Page 18 of Quiet Confessions: Part Two

“You can fix it. How long are you going to need to pay your dues?” I ask.

“As long as it takes. I sure as shit can’t leave you two here alone. You’re menaces.”

My lips twitch, because my split decision to help Esme wasn’t smart, but I couldn’t stand by allowing her to be hurt.

“Thank you for helping us,” Patience says softly, staring at her feet. “It’s in the little things, but it makes all of the bullshit easier. I think someone I know saw me during one of the performances, Spider.”

“Who,” I rasp, wincing as I cough. Patience stands, giving me a sip of water. Even though it’s lukewarm, it helps my scratchy throat.

“I had a Diamond Client at Fantasies, a BDSM club I worked at, and we always spoke and just shot the shit for a while after our sessions. He was a businessman who lost his wife, and I always felt bad for his loss,” she explains.

Spider glances at her, surprised, and Patience merely shrugs. She has such a big heart.

“I don’t know his name. For privacy reasons, he never gave it to me. I never minded, and there’s a lot of private information that he gave me that made him feel like a friend. Anyway, the poor man was shocked when he saw me getting fucked in that cage.” Pay sighs. “I don’t know if he’ll say anything, but I’m not a smart choice to be kidnapped. I worked in the sex industry, it was only a matter of time before I was recognized.”

“That’s bad luck for Isabella,” Spider says, his lips twitching. “I hope he does say something. She’s become more and more unhinged in some of her business dealings recently. The woman has many different sex clubs, but this one is the one that could topple her empire.”

“Why are you telling us this?” I ask. I have started considering Spider a friend of sorts, but I know his allegiance lies with those that he owes a favor to. It’s the entire reason why he stays here as a guard and does disgusting things for Isabella and the Bossman.

“You won’t be here forever,” he says cryptically. “Isabella is working on something big, but isn’t telling me shit. I’ll keep working on it.”

As Spider gets up and leaves, and my mind whirls with questions. Patience gets up to lay next to me, and exhaustion carries me away. Getting the shit beat out of me sapped my strength. Patience plays with my hair as I fall asleep, but I can tell there’s a lot on her mind.

Chapter Seven

“The fact that you're forcing me to go to school right now, when my fiancée is missing, is just making you look more guilty,” I hiss as my dad gives me a glare.

Nate is in the car waiting for me, but I know he's not happy about it either.

“Enough, Cal. Get your ass in the car and go to school before you miss your first class. Patience isn't missing. She probably just ran off. Wedding jitters and all that. I'm sure she will come back eventually. If not, then the company will just be yours,” he says with an evil grin, and I clench my teeth.

It feels more and more as if he’s the reason why my fiancée is gone. My father keeps repeating the same song and dance that Patience ran away. But if that’s true, then where’s Rooke? They sure as hell didn’t run off together and leave us all. There’s no way.

Forcing myself to get into the car, I scowl. I’m angry. I want to burn the world down and say fuck the consequences, but I can’t. My father is holding so many lives in his hands, and he wouldn’t hesitate to fuck up Nate’s future if it meant getting me to fall in line.

So yes, I make the drive to school and I even walk through the doors. However, my brain is entirely checked out after that. I can’t tell you how I got to class, what was taught, or why I was even there. Dad demanded it, but he didn’t say I needed to do anything other than attend.

I miss Pay and Rooke so much that it hurts to breathe. Little things keep reminding me of them. Like the fact that Rooke would want to fuck me into submission when I’m pissed off. Pay would tease me, flirt with me, and force me to stop being a dick by relieving me until I’m in a better mood.

Well, I’m tired of being alone, baby girl. I promise to be a good person, smile more, and love you the way you deserve for the rest of our lives… if only you come back. It’s like my heart has been ripped from my chest, and I’m being forced to live anyway.

Breathing hurts, and now I’m in the gym, beating the punching bag so hard that I’m worried it’ll bust open.

“Cal, stop,” Nate puts his hand on my shoulder, and I turn, forcing myself not to punch him. It’s the adrenaline, but I would still feel badly if I accidentally gave him a black eye. “This isn’t working. Do you want a fight? It’ll give you an excuse to beat the shit out of someone.”

“Yeah,” I grunt. “I’m losing my mind right now. I just can’t deal anymore. He took her, Nate. He’s our fucking dad and he took her. I can’t prove it, but the way he talks about Patience…”

“We don’t know that,” Nate mutters. There’s this look in his eyes, though, and I can tell he’s just trying to keep me calm. We can’t afford to take our dad on right now. “Okay, I’m starting to have suspicions too, but why would he take Rooke?”

“He’s the only evidence that there’s something wrong with me.” I sigh. “I mean, I know now that the fact that I love Rooke isn’t wrong, but Dad will never accept it. I’m losing my fucking mind, Nate.”

Blowing out a breath, he hugs me hard. Clinging to him, I let myself feel the pain of not knowing where Rooke and Pay are for just a little while.

“Okay,” I rasp, pulling back to swipe the back of my hand under my eyes. The thought that they could be in completely separate places hits me and I see red. I think I would be okay if they were together to help each other, but what if they’re both alone?

Who will protect them? How will we find them? I swear, it feels like we’re chasing our tails. I can feel myself sliding into a deep depression.

“Where’d you go, bro?” Nate looks worried as he claps me on the shoulder.

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