Into The Night Read online

  Bastard.

  The girl was an absolute mess-from Sloane’s manipulations, the drugs he’d obviously supplied, and the alcohol that Holly used to dull her pain. The instinct to protect the girl was strong, but Nicole knew from experience that convincing Holly she needed to escape this awful, mentally abusive situation wouldn’t be that easy. Not when Holly had obviously been brainwashed and couldn’t see past her need to be with Sloane.

  Right now, Nicole could at least be a friend to the girl, someone she could talk to and maybe even come to trust. And in forging a friendship with Holly, she could hopefully gain the information she needed about Angela.

  Wanting privacy for the two of them, Nicole led Holly to a secluded corner where they sat next to each other on a red velvet couch. By then tears were streaming down Holly’s face, and Nicole retrieved a tissue from her purse and handed it to the other girl, who used it to dab at her eyes and wipe away the moisture on her face. In the process, she accidentally removed some of her makeup, and her true age began to emerge.

  While Nicole waited for the girl to calm down, she casually glanced around the lounge, looking for a certain blond-haired girl. She saw a few mingling and flirting with the male guests, but none that resembled the photograph of Angela Ramsey.

  “I’m sorry,” Holly said after a few moments had passed and she was composed once again. She exhaled a shaky breath as her fingers played with the small, diamond heart pendant around her neck. “I don’t mean to be such a bitch, but sometimes I just can’t help it. You’re so pretty and I’m so afraid that Preston is going to replace me with someone new.”

  Which would happen sooner or later, Nicole knew. It was inevitable, considering Sloane’s track record. Holly hadn’t learned that lesson yet, but Nicole was certain she would soon.

  Holly’s eyes had become glassy, and her body had gone lax as she slouched against the corner of the sofa. The alcohol and whatever pills she’d swallowed were taking effect, making her much more relaxed and mellow. Nothing more than an illusion until the narcotics wore off and the anxiety and fears returned.

  Nicole eyed the sparkling diamond heart that Holly kept clutching in her hand, as if by embracing the pendant she could somehow hold on to the person who’d given it to her.

  “Did Preston give you that necklace?” Nicole asked.

  “Yes.” A faraway look entered Holly’s eyes, and she smiled dreamily. “He gives me lots of nice, pretty things.”

  Nicole bet Sloane did. Whatever it took to give the girls a false sense of affection while they were with him. “What other kinds of things?”

  “Fancy clothes and purses, and other jewelry,” Holly said, speaking openly and freely about her life with Preston, more than Nicole had expected her to reveal. “He even gave me my own special room at his house and he let me decorate it just the way I wanted. It’s beautiful. I’ve never had a room so pretty before. Or one I didn’t have to share with someone.”

  There was definitely a backstory to Holly’s tale, one that had led her to this point in her life where she’d become involved and dependent on a man who only cared for her as long as it was convenient for him and his needs. Nicole wanted to grab Holly and get the hell out of this place and make her realize that this wasn’t the kind of life she wanted to live. That there was something better waiting for her outside the beautiful gilded bedroom that Sloane kept her in at his estate.

  But Nicole couldn’t act on the impulse, because there was no way for her to get Holly out of the nightclub safely, not when every exit was locked and guarded. She also couldn’t jeopardize Nathan’s case-not to mention that her actions would put her own life at risk. No doubt a well-connected man like Sloane would hunt her down and make her pay for her interference.

  She might not be able to do anything about Holly tonight, but Nicole swore that she’d eventually find a way to rescue the girl, and help get her life back on track. Nicole knew all too well how difficult it could be to get out of a situation you were completely immersed in, and she wished she’d had someone who would have helped her to see how destructive her relationship with her English professor had been.

  Nicole wanted to be that person for Holly.

  With effort, she turned her attention to extracting as much information from Holly as she could about Sloane and this operation of his, eventually leading up to asking about Angela so as not to raise any suspicions. Any details she could glean from Holly would help her and Nathan understand what they were up against, and what to expect if they found themselves at Sloane’s estate.

