Unfold Me (9 page)

A moan escapes my lips and I open my eyes, no longer caring about the stares of the people. My eyes flit across the room and I see Archer standing in the corner, his lips pressed into a tight line. I smile at him as Isaac brings me over the edge and I grip his head, letting the wave of pleasure overcome me. When Isaac pulls back, he slowly licks his lips, a satisfied smile on his face. He pulls my dress back down so no one can see more than I want them to.

A slave carrying drinks approaches, and I grab a glass of what looks like water. After taking a sip, I bring the glass to Isaac’s lips. As he gulps it down, a man in a white suit comes toward us and offers me an envelope, then leaves. I put the empty glass on the table next to me and look at the envelope. When I open it, I realize it’s an invitation for another party. I glance up, but I can’t see Archer anywhere.

Isaac doesn’t hide his smile when he meets my eyes. He clearly thinks it’s a good thing, but I’m not so sure. I’m not even sure if tonight should’ve happened, but as I look around the room, I notice people are no longer paying any attention to Isaac and me.

I absently play with Isaac’s hair as I observe, but there isn’t much going on. The masks are staying in their places, and it doesn’t look like anyone will drop theirs. Maybe Isaac can recognize some of the slaves, but I doubt it. Just as I’m about to tear my eyes away from the masked people, I notice one of them, not far from me, pulling out a handkerchief.

There’s a symbol on it that looks familiar, and I think I saw an ad with it on a news website. As the man wipes his mouth and zips up his pants, he goes toward the bar, where Archer is waiting for him. They talk about something, quite cordially, and I wonder if the man is one of Archer’s close friends. I’ll have to check it out once this is over.

***

When we get back home, all I want is to throw myself into the bed, but I need to check out that symbol, so I turn on my laptop. As I busy myself with searching, Isaac sits next to me.

“What are you doing?” he asks after a few moments.

I don’t look up from the screen. “I saw something today. A symbol. I think it could help us identify one of Archer’s friends.” I don’t think that will help us much, but maybe there’s a weak link somewhere in Archer’s inner circle. Maybe there’s someone who doesn’t like the power or information that Archer holds over them.

Or maybe he’s a talkative guy who will let useful information slip and no one will able to blame me for it. If I drive a wedge between Archer and another one of his powerful friends, who says they won’t have the means to take Archer down? I just need to find out who those friends are. Too bad Archer never introduced me to any of them.

“Um, okay.”

“Got it. The guy owns a restaurant complex. He’s in his thirties.” I click on another link. “And apparently, he has a gambling problem and has been arrested a few times.” I sigh. “Since he never really got charged with anything, I guess he’s friends with some of the cops, just like Archer probably is. Which means that even if it leaked out he was visiting parties with sex slaves, I’m sure he’d come up with a story that he didn’t know about the slaves and get away with it. It wouldn’t even be a scandal for him.”

“Doesn’t matter. He’s just one guy,” Isaac says. “Besides, we need more time.”

“I don’t know about that. What if there isn’t anyone who’ll turn against Archer or who’ll give us some information without reporting us to him for asking too many questions?”

“It’ll be fine. You’ll see.” He places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes lightly. “Don’t you want to know who Archer really is? What his real name is? Who he really befriended and why?”

“Yeah,” I say, scrunching up my nose. “I’ve been trying that for months, but I’m not allowed to send an investigator after him. If he finds out...”

“He won’t.” Isaac smiles. “Besides, tonight wasn’t that terrible, was it? You seemed to... quite enjoy it.” He smacks his lips together.

“That was...”

“Don’t tell me it was wrong. It wasn’t. No one was forcing us to do it, for a change.”

“Whatever you say, but won’t Archer be suspicious? If you were always fighting Raphael and everyone, how will I explain why you appear so happy to serve me? Archer’s attention we’ll be on us all the time.”

“Maybe you just know how to handle me and they don’t. And it’s good that they’re watching us. That way they won’t be able to blame us when things go south.”

“I hope you’re right.” I close my laptop and get to my feet. If this little game we’re playing with Archer doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass, I’ll be happy.

“Isaac?” I call as I clutch the phone in my hand. He pokes his head through the door a couple of moments later, his hair disheveled.

“Yeah?”

“Caleb is at Lilith’s place. You have to assure him you’re fine and tell him about the deal you have with Lilith. It’s the only way he’ll believe Raphael isn’t behind everything.”

“Okay.” He takes the phone and saunters into the hallway. I can’t hear much of what he’s saying, but I can make out that he’s describing to Caleb where to find the camera that he planted in Raphael’s room. When Isaac returns, he hands me the phone.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah. Caleb knows where I put Lilith’s camera and I really hope no one has found it already.” His shoulders are tense, and I move a bit on the couch and tap the empty spot next to me.

“Sit down.” When he does, I turn toward him. “Do you think the camera has filmed Raphael threatening you and...” I look at him because I don’t know what exactly happened.

“I hope so. If Caleb can get the video to Lilith and she puts it up on the net and hands it over to the cops, Raphael won’t be able to escape or make a deal with someone because everyone will know exactly what he is.” Isaac’s face is serious. “The others will distance themselves from him because of his slip-up. And hopefully my friends will finally be free.”

“They will. I have faith in Lilith. She’ll do this right.” I cover his hand with mine and give him a small smile.

“Do you have any videos of Archer or anything that could get leaked?”

My eyes go wide. “Not really. Even if I hired someone to try to rob him or one of his friends, he or his men would figure it out really quickly. All parties have a no cameras policy and Archer’s men always make sure no one planted any bugs. I can’t take any risks.”

