Raven's Revenge (The Pleasure Pros #2) (8 page)

“Okay, I have no
idea what’s going on, but after you left the mansion I got interrogated by
Carter.
 
Something about Victoria
Love disappearing and Renegade being involved?”

“You might as well
tell him what you’ve been sharing with me,” Suzanne told J.O.
 
“We can trust you right?”

“Of course, you
and I just talked about being on the same side,” I replied, anxious to know
what was going on.

“Victoria Love was
a member of the witness protection program.
 
The feds kept her under wraps until
after her ex-boyfriend was put away for life,” he stated.
 
“After that, she was looking for a fresh
start so…”

“So they sent her
here to shoot porn?” I couldn’t help pointing out the irony.

“It was apparently
something she wanted to do out of curiosity.
 
They had kept her safe and set her up with
a new identity; she was simply returning a favor,” he explained.

“And how are you
involved?” I asked, not really getting the connection.

“He’s with the
Marshall’s office,” Suzanne interjected.
 
“He’s been living just down the road from us for the past couple of
months.”

“Yeah, I know that
part.
 
He’s the one who picked up
Raven last Friday.
 
She paid for his
session tonight with Sapphire,” I replied, reiterating everything I knew about
the situation.

“I wanted to see
first-hand how this place was being run and whether or not we could use it to
nail Mr. Randolph,” he said with a subtle smirk.
 
“Unfortunately, it seems to be pretty
clean.”

“I’ve been
explaining how everything works here.
 
I didn’t want the feds dismantling all my hard work just to get back at
Dad,” she countered.

“Mr. Randolph is
the primary target of the whole investigation.
 
Miss Love went in with the intent of
cozying up to him.
 
Due to her age,
we thought that maybe she could lead us to where the sex slaves were being
sent,” he explained.
 
“We got lucky
and he took the bait.”

“So that’s his
other project?
 
Selling girls as sex
slaves?”

“It appears
so.
 
Renegade contacted us a few
weeks back, with a tip that there were several girls being held in a warehouse
somewhere near
Tecate
, Mexico.
 
Victoria agreed to help us pinpoint the
location.”

“So she’s okay?”

“One of our
agents, posing as a rich middle-east businessman, bought Victoria from one of
Carter’s partners.” He nodded.
 
“When the real buyer showed up a few hours later, however, all hell
broke loose.”

“And Renegade?”

“He seems to be
hell-bent on helping us put away Mr. Randolph.”

“So am I,” Suzanne
chimed in.

“That guy sure
knows how to make enemies.” J.O. chuckled.

“So why does Carter
think that Renegade had something to do with Victoria’s rescue?”

“The feds told
Renegade to stay away from the warehouse, but obviously he didn’t listen,” J.O.
replied.

“He never could
listen,” I confirmed. “He’s always trying to live up to his nickname.”

“Whoa, we’re done
here,” Suzanne, said after glancing at her iPad.
 
“Dad just left the mansion.”
 
Holy
shit, she must be tracking him.

 
“All right, thanks for your help and we
will definitely pursue your case as well,” J.O. told her before leaving her
office.

“I don’t even want
to know.” I smiled at Suzanne.

“Yeah, you already
know too much.”

“Your dad
threatened me tonight.
 
He said the
statute of limitations doesn’t run out for three more years on my insider
trading charge.”

“He loves to threaten
everyone.
 
Look where it got him
with Renegade.” She smiled.
 
“I want
you, Raven, Blade, Sapphire, and Amber to keep doing exactly what you have been
doing.
 
It’s business as usual,
okay?”

“Not another
word.”

A chill went down
my spine as I left the dungeon that night.
 
This time, however, it was on Carter’s behalf.
 
He’s
not going to fare well in prison.
 
I thought about how he had rescued me from my fate and the price I had
paid in return.
 
I felt a twinge of
guilt for not helping him, but then I started thinking about how he had treated
Raven.
 
She is a fantastic woman and he has treated her like shit.
 
It’s time for him to pay for his sins.

Raven

Since Amber didn’t
want to go out, I asked her if I could take a quick shower.
 
It always felt good to get rid of all of
the hair dye and makeup.
 
Even
though I was always impressed with Jasmine’s skills, I never liked how the
makeup felt on my face.
 