  “Does Preston give you money?” she asked, keeping her tone light, curious, and innocent. Like a young girl who might be interested in making some extra cash on the side herself.

  Holly shrugged. “Depends on what I need. If I want extra money, all I have to do is give his friends massages and pretend that I like them. Sometimes, they pay me even more to do other things with them. All the girls do it,” she said, her tone slightly defensive, as if she felt she had to justify what she did. “I can make a lot of money that way, but the only one I want is Preston.”

  A surge of nausea rose up into Nicole’s throat, and she had to tamp it back down. What Sloane did with these girls was no better than prostitution, and it sickened Nicole to the core that he got away with it.

  “How old are you, Holly?” she asked, almost afraid to find out.

  Holly visibly tensed, some part of her mind breaking through the drugs and alcohol’s haze to register the importance of the question. “I’m eighteen.”

  Nicole didn’t believe her, and called her on the lie. “You seem younger. I’m sixteen,” she said, giving Holly an opening to be truthful about her age.

  Panic filled Holly’s gaze. “You might want to keep that to yourself,” she said in a low whisper.

  Nicole found Holly’s reaction, and her comment, interesting. “Why?”

  Holly seemed more alert now. “Because it could get you, and Sloane, in a lot of trouble if the wrong people find out that he’s seeing underage girls. The first thing we’re told when we agree to stay at The Sanctuary is that we always say we’re eighteen, no matter what our real age.”

  So that’s how Sloane managed to keep his hands clean. The girls lied about their age, and he pretended to not know any different. While her mind came to that conclusion, her curiosity was piqued by something else Holly had said.

  “The Sanctuary?” she asked, wondering what the other girl meant. “What is that?”

  “That’s Sloane’s place in Summerlin,” Holly said, and smiled. “It’s absolutely beautiful there. So safe and peaceful.”

  Sloane had obviously chosen the word sanctuary for a reason, and it played right into the perception of him offering girls like Holly a haven from a previously troubled life, a refuge where they felt taken care of and protected. An illusion, Nicole knew, but to a young girl craving a place where she felt secure, the warm and welcoming atmosphere Sloane had created could seem very real.

  There was so much more she wanted to know about Holly, like how she’d gotten involved with Sloane and if her family knew where she was. Certain that she was much younger than her claim of eighteen years, Nicole guessed that Holly was possibly even a runaway who’d seen Sloane as her salvation.

  There were so many questions, and so little time to ask them. And before her time with Holly ran out, Nicole needed to find out if Angela was here tonight, and if not, where they could find her.

  Nicole smiled at Holly, who’d relaxed once again now that she’d let the subject of their ages go without further questioning. “I have a friend I think you might know. Last time I talked to her she mentioned Preston to me, so she might even be here tonight.”

  Holly tipped her head curiously. “What’s her name?”

  “Angela Ramsey. She has blond hair and blue eyes.”

  A sullen look passed over Holly’s features, making it clear that she wasn’t thrilled to hear the name. “Oh, you mean Angel .”

  The innocent
connotations of the nickname Angela had been given weren’t lost on Nicole. “Angel?”

  “That’s what Preston calls her,” Holly said, a bit of resentment creeping back into her tone.

  “So you know her?”

  Holly nodded, though she didn’t look happy about the conversation revolving around another girl she considered a rival for Sloane’s attention. “She’s another one of Preston’s favorites.”

  At least now Nicole had verification that Angela was still involved with Sloane. It was a start. “Is she here tonight?”

  “No.” Holly’s lips pursed morosely. “Preston doesn’t like to share Angel, but he will. Eventually.”

  The pain in Holly’s voice tore at Nicole’s resolve. She tried to keep her emotions out of the equation, but it was difficult not to empathize with Holly’s situation when Nicole had been in a similar one herself.

  “Do you know where Angela is?” Nicole asked, needing that last bit of information so she and Nathan could figure out their next plan of action.

