Help Me (7 page)

He shook his head but wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Turn around so I can zip you.”

I did, feeling deflated. I knew it wasn’t perfect, but I thought he’d at least pretend to like it. As soon as he zipped me up I turned and pushed him out of the dressing room.

“Go see if you can find Rose, okay? I want to get this off so I can move on to the next one.”

“Why do you sound so glum all of the sudden?”

“I’m not. I just…none of these are me. These are dresses for tall beautiful girls.”

Trey grabbed my arm and pulled me out into the waiting area. “You’re an idiot.”

“Thanks,” I replied, frowning.

“Fuck, Amanda. You look amazing. Stunning. Gorgeous. And really damned sexy.”

“I…what?” There was a mirror out here and I glanced at it. The dress did hang much better zipped up. But still. It was just me in it. “You had too much beer, Trey.”

“Stop it. Look at you,” he said. “No, don’t stare at some tiny part you think is a flaw. Look at
you
. You’re perfect.”

I blushed and shook my head. “Far from it.”

“Yes, you are. You just don’t know what perfect means. It isn’t looking just like the model you saw walking the runway in that dress or the actress who wore it on a magazine cover. Perfect is the way the silk lays just right to highlight your cleavage. The way the skirt skims your hips. The way the whole thing makes me want to drag you back into that dressing room and tear that thousand dollar dress off of you right this second.”

He stared at me for a long time and in his face I saw the truth in his words. He meant it. He wanted it. Wanted me. And for a second, I saw what he did. Felt it too. Heat flared deep within me and I took a step forward.

A strong hand ran up my arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake. His eyes were hooded, his lips slightly parted. As our bodies came closer together everything else fell away. The soft music playing in the background, the lightly perfumed air. The lights, the other people in the store all disappeared. Trey and I existed in a tiny bubble universe there, alone together.

“Trey…” I started.

But just like that, the sound of my voice popped our little bubble, breaking the spell. He shook his head and stepped backwards.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Any of it. What I meant to say is, you look really nice. We should get this dress.” He turned away and went back to his bench. In a second he’d picked up his tablet again and it was as if nothing had ever happened.

My heart ached a little as I went back into the dressing room to change back into my own clothes. I was done shopping for the day.

Rose came back while I was putting my shoes on. She carried an armload of lovely things, but this time I wasn’t interested.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I have to go.” I walked out of the dressing room before she had a chance to respond. Trey was at the counter talking to one of the other women who worked there. I glanced over, but wasn’t ready to face him, so I just went outside without saying anything.

So many thoughts were zooming around in my brain that I couldn’t catch any of them. I leaned against the wall and watched people strolling past the boutique. There was a woman walking with her two teenage daughters. All three were sipping cold drinks and laughing.

Just looking at them made me miss Kat and my parents so much I almost doubled over with pain. I closed my eyes and took a series of deep breaths. Shut out everything to quiet my mind. It worked too, for a while.

“Are you okay?”

I opened my eyes and saw Trey standing in front of me. Rose crossed behind him and dropped a pile of bags into open trunk of the car.

“What’s all that?”

He smiled slightly. “Your dress.”

“One dress takes up all that space?”

“I threw in a couple of extra things that Rose said you needed.”

I sighed. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.” Trey tugged on his ear. It was the second time I’d seen him make the gesture and I wondered what it meant. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. But do you mind if we walk a little? I want to talk to you.”

“Sure.” He locked the car and pointed. “There’s a little coffee shop down there, if you want to grab something.”

“Okay.”

We walked silently, next to each other but not touching. Now that he’d agreed, I wasn’t sure where to start. Half a block down I stopped him and just dove in.

“Trey, listen. I hope I don’t sound ungrateful, but before we go to the club there are some things I need to know.”

“Ask me anything.”

“You told me you’d explain why you wanted to help me later. I think it’s time.”

He crossed his arms. “It’s complicated.”

“I’m a smart girl.”

“I’m aware of that. Why are you asking me this now? Is it because of what happened –
almost
happened in the store?”

