“What did you say?”
“I pretended to be confused and said no.” She bit her lower lip. “The way he looked at me, it made me shiver. He looked so menacing.”
“Did Maria ever mention him before?” I asked thoughtfully. “Frank doesn’t look that old. I doubt he would have been here when Maria was here.”
“I don’t know, but the look he gave me...” She rubbed her eyes again. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You’re strong.” I grabbed her hands. “You want to know what happened to your sister, right?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “He asked me what room I was staying in, and he asked me who my roommate was.”
“Frank did?” My eyes narrowed. “Why does he care?”
“I don’t know. I told him.” She looked at me with wide eyes. “I couldn’t think of a reason to not tell him. What if he comes to our room tonight?”
“He won’t.”
“He asked me about you.”
“About me? Why?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “A lot of people have been talking about you.”
“Why?”
“I, uh, I...” She blushed and looked away from me.
“What is it, Nancy? Tell me?”
“You’re older than the other girls.” She shrugged. “I guess everyone is just surprised.”
“I’m only twenty-five.” I’d never felt so old before in my life.
“I know.” She shrugged. “I guess it’s just unusual.”
“I guess,” I sighed. “I wonder what really goes on at this club. I’m so confused.”
“Yeah, I wonder if it’s a prostitution ring.” Nancy gave me a look. “Like a whorehouse.”
“Whorehouse?” This time it was my eyes that widened. “I thought it was a strip club or something.” I paused and thought for a moment. “Though, I guess the next logical step would be a whorehouse.” I felt an impending headache looming. Was Greyson in charge of a whorehouse? I felt saddened as I thought about it. Was I just another whore to him? And what did that mean about Brandon? Was he also in charge of a whorehouse? Was Katie dating a pimp?
“We better go.” Nancy sighed and pulled out some lipstick. “I think it’s time for the next room.”
“What was your first test?”
“I had to do a spelling test.” Nancy made a face and I stared at her in shock.
“What?” I asked her with an open mouth.
“I had a spelling test. I think I failed. I’d never even heard of half of the words.”
“Are you joking?” I burst out laughing. Was this some sort of big joke?
“Not at all.” She made a face. “That’s why I was crying. I’m worried I may not make it through the training period. I know I failed that test.”
“I thought you were crying because of Frank.”
“Oh, no. He creeps me out, but I knew coming into this that there would be plenty of creeps to deal with.”
“Oh?”
“Well, Greyson Twining is the owner.” Nancy shrugged.
“You know him?” I asked lightly.
“Maria told me some things when she first started,” Nancy whispered. “I was young so didn’t really understand then. But sometimes I remember things that she said.”
“What did she say?”
“He’s a bad guy.” She looked at me with a worried expression.
“In what ways?” I questioned her.
“We have to go.” She shook her hair. “We’ll talk later.”
“Okay.” I tried not to sigh. Every time I felt like I was going to get some information from Nancy, she disappeared. I was certain that she knew a lot more than she was letting on, and I didn’t understand why she wasn’t being more forthcoming. Especially since I had said I would help her.
Chapter 4
I walked to the second room for my second test deep in thought. I was so caught up in thinking about my conversation with Nancy that I almost missed Elizabeth whispering in the corner of the hallway with Frank. I slowed my pace and cocked my ears up, hoping to hear what they were talking so fervently about.
"I don't know if I can do this," she whispered. "I'm not that kind of girl."
"You knew what you were getting into." Frank’s voice was rough, and I saw his hand slide around her waist. "If you're a good girl, I'll—"
"Take your hands off of me!" she hissed and stepped back.
"You know you want it." He leered at her, and I stood there wondering if I should go and say something. "Don't try and deny it."
"I'd rather have Greyson."
"I thought you wanted Hastings."
"Well, the bigger fish is Greyson." She laughed. "I've heard he knows how to work what he has."
"Don't you go f**king this up." He looked angry.
"Oh shut up, Frank. Don't worry. I can f**k and work."
"Slut." His hand fell to her ass and squeezed. "Just get what we need."
"It'll be like taking candy from a baby." She pressed herself into his chest, and I gasped when she leaned forward to start kissing him. This was not what it seemed at all.
"He wants us to shut her up if she tries to—" Franks eyes spotted me then and he quickly pushed Elizabeth away from him. "Can I help you?"
"Just looking for my next test room." I smiled wide, trying to pretend I hadn't just heard their conversation. "I swear I get turned around so easily. You know us blondes."
Frank looked at me with narrowed eyes and Elizabeth glared at me. "I guess I need to try the next corridor." I giggled and ran my hands through my hair. "I guess you can tell it’s not dyed."
"Yeah, we can." Elizabeth's tone was catty. "No one would ever dye their hair that shade on purpose."
"Oh you never know," I replied back with a wide smile. "I mean, look at the shade you chose."
I turned around quickly and walked back down the hallway with a small smile on my face. Elizabeth was such a bitch, but I knew I shouldn't have said anything. She could be a wealth of information to me; it looked as if she knew a lot more about the club than I did.
And she seemed to know Frank—shady, acne-ridden Frank. He still gave me the creeps, but I had a feeling that he knew exactly what was going on here and what had gone on before as well. It was a pity that neither of them would be allies. If anything, they were both in deep. I just wished I knew exactly what they were involved in.