  “She’s at The Sanctuary in Summerlin.”

  Before Nicole could ask Holly any more questions, out of the corner of her eye she saw someone approaching them. They’d been left alone up until this point, but whoever was heading toward them had Holly sitting up straighter and looking as though she was bracing herself for something very unpleasant.

  Surprised by Holly’s odd behavior, and curious to know who had evoked such a strong reaction, Nicole glanced at the woman who’d come to a stop where they were sitting on the couch. She was wearing a black low-cut dress and had a centerfold-type body that most men would appreciate, coupled with gorgeous blond hair that fell halfway down her back in soft waves.

  This was no young girl, but a fully grown woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties-and was most likely the oldest female in the nightclub. There was a hardness about her despite her outer beauty, a shrewdness in her gaze that came from years of experience-and not necessarily good ones. Whoever she was, her appearance prompted Holly’s expression to fill with dread.

  The woman turned that discerning look toward Nicole, studying her through narrowed eyes. “Are you a new girl?”

  Her inquiry was direct and to the point, and Nicole shook her head before any wrong assumptions were made. “No. I’m here with someone.”

  “And who would that be?” the woman asked, an unmistakable air of authority in her tone.

  “Alex Keller.”

  “Fine,” she said, as if she recognized the name, then she turned that cool green gaze back on Holly. “Derek is asking for you, and Preston said for you to do whatever it takes to make him happy. He’s waiting for you in the sapphire room, so don’t be long.”

  Reluctantly, Holly nodded her assent.

  With that, the woman moved on. Her message was cut-and-dried, with no warm fuzzies to buffer the reality of what she was telling Holly to do. Nicole’s chest felt heavy with heartache and grief for Holly-and a deeper rage against Sloane.

  “Who was that?” Nicole asked, certain the woman was someone important to Sloane-and if that was the case, she and Nathan needed to know all the players the other man kept in his employ.

  “That’s Gwen. She’s Sloane’s assistant.” Holly stood up, her gaze despondent, yet resigned to her fate. “I’ve got to go before I get in trouble.”

  Nicole watched Holly walk away, moving like a wooden, emotionless doll. She stopped at the bar, ordered another drink, then downed it in one gulp before disappearing down a hallway that Nicole assumed led to private rooms.

  Knowing what awaited Holly in the sapphire room, it took every bit of control that Nicole possessed not to go after the young girl and rescue her from this degrading situation. She felt so damn helpless, and she knew why, but she had no time to dwell on her own past. Right now, she just hated being powerless to save Holly.

  Pushing her own emotional turmoil aside, she exhaled a deep breath and focused on what needed to be done next. She now knew where Angela Ramsey was being sequestered, and she needed to let Nathan know so they could decide on their next plan of action.

  Retrieving her cell phone from her purse, she texted Nathan the flirtatious phrase they agreed she’d use once she had information to share.

  I’m ready for you, baby.

  * * *

  Nathan’s conversation with Sloane went fairly well, with the two of them enjoying a drink while covering a wide variety of topics-from the Vegas casinos they preferred to play at, to Sloane’s recent vacation at his villa in Italy, to the new business venture Nathan was considering investing in-a fictional deal set up by Lucas Barnes to add to Nathan’s portfolio as an entrepreneur. Eventually, their discussion came around to Nicole and the young girls at the nightclub.

  And there were many from what Nathan could see. Some had hooked up with the men in the lounge, while others were mingling and openly coming on to the older gentlemen; most of the beds were occupied with couples getting busy. A few girls who looked high on something, either alcohol or drugs, were dancing provocatively together, their youthful bodies writhing against one another and providing a classic girl-on-girl fantasy for most of the guys in the club.

  For Nathan, the atmosphere was nothing short of sleazy and a repulsive display of depravity, at the very least. Sloane’s lifestyle, and the careless way the other man exploited children, went against every ethical bone in Nathan’s body and was a stark reminder of how imperative it was that this undercover case concluded much differently from his last mission as a vice cop.

