The Madame (The Chloe Chronicals) Read online

  But even all good distractions come to an end.

  “Grant, have you heard from Chloe or Howard?”

  I’m a coward and didn’t tell my parents why Chloe and I broke up. How the fuck am I supposed to say that I was a man-whore in the past and fucked her best friend and got another chick pregnant? That’s not an easy conversation to have and I’m not looking forward to telling them that I’m going to be a dad.

  Hell, I’m scared beyond belief that I’m about to be a dad. I can barely keep my own life afloat, how am I supposed to be a father?

  “Uh, so, I haven’t talked to either of them. I don’t know where they are.”

  I should have known that they weren’t easily fooled. “I called Chloe today and her phone was out of service.”

  “What the hell? When did you call her?” I flung myself onto my couch and stretched out lazily. I should have grabbed a beer but I’m too fucked up right now to think about it.

  She makes a ‘hmm’ noise and then says: “An hour ago? Why, did you call her?”

  “I need to call you back!” I hang up on my parents and call Chloe’s phone.

  “The person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time. Please try again later.”

  God damn it! Where the fuck is she? I throw my phone across the room and it bounces off the wall with a thud. My fingers dig into my hair and pull hard. I hadn’t got a haircut in the past month and it’s longer than usual which is probably why it stings as I tug it.

  Where the hell did they stash her?

  I get off my couch and go look for my phone. It’s resting against the recliner in the corner. Luckily, it didn’t break because I don’t have the extra money to spend on getting it fixed or a new one.

  Dialing Howard, I hope to get through to him.

  “The person you are trying to reach-”

  I hang up and throw my phone onto the couch. Mother fucker.

  Grant- Now

  “Good, Kayla. Just keep your breathing as normal as possible,” I coach her.

  My brother told us that we needed to go to birthing class before she delivers and so far, I’m not seeing how this is going to help. Kayla and I are both cops of some sort, so it’s not as if we don’t know how to handle a delicate situation.

  Well, I guess it’s different since we are both about to be first time parents.

  “Go try and shove a watermelon out of your snatch, you fucker!” I hear to the back of us.

  I turn my head and see a woman who looks to be in her thirties as she’s sprawled out on the floor. She’s got a pillow behind her but the man she’s with looks as if he’s about to pass out. The man looks younger than she is and it makes me wonder if that’s her son or something. Hey, you never know nowadays.

  Kayla pats my hand and pulls it up so it’s resting on her big bump. “Concentrate on me right now. All right?”

  The instructor, some hippy looking woman, walks around banging a gong and it’s the strangest thing I have ever seen. What the fuck kind of place is this?

  My phone buzzes in my jeans and Kayla rolls her eyes. I take my hand off of her stomach and fish it out of the pocket. “No! Come on, Grant. You are supposed to be here with me!” She whines and tugs my hand back but I shake her off.

  “I’m sorry, baby. It could be work.”

  Before she can look at me with disappointment, I push myself up to my feet and leave the room that is full of those exercise balls and yoga mats. I can feel the eyes from all of the women on my back as I leave.

  “Brandon,” I answer the phone.

  “Fuck, Grant. You are the last person I want to say this to.”

  I pull the phone away from my ear and see Howard’s name on it. “What the fuck do you want?” I’m so fucking mad at him still and the fact that he’s calling me- holy fuck. “You’ve got some big brass ones there, buddy.”

  He grunts and then says: “I can’t find her. She’s gone.”

  I drop the phone on the tiled floor and drop to my knees. I can hear him yelling at me, but I’m not listening. I feel as if all of the air has been knocked out of my lungs.

  Chloe- Then

  Well, it’s a horrible feeling to be surrounded by a bunch of people speaking a language that I barely understand. I stare out at them all and cross my arms around my chest. The fur coat is making me hot but I’m supposed to be wearing it for the show.

  Not to mention the fact that it is about a size too small for me. Call it vanity, but there is no way in hell that I’m requesting a new one.

  “And this is Anya Katz,” Barry says as he points to me.

  I look around the red room with gold accents and take a deep breath. I wouldn’t think that this room was used to traffick women if I didn’t know it did. But then again, how can one know something like that? It’s not as if they are advertising their extra work. “Da.” I only know a handful of Russian so let’s try to avoid talking!

  My brother is standing in front of me in the doorway and I’m using him as a shield from the room. I have no idea what to expect and it’s scaring the shit out of me. What if I crack and ruin the whole undercover operation? Fuck.

  “Kak tebya zovut?” I ask what their name is and hope that I’m saying everything right. And they say that English is a hard language to learn. Ha-ha. Yeah, right.

  A younger man steps in front of me and holds his hand out. Surprisingly, he’s very hot. His deep blue eyes are outlined in black eyelashes making him look mysterious. The man is tall and muscular with a button down shirt which is unbuttoned to his pecs. I can see a gold cross necklace hanging around his neck and he’s wearing some very good smelling cologne. I place my hand in his and he smirks a half one while winking at me. He takes my hand to his mouth and kisses my knuckles. “YA Dom i eto Vlad.”