It only
took a little shampoo and a handful of face wash for the old me to resurface.

“That’s the most
amazing transformation I’ve ever seen.” Amber shook her head in disbelief when
I returned.
 
“I definitely want to
use her for our future shoots.”

“Blade won’t let
you change your hair color will he?”

“I just want to
make it a deeper red,” she replied, looking in the mirror.
 
“The main thing I want is a smaller
nose, like the one she does for you.”

“I think most
women want a smaller nose.”

“And smaller feet
and bigger boobs.” Amber laughed.

“The nice thing
about having a completely different look is that when I take it off, it feels
like an instant transformation back to the real me.”

“Like an actor
playing a part.”

“Exactly!
 
I can see how they get sucked into a
role.”

“And fall in love
with their co-stars.” She smiled knowingly.

“I know. I’m so
screwed… the last few minutes of our scene tonight just melted me.”

“It was totally
obvious that he was feeling the same way, too,” she replied with a hint of
jealousy.
 
“I thought he was going
to say the L word.”

“What? When?”

“Right before he
made you orgasm at the end.” She smirked again.
 
“You looked like you were in a coma or
something.”

“You were
watching?”
 
That is so freaky
.

“Of course.
 
I had the place to myself, so I poured a
glass of wine and watched your show,” she replied nonchalantly.
 
“It definitely beats reality TV.”

“Too bad the name
Naked and Afraid
is already taken!”
 
We both laughed and took a long sip of
wine.
 
“You really think he was
going to say it?”

“Definitely!” She
insisted.
 
“Pull up the video and
see for yourself.”

“Gunner told me
not to watch video of myself.
 
He
said that it would freak me out and I would get self-conscious.”

“I don’t
know.
 
It doesn’t even seem like I’m
watching you with all that makeup on.
 
Although your voice always kind of freaks me out.”
 
She giggled.

“Have you watched
your own videos?”

“Yeah, I have
really long legs and feet.
 
The
camera accentuates my nose, too.” She shook her head and sighed.

“That’s all that
bothered you?”

“Well, my boobs
are too small and my ass is a little saggy… but what else is new?”
 
She got up to grab the wine bottle.

“I think I’ll wait
until we are done shooting level ten.
 
That way if I get freaked out, at least I’ll be off the hook with
Carter.”
 
I reasoned.

“Oh you look cuter
than hell,” she scoffed, filling my glass to the top.
 
“I only wish I had your body.”

“You pretty much
do except for that fair skin of yours.” I poked her in the arm.

“Yeah, if only I
could tan.” She sprawled out on the couch.
 
“Then all would be right with the world.”

Her dramatic pose
made me laugh.
 
“I don’t think all
will ever be right in either of our worlds.”

“Whatever!
 
You and Gunner will run off, get married
and raise half a dozen kids,” she speculated.
 
“Meanwhile an FBI agent will find me cut
up into small pieces somewhere after Blade goes off the deep end.”

“Amber!
 
Don’t talk like that.
 
He’s not that fucking crazy is he?”

“No.
 
I don’t know.
 
He really gets a crazy look in his eyes sometimes,”
she said wearily.
 
“I don’t know if
he does it to scare me or if it’s real.”

“Well, just don’t
run off with him or do anything stupid.”

“No.
 
I’m trying to keep everything in
perspective.
 
He’s expanding my
horizons and I’m hoping to make enough from it to buy a house and maybe even a
new car.”

“I’m amazed by how
grounded you seem to be.
 
I thought
you would probably be freaking out when you got past the first couple of
levels,” I admitted.

“I did, too.
 
But I keep telling myself that you are
kind of blazing the trail for me.
 
You seem to be handling everything okay, so I can be strong, too.”

“Good for
you!
 
I’m proud of you.”

“Besides, I don’t
have to do those super freaky levels,” she said teasingly.
 
I
didn’t find it all that funny.

As predicted,
Amber’s little munchkin, Abby, showed up at the door just after eleven.
 
I was a little disappointed because it
had been awhile since we had just sat and talked.
 
While she put her to bed, I pulled up
Uber
on my phone and booked a midnight ride home.
 
I
definitely won’t risk walking home alone on a Friday night.

Gunner

After hearing that
Carter had left the mansion, I drove back, poured myself a drink and pulled up
a chair next to the pool.
 