  And that meant treading carefully with a powerful man like Sloane. One wrong move or slipup, and innocent lives would be in jeopardy. And that was something Nathan refused to allow this time around.

  “See anything you like, Alex?”

  Sloane’s curious question cut into Nathan’s thoughts, and he glanced at the other man reclining in the red leather chair next to his. “You have quite a stable of girls to choose from.”

  Sloane casually swirled the dark liquor in his snifter glass and smiled. “Variety is a good thing, don’t you think?”

  “For some.” Sensing the conversation held the undertones of a test, Nathan chose his words carefully. “Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer being with one girl, not many.”

  Sloane lifted a brow, a daring light in his eyes. “Are you sure about that, Keller?”

  Before Nathan could reply, Sloane signaled to a girl standing nearby, who immediately moved toward them, eager to do his bidding. Like every other female in the club, she looked too damn young, yet too experienced in other ways. She was wearing a miniskirt, a too-tight top, and high heels, and her shoulder-length black hair framed delicate facial features and a sweet smile.

  She came to a stop in front of them, a little unsteady on her feet as she waited for her next cue from Sloane.

  “Alex, this is Jasmine,” Sloane said, introducing the girl to him. “She’s one of the favorites here at the club. Whatever you want, she’ll be more than happy to provide, isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

  Jasmine nodded, and before Nathan realized her intent, she sat down on his lap and wriggled her bottom suggestively against his groin, which did nothing to arouse him. If anything, it took supreme effort not to shove her right off his lap in disgust. He reined in the impulse and instead managed to pretend her brazen behavior didn’t bother him in the least.

  “I haven’t seen you around before,” Jasmine said, her voice soft and languid as she draped an arm around his shoulders and cuddled closer. “You’re cute.”

  He couldn’t smell any alcohol on her breath, but judging by her dilated pupils and her slurred speech, there was no question in Nathan’s mind that she was on some kind of narcotic. Or maybe she sedated herself in order to deal with the nightmare that her life had become.

  Aware of Sloane assessing his response and reactions, he reached up and gently brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen across her cheek, the caress more caring than sexual. “And you’re very pretty,” he s
aid, returning the compliment and hoping that’s as far as things went between them.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, and laid her head on his shoulder while pressing her free hand to his chest. “Would you like to dance? Or maybe I could give you a massage?”

  The words sounded rehearsed, as though she’d said them dozens of times before, to at least that many men. It was a disturbing thought, and one Nathan couldn’t dwell on at the moment. What he could do, however, was put an end to her advances.

  “Maybe next time,” he said, turning her down as gently as possible. The last thing he wanted was her getting in trouble for not persuading him to take advantage of her offer. “I promised my girlfriend that I’d be good tonight.”

  She pouted, but before she could do anything else to try to sway him, Sloane snapped his fingers and ordered the girl to leave them alone. Obeying, she slid off his lap, and moved on to a guy sitting across the lounge who immediately welcomed her overtures.

  Unable to stomach what the girl was about to do, Nathan looked away and found Sloane watching him, his gaze a little too perceptive for his liking.

  “You just passed up a sure thing, Keller,” Sloane drawled, and downed the rest of his drink. “You could have had Jasmine and Nikki never would have known.”

  Sloane was questioning his motives, and possibly even his loyalty, and Nathan had to think fast on his feet. “What can I say? It’s fresh and new and exceptionally hot with Nikki. Right now, she gives me everything I could want or need sexually.”

  “For now, yes,” Sloane said, the look in his eyes changing, darkening with determination. “But every man has a weakness, and mine, at the moment, happens to be Nikki.” His smile stopped just short of being perverse. “Now, we just have to find yours, and hopefully the two of us can come to some sort of gentleman’s agreement.”

  Christ . Sloane was openly proposing a trade-off. Nicole for any one of his girls that Nathan wanted in exchange.

  Having made it very clear what he desired, Sloane stood and inclined his head at Nathan. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to take care of. You and I can catch up later.”