
floor.
 
“She’s a bad liar, too.
 
I can tell she knows more than what she’s
admitting.”

“I will.
 
I’ll try to casually bring it up the
next time I run into her,” I assured, rising to offer a handshake.

“Thanks,
Gunner.
 
You and Sapphire are the only
two that I can really trust anymore,” he said, placing his other hand on top of
mine.
 
“Since Renegade left, Sable
has been a little weird, and Blaze… well, he’s always lived in his own little
world.”

“He’s had a tough
road, but I think right now he’s really focused on what we are doing here,” I
tried to reassure him.
 
“I can
guarantee you that both Raven and I are totally committed as well.”

“I’m glad because
it’s a few more years until the statute of limitations runs out on that insider
trading charge,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“Have you ever
heard that old saying that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar?” I
stood there silently glaring into his eyes.

“Yeah, that kind
of bullshit never worked for me.” He dropped my hand and hastily retreated to
his office chair.

“I’m just saying…
you don’t have to be such an asshole.”
 
I leaned forward on his desk.

“A tiger doesn’t
change his stripes.
 
That adage is
just as old as the other bullshit phrase.”
 
He looked down and began shuffling some papers.
 
“We’re done here.”

“Alright, see you
tomorrow.”

“I’m looking
forward to joining you and Raven for those last two levels next week,” he
added, twisting the knife a bit.

“I’ll bet you
are.”
 
Asshole.
 
My blood
pressure instantly rose once again.
 
Instead of risking any further confrontation, I turned and headed for
the door.

~~~

Raven

Looking at my
watch, I saw it was only 9:40 pm.
 
I
was still in full makeup and had one of my cool new dresses on.
 
Hannah
is with Mom, so I want to do something dammit!

“Would you drop me
off at 23
^rd
and Church, Toby?”

“Yes Ma’am,” he
replied in his normal somber tone.

I gave Amber a
quick call to make sure that she was around.
 

“Yeah, Blade has been
blowing off my calls since our last session so come on up.
 
I’ve got a big bottle of wine open.”

“I’ll be there in
a bit, but get dressed.
 
We should
go do something.”

“Ugh, do we have
to?”

“Get dressed
hun
.
 
I’ll be
there in five.”
 
I hung up, not
giving her a chance to argue.

I checked myself
in the mirror.
 
This makeup is amazing.
 
It
still looks good even after being tied up and tortured.
 
I have to find out what brand Jasmine
uses.
 
After Toby dropped me off
at the corner, I made my way down the old cobble stone street to Amber’s
apartment building.

“Do we really have
to go out?
 
Holy shit, you look
amazing!
 
I can’t go out with you
looking like this!” was my greeting when she answered the door.

“Throw on your wig
and that cute purple dress of yours.
 
I’ll help you with your makeup,” I asserted.

“How much does
Jasmine charge?
 
I should have her
make me over,” Amber replied, studying my nose and face.

“Two hundred.
 
You’re creeping me out a little here.”

“I’m just amazed
by how small your nose looks.” She continued to study my face from all angles.
“You’re real nose is just as big as mine.”

“That’s the magic
of what she does.
 
Colored contacts,
blended makeup and temporary hair color.
 
She can make you look completely different.”

“Fuck… I should’ve
done that before I started shooting the live scenes.” She gave me a weird look.
“I already had a guy recognize me after last Saturday’s show!”

“Oh my god!
 
That had to be totally creepy.”

“Yeah, no
shit.
 
I was like… get away from me,
dude.
 
I have no idea what you’re
talking about.”
 
She flailed her
hands in front of her.
 
“Can we just
stay here and finish that big bottle of wine?”

“Ok.
 
I’ll sacrifice my free night just for
you.
 
Where is your little
munchkin?”

“She’s having a
sleepover at her friend Mandy’s down the hall.”
 
She pointed three or four doors
down.
 
“That’s the other reason I
don’t want to leave.
 
The odds are
pretty good that she’ll get scared later on and want to come home.”

“I was the same
way,” I admitted.
 
“Isn’t it crazy
the things we are scared of when we are little?”

“Yeah, now look at
us.” Amber threw her arms up in the air, giving me her best superstar
imitation.
 
“We’re
freakin
’ porn stars!”

“
Shhh
!
 
You
probably don’t want your neighbors knowing your business.”

“Oh fuck
them!
 
You better grab a wine glass
and catch up.
 
I’ve already got a
pretty good buzz going here.”

On the way to
retrieve a glass, I pulled out my phone and sent Gunner a quick text.

Me:
 
Hey stud.
 
I’m at Amber’s and we are about to
tackle a big bottle of wine.
 
Talk
tomorrow?

Gunner:
 
Knock yourself out
,
you deserve it
!
 
Call you in the am.

Gunner

After exchanging
texts with Raven, I felt that familiar emptiness settling in.
 
I had never missed anyone the way I
missed her after each scene
.
 
I thought about the lie I had told her
mother.
 
I wish we actually were enjoying a nice bottle of wine in Napa right
now.
 
I’m going to have to lay down
the law with Carter once I’m out of my contract.

Feeling uneasy, I
decided to go for a drive to kill some time.
 
I
should see if Suzanne is back at the dungeon,
I thought as soon as I got
back on the highway.
 
I was growing
increasingly curious about what type of information Carter had been fishing
for, as well as the connection between Renegade and Victoria Love.

Since it was
Friday night, the dungeon was still busy.
 
Sapphire had a young woman screaming in one room, while Blade was
finishing up a level one scene with one of the random young starlets in
another.
 
I’m glad that I didn’t have to shoot another scene after Raven and I
finished.
 
My heart definitely
wouldn’t have been in it.
 
I
headed toward Suzanne’s office after seeing the lights were still on back
there.
 
I stopped at the door when I
saw that she was talking with the cop.
 
She must be doing an exit
interview.
 
I wonder if he still
likes Sapphire.
 
Shit, she noticed me.

She leapt from her
chair and came over to the door.
 
“Get in here,” she ordered halting my retreat from the scene.

“What’s going on?”

“J.O., this is
Gunner,” she said introducing me.

“I’m familiar with
your work.” He smiled.

“After tonight,
I’m familiar with yours as well,” I countered.

“That’s not all he
was up to,” Suzanne said sternly while glaring at J.O.

“She’s quite a
bloodhound.
 
I told her that she
should have been an investigator,” J.O. quipped.

“I can smell a cop
from a mile away.
 
Once I had your
address, it wasn’t hard to confirm,” she replied, giving him a disconcerted
look.