Tara turned to look at him. "To see my mother."
He laughed. "I guess I better go too. She probably got a good job for me to do."
Three hours later, Tara and Ray walked into the Madam Lounge, a private club for men to enjoy their drinking and sex. Tara snorted in disgust. She couldn't believe her own mother owned such a despicable business establishment.
She glanced at the handsome man beside her. She couldn't believe she was sleeping with her mother's right-hand man either. Yes, he was darkly handsome and he fit all the bills where looks were concerned. He was a combination of Sebastian and Darcy--tall, with black hair like Darcy and bright blue eyes like Sebastian. He swam, too. That toned, muscular body was very similar to the much-desired Princeton brothers. But unlike Sebastian and Darcy, Ray wasn't out of reach. Ray was attainable, and of course, bloody boring. Even now, she still ached for the Princeton brothers. Her Princeton brothers, especially Darcy and Sebastian.
"Hey, Sarah," Ray said to the lovely blond greeting them. She winked at him and gave him a good, long kiss on the lips.
"You haven't been to see me for a while, Ray darling," she said seductively, batting her long fake eyelashes.
He laughed. "I've been busy. How 'bout later?"
Sarah eyed Tara and said, "Okay, later, then. Hi, Tara."
Tara sneered and told the woman with her eyes to piss off. She wasn't going to mix words with these lowlife bitches who sold their bodies for money.
With her head held high, she marched elegantly up the stairs to her mother's office. Ray followed close behind her.
"What's the emergency?" she asked the moment she stepped into the luxurious office.
Julie looked up from her laptop, her face marked with fright and exhaustion. Tara was very surprised because she'd only seen the woman last week, and she'd looked as happy and young as ever.
Julie indicated the two should sit before she began. Once they did, she said, "She saw me."
Tara frowned. "What? Who saw you?"
Julie fisted her hands into balls and snapped, "Sakura saw me."
Tara blinked. "Come again?"
"Sakura, that little bitch, saw me today. I was in the Princetons' hotel and--"
"What?" Tara shrieked in outrage. "What the hell were you doing there? I told you not to go there. What if they recognized you? James and Brenda live there now."
"It can't be helped," Julie defended. "One of my important clients was there. I was escorting one of my girls there for him."
Tara looked heavenward and prayed for patience. "Screw your business and your girls!" she snapped. "So what? Sakura saw you. And what the hell was she doing there anyway?"
"I don't know," Julie muttered. "But I bumped into her."
"Wait?" Tara turned to stare at her mother. "You bumped into her?" At Julie's nod, she went on. "God, tell me she didn't recognized you."
Julie sighed and said, "I think she did."
"What the hell!" Tara swore.
"I think she recognized me. She was looking at me strangely, and she reacted, like... reacted."
"Like what?" Tara asked, her eyes large with fright.
"Like she'd just seen a ghost," Julie explained.
At this point, Ray was interested in what was going on. Mother and daughter looked like they were freaked out by this girl named Sakura.
"Sounds like she recognized you all right," he commented.
He received a frighteningly pissed off glare from both mother and daughter. He brushed the anger aside and said, "But really, why're you so afraid of her? She's just a girl, right?"
"Yes," Tara said. "But Mom is supposed to be dead. That girl Sakura was one of the girls Mom looked after back at the orphanage. What if she goes and tells the police? What if the police dig up what really happened that night?"
Ray laughed. "Okay, let me get this straight. So you're saying, Julie, you were the one who burned down that orphanage?"
Julie sighed. There was no point in hiding it from Ray. He'd find out sooner or later.
When she nodded, he chuckled. "Classic. You got balls, Julie, and I like that."
Tara said, "Assuming she's going to the police, what then?"
"We can't let her go to the police," Julie said.
"Look," Ray said. "You two look like you need some help."
Tara folded her arms across her chest. "What do you mean?"
Ray said, "If she goes to the police, you two are screwed. The Princetons will find out eventually."
