Page 23 of Devoured
Still, getting abducted one night, and going to court to hear the sentencing of a sexual assault predator, couldn’t have been easy. She jerked her chin towards Kendall, who was sobbing in relief, the servers hugging her tightly. It must have been torture for Iris to stand with me and not be with the group, but I didn’t care. She could be with them later.
Or maybe it was a relief to be with me. If I remembered correctly, Kendall and Iris weren’t exactly friends.
“You hate Kendall,” I said. But it didn’t seem true at that moment.
“Kendall has been honest about one thing her whole life,” Iris started, “Being a huge bitch.” I stifled a chuckle, and Iris shot a warning look at me, though there was nothing she could do, not without giving up our bet. Still, Iris’s honesty was amusing. “But what she did in there is brave. Testifying like that. Putting herself up there to be questioned. Then saying that to Jake.” Iris shook her head. “That takes ovaries.”
“Ovaries?”
“I’m not going to say ‘it takes balls.’ Ovaries produce eggs. You can go fuck yourself if you think your semen bags are stronger than ovaries.”
I couldn’t help it then; I grinned. The mouth on her was amusing as it was intoxicating, to know that I would enjoy putting her in her place, wiping that smug look off of her mouth, once the time called for it. Iris glanced down at her nails, not wanting to share in my amusement.
“And she’s a hard worker,” she said to herself. “She’s good at serving.” She sighed, then put her hands on her hips. “I might not like her, but I can respect her.”
Those words struck me. Iris, with her ink-dyed hair, blackened eyes, tattoos covering her skin, had dressed in a collared shirt and pants to present herself appropriately, to support a woman she had no interest in befriending, simply because she respected her. Because Iris knew her coworker needed support. It took maturity and depth to be able to understand who someone was, and to appreciate them for those strengths and weaknesses, especially when you had a past full of differences. Those were the kinds of relationships you had to garner every day when you ran a multi-billion dollar business, when you were the leader of a group of people.
I might not like her, but I can respect her. Wise words from a thirty-two-year-old.
“So your close friends,” I asked. “What happened to them?”
“The same sort of thing,” Iris said. She leaned on one hip. “Jake got them drinks, added some Rohypnol, and waited until they were blacked out. Then he fucked them. They’d wake up naked, spooning with him, and he acted all nice, as if they had always cuddled naked.” She cringed, her face contorting in disgust. “But here’s the really shitty part.” She shook her head. “He pretended to be their friend. Always held onto that ‘nice guy’ vibe. The best friend. Just the friendly club bouncer, here to protect his girls. Always saying that we could count on him, when really, he preyed on us.”
I could relate. Sometimes, you were close to someone and thought you could trust them with your life and your heart, only to find out that they were using you to spread their own business, that they would choose their money over you every single time. Just like I would do the same to them, even if it cost a person’s life. Even if I loved them. That kind of falseness was damaging. It messed with you. Left you broken.
I shoved a hand in my pocket, itching for a pill. The Valium was waning. As long as we didn’t get into my story, I didn’t need another dose.
“I should have done more,” Iris said, breaking the silence. “At the time, I thought it wasn’t up to me. That they were going to do what they were going to do. What was done, was done, you know? That kind of thing.” She sighed, shuddering as she did so. “But then it was too late.”
I disagreed. “Justice has been served today.”
Iris swallowed hard. “I guess. Fifteen years seems like hardly enough when he raped those women and more, probably, multiple times. All he has to do is be good in jail and he can come back home. Probably in a matter of months.” She clenched her fists, then opened them, straightening her fingers. “All it took was a dropped murder charge to put him on trial for crimes he actually committed.”
“He was accused of murder?”
“The Pros’ Angel,” Iris said. “Ever heard of him?”
The Pros’ Angel was a serial killer who had gone after the abusers of sex workers in the wider area of Sage City. I had read the headlines, right as I started courting Dahlia for the purchase of the club. I nodded.
“Well, it wasn’t him,” Iris said. “Jake couldn’t murder a mosquito; he’s not that kind of person.”
I remembered his eerie stare in the courtroom. “I wouldn’t underestimate a person who’s been wronged.”
“Whatever. It’s all over anyway,” she said, swatting at the open space beside her. “But I used that opportunity with the Pros’ Angel to convince everyone to speak up about the other stuff Jake had done. Because at least we had the Adlers on our side. They gave us a lawyer and everything.”
“So itwasn’ttoo late, then.”
She looked up, her round eyes glistening, full of loss and wonder. She wasn’t involved, but she blamed herself, as if she could have prevented those traumas, if only she had tried harder. Perhaps owning the Dahlia District was her way of controlling the women’s safety. Taking more responsibility for it.
But she didn’t give herself enough credit. She had turned a group of silent victims into a band of willing survivors, when she wasn’t a part of them herself. It was her push and their bravery combined that made this sentencing possible.
But it left one problem. If Jake knew it was her, would he do something with that information?
“Do you think Jake hates you?” I asked.
“Hates me?” Iris forced a laugh. “Do you think I care?” Her lips puckered. “That asshole can burn in hell.” She angled her shoulders. “Why do you care?” she said with a harsh voice, judging me, squinting her eyes, as if realizing that for once, I had been the one asking the questions, not her. “Don’t you have some sort of business meeting to go to? Blow to sniff? Panties to rip off?”
The only panties I was interested in ripping these days, were hers.
