Unfold Me (17 page)

A few days later, I receive an interesting invitation. “Theo just invited me to a party that he’s throwing in his house tonight. He says our discretion is guaranteed,” I say, and Isaac’s head shoots up.

“Wait, Theo is throwing it? How?” he asks.

“I don’t know. I guess it’s because Archer is laying low, and Theo doesn’t really give a damn about what happened to Raphael because he’s never had any contact with him.”

“Is Archer invited?”

“I guess we’ll find out.” With a smile on my face, I text Theo that I accept the invitation.

***

Theo’s house is in the elite part of the city and it’s huge, with a big private park hiding behind a high black fence. I walk into what has to be the biggest room in the whole house. It reminds me of a ballroom because there’s a lot of unused space. A big table filled with drinks and foods of all kinds is in the middle, and in front of it, there are two more tables for the guests.

Despite the masks covering their faces, I recognize three people who are sitting at one of the tables, and none of them is Archer. Two of the guys were at Archer’s party, but I’ve forgotten their names. One of them has gray hairs above his left ear that stand out, and the other has an unmistakable hairstyle: a shaved pattern that resembles a lightning bolt on the left side of his head. But what makes me smile on the inside is the girl laughing at the front of the table. It’s Ericka. I’m sure of it. Id’ recognize that high-pitched laugh anywhere. So, four people from Archer’s little group are here. I wonder if Archer knows about it, because if he doesn’t, I might just have to thank Theo for doing me a huge favor.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Theo says, taking my hand and placing a kiss on my knuckles.

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world.” I flash him a smile. “I don’t see the slaves. Where are they?” In fact, I don’t see anything in here that could be used for sex or games, unless he’s hiding the slaves under the table, but I really want to know where Isaac is. I hate that someone always has to lead him away somewhere, but these people believe slaves and free people can’t be seen walking through the same door.

“That’s a surprise.” The sparkle in Theo’s eyes turns my insides cold. What is he planning now? “Don’t worry. You’ll find out very soon. Go grab yourself a drink.”

“Sure.” I head toward the table and find myself a seat as far as possible from Ericka. If I end up using Ericka against Archer, I don’t want anyone to say they’ve seen us together. I don’t recognize any of the other people at the table, and they don’t pay any attention to me.

At least half an hour passes until Theo gets up from his seat and clinks his glass. “Let’s get this party truly started. Everyone please rise and follow me. This will be a night you won’t forget soon.”

He leads us outside, into his huge backyard, and I stop dead in my tracks when I see the slaves harnessed to carts like horses. The others pass me by and follow Theo, who’s saying something about a competition. Making sure no one is watching me, I turn around and stare at the house instead. This is all just too much for me. I consider going back into the house, but if Theo gets a crazy idea to show me something and realizes I’m not there, there could be trouble. After a lot of cheering and shouting, someone’s slave wins, but I don’t bother to find out who. I’m just relieved when we get to go back into the house.

“The slaves had their fun. Now it’s time for ours,” Theo’s voice booms through the foyer. “Explore the house and enjoy the pleasures it offers.” While people clap, someone touches me on the arm.

“Excuse me, madam.” The servant’s dark eyes stare at me, and I realize Isaac is with him. There’s a black lace mask covering Isaac’s face, and he’s naked as are all the other slaves who are being led in with the rest of the servants. I take a better look at the servant in front of me and realize it’s the same one who took Isaac away when we arrived. I guess Theo hired a special servant for each one of his guests. Great.

“Yes?” I’m not sure what it is that he wants from me.

“Should I put a blue, red, yellow, green, or a black bracelet on him?” The servant nods toward Isaac, and I blink at him in confusion.

“What?” I glance at Isaac, but behind that mask, I can’t read the expression on his face.

“Oh, my apologies, madam. I assumed you knew. There are four types of bracelets that I can put on your slave. Red means free for all, so any free person can use your slave for sex. Yellow is if you only want female guests to use him, and green only for male guests. Blue means your slave is allowed to have sex only with other slaves, and finally, black means anyone who wants your slave will have to ask for your permission first.”

Dear God. “Black,” I say quickly.

“Very well, madam.” The servant slips on a thick black bracelet on Isaac’s wrist, and narrows his eyes on him. “You know the rules. Go.”

When the servant is gone, I look at Isaac. Everyone’s busy dealing with their own slaves, so I come closer, pretending to adjust his bracelet.

“What is this shit all about? What rules was he talking about?” I say under my breath.

“Theo wants this to be a house of pleasure. So everyone can go to whatever room they wish, and when they find a slave with the right bracelet... Well, you know that part. I’m supposed to hide in one of the rooms, but since I have this...” He shakes the bracelet. “...I guess they’ll have to find you first if they want a piece of me.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“Maybe... but we have access to the whole house.” There’s something in his voice, and I wonder if he thinks we could find something helpful in here, but there’s a problem.

“The house is huge. He could have a billion rooms. And I bet his office or wherever he keeps his important things is locked.”

“You check around here, and I’ll check upstairs,” he whispers, and I nod. I’d rather explore the house than watch others have sex. Unfortunately, as I open the door of the bathroom, I see a man and a woman fucking against the sinks, so I immediately close it. The rest of the rooms turn out to be either storage for something or are completely empty.

When I enter what looks like a small library, I realize I’m in the best room in the whole house. I don’t know how much time passes, but I’ve touched at least fifty book covers and opened at least ten books. Some of them seem like good reads, but I know I don’t have time to read. Although, if I picked up a shorter book and maybe read quickly... I push that thought away and run my hand across a few more book spines. Theo probably never even touched, let alone read, one of these books. I bet this is all just for display and his servants have to clean it every day or so.

The scrape of doors against the floor makes me flinch, and I turn around.

