Page 13 of Quiet Confessions: Part Two

More damn errand boy shit. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my father recently. I’ll need to talk to Richard about where he is. I hope he’s okay. A stab of guilt hits me as I realize that I’ve forgotten all about him recently. I need to be sure to do better; it’s just that life revolves around Pay now.

“Yes, sir. What do you want me to do?” I ask, resigned.

“So you’re done sniping at me now?” he chuckles. Richard James smells blood in the water and is circling. He just doesn’t understand that I’m done caring. I would cut myself open for this girl if I thought that it would help.

“I’m worried about Patience, sir, and it's affecting everything right now. She’s my step-sister—”

“We all know that you don’t have any brotherly or familial feelings for my granddaughter, so cut the shit, Kian,” Richard James says. I can almost see his eyes rolling now. “There’s a very important business woman coming into town that enjoys special tastes. I think you would do well to entertain her.”

As a Korean man, it’s not the first time that I’ve played the doting date to a spoiled princess for Richard, but my anxiety is so ramped up that it’ll be harder for me to keep my cool. I hate being touched lately; my skin feels too tight, and my temper heats easily.

This isn’t me. I’m cool, collected, and have plans made. Except now… the plans have all been set on fire with Patience’s kidnapping. I know she wouldn’t have left without us.

“Alright,” I grunt. I have no other choice in this. “Where am I meeting her?”

“She wants to meet at Abstinence. It’s one of the smaller sex clubs that she runs, somewhere intimate where she can have a bit of fun. Her name is Isabella, and her job is a bit…stressful. Show her a good time, Kian. You know how to do that, right? Eight on the dot tonight. Come to the house once you're done.” Richard hangs up the phone while I gawp at it.

I’ve never been to a sex club before, Patience is the one who enjoys letting loose while dominating others. I have no idea what the hell to expect.

A text comes through as I’m worrying, and I roll my eyes. Good old Richard James coming in clutch with the last words.

Richard James: Make sure you dress to impress, boy. Don’t fuck this up.

Groaning in frustration, I throw my phone on the couch behind me, choosing to ignore him. I have my instructions. I no longer have any need to speak with him until I’ve completed his directive.

Stalking into my bathroom, I prepare for a “date” that I have no intention of enjoying. If I was ever going to go on a date to a sex club, I would want it to be with Pay. I have a lot of regrets about keeping her a secret, but Richard was never supposed to find out about it. I was doing this to protect her, and I couldn’t even do that.

My thoughts dark, I take one last glance in the mirror. My short black hair is slicked back with product, my suit impeccable and expensive. I’m jumping through all of these hoops on the off chance that Richard James actually has a solid lead.

Rolling my eyes at the perfect fantasy I’m creating for this woman, I grab my car keys, wallet, and dig my phone out of the couch cushions. As I leave my home, I’m reminded that I have people who depend on me now outside of Pay.

Me: I have some errands to run tonight, and I’m hunting down a lead. I’ll be by the house if anything pans out. It may be late.

Almost immediately, I can see the bubbles pop up that say Cal’s texting me. He’s really surprised me these last few weeks. While he’s still an angry individual, Cal is fully invested in doing anything and everything to get Rooke and Patience back.

Cal: No matter how late, just come over. You have the key. Wake us up if we’re passed out.

None of us have been sleeping well, but we’re all struggling to keep up appearances. While Cal is within his rights to play the worried fiancé, the rest of us don’t have that ability. Nixen has already started insisting that his prodigal son begin coming into the office to work again.

Thankful for good skin care and no bags under my eyes, I climb into the car after sending Cal a thumbs up sign to show that I got the message. I don’t have the emotional energy to give him anymore right now.

Abstinence is an interesting name for a sex club, but I suppose that it is very tongue-in-cheek. The building is a brownstone with a black door at the top of the stairs. It’s pretty nondescript, and you’d only be able to find it if you knew where it was.

On my way here, Richard messaged me a password, insistent that I’d need it for entry into the club. As I park the car, I blow out an annoyed breath. I feel as if I’m playing a game of cloak and dagger, except I don’t know where all the daggers are, so I’m constantly being cut.

Getting out of the car, I walk to the brownstone and slowly climb the stairs. As I raise my fist to knock on the door, it starts to open. A giant of a man stands on the other side, an immovable boulder in my way.

“Who may enter?” he asks, his midnight blue eyes staring deeply into me.

“Only sinners, spare the Angel,” I respond softly.

“Have a good night, sir,” he says, letting me in. “This young lady right here will be taking you to the Bosslady.”

A girl who appears to be barely eighteen waits for me, dressed in a leather harness and nothing else. I force myself to look at her eyes, because she’s so damn young. Straps criss-cross over her thighs, around her waist, and under breasts. Otherwise, she’s practically naked. I incline my head to her, showing that I’m willing to follow her.

The girl nods, turning to walk through the crowd. As I follow her, I see that the straps are tightly buckled over the globes of her ass as well. Fuck, I can feel the bile rising as I see how young some of the other girls are here, and I force myself to swallow.

There’s music in the club, but it’s low and in the background. Men and women talk in booths that are partially hidden from the main floor, and there’s a woman straddling and kissing another woman in a tiny leather outfit. There appears to be every vice and fantasy come true here.

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