Finally, I felt my body drifting off to sleep. I needed the sleep and couldn’t wait to relish the four hours I would have before sun up. We had a lot to get done in the morning and four hours was necessary for me to be able to function.
The next thing I knew, the morning sun was shining into our room right through the curtains. I guess that was just one part of the discounted cost of staying in a low-level motel instead of a nice hotel. But I actually had slept very well.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I heard Roxanne say as she stood wrapped in a towel and flipped the water on to the giant whirlpool tub located in the corner of the room.
“That is the weirdest spot for a bathtub.”
“I know. But it's supposed to be romantic,” she said with a laugh. “I’m sorry for falling asleep on you.”
“You were tired, no need to apologize. I’m sorry for making you think I abandoned you. So, I guess we are even now.”
I turned toward the door and put my feet on the ground, but paused when I heard Roxanne climb into the soaking tub. I silently cursed myself for not turning around fast enough to watch her beautiful curves as they descended into the water.
“Do you want to join me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
I hurried to rid myself of my clothes and climbed into the large tub with her. It was wide enough for two people with sitting stations on opposite sides of the tub. So, I sat down across from her and sunk into the deep massage jets.
“I’m starting to like this little rundown motel,” Roxanne said as the water jets pressed into her back.
“I couldn’t agree more. This is a fantastic tub.”
We both sat and enjoyed the water massage for a few minutes as we woke up. It felt like perfection to have the warm jets pulsing water onto all my sore muscles. I wanted to come back to that motel every time I was in Miami.
I laughed to myself at the thought of purposely choosing to stay in that motel again. But that was how life worked sometimes. You ran into a person or a place that you never expected and became hooked, unable to get them off your mind and unwilling to settle for anything else.
“So, what’s the plan?” Roxanne asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“I don’t know. It’s going to be impossible to get into Stephano’s house, assuming that’s even where Ana is. I thought of a few ideas last night, but nothing seemed like a sure shot and that makes me nervous.”
“Maybe we should call the local authorities and give them what we have?”
Roxanne didn’t strike me as the type of woman who would easily agree to contacting the local police department. It showed that she also understood the gravity of the situation for Ana and that we had to figure out something very soon or Ana wasn’t going to be around any longer to rescue.
“I thought about trying to buy Ana myself. Do you think Stephano would sell her to me?”
She thought about it for a while before answering. The look on her face seemed strained with anguish and it didn’t look like Roxanne thought my plan was a very good one. I understood her thinking. I didn’t think the plan was good, either. I just wanted to see what her thoughts were, but the look on her face reaffirmed my thought. It wasn’t a good plan.
“You could try it. But I think he’s got a relationship with some overseas buyers and I don’t think he’ll want to ruin that. Plus, if he tells them there is a higher bid, it’s likely that the international buyer will just continue to outbid you. These girls are worth a lot of money to them.”
“I think I could convince him to sell her to me. But the real issue is if he has seen my face or not. Obviously, if he knows I was the one over at your house or in that private room, then he’s not going to believe that I want to buy Ana.”
“We had you dressed up like a nerd in the club. Remember, you had that damn sweater vest on and glasses. I don’t know if he would really be able to tell it was you. But it’s probably not the best idea. You know he’ll kill you first and then ask questions later. He doesn’t need to know it was you. Stephano just needs to feel like something is off and he will shoot you.”
Roxanne’s lack of confidence in my idea did make me a little nervous. But I honestly believed that money talked and if I walked into Stephano’s with $250,000 and an offer to buy a girl that I described as Ana, perhaps he would consider it.
“How much do the girls go for?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe one hundred thousand dollars.”
“So, you don’t think if I offered $250,000 he would sell her to me?”
“Jackson, if you walked in and offered that kind of money, he would think you were trying to pull something over on him. He doesn’t know you and has never heard of you in that world before. He’s going to think you are with the police.”
I hated that Roxanne was right. There was no way my plan was going to work without some serious help. If I was going to try and buy Ana, I would need someone on the inside who could vouch for me and say that I was looking for a new supplier. Maybe make me out to be a guy who has purchased girls before from Stephano’s competition. Although, I had no idea who his competition was.
I moved over to her side of the tub and pushed her forward so I could slide behind her. Roxanne was starting to feel like home and as much as that scared me, I actually liked it a lot.