Defiance (New Adult Romance) (Isaac & Maya) (14 page)

“What’s pandering?” I ask my attorney.

“It’s a legal term for pimping.”

“Oh.” Shit. Yeah, I might be guilty of that, technically.

“
In addition to
,” Dan continues, “sex trafficking of Viliya and two others, not to mention accessory to murder.”

“Accessory to murder?” Nigel exclaims, shooting me a concerned look.

“Have you ever seen this woman, Isaac?” The investigator pushes a picture across the table. It’s a bright eyed, smiling blonde girl, perhaps her senior picture. I don’t recognize her. “Maybe this will help.” The next photo he shows me is that same girl, lying on a metal slab with her eyes closed and a thin layer of dirt on her face.

“Fuck,” I exhale as my heart starts thudding so hard I feel my pulse in my fucking eyeballs. I start to hear the screaming and that callous laughter, but I push it away. I am not losing my shit right now, not on camera.

“Why don’t you tell us what happened to her. Confession is good for the soul,” Dan says softly.

19

Isaac

“Confession is good for prosecuting attorneys,” Nigel retorts. “Do not answer that.”

“What was her name?” I whisper in such a pathetic voice I’d be embarrassed if I wasn’t totally up shit creek with no paddle right now and had time to care. It catches the prosecutor off guard and rattles Glory, who puts her hand on my knee and squeezes.

“
Natalie Wilson. 18 year old former foster kid.  A lot of the girls you work with grew up in foster care, didn’t they?”

“I think so,” I answer shakily.

“This particular one died at your house, didn’t she?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“Our informant saw you try to stop it.”

“If that’s true, why would
you charge me?”

“It may end up being accessory after the
fact. You called in more private security, not the police. Were you afraid to alert the proper authorities?” Dan asks, like he’s suddenly the good cop and I should trust him. “The only reason we are even speaking right now is because you haven’t been very active in this ‘community’ for nearly a year and completely absent for about six months. We have our own suspicions about where you went, but our informant actually has some rather nice things to say about you, Isaac. He says it’s not really your fault that you’re involved with this. Perhaps you didn’t even have a choice. Is that accurate?”

“I never…” I stammer. You always have a choice. I think. “I don’t really know anymore.”

“That’s how Glory sees it, right?”

“Yes,” she answers when I stay silent. “Yes, that is how I see it.”

“Your surrogate mother here,” Dan says with a touch of disgust, “has accounted for your whereabouts on several suspicious dates, but there’s a few when she can’t.” He hands me a list.

“Sloane saw me on most of these.” Maya did too, but she isn’t getting sucked into this.

“This date, Isaac. This one in particular. Where were you on this date? With your father?”

“No,” I answer automatically. “I haven’t seen him since he visited me after I got out of the hospital.”

“Can you prove that?”

“I don’t know… I suck at dates, alright? Is that a fucking crime?” Dammit, that came out sharply. Angry looks guilty. Stay fucking calm.

“It could be in this case.”

“I wasn’t with you?” I ask Glory.

“We were supposed to go to a party, but you blew me off.”

It was right before Vegas, so… “Actually, I have a fantastic alibi for that date. Glory, you’re not going to like this, but I, uh, sort of stole your Bugatti that day and took it for a joy ride.”

“You what?” she exclaims, eyeing me.

“You didn’t even notice it was gone.”

“Isaac… that car is worth more than a million dollars.”

“It came home in one piece, didn’t it?”

“Riding in a car isn’t exactly a fantastic alibi,” my lawyer interrupts us.

“Right. So it wasn’t exactly a joy ride because there was nothing joyful about it. I was distraught. I pulled over at this lookout, I’ll have to look at a map to show you exactly where, but anyway, I was freaking my shit, sobbing and whatnot when a squad car pulled up. Officer
Ray. He was a nice guy, just getting off duty. He wouldn’t let me drive because I was so upset, so I left the car with his partner and—”

“You let somebody else drive it?” Glory says.

“Geez, let it fucking go already!” I snap. Leave it to her to push me over the edge. “The car is fine and this is a little bit more important, don’t you think?”

