Page 25 of Tops
My body acted out her demands while my brain was still reeling from seeing Hannah at my door. I think it needed a moment to reboot. Hannah set her bags on the bed, and I watched silently as she started pulling out all our favorite movie night snacks. Plus, enough alcohol to make sure a moose had a good time.
“I thought,” I started, as my brain was attempting to roll with things. “I thought you were in a safe house outside the city.”
“And I thought you still wanted to do a movie night. Or at least that was how Tanner made it sound when he arranged this little field trip,” Hannah said as she abandoned the snacks in favor of glaring at me.
“I do want to do movie night with you!” I exclaimed, not wanting Hannah’s feelings to be hurt. “I just didn’t know you were coming. Tanner didn’t even tell me he spoke to you. He hasn’t even spoken to me at all today. I figured it was him at the door and was about to give him a piece of my mind,” I rambled on, hoping that Hannah could see that I was telling the truth.
“Okay, stop,” Hannah said, putting her hand up. “You’re over-explaining again. Anxiety?” Hannah had a soft smile on her lips, and I felt myself calming.
“Sorry,” I laughed, knowing she would get after me for apologizing again. Thankfully, she settled on just a look instead. “It’s been a big change, living here instead of the apartment,” I said as I approached the bed, ready to have a long chat with wine and snacks with my best friend. We always picked the most ridiculous movie we could find, streaming for free. Then we watched and laughed together, made fun of it, recreated dialogue, the works.
“But you’ve been here with Tanner,” Hannah said, raising her eyebrow as she went to pour us two glasses of wine. She pulled everything she needed from the bags, full of seemingly new stuff. Someone indulged in their shopping addiction recently. Bet Tanner loved my reclusive ways compared to the security detail in charge of keeping Hannah in line.
“Yes, Tanner, who I already said,” I paused to take the welcome glass of wine from Hannah’s outstretched hand before she sat next to me on the bed. “He hasn’t even messaged me today. I didn’t see him yesterday either. The only time I saw him was that first day I arrived. Nik was the one to take me back to my apartment. And if Colten hadn’t knocked later,” I stopped.
Hannah’s eyes were abnormally wide as she slowly finished swallowing her gulp of wine. “Nik? Colten? I think someone needs to back up the story a little bit.”
“Oh!” I sat up straighter, smiling, as I took another sip of wine. Finally, I was going to get a little girl talk. “Nik is my hot substitute anthropology teacher. The detective?”
Hannah’s eyebrows scrunched together as her mental pole vaulter seemed too tired to make the necessary leaps.
“Nik, Colten, and Tanner are all business partners. Tanner owns Tops. Colten is the attorney. And Nik is the detective.” As the words left my mouth, my brain finally fit all the pieces together. “Oh my god, they are criminals, aren’t they?” My hands flew to my mouth, spilling my glass of wine all over the room. Hannah approached me like I was a wild, dangerous animal that just woke up after being tranquilized.
How did I miss everything?I should have trusted my instincts when I first met Tanner and wanted to call the police. Now I was being held captive by them, or else an even bigger bad guy might shoot me in the head. If there even was someone after us. What if he worked for Tanner all along? What if he…
What if…
“Nessa.” Hannah gripped me by the shoulders, looking me directly in the eyes. “Nessa, I want you to try to listen to the sound of my voice and smell my perfume, okay?”
I knew what she was trying to do. Take a deep breath. Yeah, I got it. I just hadn’t remembered how to breathe correctly while I thought about how all of this was one big elaborate setup. Now I was lucid enough to feel the raging hot licks of anger coursing through my veins.
I left my body on autopilot, not protesting as I got up from the bed and left my room without a word of explanation to Hannah. I needed answers, and I needed them now. Part of me must have learned the hallways because I was standing before the front exit door near the lounge. The dull droll of the news anchor caught my attention as I paused to note the TV was on.
Colten sat on the same couch section as he did the night when I was forced to choose. My palm was already wrapped around the handle when he noticed me standing there, and he immediately stood up. “Did you ladies need something for your movie night?” he said hesitantly, as his eyes were pinned to my hand.
“Just a quick chat with the boss man to get a few parameters set, no need for the suit,” I snipped, the words coming from the same part of my brain that controlled my body. A sigh of relief slipped through my slightly trembling lips when the handle gave way to my pressure. I had half expected it to be locked.
Colten didn’t follow me, not even when I swung the door wide and stepped into the hallway with the diamond wall. Just ahead was a small arrow pointing toward me that read “Bottoms.” Apparently, I was a Bottoms girl after all. Up ahead was the door for Tops, and there was the front exit to the building. I could take my GPS bracelet off, walk out the front door, and disappear.
But could I? Where would I go?
They could clearly find out any information on anyone. Going back home to my mom wouldn’t be possible. They knew where I went to school and where I wanted to work. They had already shown that anything they ever wanted to learn about me was well within their capabilities.
Having access to my dad’s money changed everything. I could empty the account and disappear.
I could leave right now.
That wasn’t my body’s direction as I found myself directly in front of the Tops door. It was a Friday night, and I was about to walk into a strip club while Hannah was sitting on a bed waiting for movie night. I laughed to myself, shaking my head as I opened the door and felt my body as it was consumed by the bass.
A Monday night show is absolutely nothing like a Friday night show. The music was louder, the lights were brighter, and the place was seriously packed. Some cages featured multiple dancers as they engaged in a show for the surrounding patrons. This was much more like a sex club and not an exotic dance club. In fact, I didn’t notice anyone dancing. Just removing clothing from one another and rubbing against…
Yup.
I scurried over to the curtain before the loft, noticing the same bouncer as last time. I didn’t have my escort/driver to talk for me this time. I really needed to learn his name. He seemed to be one of the good ones, which I would need plenty of since apparently, I just agreed to stay here when I could have escaped.
“Hi there, do you remember me from Monday? I need to go back up to the loft.” I looked at the curtain with purpose, and my chin held high.
Just act like you belong.