“Partially. It’s more that I just realized you’re a stranger. All I’ve learned about you is that you’re nice, really rich, and apparently spend a lot of time and money at a brothel. How do I know I can trust you?”

“We can really trust anyone, Amanda.”

“Come on. Don’t mess with me. You know what I’m talking about. You almost kissed me but you spend all your time with prostitutes. Is that what you like? Is that why you brought me shopping? Are the clothes payment for something?”

“What?” he shouted, glaring at me. He paused for a second and then continued more quietly. “I can’t believe you’d think that.”

“How can I not? You’re practically a stranger.”

“Why would I offer to help you if all I wanted was, what, a tumble in the dressing room?”

“You tell me. Because I don’t understand.”

He groaned and rubbed his jaw. “Okay, fine. First, you should know, I’ve never slept with any of the girls at the club. Not once.”

A tiny part of me was more relieved than I was willing to admit. Not because it made it easier to trust him, but because it made me feel a tiny bit less guilty for being so attracted to him.

“If that’s true, why do you go there? What do you do with them?”

“Because it’s safe. That’s a weird thing to say about an illegal business, but it’s true. Most women I meet know exactly who I am. And almost all of them have an agenda. You wouldn’t believe some of the things they say or offer to do to get what they want. My money, access to my father, the list is endless.”

I hadn’t considered that downside of being William Tyler Heller, III.

We started walking again as he went on.

“So even though dating is pretty hard to do, I need dates for things. Family events, business things, fundraisers, that kind of shit. If I go alone it’s news and people talk. ‘Is he brokenhearted?’ or ‘Is he gay?’ or whatever random theory. So I take a girl from the club. ‘Date’ them for a few months at public events and then move on to the next one. I look like a normal guy and I don’t have to worry about it.”

“But surely you could find a real girlfriend. It might be difficult, but there must be women who don’t want to use you.”

He grinned as we reached the coffee shop and held the door open for me. “Are you applying for the gig?”

I blushed and shook my head. “You know what I mean.”

We went up to the counter and ordered. Before he could stop me, I handed over money to cover our drinks. I had no idea how much money he’d just spent on me, but at least I could cover two coffees.

Trey picked a table and we sat down to wait.

“So, I get the dates thing, sort of. But why do you hang out at the club so much?”

He shrugged. “I like it. Aside from a few assholes it’s a nice place. Fun, and open. Everyone there has something to lose by talking about the place, so I don’t have to watch my back as much. Hell, the police commissioner is a frequent visitor.”

My eyes bugged out. “He is?”

“Yup. Though, I don’t imagine he has to pay for company. Nice guy, actually. Into some kinky shit but…”

I leaned over. “What kind of kinky…?” but a guy brought our drinks over, interrupting.

After taking a few sips, I relaxed. “All right. I’m going to trust you, Trey. Please don’t make me regret it.”

“You won’t. I promise. Now, let’s talk about this plan of yours to find your sister. To start with, do you have a picture of her?”

“I don’t know. Wait, yeah, I do. In my phone.” I dug it out and scrolled through to find it. The last time I’d seen Kat, over my winter break from school. She’d surprised me with a visit because I had been working too hard on my final project to take time off. The picture was of the two of us in silly winter hats she’d bought at some cheesy store at a rest stop. We were smiling like idiots. So happy. But I hadn’t known anything about her secret life.

“Here she is,” I said quietly, handing my phone to Trey.

“Yeah, this is definitely the girl I thought she was. But at the club she goes by a different name. Katrina, I think.”

“How long has she been working there?”

“I’m not sure. At least a year.”

“And you said you haven’t seen her recently?”

“No, but I’m not there every night. And a lot of the girls go out on dates, so it isn’t weird. What about you, when was the last time you talked to her?”

“Two days ago. The day before I came to town. She called to congratulate me on graduation. She was supposed to come out and we’d drive back to the East Coast together, but she said something came up. A work emergency. I guess that was a lie.”

