The Beginning of Us (15 page)

I push everything out of my head as I knock on the door of the hotel room. When the door opens I breathe a sigh of relief that this one doesn’t look like a total creeper. I don’t mind him being a repeat because he’s is kind of hot and actually knows what he is doing. “I already have your sheet, so let’s get started.”

He just nods his head at me and goes to sit on the bed, which is weird because usually they are much more enthusiastic. When I walk over to stand in front of him his hands don’t land on my hips, his eyes don’t roam over my body, something is up. Even though I can’t shake this feeling, I still need to do what I came here to do.

“Do you have the money?” I got a text from Tasha saying the client was late and just wanted to give me the money when I got to the hotel.

He nods and reaches into his back pocket, for a second my heart races but when he pulls out an envelope I relax. I have never had to ask the clients for the money, it usually just goes through Damon or Tasha. I take the envelope walking over to my purse. As I start to turn around my wrists are clasped behind my back. I feel metal snap around them and start to struggle.

He has a firm grip on me, though, so I can’t move an inch.
“Jessica Evans, you are being arrested for solicitation of prostitution. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”

I can’t respond. Arrested? Tears start to roll down my face. My life is over.

“Ma’am
Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”

I nod my head incapable of speaking. All of this was for nothing. Even if I ever finish my degree, I can never become a teacher with this on my record. As he is pushing my head down and guiding me into the squad car everything comes crashing down on me.

The entire drive was a blur mainly because I’m crying so much that I can’t see. I go through the process of fingerprinting, and taking my mug shot. Then they stick me in this tiny ass room and leave.

I’m sitting in the interrogation room facing a mirror that I know has people on the other side of it. People who are staring at me. Judging me. My hands are still cuffed and I’m sitting in an uncomfortable metal chair. When they brought me in here I asked if they could leave my hands cuffed but move them in the front of me and they did. The only other thing in the room is the metal table I’m sitting at and the voice recorder in the middle of it. I bury my head in my arms wishing that this is all just some bad dream.

I hear the door open but I don’t look up. I don’t want to face the person in here that is going to ask me questions about how I have sex with strangers for money.

“Jessie.”

My head snaps up. I see the last person I ever expected to.

Damon.

Chapter Twenty Two

“Damon?” My initially happiness at seeing him, turns into confusion. What the hell is he doing here? And why is he not in handcuffs?

“I’m so fucking sorry.”

Sorry? “What are you doing here? Why are you not in handcuffs?”

“Just let me explain, please. I never meant for this to happen. For us to happen. I couldn’t stay away from you, though. I told myself all along how stupid it was to get involved with you.”

I stand up so fast that the chair I was sitting on crashes to the floor. Two officers come running into the room. Damon turns toward them. “I have it.”

“Sir – ”

“I said I have it.” His voice is so loud and commanding. The two of them leave the room and close the door.

Why would they let him give them orders? Oh. My. God. I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?” He doesn’t answer me. I step closer to him. “Did you fucking set me up?!” Again he says nothing. I kick him in his shin, and he grabs it. “Answer me!”

The two officers come running in once again, and pull me away from Damon. He straightens himself once again. He looks over at the intruders. “Get out, and you tell the next person who even thinks of coming in here that they will be on desk duty until they fucking retire!”

Once they leave and the door is closed one looks back at me. Damon takes a step toward me, but I back track. “Don’t you fucking come near me.”

“Jessie, you have to let me explain!”

“I don’t have to let you do shit! You fucking lied to me! You led me on!” Everything was a lie. “I can’t believe this. Was this your plan all along? Get close to one of the hookers and get the inside details?”

“Jess, you know it wasn’t like that.” He steps toward me again but I move to the side.

“I don’t know shit! Everything I know was just ripped away from me! I hate you!”

This time when Damon comes toward me I have nowhere to go. I’ve backed myself into a corner and I can’t get away from him. “Don’t say that.” He runs his hands through his hair. “I fucking love you, Jess.”

Before I can tell him to go fuck himself he kisses me. I pull back gently. “Damon.” He looks at me and I see hope in his eyes. I clasp both of my hands together making a fist and shove it up, knocking him right in the jaw.

“Fuck!” There is blood running from his mouth and now the room is filled with officers. They drag me toward the door; the entire time my eyes are focused on Damon.

I get stuck in a holding cell, but I refuse to cry while I’m here. Now that I understand how I got here, I will not let them see me like that. A few hours pass and another officer comes to get me. They lead me to another room like the one I had been in before. The officer follows me in and sits across from me. They must have learned their lesson by allowing Damon to be in here with me.

“Miss Evans, we are prepared to offer you a plea deal.” A deal? “In exchange for your cooperation, we are willing to drop the prostitution charges.” My mouth drops open. Drop all the charges? “Officer Lanutti is not going to be pursuing assault charges either.”

Lanutti? Shit, I don’t even know Damon’s real name, do I? “What do I need to do?”

“You will need to give a written statement and also testify when the trial comes.”

***

It takes almost three hours for them to finish taking my statement. I called Lo about twenty minutes ago and she said that she would be outside. She didn’t even ask me why I was at the police station, that is a good friend. I’m almost at the exit of the police station when I hear someone calling my name.

I turn around to see Damon coming toward me and I break out into a sprint. I jump into Lo’s car. “Drive!”

