Lena nodded absently then stared out the window. Delia knew she wouldn’t be able to get any information out of her. Something had really shaken her up. “So, where do you live?”
Lena’s eyes expanded. “I can’t go home right now, Ms. Clark. I can’t let Levi see me like this. He’ll worry. Can I go to your place?”
“Yeah, sure.
But I have to at least call your parents to let them know where you are.”
“My dad is in Atlanta on business and my mom went shopping in France six years ago and never came back. No one cares about me except Levi and he thinks I’m at Angie’s house.” Lena stared out of the window as she said this so it was difficult for Delia to read her emotions. One thing was for certain, though. Whatever Lena had been through was added to a long list of heartache.
Amanda
Landgren
, daughter of real estate developer Irving
Landgren
and sister of Saxon Arms student Ian
Landgren
, wasn’t always a ruthless, greedy bitch. It just worked out that way. She was the youngest of five girls born to her mother, Margaret. Then, when Amanda was fourteen, Irving divorced her mother and married the much younger and much dumber, Elizabeth. Their unholy union spawned Ian. Ian
Landgren
may have been her brother, but he definitely hadn’t inherited any genes of intelligence. He was too much like his blond bimbo of a mother.
Amanda excelled in school, but never found the approval she needed from her father. She was virtually ignored, as were the rest of her sisters while Ian was lavished with attention. It was like Ian was more worthy of love just because he was born a boy. Ian was even promised the family business. Amanda was determined to be successful in her own right and prove to her father that he had misjudged his children. She wanted to prove that she was the worthy one, not Ian.
After Amanda graduated from George Washington University Summa Cum Laude with a degree in business, she got a job at her alma mater as an admissions officer until she decided how she could excel in the business world and possibly even put her own father out of business.
That was when the greed in Amanda began to grow. She saw everything as an opportunity to earn a dollar. By the time she was twenty, she had a stock portfolio well over five million dollars. But it wasn’t enough for her. She not only wanted money, she wanted power and influence. And more than anything she wanted power and influence over men.
She started looking into human relationships. What was the common denominator between all humans, especially between men and women? When did a woman have more power than a man? The answer: sex. Men, almost all men, could be manipulated in the bedroom. That was when she came up with the idea for Promise Stone, a high class, elite prostitution ring that catered to high powered men. Once they were invested in her business, she would have the power to control their careers or threaten exposure of their escapades.
Her business was a complete success. Her clientele included some of the most powerful men in Washington D.C. Through some under the table deals with government officials and zoning boards, she was able to sabotage several of her father’s building ventures.
After a few years, however, she noticed a disturbing trend. Her clients wanted girls that were younger and younger. And not just any girls, they wanted girls from the upper echelon of society. She had to completely rethink her business model.
By this time, her idiot brother was in high school. As a student at Saxon Arms, he was surrounded by the girls of the perfect age and stature. She had to figure out a way to get Ian to introduce her to some of these girls and somehow figure out a way to turn them into prostitutes. It sounded like an impossible idea, but she was determined.
She came up with the perfect type of girl. She had to be impressionable and vulnerable. She also thought that if the girl was perhaps struggling academically, she could trap her into a cheating scandal then force her into prostitution.
The plan worked great for a while, but it was getting more and more difficult to cheat successfully in the private school system. Ian wasn’t much of a help with the cheating since he was a moron. But one day, he spoke of another student that was a bit more technologically savvy. C.J. was a perfect addition to the program. He was brilliant, but kept his intelligence clandestine so as to maintain his status with the popular students. Little did she know that C.J. would be the downfall of Promise
Stone.
***
After a long day at work, in which she had tried unsuccessfully to probe the truth out of Lena and tried unsuccessfully to seem normal and relaxed around C.J., Delia trudged up the stairs of her building seeking the comfort and solace of her apartment. But her fortress had been violated by a mysterious note in her door.
Another mysterious note.
She had been finding them everywhere, on her windshield, in her mailbox at work, even in her purse.
Hands shaking, she opened it and read its contents.
Since you love numbers so much check these out:
17 + 25 = 5 to 10 in prison
Delia looked around as if the author of the note could still be lurking nearby. She shivered at the thought then hurriedly entered her apartment. It was obvious someone knew about her and Chase. She threw her workbag and purse on the bed and began pacing the floor. She wondered if the notes had something to do with her attack. Were they perpetrated by the same individuals? If so, what did they want from her? She thought about calling the police and showing them the notes, but then she would have to admit to an affair with a teenager. She wasn’t ready to do that.