  All right, the hot one is Dom and the other one is Vlad. See, I got some Russian down. Let’s hope they don’t want to talk business in Russian.

  Down, pussy. You can’t hump a sex trafficker. It’s not a good career move.

  Just once?

  Quit, you dumb bitch.

  Damn it. I have gone insane.

  “Don’t all the girls here speak Russian?” Barry asks and points to the closed doors.

  So, that’s where they are.

  Howard talks through my earpiece. “What the hell is he doing?” Obviously I can’t answer him so I don’t do anything.

  Vlad nods his head and says: “Da.”

  “Anya speaks English so let’s speak English so no one can understand us.”

  “Y’see, I do not know you,” Dom says as he still holds my hand in his.

  I yank my hand out of his and then do my best broken English. “I need fifty girl. Clean.” My hand is free and I stick it in my pocket of my fur coat. I feel my piece in it and feel better by having protections. Barry is supposed to be my contact here but I need to remember that I’m the federal agent and he’s only out of prison for this meetup.

  “Da. We have one hundred girl in back. We need search you.” Vlad steps forward and I inwardly shake. If they find my guns, I’m screwed. This is not good. Not good at all. Damn it.

  My brother stares at me and notices my fear and quickly steps to my side. “We’ve already been searched and Anya is only here for a few minutes. Should we continue?”

  Dom, smirks at me and runs his finger down my cheek. God damn. What the hell is wrong with me? He’s sexy. So sexy. “If we found you lying, we kill you.”

  It takes a true sociopathic criminal to say something like that romantically. Or am I just deprived? It’s been so long since I have felt the touch of someone else and I’m beginning to think that my pussy is going to go back to factory reset.

  “Anya, this way,” Vlad says as he points to one of the doors. I follow behind him, closely, and notice that Barry is to my left and Dom is taking residence on my right. I feel very protected and it feels oddly overwhelming.

  Once the door is open, I’m hit with the smell of bleach. Bleach is caked in the
air and it’s making me gag slightly. I’m so happy I declined eating before this meeting because I would have probably thrown up. The walls are stark white and so is the floor. The one thing that comes to mind is sterile. Everything is sterile and it’s almost as if you shouldn’t touch anything. I stuff my hands in my pockets of my fur and finger my guns. I have a gun in each pocket and relish the relief of being protected.

  Don’t get me wrong, I suppose I should feel some sort of protection from my brother, but if history is any indicator- he’s not reliable. So metal is the best form of protection.

  Dom and Vlad are speaking in rapid Russian and it’s unnerving to not know what the hell they are talking so animatedly about. The worst part is that I’m supposed to know this much Russian to these people. Hell, to them, I am a native Russian.

  What am I doing here?

  Barry winks at me since he could probably see my hasty feeling all over my face. I shrug to him and give him a half smile. My body temperature is sky high and I’m sweating profusely in my coat to the point where I worry I might stink.

  A long string of Russian is spoken and I wince at how harsh it sounds. I never understood how some people could say that certain languages sounded harsh, but now I understand. The words that are being said sound as if they are bullets.

  I’m assaulted with the clacking noises of woman in high heels and about fifty women come out from behind a curtain. The women are too skinny and dressed scantily with lingerie and their hair is ratted up. There is a stench that is hard to place but I’m thinking it’s the women and they don’t get too much of a chance to shower.

  Showering is important and that is something that I’m going to have change. Not only is showering humane, it helps people feel as if they have some dignity. Their dignity has already been stripped by being held here, I don’t want them to feel even worse.

  Well, if that were possible.

  “Anya, these women are wvat you ordered,” Dom says in broken English. He walks behind each of them and slightly pushes them forward.

  I walk up to them and carefully look over them as if I’m getting ready to make a purchase. Because, that’s what I’m supposed to be doing. They are disgustingly skinny and smell. Some of their skin is a pale yellow tint from drugs and lack of sun and I’m revolted by what I’m about to do. “These not good,” I speak in broken English. This is so weird.

  Vlad walks forward with his hands extended out and he stands in front of me. I’m fucking pissed at my traitorous body that reacts to him. “What’s wvrong? You don’t like?”

  I straighten myself out and stand straight. “No, I don’t. These are too skinny. My customers won’t like them. Feed them. Also, get them a f’ecking shower. They smell awful.”

  Barry stands next to me and whispers harshly, “What the fuck are you doing, Chloe?”

  I shrug him off and turn off the angry commands that are flowing into my ears and I ignore them. I’ve pissed off Howard but I don’t care. This is my thing and that’s it. “Shut up,” I whisper harshly to Barry.

