“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
“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.
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
*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
*Gabrielle*His lips met mine and everything else seemed to fade away. The noise of the party that was going on around us, the real reason I was here, the fact that I didn’t know this man or what he even looked like….it all didn’t matter. All I could think about was the feeling of his lips on mine. Automatically, I opened my mouth and allowed him to deepen the kiss. The way his tongue felt against mine made my head spin… and his taste. His mouth tasted like champagne and strawberries. I grabbed the back of his head to press his mouth closer to mine, digging my fingers into his hair. The stranger’s lips were strong, and he took control of our kiss and wrapped his arms around my waist. Usually, I wasn’t the kind of person to give over control to someone else, but this man clearly knew what he was doing. When he bit my lip lightly, I moaned into his mouth. I knew I should end the kiss—this was not the kind of thing I was here to do—but it just felt too damn good. I
“Gabrielle!” I was being gently shaken away. My head snapped up and Bridgette was standing over me. Early morning light was streaming in from the office window. I stretched and grunted as I felt my neck stiff.I had fallen asleep at my desk again. Good thing I didn’t have a partner or any pets to go home to. That was why I was the perfect person to go undercover. Bridgette was wearing the same clothes as yesterday and the bags under her eyes told me that she spent most of the night researching. “Everything is ready. Since the rest of the team is away on missions, I’ve informed them of the plan. You meet with someone from the society today for the preliminary checks,” Bridgette told me. Then, everything happened really fast. So fast that I barely had time to ponder what I was going to do. To consider what I was actually signing up for.She created a whole new identity for me. We kept my first name the same because I didn’t have enough time to prepare my
I couldn’t believe I’d just allowed this man to kiss me. And even worse, I actually enjoyed it. It was the best kiss of my life. I tried to tell myself that I wouldn’t have allowed the kiss to happen if I’d known who this man was, but to be honest with myself, I think I would have. It just felt too damn good. And he was even more handsome in person than in the picture I had of him in my office desk.But it didn’t matter how good his lips felt on mine. This man was bad news. Dante had something to do with what was going on here and I couldn’t allow him to distract me. My initial instinct was to demand answers from him and interrogate him about what was going around here. But of course, I couldn’t. I had to stay in character and act like a good escort trying to win his affection. “I think you’re breaking the rules, sir,” I said, fluttering my eyelids at him. “Isn’t anything beyond emotional companionship off-limits unless the escort initiates it?” Dante simpl
Everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to answer Dante. I didn’t expect it to be so hard to form a proper sentence up until now.“Of course, Mr. Faust. I would be honored,” I replied, placing my hand in his. The crowd clapped again as Dante led me out of the ballroom. As we walked out, I heard Miss Valerie introducing the next man to choose his companion. I hoped that all the girls would be safe tonight with those men. Neither Dante nor I said anything as he led me through the mansion. It seemed like he knew this place well, which irritated me for reasons I did not want to understand or investigate any deeper in my brain. We finally made it to his destination, a beautifully decorated private room. There was a white couch and a table with a bucket of champagne and two glasses, along with a tray of strawberries, cheese, and crackers. But what had my full attention was the large white bed in the middle of the room. I stared at it and my heart began to pump