“Ah, there you are. I already thought we’d never find you,” Theo says. “My house can be such a maze sometimes.”

“Yeah, I think I got lost on my way to the bathroom,” I say. “You were looking for me?”

“Yeah, it’s about your slave,” he says.

“What about him?” I brace myself, because I’m sure he’s about to ask if he or one of his friends can have their way with Isaac. How can I refuse without making it seem too suspicious? Oh, well, maybe I’m just very possessive of my slave.

“He’s been caught snooping in the wrong place,” he says, and I freeze.

“What? He would never...” I bring my hand to my mouth, but not all of my shock is just pretense. I should have known there was a possibility he’d get caught. Shit.

“Unfortunately, it’s the truth. I found him myself. He was in my office, near my desk.” Theo shakes his head. He’s the only one in here who isn’t wearing a mask.

“Great,” I mutter. “I can’t believe he’s done that. Where is he?”

“He’s in one of my rooms,” he says. “Awaiting his punishment.”

“His punishment?” You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

“Yes, his actions deeply offended me.” Theo says, and it annoys me to no end that he can say that with a straight face. “He should be taught a lesson.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him. I’ll deal with him.” Isaac and I should get the hell out of here.

“That’s why I came here for you. I considered punishing him myself, but he’s yours, so I realized it’s only appropriate that you do it. Everyone’s waiting for us.”

My jaw falls all the way to the floor. He doesn’t actually think that I will... Except I know he does. Fuck. “I don’t know if that’s...”

“Oh, don’t worry. I think twenty with the cane will do. Unless you prefer that he stays with me for a day or two. That would teach him not to offend a free man.”

My stomach drops all the way to my feet, and I don’t even know how I follow Theo upstairs. Isaac is standing in the middle of the room, two servants at his side. Theo’s guests are either sitting on the couch or standing nearby.

Theo raises his hand, and the servants grab Isaac, forcing him to bend over a table. When they have Isaac pinned down, Theo picks up a cane and hands it over to me. I clutch the cane in my hand to stop my fingers from shaking. The whole room is watching me. One part of me wants to break the cane on Theo’s head, but I can’t do that no matter how much I want to.

Forgive me, Isaac. Taking a deep breath, I carefully aim and deliver the first stroke with full force. Isaac doesn’t even flinch, but the sixth stroke catches him unprepared, and his body jerks back a little. After the twelfth lands on top of the previous stripe, he lets out a choked gasp. I focus on the sound of the cane swishing through the air, trying not to see the welts it creates on Isaac’s skin. When it’s done, I throw the cane to the ground. Theo is telling me something with a smile on his face, but all I can hear is the buzzing in my ears.

***

“Ouch,” Isaac says as I apply some cream onto his skin. “You actually know how to use that thing.”

“Archer taught me,” I whisper and put down the cream. As I stare down at my hands, I can still picture Archer’s hand closing over mine as he stands behind me and helps me aim the cane right.

“Hey,” Isaac says softly. “What’s wrong?”

“I hurt you. I...”

“I was joking, okay?” He sits up and wraps his arm around me, pressing his cheek against my shoulder. “Come on, you didn’t do anything, and I deserved it.”

“I want to kill them all,” I say. “I don’t want their filthy hands on you ever again. I don’t want anyone to ever cause you pain.”

“I know.” He slides his hand into my hair and I turn my head to face him. As soon as I do that, he captures my lips with his.

“His name is Edward Maroni,” he says when we break apart.

“Whose name?”

“Archer’s.”

I gape at him. “How do you know that?”

A sly smile crosses Isaac’s lips. “I found a file in Theo’s office. Apparently Theo had Archer followed and investigated. He didn’t find out much, but Edward’s apparently Archer’s real name. His parents died in a car accident when he was about fifteen, and he inherited their whole chain of casinos, which he later sold, and no one has heard from his since.”

“That’s how he got the money,” I say. “And he disappeared so he can do whatever he wants.”

“Probably,” Isaac says. “You know there’s only one thing we need to do now.”

“Yeah, I’m going to contact Archer.”

When I meet Archer at my favorite restaurant, I’m surprised that there are other people, but I guess Archer no longer wants to draw unnecessary attention.

“What’s so urgent that you have to tell me?” Archer asks as we settle at one of the tables near the window, far enough from the others.

“It’s about Theo,” I say, and Archer’s face darkens, his smile disappearing.

“What about him?” he asks coldly.

“Last night... he invited me to a party at his house.”

Archer’s face is expressionless, but his mouth twitches a little. He didn’t know.

“I thought you’d be there, but... you weren’t,” I continue when I realize he won’t say anything. “I mean, you probably know because the others were there too, I think. It was hard to recognize them under the masks, but... there’s something else.”

“Did something happen? Did Theo say anything?” Archer leans forward, keeping his voice low.

“No, he didn’t, but... I think he’s trying to substitute you. I mean... it was a big party, and his house is huge. We got to explore every room in there and have fun with the slaves...”

“He could never substitute me. He’s just a dumb, rich kid who thinks he owns the world,” Archer scoffs.

“Yeah, I know, but he’s been investigating you. He doesn’t know this, but... I’ve been in his office and I found a file with your name on it. He’s been following you and sending investigators after you.” I reach across the table and put my hand over his. “I’m really worried about you. What if he reports you to the cops?”

“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.” He gives my hand a gentle squeeze, then traces his thumb across my finger. “Katherine, I really appreciate you telling me this. In fact...” He lets go of my hand and reaches into the pocket of his suit jacket, taking out a small dark blue box. “I’ve had this for a while, but it was never the right moment to ask you... You weren’t ready, and I have to admit, I wasn’t ready either.”

I freeze, my heart thudding in my chest. What the hell is he talking about?