I waited a few minutes and then went back up the hallway to enter the next room. This time I was in a bedroom. It reminded me of some sort of French boudoir, with its tall, stately bed and white shimmery nets hanging from the side. The duvet was plush and ivory, and there was an ivory-colored vanity next to the wall.
I looked around the room for a pad or notebook to see what my next test was going to be. I couldn't see anything, and my heart beat fast as I wondered if, Greyson was going to join me in the room. Not that I wanted him to. I needed to clear my mind out. I needed to think. There were so many pieces to this puzzle, but none of them were making sense.
"Walk to the vanity," a voice spoke in the room, but I couldn't see where the speakers were this time. "Walk to the vanity and open the drawer. That is where you will find your next test."
I walked over to the vanity slowly, slightly disappointed. I sat on the bench and opened the drawer. Inside the drawer was a single piece of paper. I pulled it out and read quickly.
The paper said, "The night is day, the day is night, do you think you can stay up with no light?"
I turned the paper over to see if there was any more information on the other side of the page. It was blank. I turned it back to the front again to reread what it had said. But there was nothing I had missed.
I looked inside the desk to see if there was another note I had missed. There was nothing else there.
I looked around the room. The bed looked so inviting and I yawned just staring at it. I'd had a restless night the evening before, and it would be so refreshing if I could just sleep for about twenty minutes.
I was about to jump up and walk over to sit on the bed when I dropped the paper in my hand. As I bent down to pick up the paper, I noticed that there was something sticking out from under the leg of the vanity. I frowned as I leaned over and pulled out the small piece of paper.
It was tiny and had been screwed up. I unscrewed it carefully and looked at it eagerly, wondering if this was the real test. There was a little note on the paper, and I read it quickly, my heart beating fast as I realized what it said. “Trust no one. I thought he loved me. Fail the tests. It’s the only way out. Maria.” I stared at the paper for a second and then put it in my pocket so I could show Nancy.
Wasn’t her sister’s name, Maria? And now that I thought about it, hadn’t Katie said that Brandon’s college girlfriend was called Maria? And wasn’t his new fiancée called Maria as well?
My head spun, and I wished I were able to call her and ask. Where were all these Marias coming from? Was there a connection?
I closed my eyes and tried to remember all the details I knew about the Marias. But then the lights went out and I froze.
I made my way to the mattress and sat down on the bed. It was soft and plush, and I decided that it wouldn’t hurt if I lay back on the bed. The pillow was soft underneath my head, and I closed my eyes and snuggled into the sheets. I was starting to get a headache. I was confused and upset. Nothing was making sense, and yet I knew I couldn’t leave. Not now. Not when my mind and body were a jumble of nerves and questions.
“Meg?” His voice was deep, and I shivered as I looked towards the open door.
“Yes.”
“Hey.” He walked towards the bed and he sat at the edge.
“What do you want?” I sounded hostile and I was glad.
“I came to see how you were doing.”
“Oh?”
“This test is about staying awake.”
“Staying awake?”
“Because of all the late nights we have here at the club.” Greyson chuckled.
“I see.”
“I’m not being serious. It’s about staying alert.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“Because I don’t want you to fail.”
“Sure.”
“Can I lie down next to you?”
“Don’t you have anything else to do?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“Because you interest me.”
“What about me interests you? My breasts?” I was being sarcastic and I didn’t care. I was annoyed at how excited I felt inside now that that he had joined me in the room.
“I’d be lying if I said that your br**sts weren’t as sweet as they were juicy,” he drawled, and I felt a tingling in my stomach.
“So this test is just about me staying awake?”
“In so many words.” He lay back and rested his head on the pillow next to mine. “How are you liking it here, Meg?”
“It’s fine.”
“What about your roommate? Her name is Nancy, right?” he spoke casually, and my heart stopped beating.
“Yeah, she’s fine too.”
“She seems a little wide-eyed and bushy-tailed,” he continued. “Almost too wide-eyed and innocent.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said breathlessly as I felt his thigh resting against mine.
“I don’t know. I get the feeling she has an agenda.”
“I wouldn’t have a clue.”
“Things aren’t always as they seem, Meg.” His voice was low. “Sometimes, the wolf is the wolf and sometimes he isn’t.”
I changed the subject. “So, you went to college with Brandon, right?”
“Yeah, we were at Harvard together. It seems like a million years ago now.”
“So you knew Maria?”
“Maria?” He repeated her name sharply.
“Yeah, Maria. His college girlfriend.”
“Brandon didn’t have a girlfriend in college named Maria.”
“Maybe she was his fiancée?”
“Brandon didn’t have a fiancée in college named Maria.” He rolled over to face me. “Where did you hear that?”
“Nowhere. I must have gotten confused.” I ran my hands down his chest. “What was Brandon’s fiancée’s name?”
“You’re obsessed with him.” His fingers grabbed ahold of mine. “Let’s not talk about him.”
“Have you ever been engaged?” I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of our heartbeats echoing in the room as our fingers played with each other.
“Me?” His voice sounded dry. “No. I’ve never been engaged.”
“Oh, wow. Why not?”
“Never been interested in going down that road.”
“Never?” I opened my eyes and turned towards him.
“I’m not the sort of guy that gets married.”
“Why not?”
“I’m just not. What about you? Ever been married or engaged?”
“No.” I paused. “How old are you again?”
“Forty-two.”
“Forty-two.” My voice rose as I remembered. “I thought once men hit their forties, they wanted to get married.”