No Escape (14 page)

“But where do they come from?” Tessa wanted to know. “Were their lives so terrible that they had to run away to the West Coast?”

“Some of them, yes. But most are simply middle-class teenagers from the Midwest, usually small towns. They have stars in their eyes, they’re ambitious, and they come to big cities like L.A. and New York without the social support structures that would help keep them safe. They’re basically waiting to be victimized.”

“I’ve heard about kidnappings and teenage prostitution in India, Asia, and Africa,” Tessa said. “But we’re talking about California, here. In the twenty-first century.”

“I know it’s difficult to believe,” Beals said. “But there’s actually an organized network to scoop these girls up at the arrival points like bus and train stations, and get them hooked up with other girls their age who are also part of the scam. Then the pimp steps in, provides a loan or a job, and the new girl is indebted. When you add the possibility of meeting important people, or the pimp’s promise to help further whatever showbiz career the girl is interested in, the trap is sprung.”

“Isn’t there any way out? Why can’t girls like Kelly just go home once they realize what’s really going on?” Tessa’s frustration came through in her voice, and Luke put a hand on her leg under the table, letting her know with a gentle squeeze that he was there.

“Because they usually owe their pimp too much. It’s basically indentured servitude. If that isn’t enough to keep the girl, the pimp will often steal her identification and money. And most of the pimps have no problem with using gang rape, violence, and threats against friends and family members to keep particularly difficult girls in line.”

“My God, what kind of people are these pimps?”

“They come in all shapes and sizes,” said Beals. “Some
are better than others. I’m just giving you an overview of what we’ve encountered while working with victims of teenage prostitution rings. Most of them are young, pretty girls from the farm belt. They’re in high demand in the sex trade because of their fair complexions and good manners. On the street they’re called Thoroughbreds. And since many of them come from middle-class families who have no exposure to this kind of life, it’s that much easier to manipulate and humiliate the girls into staying.”

“Because once they’ve been bought and sold, they can’t go back to their old lives?” Luke asked.

“No, often they can’t. The stigma is very real. Rehabilitating teenage prostitutes is one of the most difficult obstacles to breaking up these rings—really, what are the girls going to do with themselves once we close down the operations and arrest the pimps? They are usually high school dropouts and are candidates only for the most menial of jobs. Frankly, they make good money turning tricks.”

“You can’t tell me they stay in it for the money,” Tessa said fiercely.

“No, they stay in the business for a number of reasons. A lack of other opportunities, psychological and physical abuse, low self-esteem, and the lack of legitimate work or the education record needed to get decent-paying jobs. Let’s be honest, Ms. Jacobi. These girls aren’t going to make rent and support themselves in Hollywood by working at Mc-Donald’s. But if they are young and pretty enough, they can make hundreds of dollars a day—tax-free—by turning tricks. It is the single most difficult problem to overcome in getting people out of the sex trade.”

“How do we go from there to organized prostitution like we suspect in Club Red?” Luke asked when it was clear Tessa didn’t have a response.

“The clubs need a constant supply of young, attractive girls who are willing to sell their bodies for money. This includes stripping, being escorts or eye candy, prostitution,
whatever level the particular girls are comfortable with and the customers demand.”

“It was my experience that girls sometimes started with stripping, but as they got more jaded they became less reluctant to do the other things. Kind of like a domino effect,” Luke said.

“It can be, yes. And our psychologists believe that the erosion of the girls’ self-esteem contributes to this process as well. A high-end place like Club Red has a very exclusive clientele, and it would attract the most ambitious of the girls in the trade. It’s actually a street girl’s dream because there might actually be a chance of meeting someone who can get her into a movie or something. If not, the clients are still big spenders, and the girls can maintain the fantasy that they are somehow better than street prostitutes.”

“But would a place like Club Red actually lure girls off the streets and from bus stations in the way you’ve described?” Tessa asked.