“Not necessarily.”

“Well, whatever it was, she bought my plane ticket and everything. She even arranged for all my stuff to get shipped here.”

Trey finished his coffee and leaned back in his chair. I noticed a few women in the room eyeing him. Probably wondering what he was doing with me.

“So two days ago she was fine and able to contact you. Then the next morning she was gone?”

“Yeah. I mean, I thought it was weird she didn’t call to make sure I didn’t miss my flight, but I took it as a sign that she trusted me.”

I swallowed past a huge lump in my throat.

Trey put his hand on mine. “It’s okay.”

I shook my head. “No, it isn’t. But anyway, okay. My plane landed just over twelve hours after I spoke with her. That’s not much time for something bad to happen, right?”

“Nope. And if she thought there was trouble, from what you’ve told me, her first instinct would be to keep you safe, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“So she wouldn’t have let you come to Philly if she was worried. That’s a good sign, I think.”

“Makes sense.” Man, it was really nice to have someone to talk all of this through with. Someone I didn’t have to lie to, and wasn’t judging Kat for doing what she did. I wondered why Trey was so open-minded, but didn’t want to push him to tell me anything else. I’d agreed to trust him and I intended to do just that.

“Once you’re done with your coffee we should go. I’ll take you home and then pick you up later for the club.”

“Okay. I won’t need much time, though. I don’t take too long to get changed.”

He grinned and winked at me. “You’ve got a lot of new clothes to unpack.”

I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help smiling.

+

Hours later when Trey picked me up and we headed over to the club, I was still smiling. After spending the afternoon putting Kat’s apartment back in order and pawing through the tons of beautiful new things from the boutique, I was feeling like my old self again, mostly.

Besides, the talk we’d had about the situation made me optimistic. Whatever had happened to Kat, I was certain someone knew something. And once I found that person I’d be that much closer to getting my sister back.

Walking into the Eden Club on Trey’s arm was quite an experience, too. Instead of the scared girl who’d snuck in last night, I was confident. The red dress made me feel like a real, grown-up sexy, woman. I paired it with high heeled pumps that I found in Kat’s closet and left my hair down. It fell in soft waves around my shoulders and framed the dramatic makeup on my face perfectly.

“It’s just like a play,” I told myself. “You’re acting out a part.” I’d been really interested in drama before my parents died. I used to audition for every school play and even got a few parts in local community theater shows. It had been a while, but I remembered how to get into character and leave my own feelings and fears behind. It would serve me well, or so I hoped.

As soon as we walked inside, the butler, Dominic, greeted us. He and Trey exchanged pleasantries and I remembered that Trey said he wasn’t really a butler. Just a well-mannered security guard. He was also half the size of the rest of them, but I assumed his skills were still top-notch.

“Veronica is waiting for you in the game room.”

Trey took my arm and squeezed it reassuringly at the look of panic on my face. “It’s not
that
kind of game room,” he murmured as he led me down the hall. “I think it was once the library. The walls are covered in shelves, but there’s a pool table and a chess set in there too.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

He smiled, but then stopped once there was no one else in earshot. “You have to calm down, Amanda. You’re shaking.”

“Sorry.”

He leaned in close. “Remember, I’m here with you. No one is going to hurt you as long as you stay cool and do what I say.”

“All right.” I smiled brightly. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be late for my first day of work.”

That made him laugh all the way to the game room. Inside we found Veronica deep in conversation with Peter, the security chief. She was wearing a creamy white sleeveless sweater that clung tightly to her slim torso, and a pair of black skinny pants that I could never wear.

“Oh, good. Trey, I thought you and your little friend had decided not to show up tonight,” she said pointedly.

Trey shook his head. “And miss a chance to spend time in your charming company, Veronica? Never.”

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing.

She arched an elegant eyebrow and looked over at me. “I see you take direction well, at least.”

I looked down. “I hope this dress meets your standards.”

“It’s fine. Appealing, but not too showy. Smart choice.”

“Thank you.”