It was the next weekend, and I was floating on a cloud of happiness. Well, not literally. I had a date with Dante today and I was extremely excited…to continue the investigation. Yeah, that was what I would keep telling myself. I wasn’t excited to see him because I missed his smile or his dry sense of humor. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t even fool myself at this point. I had spent an embarrassing amount of time on my hair this morning. I had on a white mini-skirt and a bright green top that perfectly matched Dante’s eyes. God, even I was annoying myself. I walked to our meeting room and pushed open the door without knocking. He had his back to me and he was talking on the phone. I shut the door and waited on the couch until he was done. I couldn’t help but eavesdrop; it sounded like he was talking to someone from his work. It seemed like there was a small emergency. With a sigh, Dante hung up his phone and ran a hand through his curly hair. “Everything oka
Dante’s pants and my dress needed to go. But I didn’t want to stop kissing him to undress further. It was an interesting dilemma to be in. “Gabrielle,” Dante whispered against my neck while he placed hungry kisses in it. Fuck, his warm breath felt so good against my skin. “Hm?” I managed to mumble since I couldn't think straight with his hands all over me. “I wanted you to know that I’ve been tested recently and everything came back negative.” Fuck. A man who cared about sexual health. I liked him even more now. “I’ve been tested recently too. And everything was good. Also, I’m on the pill,” I replied. He sighed in relief. “Good, 'cause I didn’t bring a condom,” he said, causing me to laugh at his grateful expression. Then, a look crossed his face and I knew that something was bothering him. “What is it?” I asked him, knowing that he had a hard time expressing his true feelings. “I just don't want you to feel pressured to do
I woke up in Dante’s arms. He was already awake, staring at me with an unreadable expression. I looked over at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was the middle of the night. I stretched my legs. It weirdly felt amazing to stretch out my sore muscles. It made me blush to think why they were sore. Dante looked so cute. His black curly hair was messy and his green eyes were sleepy. Then I burst my own bubble as I thought about the mission we were still on. By the look on his face, I could tell that he was thinking the same thing. “I don’t regret what happened here tonight,” I told him honestly. “Nor do I,” Dante agreed. “But our feelings for each other could potentially get in the way of taking down The Golden Hive,” I admitted. He nodded. “What should we do?” I asked him. It didn’t help matters that the feeling of his arms around me felt so right. Dante considered my question for a moment. As if he couldn’t help himself, he le
As soon as I came into the kitchen for breakfast, I could tell it was another ‘free day’. The smell coming through the kitchen alone was enough to give it away. If Valerie was here, the girls wouldn’t be cooking bacon, waffles, french toast, and sausage. I went over to a pan and started cracking eggs to fry them up. I waited for a lull in the conversation before I asked the burning question in my mind. “Does anyone know where Miss Valerie is anyway?” I asked the group casually after saying my usual ‘good mornings’ and ‘hellos’. I wanted to know if anyone had any new information on where she was. I was sure that her absence had something to do with the shipment she was getting from the governor. I wondered if something had gone wrong with it again and Valerie was putting out the fire. I thought about the cruel things Bernard would want to do to the governor if he messed up again. The Golden Hive was such a well-connected club that they had unlimited resources to
I was going stir-crazy in this house. It had been days since my discovery of The Golden Hive’s involvement in illegal smuggling. I was having to sit on all the new information I’d obtained because Dante hadn’t come to visit since the night before the masquerade ball. The analytical, detective part of me was irritated and annoyed that I couldn’t get in contact with him, but the emotional side of me was worried about him. Also, the last time I’d seen him was when we had sex, and a small part of me was feeling self-conscious that he hadn’t talked to me since then. I knew that was silly considering the situation we were in, but that was how I felt. I was in a better mood this morning though because it was Saturday and our sponsors were allowed to visit us on the weekends. Dante would definitely set up a visit with me today. He had to. I walked down to the kitchen with a spring in my step, excited to see Dante soon, but a commotion at the front door distracted me. Mo
What the hell? How did Alice know I was trying to take down The Golden Hive? Was this a trap? Was Alice working with Bernard and Valerie? I needed to play it cool just in case. I thought that Alice was my friend and we got along well, but this could all be a ploy to make me reveal that I was undercover. Alice could even be wearing a wire. “Alice, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about,” I replied, arranging my face into a confused expression. “Okay, I know that you have no reason to trust me. If it makes you feel better, look around the room, and check for cameras.” She raised her hands. “Go ahead and search me. I’m not wearing a mic.” “I think you’ve seen too many detective shows, Alice.” Alice groaned. “What do I have to do to make you trust me? I’m here undercover, which I know you are too.” “Why would you say that?” She gave me a look. “Come on, Gabrielle. I can tell when someone else is acting. I have a master's degree in