Then an odd thought raced through her mind. Maybe it was Jason. Maybe he was somehow trying to blackmail her into getting back together with him. But that didn’t make any sense. Why would he be so determined to have her? He could have any woman he wanted. As a matter of fact, he practically did have every woman he wanted. What did he want with her?
Shaking off that bizarre idea, Delia massaged the center of her forehead right between the eyes. She was starting to get a headache. There had to be a logical explanation for all of this and a way to get out of danger without going to jail.
Delia was so lost in thought trying to make sense of everything that she nearly tripped over her own feet when the phone rang.
“I trust you got my message,” the digitized voice on the phone said.
“What do you want from me?”
“We just want you to know that no matter what Lena told you about
us,
it would be in your best interest to not go to the police.”
Delia swallowed hard and remained silent. Should she tell them that Lena hadn’t told her anything? She wondered if that would make the situation worse. Then they would have the upper hand.
“We know how much you enjoy your students,” the eerie dehumanized voice continued. “You keep our secrets, we’ll keep yours. Or you might face a fate worse than jail.” Then it hung up, leaving Delia in a terrified silence.
Delia sat in front of her computer in her living/bed room trying to get work done. She had gotten so behind lately since all her thoughts were filled with Lena, C.J./Chase, Principal Howard,
attacks
in the dark, cryptic messages, and threatening phone calls. Plus, Jason had been calling nonstop for the past week and a half. She still couldn’t figure out what he wanted with her. Why did he want to get back together all of the sudden?
She looked at the clock. Seven forty-five. Jason said he would be dropping by at eight, which probably meant more like nine. Still, she wanted to be ready. She dressed in her flannel cloud pajamas knowing that would annoy her future ex. Once, during their marriage, he had gone through her closet and thrown out all of her comfortable sleepwear, leaving only silk or satin gowns, refusing to share a bed with someone who didn’t dress to his standards. Wearing her comfy cloud pajamas was a sign or defiance and independence that she hoped he noticed.
Yet in still, Jason James could be pretty convincing. She considered calling Donna Lee for reinforcement. She needed someone to bring her back to her senses if she started to consider
a reconciliation
. In her mind, she knew that things would never change with Jason, but he was the king of manipulation and persuasion. She didn’t know if she would be able to hold out for too long.
And then there was the issue with Chase/C.J. She still wasn’t quite over him.
Part of her loved Chase, but an equal part of her feared C.J.
She was just too confused to make any decisions. Did her love for Chase even matter since he was underage? She could wait for him. She could wait until he turned eighteen and graduated high school.
Delia shook off the thought. She was being absurd. Chase was a child.
A child who had lied to her on several occasions and who was obviously involved in criminal activity.
A child who had a violent streak that she was starting to fear.
Jason might have been a philandering sex addict but she never had to physically fear him.
She picked up her phone and started dialing Donna Lee to pass the time when she heard a knock on the door.
“Hi,” Chase said shyly. “I brought you some flowers. The Tetra lily has a green throat that reminds me of your eyes.” He pulled the flowers from behind his back and handed them to the stunned Delia. Her eyes felt glued open as she took in his blue, old-fashioned suit jacket and fedora tilted to the side. He looked like he’d stepped off a Sinatra Album cover. Her plan to bring out the real Chase must have worked after all. “Can I come in?” he asked when she didn’t say anything.
“Um, I’m expecting someone.”
“This won’t take long. I promise. I just really need to get some things off my chest.”
She still had almost an hour before she expected Jason so she stepped aside and let him enter.
Chase removed his hat and placed it to his chest. “I know I haven’t been completely honest with you in the time that we’ve known each other. I wish I could go back in time and just start from the beginning, but I can’t. I wish I could tell you everything now, but I can’t.
“All I can tell you, Delia, is that I love you.” He stopped pacing and stared into her eyes. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life. I love so much it’s hard for me to think of anything but holding you in my arms again. And what I’m asking is that you trust me. Just close your eyes and leap. I promise I’ll catch you and that everything will be fine.”
Delia felt herself melt inside. This was unbelievable. It was the type of speech every woman wanted to hear from a man. But what was it that he wasn’t telling her? What was she leaping into?
Questions circled inside her head as Chase tossed his hat then gathered her in his arms and seized her mouth with an unbearably intense kiss.
“Chase, how am I supposed to trust you?” She panted when he let her up for air.
He cupped her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. “Look at me. You know me, Delia. Can’t you feel that this is right?”
Delia only felt confused. She needed answers. “What’s Promise Stone?”
“How do you know about that?” Chase let go of her and stepped back, a fear in his eyes she had never seen before.
“Am I interrupting something?” Jason asked from the doorway.
Chase turned away, visibly angry at Jason’s presence, then made
himself
comfortable in Delia’s only lounge chair.