Unfold Me (7 page)

“He isn’t supposed to be coming here, and he hasn’t. I guess he did it because I bought you and he thinks I’m going to do something stupid. That’s why I can’t be involved in what Lilith is doing and why I have to uselessly sit here while my friend risks her life for...” My fingers curl around the glass.

“If my or my family’s involvement gets Archer arrested or killed, his men are going to publicly post the videos of me and kill everyone I care about. So as long as I don’t say anything about him to anyone, my family is safe and Archer won’t try to force me to have sex with him or try to make me his sex slave again.”

“That’s a sucky deal,” Isaac says, crossing his arms. “And what if he decides to break into your home again and do whatever he wants with you? Do you really think anyone would let you retaliate?”

“Actually, yeah. If I could prove what he did, and there was no tampering with anything on my part, Archer would pay for it. The group he’s a part of cares about these things so they can trust each other. I’m a free woman now, and if Archer does anything to me, it would be considered a violation. Unfortunately, breaking into my home when he suspected I might have freed you, gives him a good enough excuse, so I can’t complain about it to anyone.” I sigh. “Those people are not really honorable, but they do have a code and rules, otherwise they’d all be at each other’s throats already and their business would never thrive as it does. I still don’t know what exactly Lilith is planning to do with Raphael, and if it’ll work, but I guess they’ll let Raphael fall for his own mistakes... but I’m sure no one will touch the others, and the cops won’t find any evidence against them.”

Isaac rubs his chin. “Are you sure Archer won’t connect what happens with Raphael to you?”

“I hope not. I didn’t do anything except buy you, and that proves nothing. Yeah, Lilith hired you too at one point, but... I wasn’t anywhere near Raphael or his premises, and neither was anyone from my family. Lilith is my best friend, but I can hardly affect her or know exactly what she’s doing... Although, if things get too hot, I’ll have to contact some people... And we’ll have to come up with a plan for you... I could pretend I sold you to someone else or something...” I shrug. “How did Archer get you anyway? I mean... if you want to tell me.”

Isaac licks his lips, and I don’t think he’s going to tell me. “Raphael gave me to him... to train me.”

I sit back in my chair. “Oh. I know that’s what Archer does, but... I didn’t think... For how long did you...?”

“I don’t know. For months, I guess. I’ve lost count.” He eyes me for a moment. “So Archer never... shared you with anyone? Or took you to parties where people could... you know?”

“No, he said I was only his. He mostly kept me locked up in his room, but he did take me to a few parties, but as his... companion. We all wore masks, and we just watched... then when we got home...”

“He must have really liked you.” Isaac’s eyes are distant.

“Yeah, lucky me.” I roll my eyes, although I guess he’s right. Archer could’ve done much worse to me... given me to others and let anyone do to me whatever they wanted. “And Raphael... He kidnapped you and Caleb?” If Isaac has family somewhere in another town or across the country, maybe I could take him there without anyone suspecting anything. I could always claim I sold him to another master somewhere far away where they can’t check. They don’t have their men in every corner of the planet, and I doubt they would go through too much trouble to figure out the whereabouts of one slave.

“I... I’m not sure. Caleb, Jade, and I grew up at a farm with a woman named Marena, and had mostly normal lives, I guess. Then one day Raphael came and said we owed him for our education and life expenses because he took care of us for so many years, and he said it was time to pay him back... and he took us. That was some six or so years ago.” He shrugs.

“Six years?” I gape at him. I can’t even image how awful that has been. I’d been with that monster only three months, and Isaac... He’s been at everyone’s mercy for years. I suspected it was a long time, but not that long.

“So how did you find me?” he asks. “Do you normally go to auctions or what?”

I look away. “Sort of. I... After I was freed, I was angry at Archer for kidnapping me and ruining my life... and everything, so I looked for a way to get revenge. It was all I could think about. There was no loophole or anything, and I didn’t know where to find him or see him, because I certainly wasn’t invited to his sex parties. I was trying to find a way to get to him, and when he found out, he was pleased about it... because there was nothing in our deal that said I couldn’t willingly go to talk to him or anything... so I sort of planned to sleep with him and set it up like he did it against my will, but he actually brought witnesses with him to our meeting, so... I had to back out, and he said he’d be watching me more carefully. I knew one of his ex-employees, a cook, and I kind of contacted him to ask which places Archer frequents, and he just told me about the auctions, and I find out about them and Archer allowed me to come. I guess he liked to see me too and thought I’d finally agree to be with him of my own free will... but instead, I just kept coming to the auctions to remind myself of what kind of a person Archer is. Every time he’d buy someone... I just...” I run my hand over my face. “That’s why I offered to help Lilith, because no one would see it as too weird that I showed up at the auction, but... this was the first time I bought a person, and Archer knows me, so... we have to be extra careful.”

“I have a proposition for you,” Isaac says, and there’s something in his eyes that I can’t quite identify.

“What kind of a proposition?” I frown, unsure what he means. Maybe he knows where to find his family or something.

“You’ll never be free of Archer unless you take him down once and for all, just like I won’t be free either until he’s gone,” he says. “What if I told you there might be a way to do that without implicating you?”

“I don’t understand.” I purse my lips, giving him a blank look. “What are you talking about? Trust me, I thought of everything there is. I know there’s nothing we can...”

“Archer invited you to his party,” Isaac says. “We can use that.”

“Use that how?” 

“He thinks I’m your sex slave, and if you really want to disperse the doubts, you can take me with you to that party to prove it. And once we’re there, we can find something that we can use against him or we can find someone willing to betray him.”

“No!” I say quickly. “Are you out of your mind? Don’t you know what people do at those parties? I want no part of that.”