I walked into the room and Dante was sitting at the table with two plates of lasagna in front of him. There were also candles and two glasses of red wine. He stood up when I walked into the room. Dante was wearing a black t-shirt that hugged the muscles in his chest and blue jeans. His hair was dark and curly like usual. A stray curl was on his forehead and I wanted to reach out and push it back into place. His green eyes traveled down my body. It hadn’t even been that long since I’d seen him, but it felt like forever. At the same time, we walked forward and hugged each other. Without even meaning to, I broke down crying. I didn’t even have a specific reason, but these past few days were so hard. I was worried about Dante because he never showed up to the masquerade ball. I’d also found out so much information since we last saw each other, the roofie shipment being the worst one. It just all felt like too much. I realized that it wasn’t just these past few days, but e
I woke up later than usual. My body needed to rest after the emotional night I had. Both Charlotte and Alice were already gone and from the alarm clock on my bedside, I saw that it was already nine-thirty in the morning. I got ready quickly and went down to the kitchen. Valerie was there with her morning cup of coffee, studying the girls and eyeing what they ate for breakfast, like usual. I prepared my helping of plain, boring oatmeal and went to sit by Alice. “Where’s Charlotte?” I asked her. “Oh, she has another date with her sponsor,” Alice replied casually, just in case anyone was listening to our conversation. I nodded. I didn’t want to say anything more here, but I needed to remember to ask Alice if she knew who Charlotte’s sponsor was. Before I could say anything else to her, Valerie cleared her throat and stood up. Everyone immediately quieted down. “Good morning, girls,” Valerie began. “After you wash the breakfast dishes up, there will be a
*Six Months Later*“Those slippery motherfuckers!” I yelled, pounding my fist on the table. Dante shook his head angrily. Bridgette leaned her head back and sighed. Charlotte was crying silently. Alice had her arms crossed and was staring blankly at the wall. We were at my office in the conference room since Dante had called us all here to tell us the outcome of Valerie and Bernard’s trials. He had been attending both of them. I wanted to go with him, but ultimately my therapist and I decided that it would be too triggering for me. When I got the call from Dante, I thought for sure that he was gathering us here to tell us both of them were found guilty. I followed their court cases closely with the help of Dante and the news, which was covering this story closely. But it turned out the news wasn't good. It was quite the opposite, actually. Alice was the first one to speak after my outburst. “But…I don’t understand how they could get away with this. Th
A cool breeze ruffled the grass where I was kneeling and it tickled my legs. I looked up at the blue sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. I took a deep breath to steady myself. I tried to get into the right headspace for this moment, but I didn’t think I could ever truly prepare myself for what I was about to do. It was now a couple of weeks after everything happened at The Golden Hive. I was taking my time as I adjusted back to life outside of it all. The main thing I focused on was making sure the other ex-escorts were doing well as they navigated the new world they were in. Dante and I were seeing each other almost every day and I would spend the night at his house most days because I didn’t want to sleep alone. I usually woke up with nightmares when I did. I continued to help with research and find evidence to help the case against Bernard and Valerie. I was even going into the office two days a week. Also, I started to take up boxing again. I basically had to start from
“Now, you two come over anytime, you hear?” Alice’s mother called to us. We had just spent the afternoon at her house. Dante told Alice and her mom, whose name was Lacey, the truth about his mother’s hard life. The two women listened with wide eyes and tears. I was sure that it was hard to hear, but they needed to know the truth. Only then they would be able to fully heal. After Dante was finished telling everything, the mood in the bright kitchen was somber. But Lacey perked up and looked over at her nephew. She asked him if he would like to hear about how his mother was as a child and her family. Dante nodded enthusiastically. As he listened to how much of a happy and curious child his mom was, Dante’s face changed. His smile grew wider and wider. I knew that it was good for him to hear this. Knowing that his mother’s life hadn’t been all bad was really good for him. “You know what I remember most about your mother though?” Lacey asked Dante.