“Guess we should figure out how to get someone to do that for us of their own free will, because if we try something ourselves, they’ll figure out you were involved. It has to look like that person himself made the decision to make a move against Archer.”

“Yeah, and after Raphael goes down, everyone will be more suspicious, which might make someone more likely to betray Archer if they think their own skin is in danger.” I let go of Isaac and notice he’s tapping his foot against the floor. A moment later, he jumps to his feet and starts pacing.

“So what we have to do is make the others afraid.” He runs a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, I guess, but we can’t exactly talk to them about it.”

He stops for a moment to look at me, then wrings his hands. “If Archer invites you to his friends-only party, that might help us because the others might find it suspicious or trust him less because he brought in an unknown person just like that.”

“Yeah.” I frown. “That could work. And we also need to find someone in Archer’s inner circle who is an influential person and has connections everywhere, but who also has a lot to lose if their secret about the parties leaks.”

“And someone smart enough to pull it off before Archer finds out.”

“True, because if he finds out someone is trying to betray him... He could go after their family, and I don’t want innocent people to get hurt or die if that person turns out to be less influential than him.”

“Innocent people will continue to get hurt and die as long as people like Raphael and Archer are out there,” Isaac says through his teeth, anger flashing in his eyes. “Do you know how many people Raphael killed and how many families he destroyed? That’s exactly why I took the risk to get that camera inside his room and why Caleb is going to risk everything to get that footage to Lilith.”

I stare down at my hands. “I know what Raphael is capable of. When I was... with Archer... there was a girl... who belonged to Raphael.”

I pace up and down the kitchen, glancing at the door all the time. The mask on my face itches, but even though I’m alone, I don’t want to take it off in case someone comes. Besides, Archer warned me not to do it. Still, I risk opening one of the drawers, but there aren’t any knives or anything I could use as a weapon. Not that a weapon would do me any good since I can’t exactly pass through five or so guards and fifteen people, but maybe I could smuggle it with me.

The door bursts open, and a man pushes a girl inside. She falls to her knees, her whole face smeared with makeup as she sobs.

“Stay here,” the masked man orders, slamming the door behind him. I rush toward the girl and she looks up at me.

“Please help me,” she cries. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I can’t!”

“I don’t know how. I’m not...” I offer her my hand and she gets to her feet. Her brown eyes are wide with fear and her long dark hair is tangled. She isn’t wearing anything except a collar around her neck. Her eyes flit across the room and she rushes toward the counter.

“No, no, no,” she says as she lifts up a bowl of fruit.

“What are you looking for? I’ve checked all the drawers already. I know what’s inside.”

“A key,” she says.

I frown. “I don’t remember seeing anything like that.”

“There’s a key somewhere. For that door.” She nods toward the door across the room.

“What’s in there?” I ask.

“A way out. The guards won’t be watching it because no one ever uses it, but I know there’s a key somewhere. Please!” She gives me a pained stare. “Help me before he returns!”

“I...” I look around the room. Where could the key be? Finally, I notice that one of the tiles above the stove is pushed out a bit more than the others, so I pull at it, but nothing happens. Maybe I should press on it instead. A click sounds from somewhere behind the wall and the tile pops out, revealing a small hole with a key inside. “Got it!”

“Thank God!” The girl snatches the key from me and runs to the door. I keep glancing between her and the main door. Someone can come any moment, and if they see what’s going on... The girl opens the door that leads into a dark hallway, then looks at me over her shoulder. “Come with me. I know you’re just like me. We can sneak out and get to the cops...”

I tilt my head at her. “How do you know...?” I doubt Archer told anyone about me being his slave. And he’s warned me not to let anyone know about me because some people would be upset to have a slave walk among them dressed like them.

“He wouldn’t have left you in here otherwise,” she says. “Are you coming?”

I chew on the insides of my cheek. What if this is some kind of a test? What’s the chance that Archer left me here exactly when that girl was brought here and offered me a way out? But what if it’s not a test? If I could get out on the street and find someone to help me or take me to my family...

“Come after me or don’t,” the girl finally says. “I’m out of here.” And she breaks into a run and disappears into the darkness. I look after her, but I don’t move. It’s a trap. It has to be. It wouldn’t be this easy.

The masked man bursts inside and stops dead in his tracks. “She’s gone!” he yells, and two guards come in. “Get her,” he says. The guards immediately rush back out, and the man locks the door through which the girl ran. He doesn’t even glance at me.

“There you are,” Archer says as soon as he steps inside, a wide smile spreading his lips. “Come on.” He offers me his arm, and I slip mine through his and let him lead me out. “I’m proud of you, Kitten,” he whispers into my ear.

We take a seat on the couch, Archer’s hand resting on my knee. Everyone is seated in a circle, as if they’re expecting something. Even the slaves are kneeling next to their masters and not doing anything.

A few moments later, the guards return, dragging the dark-haired girl who is struggling and wailing. My whole body tenses. They’ve caught her. Archer runs soothing circles on my leg, but that does nothing to chase the dread away. The girl is shoved onto her knees in the middle of the room, everyone’s eyes on her.

“Look up, slaves.” The masked man I’ve seen before comes to stand in front of the girl. “This happens when you try to run away.”

He pulls out a gun from the back of his pants and fires. My breath catches in my throat as the girl falls to the floor, her eyes blank. As the blood is pooling on the floor underneath her, the man tucks back his gun and raises his arms. “Now let the festivities continue!”

No one seems to be affected by what just happened in the least, except for the slaves, who are trembling while some are crying quietly. I can barely breathe as the guards grab the dead girl’s arms and start to drag her away.