“Yeah, I know full well.” He gives me a hard look. “You wouldn’t have to do anything, only pretend that I’m your slave. No one would touch you.”

“But they would touch you!” I get up, nearly toppling my chair. “No way. You don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s those pills affecting your mind...”

“Not again with that.” He groans. “So what if I’ve been taking them?”

“
So what
? For how long have you been taking them? And you won’t even tell me how many Raphael was giving you while...”

“Two a day,” he says. “Sometimes up to four.”

“Four?” I gape at him. “Why... How... how did he even allow it?”

“It’s been just for a few months... I mean, that many. I didn’t have many reasons to...” He takes a deep breath. “I didn’t see a point in anything. Those pills... they helped me.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they did.” I place my hand on my hip. “But you don’t need them anymore. You can get your life back...”

“Like you did?” He raises an eyebrow at me. “Sleeping with a bunch of men and compiling a list and worrying about whether Archer is going to pay you a visit whenever he likes? Yeah, I see how you got your life back.”

“You don’t...”

“No.” He raises his finger in the air to shush me. “Don’t say anything. I can see you’re not truly free of Archer, and you’ll never be, just like I won’t be until both he and Raphael are down. Raphael is in Lilith’s hands, but we can take down Archer. Or do you want to live the rest of your life unhappy and in fear?”

“Okay, fine.” I throw my hands up in despair. “Let’s say I agree to your insane plan. All we’re going to achieve is to involve ourselves even more with Archer, and for what? Do you really want to go back to being a slave that badly?”

“No, it’s not about that. I’m just willing to do anything to destroy the man who ruined my life. The question is, are you?” His eyes are intent on mine.

I chew on my bottom lip. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I’ll stop taking the pills, okay? Ask me then what I want.” His eyes are so full of determination that I’m not sure what to think. All I know is that he’s right about one thing: I’m still not free of Archer, and I don’t think I’ll ever be. The worst part is... I don’t know if I want to be. Everything is so damn complicated.

“I don’t know,” I say. “It just doesn’t seem like a good plan. There’s a chance we achieve nothing and get ourselves killed.”

“I promise we won’t do anything to put you or your family in danger,” he says. “But please think about it. It’s our only chance to get close to him. He gave us a perfect excuse since he invited us.”

“He was mocking me.” I roll my eyes.

“I know, but that’s not the point,” he insists. “Or are you still in love with him so you don’t really want revenge?”

“I’m not...” At least I don’t think I am. What Archer and I have is messy and complicated, but it’s not love. How could I ever love a man who threatened to kill my whole family if I exposed him for what he truly is?

Except things are never that easy, and I’d never seen Archer kill anyone. Maybe deep down he wouldn’t really do it. Maybe he’s not just a monster. I’ve seen parts of him that are gentle too. “I do want to be free of him, to stop thinking about him, to stop dreading the moment he might do something... I want that to end.”

“Then you know this is our best shot. We get close to him and find a way to defeat him.” Isaac says determinedly.

“I... I have to think about it.” I support myself on the back of the chair. “But you better get off those pills if you really want me to agree. I need to know it’s you talking and not the pills.”

“Okay, I’ll do it, but we don’t have much time. If Raphael gets arrested, everyone, including Archer, will go into hiding and then it’ll be too late.”

I nod, wondering if his plan could work. It’s dangerous and stupid, but maybe it would be worth it.

“Did you think about it?” Isaac asks as soon as I enter the living room the next day. His eyes are alert, his shoulders straight, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this chipper in the morning.

“Yeah, but I still think it’s a bad idea.” I plop onto the couch.

“Why? Are you afraid?”

“No, I’m not afraid. I just don’t think we’ll achieve anything. Archer is very careful about the way he does things. And people who go to his parties are really tightly connected to him; he doesn’t trust just anyone, so I don’t think we’ll find anyone who could slip some helpful info to take him down. Or even if we want to set someone up to look like they betrayed Archer, I don’t think it would work. Archer would know it was my fault, especially if we just showed up at his party. He’s an asshole, but he’s not stupid.” I clutch a small decorative pillow to my chest.

“I know. That’s why we wouldn’t do anything unless we’re a hundred percent sure it couldn’t be connected to us.” He sits next to me on the couch, and my eyebrows shoot up, but I don’t comment. At least he’s no longer trying to avoid me as much as possible. “And there are little things we could do... We can find ways to steal Archer’s spotlight or his friends. I’m sure new people would be much more interesting to them than him. He’d hate that. Besides, you say he has people he trusts around him and they trust him, but if he introduces you into his circle just like that, his friends might get leery. That could be all we need. He didn’t introduce you to anyone before, did he?”

“No, he didn’t.” A frown creases my brow. “But I wasn’t at any important parties, just the ones with masks, and I’m sure that’s the kind of a party Archer would invite us to. He wouldn’t take us into his inner circle just like that.”

“I know, but we can get there,” he says, and I stare at his handsome face.

“How?”

“You know how. I’m good at what I do.”

“Damn it, Isaac.” I close my eyes for a moment. “You’ve just been freed. The last thing you should want is to go back to people who will abuse you.”

“This would be the first time I’d do it of my own free will,” he says. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle it and I know what I’m doing. It’s just sex. If you think you have to be involved, don’t worry. I won’t touch you and you won’t have to do anything. I’ve been to those parties a lot of times and participated in them. I know there are people who bring their slaves and just watch. It won’t be suspicious. And if you don’t want to have any part in any of it because you’re scared, I get it. I can do everything myself. You just have to take me there.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t make hasty decisions. Archer can still get arrested along with Raphael,” I say.

“You’re crazy if you believe that.” He scoffs. “Archer and Raphael don’t frequent the same places. I know because Archer trained me. I haven’t really seen him much after that.”