Page 12 of No Escape
“And I got used to the luxury. All of a sudden I was doing movies in roles far beyond an extra. I was getting modeling gigs in prestigious couture magazines and ads, and contracts for multi-episode appearances on television shows.”
“Doesn’t sound like such a bad thing.”
“It wasn’t, until I got involved with Sebastian Ambrose.”
Sebastian Ambrose. From what I could tell from the interviews I’d seen and the new articles I’d read of him in the press he was the poster child for the term douche. I’d read that she’d gotten involved with him. The bottom line was that if there was a leading lady in Hollywood then he’d been with them.
“You and Sebastian were together for a while, weren’t you?”
She popped a shoulder. “If you could call it together. Not much in Hollywood is as it seems. It’s all about money, power and fame. It’s all an illusion.”
“I’m not getting how this all relates to the drug charge.”
“When I got involved with Sebastian the curtain began to be pulled aside to the other gatherings.”
“Other gatherings?”
“Yes.” She took a deep breath in and slowly released it. Looking back up at me, she frowned, worry etched in her expression. “Maybe… You know what, forget it.”
She turned her face away, but not quick enough. I saw the flash of fear in her eyes. “What about these gatherings, Elle? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”
“You can’t help me anyhow.”
Impulsively, I reached out and grasped her chin in my hand, forcing her to look at me. Tears had begun to run down her cheeks. “What don’t I know?”
“They don’t have a line they won’t cross. Fame isn’t enough. Money isn’t enough for them. They want the power. They want to be the gods of everyone’s destinies and there isn’t a line they won’t cross to feed that desire.”
I frowned as I stared at her. She was talking in riddles.
“You’re not making any sense.”
“Then consider yourself lucky. Because the moment it made sense to me was the moment my life ended.”
Her eyes were glazing over and she was beginning to talk like a crazy person. “Maybe I need to get you to the hospital.”
She closed her eyes and sunk back into the mattress, turning onto her side with her back to me. “I’m fine. I just need a nap. That’s what we’re here for isn’t it? Nap and then on the road.”
A hospital would complicate things and I wanted my bounty. She wouldn’t do me any good dead. I was about to insist that she stay awake in case of a concussion, but her soft snores made the decision for me.
Defeated, I flipped over to my back staring up at the ceiling in the dark. It would make more sense after a long sleep. Considering it was nearly noon already I might as well conclude the day to be a loss and we could start bright and early the next morning.
6
ELLE
It wasn’t until the next morning when I woke up to something that smelled very familiar but hadn’t indulged in for many years that I could say I had relief from the headache from the little noggin-knocking I had the previous day.
“I gotta pee,” I groaned as I wiped the sleep from my eyes. The whole process of unlocking me to use the restroom and then locking me back up like I was some sort of animal was getting old.
“Yeah, no problem.” Pulling myself up into a seated position, I waited for him to uncuff me. Once free, I rolled my shoulder and wrist. There was a visible red ring around my wrist from the cuff chafing the skin for the past day. “Are the cuffs really necessary?”
“Very necessary.”
Slipping off the bed, I made my way into the bathroom and did my business. Washing my hands, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I looked like shit. There were dark circles under my eyes and my skin had lost the sun-kissed glow it normally had. I looked gaunt. No wonder my little seduction plan hadn’t worked. I wouldn’t touch me if I were him.
The thought made me feel very insecure.
It felt like the woman I’d been just over six months ago was a dream and I was awaking to the devastating reality.