“Depends on the operation, but I would think yes. They might pretty up the basic transactions, or equate the whole thing to a girl doing favors for important men in order to get favors in return. But at the core we are talking about prostitution and the commercialization of young women.”

Tessa turned back to McKeltie. “Was the task force looking into anything like this before you left?”

“No,” he said. “We knew we were looking at prostitution and pimping, but had no information that any of the girls were minors. Or that they might be less-than-willing participants. Of course, we knew there were strippers there, but contrary to popular opinion, not all strippers are prostitutes. Most are just making a living.”

“Maybe Kelly’s case is a onetime thing, then.” Tessa shut her notebook. “We should know for sure soon enough.”

“Can I give you a piece of advice, Ms. Jacobi?” McKeltie hesitated.

“Sure, I’m always open to tips.”

“Tread very lightly. The LA nightclub world is very small and incestuous. If you’re asking around, someone is going to hear about it and let Ricky Hedges know. That’s one of the things that initially hamstrung the investigation when I was on the team. We had to be careful about getting information discreetly. We were restricted to dealing with outsiders and paid informants, and that made it very slow going. Similar investigations into clubs elsewhere have gone on for years.”

“But we’ve been asking questions freely, talking to several individuals who are involved in Club Red operations at varying levels,” Tessa said.

“That’s my point. You might want to step back a little, or you could find yourself in the line of fire. These people that you’re dealing with might seem like small-time criminals, but they have just as much interest in protecting their business as the major crime syndicates. That makes them very dangerous.”

“I doubt they’d do anything drastic over a rape investigation—” Tessa began.

“Remember that the club is netting $25 million a year in profits, at least according to the balance sheet you’re holding. That kind of money is worth killing for or dying over to a lot of people. Make sure that you understand that before you go poking into their business, for whatever reason.”

Los Angeles, California

Thursday evening, March 11

T
essa and Luke left the Federal Building with Agent McKeltie’s warning echoing silently between them.

“Any more complaints about wasting our time with meetings?” Luke asked as they walked to his car.

“Nope. I’m just trying to process all the new information.”

“Stop for a second,” Luke said, pulling her to a halt next to his car in the quiet parking garage. “Until I saw the balance sheets, I had no idea of the size of Club Red’s business.”

“Neither did I,” she admitted. “I’d never heard of the place until you told me about it.”

“I don’t like it at all. McKeltie’s right—we’re dealing with a major cash cow. I’m betting the people involved would do anything to protect their setup.”

“I know. I can’t believe the club pulls in that much money and is allowed to continue without some kind of legal intervention.”

“You’re missing the point, Swiss. The situation is more dangerous than I thought, and we’ve been thrashing around
in the dark during our investigation. God knows how many trip wires we’ve activated.”

“So we’ll be more careful. You can’t sit back and do the investigation at a distance when a young girl’s safety is at stake. That’s like trying to swim without getting wet. It’s just not going to happen.”

“Still, I want you to consider taking a break for a while. Let me and MacBeth be the ones to dive in the deep end.”

More amused than angry, Tessa pulled her arm free. “Why? Are you going to use your penis to swim?”

“What?” Luke stared at her.

She stabbed him in the chest with her finger. “Why should you be the ones asking the questions and poking around? This is my case, my problem. If the danger is that acute—and I’m not saying it is—do you think I want it on my conscience that you’re at risk while I sit home and file my nails?”

“Damn it, you’re not being reasonable. MacBeth and I are both former cops. We have concealed weapons permits, and we know how to defend ourselves.”

“That’s typical male talk.” Tessa laughed. “You think because you’re strong and armed and have hang-downs, you can protect yourself if the situation calls for it. You never consider that if you used your brains instead of testosterone, things might never get to that stage.”

“We’re not talking about external genitalia and the battle of the sexes here, we’re discussing a criminal enterprise worth tens of millions of dollars. I don’t want you to get hurt. Think about
my
conscience. Not to mention the fact that your father would hunt me down and cut off my hang-downs if something happened to you.”