“Are you nervous?” I asked Alice as we walked down the sidewalk. “Yeah, it feels like my heart is in my stomach,” she replied. It was a couple of days later and Alice, Dante, and I were going to visit my team's office. It had been a very hectic couple of days—from talking with FBI agents, police officers, and continuing to help Bridgette and Jeremy research The Golden Hive. We wanted to gather enough evidence to strengthen the upcoming case against Valerie, Bernard, and all of the sponsors. Also, I’d been helping organize all the witness protection placements for everyone. Alice was the only girl who didn’t need to go into the program. She was staying with her mother and she recently told me that her mother had said that Alice going undercover inside The Golden Hive was the bravest, but stupidest thing she had ever done. But, thankfully, I had just helped move the last girl into her apartment, Charlotte. It was hard to leave her, especially when she kept crying
“Here, please drink something, Gabrielle. You’ve had a long night and it’s far from over,” Dante said, handing me a water bottle. But I didn’t take it. Dante, Charlotte, Alice, myself, and the rest of the other escorts were outside of the mansion. We formed a semi-circle and police cars with flashing lights were surrounding us. There were so many people in uniforms talking on walkie-talkies or walking in and out of the manor. It looked like the entire local police and the FBI were here. The scene before me was chaos. Two separate squad cars had driven Bernard and Valerie away. I was glad the FBI knew what they were doing. You never put the criminals in the back of the same car before questioning. You had to keep them separated so they couldn’t talk with each other about how to get their stories straight. I stared up at the mansion that had been my prison. It felt strange to be in the outside world after two months inside that house of horrors. If I felt weird, I coul
“Give me my goddamn laptop back, you little bitch,” Valerie hissed at me. I clutched the laptop that I was still holding in my hands. I held it in front of my chest like it was a bulletproof vest. She was stupider than I thought if she believed I was going to hand over the only bargaining chip I had. Sure, I had a gun pointed at me many times, but I wasn’t the one I was worried about. I was terrified that Valerie was going to kill the man I loved who was beside me, looking like he would take a bullet for me. I was even more scared for the terrified girl behind me who I just heard let out a little squeak of fear. Charlotte hadn’t even asked for this. When I thought about plan B, I never had any intention for her to risk her life too. “Good evening, Valerie,” I said in a calm voice, trying to convey a confidence I didn’t feel. "Why did you leave your own party?” I asked in a mildly curious voice. “From what I heard, your organization needs all the money it can get
All three of us were shocked into inactivity for a long moment. We stared at each other in horror, wondering how Valerie or Bernard found out about the missing computer in such a short amount of time. I was the first one to rise and slowly walked toward the hallway that Valerie’s office was down. My legs felt heavy, like I was walking through water. I peered around the corner and gasped when I saw the mistake I had made. I had forgotten to close Valerie’s office door when I left. Jeremy and Bridgette could only hack into the cameras for twenty minutes. Our time was up. I turned to the other two, gripping Valerie’s laptop tightly in my hands. “We need to hide. Now,” I ordered Dante and Charlotte. Neither of them argued or questioned my urgency. They knew the severity of the situation. Both of them knew what could happen if we were caught. We raced down the hallway in the opposite direction of Valerie’s office. Quickly, my mind raced considering
Charlotte stared at me for a moment, then she started laughing hysterically. She leaned against the wall and put her hands on her knees while continuing to giggle. Dante and I shared a look and I adjusted Valerie’s laptop I was holding. “Um, Charlotte? Are you alright?” I asked her with uncertainty coloring my tone. The young girl laughed for a few more moments and I had no idea what to do. It seemed like this was Charlotte’s breaking point. She had finally lost it. This house that she thought would be her saving grace, had broken her. I felt terrible that I had any part in it, however small or inadvertently it was. As we were waiting, Dante tried to take the laptop from my hands and leave, but I shook my head. “Plan B,” I whispered to him. He nodded. Finally, Charlotte seemed to calm down. Dante and I brought her over to a small alcove in the hallway with two chairs. We sat her down and I took the seat across from her. The last thing I wanted to do was si
I stared at myself in the mirror and let out a nervous sigh. I smoothed my hands down my red dress, the same one I wore at my first party here. I thought it would be fitting to wear the same dress since it was my last night here. No matter how the night played out. “You ready to meet Dante?” Alice asked from behind me. I turned around and studied her. She was wearing a black dress that suited her pale skin tone. I couldn’t even compliment how she looked because my throat was too dry. I nodded to answer her question and we walked to meet Dante. Thankfully, the hallways were deserted and we slipped into our usual room. Dante was already waiting for us. I stopped in the doorway because his appearance made me pause. He looked gorgeous in a black suit and red tie. When he saw me, his face bloomed into a huge smile. He pointed to his tie. “I was hoping you’d wear that dress so we could match,” Dante told me. We grinned at each other with stupid, happy look