“If there is a
single
scratch, Isaac, you are in so much fucking trouble…”

“No shit I’m in fucking trouble! Look where we are right now!” We glare at each other, about to get into one of our trademark shouting matches for no better reason than the sheer bliss of screaming at each other. “
Anyway
,” I continue. “I spent the day with him. We went for a drive and then we went hiking.”

“Hiking?” Dan, Glory, and my lawyer disbelieve me at the same time.

“Fuck… okay, to be more accurate I curled up in a ball and wished for death in the middle of a field while he worried about me in the car and did some paperwork, so technically, I was out of his sight for about two hours. But we were at least three hours away from Boston, I couldn’t have gotten there and back in time, especially on foot. Then we ate at a diner called Bonnie’s. Her chili is out of this fucking world. She wouldn’t tell me the secret ingredient, but I think it was cocoa powder. It definitely had some cinnamon in there, too.”

“You don’t honestly expect these details to make this bullshit story more believable, do you?” Dan says.

“Call him. I’m pretty sure he remembers me, it’s not every day something like that happens out in the sticks.” I pull out my wallet. “Right. You fuckers wouldn’t let me bring my pocket knife. Anybody have one?”

“I’m not giving you a weapon,” Dan laughs.

“Right, like stabbing you will make this go away, dude.”

“Isaac, please refrain from threatening the investigator,” Nigel says.

“I didn’t… Oh my fucking God, I guess I’ll just rip this lining out with my fingernails then,” I huff, pulling at the seam. “Why did I have to take this fucking thing to such a good tailor?”

“Here,” Glory says, trying to grab it from my hands.

“Screw that, just hand me the nail file,” I insist, resisting the urge to brandish it at the asshole because I’m probably the only one who will find that funny. The fabric rips apart loudly, stitch by stitch until I pull back the satin and remove the three little pieces of paper I have hidden behind it. “Here.” I toss Dan Officer Rick’s business card, which is conveniently smeared with dried chili sauce.

Glory leans over to see what the other two keepsakes are, but I cover them with my hand. “What else do
you have hidden in there, Isaac?” Dan asks me.

“It’s none of your business,” I reply.

“He is under no obligation to show you the contents of his wallet,” Nigel says.

“I have to check this out before we can continue,” Dan says, his brow furrowing as he looks at the card.

“We’re turning this camera off until you get back,” Nigel informs him.

Nodding, Dan leaves us in an awkward silence when he exits the room. “Why isn’t there a picture of me in there?” Glory mumbles. She obviously saw the photographs of Maya and my bio mom.

“There used to be, but I didn’t have to hide it in the lining.”

“Does Ma—”

“Don’t you dare say her name in this fucking office,” I growl.

“Does she go through your wallet? Is that why you took it out?”

“She doesn’t snoop through my shit, if that’s what you’re getting at. But yeah, that’s why I took it out. I send her in there to get money sometimes and even if I didn’t… it just wouldn’t be right.”

“What picture was it?”

“I changed them up quite often because I’d usually end up ripping it to pieces after a big fight,” I chuckle as she smiles with me. “But it was the same one for a while after I left. New Year’s Eve of my senior year.”

She was pregnant, but I don’t have to tell her that. “You always loved the way I looked in that
silver dress.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I should have kept it,” she whispers, her voice cracking because she’s not talking about the dress. What the fuck do I say to that? “Isaac, I had no idea they had this much on you.”

“Why aren’t they asking about that other stuff, Glor? Doesn’t any of that matter?”

“It will to a jury,” Nigel answers as Glory just stares at me in disbelief. “But that won’t keep them from bringing you up on these charges.”

“Am I going to prison?”

My lawyer put his hand on my shoulder sympathetically, which isn’t comforting in the slightest. “It’s a very real possibility, Isaac.”

“No, it’s not,” Glory chokes. “That can’t happen. Who is their informant, Isaac?” If I tell her, she could kill Diego, who she probably already suspects. It might not even be him. “I know that you know, Isaac.”