Tessa’s lips twitched at Luke’s words. He looked so frustrated and worried. And annoyed. He was really angry at himself for underestimating the scope of Ricky Hedges’s operation. “Your being so concerned about me is the sweetest
thing anyone’s said or done in a long time. But I’m not exactly your average client, so I’m going to do things differently.”

Sweet.
Luke winced. “Don’t I know it.”

“You shouldn’t think of me as a regular client, either. Besides, while I may be in over my head in terms of investigative experience, I’m a really good swimmer.”

“Enough with the water analogies, I’m drowning in them,” Luke said. He could see there was no point in getting upset because Tessa simply didn’t consider the situation to be dangerous to anyone but Kelly.

And she’d promised to help the girl, apparently no matter what the cost.

All he could do was keep Tessa close enough to watch over her. And the added benefit to that plan was the opportunity to explore the chemistry that seemed to be building between them on a daily basis.

He considered it the best possible kind of fringe benefit.

“So we’re agreed that our client-investigator relationship is in no way standard, right?” Luke leaned casually against the side of his car as he spoke.

“Right,” Tessa agreed cautiously. She was a good enough lawyer to understand when a verbal trap was being laid.

“And what would your evaluation of our, ah, relationship be at this point?” Luke asked.

“I think we’re working really well together. I’ll admit, I was spinning my wheels before I met you.”

“Does that mean I’m earning my pay?” he asked, his voice deep and husky enough to send a shiver through her.

Suddenly, she wondered if they were talking about the case at all. She looked away for a moment.

“You seem to have some uses, even if you’re not quite housebroken.” She was trying to lighten the situation with humor, but Luke didn’t smile.

She sighed, knowing she owed him complete honesty after the way he’d dropped everything and taken on a case that was so important to her. “What can I say? You’ve gotten
great information with your contacts—stuff it would have taken me weeks to uncover alone. I can’t begin to thank you enough.”

That seemed to jolt him. “I don’t want your thanks for doing my job.”

“Well, you have them.”

He ran a finger down her soft cheek. “You should be careful. A man would do a lot to have you look at him the way you’re looking at me right now.”

She swallowed hard. “How is that?”

“Like he’s a hero,” Luke said, without looking away from her blue-gray eyes. When the wind pulled several strands of dark blond hair out of the conservative bun she was wearing, he tucked them back behind her ear.

Tessa shifted the strap of her purse farther up on her shoulder, though it had been in no danger of falling. Finally, she said, “I don’t really believe in heroes, but I hope you’ll turn out to be one for Kelly. She needs that very badly.”

“Why? She has you, Tessa.”

She couldn’t speak for a moment as tears burned her eyes. “Now that
is
the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” She placed her hand on Luke’s hard forearm and gently squeezed, wanting to convey how deeply he’d touched her.

“I hope you meant it about not wanting to be treated like a regular client,” Luke said as he pulled her closer. She certainly wasn’t getting his attempts at subtlety.

“Huh?”

“Come here,” he said quietly.

Then he kissed her. Softly, gently, at first. When she didn’t pull back or resist, he slid the tip of his tongue from one corner of her tender smile to the other. Probing for entry but waiting to be asked in.

Tessa let her purse drop to the concrete floor of the parking structure as she put her hands on Luke’s chest and hesitantly leaned closer. She parted her lips and gave him a hint of tongue, just enough so he would have to go looking for
more. As the kiss deepened, she opened her heavy lids and met his hazel gaze. His pupils were dilated, but the blackness only emphasized the intoxicating swirls of gold, green, and blue that made up his eyes.

With a quiet sound of pleasure, she shut her lids, closing out the penetrating gaze that seemed to see right into her soul.

Luke turned slightly, pinning Tessa’s hips between his body and the car. He took her soft cheek in his hand and tilted her head in order to spear his tongue more deeply into her mouth. She made another soft sound, and he was gone.

