Page 27 of He Will Come for Me

After I’m done in the shower, I put on pajamas and head to Phoenix’s office down the hall from our rooms. His door is open, so I step in and wait for him to notice me.

It doesn’t take long. He’s on the phone with someone, but his eyes find mine immediately and he gestures for me to come in. He’s still in his dress pants and button-up shirt, but he has removed the suspenders. His shirt is unbuttoned down to the middle of his chest, so I have to force myself not to stare.

It takes him a few minutes to end the conversation, but when he does, he rounds his desk and leans against it, gesturing for me to come to him. I take in a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. Putting one foot in front of the other, I stop in front of him and tilt my head so I can look at him. I want him to wrap his arms around me and make me feel better. There’s a hole in themiddle of my chest and I need something, anything, to fill it and make me feel better.

“What do you need, McKenzie?”

I stare at him for a few seconds before shrugging. “I don’t know. I feel…” I stop, not sure how to explain what I’m feeling or even why I’m comfortable telling him. “What do you do?” I ask instead.

He tilts his head and crosses his arms over his chest as he studies me. “What do you mean?”

I gesture to his office. “What kind of business do you run? Is it legal? Are you in the mafia? What do you do?”

I slap my hands against my thighs. I want to know everything about him. I’m not sure if he’ll tell me, but he hasn’t berated me yet about all the questions I ask. So, I’ll keep asking them until he tells me to stop. Even then, I’m not sure I’ll stop.

He doesn’t answer right away. He turns his head to look out the window. “The majority of what I do is legal. But there are parts of it that aren’t. I own several hotels, like the one we went to tonight. It’s a hotel with the rooftop restaurant. I own a few other restaurants and I own several bars. All of those are legal.”

I wait to see if he’s going to expand, but he doesn’t. “So, what do you do that’s illegal?” I might be walking a very thin line with this line of questioning, but I need to know he’s not like my father.

I found out my father imported fentanyl and other drugs through the ports in Savannah and distributed them to other cities, like Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, and probably other cities I didn’t know about. He’s responsible for thousands, maybe millions of drug-related deaths.

Right after I found out, he shipped me off to the academy, and I didn’t see him again until graduation. I went to college and didn’t see him for a few years during that time. I tried my best to avoid my father as much as possible. I know he shippedme off to the academy because he didn’t want to deal with the knowledge I had just gained. Or the grief I was dealing with from my mother’s death.

When I graduated college, the plan was to come home for a few weeks, then move up north. I wanted to be as far away from him as possible. When he told me I could go to the party, I had been excited. I wanted to believe it was his olive branch. I take a deep breath. How naïve I had been.

“I have some underground fight clubs and a lot happens at those fights.” He’s being vague on purpose. I press my lips together as I think about what he could mean.

“A lot happens at those fights?” I ask.

He runs his hand along his jaw and grabs the back of his neck as he narrows his eyes at me. “There are women that offer services at those fights.”

My heart drops to my stomach and I take a step back. “After my father tried to sell me to a man that was going to do who knows what to me you do that sort of thing?” I ask.

“They do it willingly. They’re not forced. I don’t allow pimps in. These women run their own business and it’s because they want to.” I have a hard time believing that.Why would they want to do that?

“You’re sure? They’re not stuck in this lifestyle because they feel like there’s not another way out?”

“I have made it very clear to each one if they want out or they don’t want to do it, I have enough legit businesses I will happily hire them at.” I shake my head and turn away. I begin to pace as I try to comprehend what he’s telling me.

“I’ll have to see it to believe it.”

He pushes away from his desk and steps in front of me as I turn to continue my pacing. He grabs my arms and rubs his hands up and down my biceps.

“I’m not ready to introduce you to that world. For a lot of reasons, but the top one is I have to make sure you’re safe. Until you remember certain things, you won’t be safe.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because these people know who you are and you won’t remember them. They don’t know why you haven’t been around. I kept your kidnapping very hush hush. The only people who know are people on my payroll.”

“What can I do to help me remember?”

“I’ll call Dr. Chamberland tomorrow and ask him to stop by.”

I take a deep breath, stepping back until the back of my knees hits one of the chairs in front of his desk and sit down. He was just here today and he’ll be by next week for his weekly visit.

“Okay. I know Thanksgiving is coming up, so if he can’t come until next week—”

Phoenix interrupts me. “He’ll come tomorrow.” He steps forward and kneels down in front of me. “You’re his most important patient right now. So, he’ll make you a priority.”

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