“I have a suspicion, but I don’t
know
. I’m pretty much wasted out of my fucking mind in most of those pics and my gut instinct is telling me it’s more than one person.” That’s not actually true, but it could be. If it is Diego, he’s either holding back information for my benefit, or they have more than they’re letting on.

“Shit,” she spits. “Well, it’s not like they’ll charge you right away. We have some time to figure something out.”

“Yeah…” At least I’ll see Maya tonight. How the fuck do I tell her any of this? Or what I’m willing to do to get out of it?

“If you’re saying what I think you’re saying and what we are
definitely
not officially hearing, it won’t work,” Nigel tells Glory. “The informant’s affidavit is most likely already recorded and if they got a camera in there, they probably have audio to go with it. Not to mention Dan implied that their informant doesn’t think Isaac is as horrible as these charges make him seem, which could be extremely helpful if we have to cross examine him.”

“So he needs something to trade for immunity,” Glory says. “That’s the only option.”

Actually I have two, but my lawyer certainly doesn’t want to know about this Plan B. “All I have are four names that I suspect are involved, and if they have that much on me, they probably already know them,” I grumble. “Let’s just come out and say it already. I am completely fucked.”

Dan finally reappears, taking a seat and eyeing me like he’s not exactly sure what to do. “Well, your story checked out, so far anyway. He’s coming in to confirm tomorrow, but he remembered you.”

“So… what does that mean?” I ask.

“
Unfortunately, it probably means that you can’t really help us which means we can’t help you. When you fell off our radar a few months ago, did you honestly leave the scene entirely?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t move up on the totem pole?”

“Look, obviously you realize how hierarchical this is. Most of these girls aren’t… trafficked.” I can’t believe I’m actually saying that word. “They are very American and they want to be there. The pros outweigh the cons. That shit you’re trying to get him on, it’s a tight circle, one that I’m just not in and I never will be. Never.”

“Never say never. We know about your father’s standing offer.”

Of course they do. Fuck! “That’s not what he meant.”

“What is he talking about?” Glory asks quietly.

“Isaac didn’t tell you that he has full access to his father’s harem?” Dan says, smiling. “Anything he wants at any time from any one of them. And you take advantage of it, don’t you?”

“I used to fuck my father’s girlfriends occasionally, yeah.”

“You—” Glory sputters, blushing. “You don’t have to ask permission first?”

“No, I don’t,” I confess. “But there are major strings attached, obviously. I didn’t do it often.”

“Still, that’s quite an…” she trails off.

“Honor?” Dan finishes her sentence. “I suppose that’s what you people would call it. Are you going to tell her the rest of the story?”
No.
“What, do you think it would hurt her feelings if she knew your daddy offered to get you your very own toy to play with?”

“He what?” That did hurt Glory, even though I never did it. And now I bet she’s really confused about my secrecy with Maya.

“Okay, first of all, it’s not that fucking simple,” I say.

“Is that why you never took him up on it?” Dan asks, smirking.

“I wanted to get out, not dig myself in deeper,” I explain. “And even if I had taken on my own sub, she wouldn’t have been… bought. He knows my tastes. Bratty, not docile and broken. Very all American girl next door, nothing like Villy.”

“Oh, how adorable,” Dan mocks me. “You nicknamed the sex slave.”

“Don’t respond to that jab, Isaac,” Nigel says right before I say something fucking stupid. “There’s an immunity deal on the table here or we wouldn’t still be talking.”

“If your client wants immunity, it looks like his tastes have to change.”

“Tastes don’t fucking change,” I mutter.

“I guess you would know,” Dan shoots back. “But luckily, you’re still in the tail end of your formative years. You can sell it.”

“No, I can’t. He told me I could take my pick of some of his friends’ girls. The real present was asserting my dominance and taking something that they wanted, not the girl herself. That’s where she would have come from.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to hope he feels guilty enough about that ass kicking to give you a fresh one.”

“He doesn’t,” I insist, even though there might be a chance that he does.

“If you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in prison, you are going to ask him anyway. While you’re wearing a wire.”