Settling more deeply into her, he nudged Tessa’s legs apart and pressed his lower body to hers. She drew in a sharp breath through her nose at the sensation, then kissed him more deeply and wrapped her arms around his neck. He took that as encouragement to continue.

Tessa sighed a little as she felt the back hem of her silk blouse being pulled free of the waistband of her business skirt. Luke’s hands felt incredibly warm as they stroked up and down her sensitive spine. Her own fingers clenched in the soft hair at the base of his neck in response.

He brought one of his hands slowly around to the front of Tessa’s body, concealed from view by the vibrant fabric of her top. She hesitated for a moment as he cupped a small, firm breast with tiny nipple already standing at attention underneath the lace of her bra. Her breath rushed out again when Luke shifted and lightly rubbed his hips against hers in an unmistakable message. The hardness of his erection found the perfect spot between her legs, and an audible cry left her lips before she could stop it.

As the passionate sound echoed in the parking garage, Tessa grabbed Luke’s hand to keep it from moving below her waist. She was breathing hard when she freed her mouth from his drugging kisses.

“Fun’s fun, but I don’t do PDAs.” She wriggled subtly to
get free of his weight. “Besides, I don’t think my father—who is currently paying your salary—would approve.”

Luke gave her a hard look. After taking a moment to control himself, he realized that Tessa was afraid of him, or at least of what he made her feel. That’s why she was stepping back and throwing in his face the fact that her father was technically his boss.

It was almost as if she were trying to remind herself that men couldn’t be trusted by invoking the name of her father—the first man to betray her. Luke had no intention of hurting her, but Tessa didn’t know him well enough to believe that or even understand what it meant. His Swiss was quite an enigma, but since he understood the deeply rooted pain and suspicion behind her behavior, it was easier to let her words go.

No matter how hard she tried to piss him off.

Luke ignored her discreet struggles and leaned in for another thorough kiss. Then he stepped back to address her comment.

“I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t try to kiss your father, then.”

With her mind spinning, a low laugh escaped Tessa at that thought. Then she stilled as Luke took her chin in his hand again. She thought he was going to kiss her once more, but instead he stroked his thumb over the lower lip she’d just bitten to stifle her laughter.

“I know you’re uncomfortable with the attraction between us, Swiss. And I know you haven’t had a lot of reason to trust the men in your life.”

Her chin came up at that. She wasn’t sure what he and her father had discussed, but it seemed Luke was aware of the effects the emotional baggage between her and Paul Jacobi had had on the rest of her life.

She looked away from him as he waited for a response. “I can’t throw away a lifetime of hard lessons because you
want to get me in the sack.” She forced herself to say it lightly, as if the whole subject didn’t really matter to her.

“I’m not asking you to. But you should know that I’m on
your
side, no matter who’s signing the checks. Think about that, Tessa.”

She opened her mouth to respond, then paused as he rubbed his thumb along her lip again. “And think about what I said regarding your safety. If you want to continue being involved in every aspect of the investigation, you’re going to have to compromise.”

“How?”

“By letting me put a man outside your house for protection. Or coming to stay with me,” he added.

“Since you just had your tongue halfway down my throat, you’ll forgive me if I find that suggestion self-serving.” She bit at his finger to get him to release her. “Besides, I’m the one who has to approve expense accounts. I can’t authorize twenty-four-seven charges for the president of the company.”

“Even if I’m worth it?”

God, he certainly is,
Tessa thought. “Even then. But I appreciate the concern.” She listened to his gusty sigh of frustration. “Tell you what—in the spirit of compromise, I’ll ask Ed what he thinks. If he says it’s a reasonable idea, I’ll let you put surveillance on my apartment, and I won’t fight you about it again, okay?”

Luke was smart enough to recognize an olive branch when it was offered to him. So he took it, hoping he could use circumstances and their mutual attraction to talk her into his home soon. Very soon.

He didn’t like the idea of her sleeping alone at night for a lot of reasons. And not all of them were selfish.