  Dom and Vlad approach me and each of them flank my sides. “Vhat is the problem?” Dom asks and aligns himself next to me.

  My skin is overheated and I can feel the sweat caking my skin and it’s sticky. God, I want a fucking shower so bad! Actually, I want to get out of here. I’m so uncomfortable. “We don’ like skinny. Too unhealthy. They won’ like it. Make girl healthy!” Worried that I jacked up my fake accent, I quit talking immediately. Did that even sound Russian? I’m sure that sounded like a fake Japanese accent or something.

  Looks as if I need to go back to Russian camp.

  Before I lose my bravado, I turn on my heels and walk out. I’m about ninety percent sure that I’m the first woman to ever walk away from these guys. Oh well. If I’m going to die, I might as well die because of this.

  Let’s be realistic here. I know for a fact that there is a good possibility that I’m going to die. You can’t fuck with these people too much and it’s only a matter of time before they find out who I am. I’m a federal agent for fuck’s sake!

  When I exit the building, I take a deep breath and let the fresh air fall on my face. Quietly, well as quiet as I can wearing high heels, I slip to the side of the building and hide. I need to wait for Barry and also need Howard to come pick us up.

  I hear the door open and close from the building that I just exited. I’m hoping that it’s Barry because I am ready to go home and cuddle with my dog, I look around and see Vlad. He’s wearing an all black outfit and his hair is slicked back. It’s obvious that he has freshened up before leaving again and the cologne he has on, floats towards me. It’s light and airy and makes me want to tuck my head into his shoulder and neck.

  God damn it. What the fuck is wrong with me? I shouldn’t be mooning over a guy in sex trafficking!

  Vlad turns the corner and walks past me but something catches my eye. He is holding something white in his hand and I watch as he brings it to his neck. Oh, god. Really? I watch with bated breath as he tucks it into his shirt.

  Holy fuck.

  He’s a priest!

  Grant- then

  I feel myself slipping into a dark place. There’s no telling if I’m going to have a job much longer because I’m sure that all of them know that I’m not fucking okay.

  I’m having a baby with another woman but yet I’m craving Chloe. Wait, that’s wrong. I’m more than craving Chloe. I miss everything about her and I can’t call her and beg her to forgive me. Yeah, I get that I shouldn’t have kept the fact that I’m having a baby with Kayla, but I knew she wouldn’t have reacted well.

  Since I’m at work for another few hours, I walk to the break room and get another cup of coffee and take my time with it. The only problem with not having a partner is that I have more than enough fucking free time. I’m going crazy with free time and it’s killing me!

  Someone’s hand pats my back and I turn to see Kayla. Her hair is cut in a brown bob that cups her face and makes her look cute. She doesn’t look like a hot person or anything, she has the girl next door and she is pregnant with my kid. So I guess that’s something.

  “What are you doing here?” I question and hug her. As she wraps her arms around my middle, I feel comforted and it feels so fucking good.

  I almost don’t feel the pain from missing Chloe. Almost.

  She rubs her hands up and down my back and lightly scrapes her nails on my neck. “I came to see if you wanted to have lunch with me before the doctor’s appointment.”

  Shit. I forgot all about it. I’m so bad at remembering all of these meetings and appointments. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a shitty ass parent.

  “All right. That sounds good. When I drive you home, we can swing by my parents’ and you can meet them.” Normally, I would be freaking out. But I need the distraction of bringing her to my parents’ house would bring. Sure enough, my mother would freak out when she finds out that Kayla is pregnant and Chloe left me.

  I place my hand on her back and lead her out of the break room. Once we are in the hallway, I guide her towards my office to grab my coat. Luckily for me, I told the Cap that I had to go to these appointments as soon as I found out about them or I would have forgotten all together.

  Kayla is starting to show with her ever getting bigger belly that is protruding. She’s still a beautiful woman so I’m not surprised that Chloe’s lap dog is panting after her.

  And then William comes around the corner and looks at her up and down.

  What is with these guys and my left overs? First Chloe, Christine and now Kayla. This is just fucking great.

  “Grant, did you hear me?”

  I turn and look at the mother of my child and see that she looks concerned. “I’m sorry. What, sugar?”

  She makes a face and if I had done something to make her angry, she doesn’t say anything. “I asked if you were excited to find out the sex of the baby? Are you okay?”

  No. I’m the opposite of okay and I’m
about to freak out.

  The sex of the baby. The baby that I’m having with Kayla and not Chloe. The sex of the baby that I’m worried about.

  I nod and slip into my coat. I pull off my badge that I have hanging around a chain around my neck and slip it into my jacket. “How’s, uh, desk duty treating you?” I ask and lead her out of my office. Once I know the door is locked, I continue walking until we are to the banks of elevators.

  “Actually. I was going to wait until later to talk to you about something. But… I guess now is a good time. I’m thinking about moving to Denver and leaving Fort Collins.”