Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 85228 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85228 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
This is the very last place I need to have a crisis of conscience.
I drain my glass and lift it in the air, something I learned to do on the first night here. Despite not having many people walking around to enforce the lax rules, there is always a waitress in the shadows, waiting to ply patrons with more alcohol. I don't know if they're trying to get people drunk so they can be taken advantage of or what, but it's dangerous for me to take another drink.
"Make it a double," I tell the waitress when she approaches with a smile.
Her eyes dip to the woman at my feet before she looks back up at me.
"Have you discussed prices?"
"Excuse me?" I ask, needing her to think I'm confused.
I figured there was prostitution going on inside the club the first night I was here after witnessing an exchange of money more than once before people disappeared into some of the other rooms. Although illegal, we aren't in the business of shutting down places that have willing participants in their criminal activity unless the surveillance doesn't produce anything else, and we need to move on to the next location.
"She can't just sit there for free," the waitress explains. "If you aren't paying her, then she needs to move on."
"I see," I say as I look down at the woman kneeling by my side. "My mistake. You're free to go."
Her eyes narrow, and the submissive side she was pretending to have disappears with the blink of her eyes.
She stands, pulls her shoulders back, and wanders away.
"Are there any women here who aren't paid whores?" I ask the waitress, the words feeling like acid on my tongue.
"Not usually on a weeknight," she answers, unaffected by the tone and nature of my words. "The weekends usually bring in a couple."
"I see." I stare off into the distance, not really focusing on anything. "My tastes are... different."
"We cater to all tastes here, sir," she says.
I turn my eyes back to her, judging whether it is too soon to tempt something illegal out of her. We have a team waiting not far from here, but I don't know if now is the time to pull the trigger on the raid.
"I'll keep that in mind. My drink?"
She gives me a tight smile before walking away.
I could tell by the shrewd look in her eyes that she was growing suspicious, and it wasn't the best time to push the limits.
What started as a relief and an escape from how I've been feeling is quickly turning into something akin to torture.
The drink comes quicker, and when the waitress asks if there's anything else she can get me, I get the distinct feeling that she's urging me to request whatever it is I was considering earlier, but I simply wave her away and empty my glass in one gulp.
When I stand a few minutes later, I know the drinking was a mistake. I'm not tanked, but I'm also not in fighting form. My arms are heavy, and my steps are slow and uneven.
A quick glance down at my watch tells me that I've lost a little time while contemplating all the things in my life, and other than some prostitution, I haven't found much else. I hate the idea of wasting the team's time, but we need solid evidence that this place is hurting people before we mobilize.
I press my back to the wall when two husky guys drag a man toward me down a back hallway.
"She wanted it," the man spits as they pass. "Ask her."
"She said no," one of the security guys growls, making me wonder if this club isn't more on the up and up than I originally thought.
"You didn't pay for what you took," the other guy snaps. "And your card was declined when you tried to make it right."
Did she say no because he didn't pay or because she truly didn't want what was happening?
In my book, a no is a fucking no, regardless of the circumstances.
I walk further, opening doors as I go, only to find myself coming face-to-face over and over with couples and groups of people having sex. I've been to so many places like this over the last ten years that nothing surprises me anymore. I don't get turned on at the sight of naked people.
It's why seeing Caitlyn on that cross for the first time made me take notice.
Naked women are an everyday thing in my line of work, and as much as I can appreciate the naked form, my body usually no longer responds in a sexual way. I have no way of knowing if the women in front of me are there of their own free will or not, and that goes a long way in keeping my libido in check. Nothing makes me sicker to my stomach than a woman being forced to do something she doesn't want to do.