Tara's face flared with terror at that very thought. She couldn't possibly let the Princeton brothers find out about her mother and her being involved in something like this. She couldn't possibly let Sakura ruin her chance with the brothers. Not again. Not ever. She was going to get Sebastian or Darcy, one way or another.
She stood. "I have a fashion shoot in Hawaii this week." She clutched her hands when once again she remembered only last week, Mr. Tachibana had called her and Alaina into his office, informing them of Sakura, a new model, the main one. And all along, Tara had thought she was the supermodel who got to wear Mr. Tachibana's most expensive and desirable items, as well as Lady Haruka's jewels. Of course, it didn't dampen her anger either, even though Mr. Tachibana had informed them the Princeton brothers were the rest of the male models.
She said, "Sakura is one of the female models for Mr. Tachibana's summer collection."
Julie glanced up and managed a tentative smile. "That's good."
Ray knew the two were up to no good, and he was actually looking forward to playing with them.
*
CHAPTER 26
The Nightmare Returns
Eighteen Years Ago, St. Joseph Island
Little Sakura woke herself up with a soul-piercing scream that shook her wee body by the force of fright. She flashed her eyes open, praying the monster Mrs. Byrd wasn't there in her room, about to whip her with a belt. Her eyes were dark and wild as she scanned around the cold, bare surroundings. Once she was convinced the woman wasn't present, she clutched the thin blanket against her person and began to whimper.
"I wish I had a mama to hug me," she cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. Instead, she hugged herself into a small ball to ease the icy coldness in the room and tried to go back to sleep.
The thought of that ruthless, mean Mrs. Byrd and her daughter, Tara, however, kept her awake. They were no doubt very comfortable in their warm beds right now. She had only wanted another blanket to top this thin one to keep her warm at night. When she'd asked that morning, however, what she received in turn was a slap on the face and then ten whips on her backside. She was still sore from the punishment but tried not to think about it. Instead, she thought about the Princeton brothers, of the boy named Darce with jet-black hair and beautiful lavender-gray eyes. It was only then she felt a sense of calmness settling within her as a smile formed on her lips.
"Darce," she whispered softly between her lips. "Darce."
He'd stroked her hair and suggested they call her Snow. She liked the name very much. It was a beautiful name. Better than Sally, of course. Sakura wasn't a Silly Sally. She was Sakura, and to Darce, she was Snow.
Then she thought about the beautiful boy named Sebastian. The one with golden-blond hair and sky-blue eyes. He'd been curious about her, smiled at her, and talked to her. He was nice and kind. Oddly enough, he made her happy. Oh, how she wished they were her siblings. How she wished they'd play with her like they'd played with Alaina and Tara.
She turned on her side, wiping tears from her cheeks. Then she cupped her hands together and began her prayer, her wee heart aching with loneliness.
"Dear God, please hear my prayer. If you are out there, please listen to me. I've been a good girl, haven't I? I mean, I've studied really hard and I did all my chores. I didn't complain when Mrs. Byrd whipped me. That ought to account for something, right? So please hear my prayer. I want a nice family to adopt me. I want them to love me. I want a mama and a papa who love me and hug me when I have night
mares. Most of all, I don't want them to be angry at me all the time and whip me. I mean, they can be angry at me sometimes when I'm being silly or stupid. But I'm not stupid or silly. That name, Sally, is a silly name and it just doesn't suit me, you know. Anyway, please, please, please do something soon because I'm beginning to think you don't exist anymore. You're so slow at working this out. Anyway, please help me find a nice family. The Princetons would be nice. No, not just nice. They'd be perfect. Please? Okay, that's all. I'm going to stop bothering you now. You can go back and make people's wishes come true, but just don't forget mine."
She sighed after having expressed her wishes to the Almighty and then closed her eyes.
Ten minutes later, she still couldn't sleep and felt awfully thirsty. She sat up and got out of bed, praying very hard it was still too early for anyone to be up.
She quietly opened the door, slipped out, and silently made her way across the dark corridor, down the stairs, and then toward the kitchen.