“Come here,” Nick said, forcing her into a tight embrace. “I’ve missed you.”
* * *
Dazed and completely confused, Ari went back to her room without a fight. Once the door closed behind the three of them, she tried to speak, “Nick…”
“Do you like your room?” he asked, quietly. “I thought it would feel comfortable. Less transitional. Jace worked hard on it for weeks.”
“Yeah,” Jace said, blotting his nose with his shirt. “I would have laid the hardwood if I hadn’t been arrested that night outside of your house. I wasn’t really going to hurt you, you know.”
“I don’t understand,” Ari started. She couldn’t even begin to comprehend what was happening.
“Understand. I know. It’s a lot to take in and you’ve had a rough night. You’re right. Jace did drug you, but only for your own protection.”
“No, he had Shanna at the bar and...” She tried to rationalize the situation. She couldn’t. “Why did you bring me here?”
Nick smiled. The smile that used to reassure her. Calm her. “Because we’re good together. Out there, you’re just distracted. Work, clients, nightclubs, and Vigilantes. Here we can focus on each other. Plus there’s plenty of work to be done right here. My girls could use a companion with a little compassion. I’m afraid Jace and I aren’t really the most empathetic housemates.”
Afraid she already knew the answer, Ari didn’t want to ask. But she had to. She had to know. “Your girls?”
“Don’t be coy. You know what I’ve been doing, even if you never caught on that it was me. I’ve been acquiring them up one by one. In fact,” he said with a thoughtful look. “You basically lead me to them. The brightest of your lot. That’s not saying much, since not one of them even has a promising academic future but they’re generally compliant. Hard workers. They do love you as much as you love them. I figured if you cared about them so much then they really must be special.
“Special?” Ari hated to even ask. She felt sick. Like she might vomit.
“Sexually mature. Aggressive. Each with a history of prostitution. There’s a ton of money to be made here and they already had an understanding about how all this works. They prefer to call me their sugar daddy—or they did at first,” he smiled. “But really, I picked the girls that would make you happiest to be around.”
“No, Nick, no, this doesn’t make me happy. This is wrong. This is crazy!” Ari shouted. “This is certifiable. You’re risking everything on some teenage-girl prostitution ring?”
His eyes darkened and he grabbed her by the wrist. “I know this is an adjustment. I know it will be hard, but you don’t have a choice. I gave you a choice and you picked the wrong one. The wrong man. I will not let that happen again.”
Ari realized then that he knew about her and Davis. What else did he know? “He’ll come for me,” she spat, struggling to get away. “He’ll find you and rip you limb to limb.”
“Not if I get to him first,” Nick replied, easing the grasp he had on Ari’s wrist. He lifted her hand, pressing his lips against her skin. “I’ll be back when you’ve calmed down a little. If you need something, there’s a button you can push by your bed. Someone will come down.”
Wrenching her hand away, Ari recoiled as he and Jace left the room, locking the door behind them.
* * *
Ari spent the next fifteen minutes tearing the room apart. Ripping down the false curtains, flinging clothing out of the closet, stripping the bed. There had to be something that could help her get out of here, she thought, while moving the dresser away from the wall. Nick had lost his mind—if he’d ever had control over it in the first place.
Other than the obvious furnishings and a couple pieces of clothing in the closet, there was nothing useful in the room. Nothing, Ari noted, that she could even really use as a weapon. How long had he planned this? Jace said he’d been unable to complete the hardwood flooring because he’d been in jail. She thought back to when he’d been arrested. That was a few weeks ago, way before she broke up with Nick. That meant he’d planned on trapping her here even if they hadn’t have broken up.
Ari ran to the bookshelf. She grabbed a handful of books and threw them at the door, each one landing with a loud thud. “Let me out, you sick bastard!” she screamed. “He’ll find me!” she threatened, throwing the final book, a thick hardback. Even with the jarring noise, her words fell empty. Davis had no idea how to find her. She sneaked out of the house on Oliver—dangerously leaving him no clue where she’d gone. No family to look for her. Oliver would never suspect Nick.
The harsh reality struck Ari and she kicked the books scattered across the floor, like a child having a tantrum. Her rage turned to tears and she fell face-first on her stripped mattress, acknowledging, for the first time, that she was completely screwed.
There was no way out of this room and no way anyone would find her.
TWENTY THREE
Ari knew someone else was in the room when she woke up. Terrified Nick, or even worse, Jace, had entered her room while she slept, she carefully opened one eye, preparing herself for the worst.
Hope stood at the bookshelf, shelving the books Ari had thrown during her breakdown. The rest of the room had been cleaned up. The curtains rehung, the clothes back in the closet. Ari noticed the quilt she’d ripped off the bed now covered her legs.
“What are you doing?” Ari asked, her voice raw from screaming.
“My job,” Hope replied without looking back.
Ari got out of the bed and walked over to the bookshelf. “Hope, tell me what’s going on. How did you end up here?” She cut her eyes in Ari’s direction and didn’t say anything. Ari touched the girl’s shoulder. “I can’t help either of us until I have more information. All I know is that I went to a club and woke up here. Oh god, is Shanna here?”