It was a beautiful
night with a full moon and a million stars.
 
What
will happen to us if Carter is sent to prison?
 
It seemed as if Suzanne was the one
running the dungeon, so maybe Carter disappearing would actually be a good
thing.
 
Then a string of terrifying
thoughts came to mind.
 
What if the payment he made to the SEC agent
comes to light during the investigation?
 
Or what if he decides to take all of us down with him?
 
It wouldn’t be the first time that
someone in dire straits had taken others down with him.
 
The fact that he had brought it up
earlier that evening had drawn fresh blood from an old scar.

After refilling my
glass, I once again looked to the heavens above.
 
It occurred to me that maybe the reason
I wanted Raven to stay was because I wanted her to be trapped here with
me.
 
She was every bit as naïve as I
had been, and having her around made me feel better.
 
I thought back to the advice that I had
given her a few weeks earlier.
 
It’s time to focus on how I want things to
turn out, instead of on my worst fears.
 
I deserve to be happy for once.

Raven

Just before
midnight, a black Mercedes pulled up outside of Amber’s apartment.
 
God
I love
Uber
!
 
I could hear the backbeat of
Begging
For Thread
by Banks emanating from the speakers before the driver even
opened the door.
 
Sure beats a taxi.

“You okay with my
music?” the driver asked as he got out and opened the door for me.

“Love it!” I
smiled and hopped in the back seat.
 
I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and instantly wished that I
hadn’t stripped off all the makeup.
 
The sexy short dress and high heels looked a bit out of place without
it.

“Heading home?” he
asked, presuming that I wouldn’t be going out looking that way.

“Definitely…
Diamond Heights and Duncan please.”
 
I sat back and stared out the window wondering what Gunner was doing at
the moment.

“Did you have a
good night?” the driver asked in search of conversation.

“It was definitely
interesting,” I smiled in return.

“Good interesting,
I hope.”

“Yes, it was very
good.” The smile on my lips continued to grow.

“I know that
smile,” he teased.
 
“It was so good
you needed a shower before heading home.”

“Yeah, something
like that.”
 
I turned back toward
the window, not wanting to share too much with a complete stranger.
 

When the car came
to a stop on my corner, I tossed him a fifty and told him to keep the change.

“Seriously?
 
It was only twenty-two.”

“Just keep
it.”
 
I had a habit of being overly
generous whenever I had a nice wine buzz.

I pulled out my
phone and sent Gunner a text letting him know that I had made it home without
incident.
 
After waiting ten minutes
or so for a response, I decided to give him a quick call.

“Do you miss me?” Sapphire
answered, sending my brain reeling.

“Where’s Gunner?”

“I’m sorry, he’s
not able to come to the phone right now,” she replied coldly.

“Where is
he?”
 
I insisted, feeling an
immediate sense of frustration as she sidestepping the question.

Instead of an
answer this time, I was greeted with the silence of a line gone dead.
 
I looked down at my phone,
the bitch hung up on me!

Refusing to give
up so easily, I immediately redialed his number.
 
It clicked immediately over to voice
mail.
 
Fuck!
 
She must have turned
off his phone.
 
Nothing kills a nice wine buzz like calling
your boyfriend’s phone and talking to his ex.
 
There I go again, calling him my
boyfriend.
 
The fuzzy warm
feeling had been replaced by a sickening feeling that came from deep within
me.
 
Ugh, why do I let myself get hurt like this?
 
I slipped off my heels, slid out of my
dress and fell into bed.

Part of me
couldn’t forget those last few moments with Gunner.
 
Feeling his fullness buried so deeply
inside of me was amazing.
 
It made my
toes curl just thinking about it.
 
Then the other side of my brain would kick in and hear Sapphire telling
me he couldn’t come to the phone.
 
There is no way he is doing anything with
her.
 
She pisses me off so bad.

I tried his phone
one more time just for the hell of it.
 
Shit, it went right to voicemail
again.
 
I buried my face in my
pillow and could feel the rage coursing through my veins.
 
Settle
down
, I told myself.
 
Sapphire is just fucking with me.
 
She most likely saw the show tonight and
it triggered her jealousy.
 
She
heard Gunner’s phone ringing and answered it.
 
He’s not interested in her anymore,
I
assured myself.

I’m too old for this drama shit.