She floors it like we are in some bad movie. “What the hell was that all about, Jessie? And why the hell were you at the police station?”

“I’ll tell you everything once we get home, first I need to stop at the liquor store.”

After grabbing three bottles of my favorite mango rum, I spill my guts to Lo. For once she is actually speechless. “I don’t even know what to say, girl. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah. On top of everything, now I have absolutely no way to pay for school.”

She shakes her head no as she takes a swig of the rum. Being the classy bitches we are, we didn’t even bother to get glasses. “We are going to head out to that bar, Sammy’s. I know one of the girls who works there and she just told me that they are hiring. Between the both of us we will be able to make enough, especially with our tits.”

We both start hysterically laughing, which feels so much better then crying. I’m not kidding myself though, I know once the alcohol wears off the depression will set in. We have finished off two of the bottles already. I am definitely going to be hurting in the morning. I hear a knock at the door. The alcohol has really sunk in and I have to use the couch to help me stand up.

“It’s fucking late! Whoever you are, you better be hot!” I open the door almost falling to the side when it swings. Once my eyes focus, I see Damon, or whatever the hell his name is, looking at me. “You have a lot of fucking nerve coming here!”

“Are you drunk?”

How dare he fucking judge me right now. “That’s none of your damn business. Nothing I do is your business anymore!”

“Jessie, please just—”

“You need to leave!” I look behind me to see Lo standing there with a frying pan above her head. I laugh at the way she is standing ready to whack him over the head.

I turn back toward Damon. “Forget my number. Forget my address. Most importantly, forget me.” I slam the door closed and turn to Lo. “You have watched too many episodes of Tom and Jerry.” I start to walk back toward the living room. “What were you gonna do fry an egg on his head?”

We both start laughing. As Lo is walking to sit next to me she trips, drops the pan, and it smacks me right in the face.

“Fuck!” I grab my face. “I take it back. That is definitely a good fucking weapon.”

***

Everything hurts. My head, my stomach, and all of my muscles ache. Most of all, my face hurts. I stumble into the bathroom, feeling like I’m still drunk and not even in the hungover phase. When I look up at the mirror I scream.

The door to Lo’s room flies open. “You okay?” She takes one look at me and slaps her hand over her mouth. “Holy shit.”

“I swear, I’m going to kill you!” I lunge for her and she slams the door shut, locking it. “You’re lucky I love you! Bitch!”

I stand back in front of the mirror knowing it’s not even worth trying to cover up the enormous black bruise that is occupying half of my face. This has cemented the fact that I am not leaving my bed all day. I crawl under the covers pulling them over my head.

As I lay there, all I can think about is Damon. His eyes, the way he used to hold me, the way that his hands felt as they roamed over my body. The part that hurts the most is I remember the way he made me feel. He made me feel safe, and secure for the first time in the longest time. He made me trust him and then he ripped it away. That is what caused my heart to shatter yesterday; it’s what makes me want to hide myself from anyone that ever gets close.

I let myself cry for the first time since I left the station yesterday. I am not just talking a regular cry either. I am talking a sobbing, snot dripping, ugly as sin cry. I feel the bed dip next to me and Lo puts her arms around me. She gives me a hug and I know that she is the only person I can ever count on. I don’t know how long I lay there grieving for the relationship that I thought I had finally found, but by the time I’m done my throat is so raw that I sound like a voice scrambler.

Lo stands up. “Okay, get up.” I look up at her and groan. “Nope, this pitiful little bitch shit needs to be over now. You are Jessica Fucking Evans. You do not need him or his dick. I will buy you a fucking rabbit if that helps you get through the night! He is a piece of shit, and isn’t worth you beating yourself up over.”

I know she is right. I know I need to pick myself up and brush this shit away, but it is so much harder than that. Damon opened up a part of me that I had closed off for years, and now I didn’t know what to do with that girl. She is emotional, and loving, and everything that I don’t want to be right now. I need to be the bitch that he first met, the one who didn’t need anyone in her life. Can I be that girl again though?

Chapter Twenty Three

Today is the day. It is time for me to testify and to say I’m nervous is a huge understatement. I have dreaded this day for the last six months. Not only do I need to betray people I considered family, but I know that I will have to face Damon again. He has been calling, texting, and showing up to see me at least a few times a week. It got so hard for me to ignore him that with the adamant insistence of Lo, I got a restraining order. Apparently his real name is Nicholas Lanutti, and the officers were really rude when they realized the order was against one of their own. That was three months ago and I haven’t seen him since. I was notified that since we were both required to be here that for the trial the restraining order could not be in effect.

When I take the stand, I stutter and stumble through my entire testimony. I am so damn nervous and I can feel Tasha’s eyes burning holes through me. She was charged with a lot of prostitution charges and apparently they got her on money laundering too.

The prosecution part was easy they just ask me my role, what I knew about the organization and who ran it. When the defense comes up though, it is a completely different story.

“Miss Evans, can you tell me about your relationship with Detective Lanutti?”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I will not cry. “We um…we had been in a relationship.”

“You had?” I nod my head afraid of the path this questioning is going to take. “Did Mr. Lanutti ever warn you of what would be happening? Is that why you received the plea deal that you did? Were you working with him the whole—”

“Your honor. Can she answer one question before she gets three more?” the prosecutor objects and I use the interruption to collect my thoughts.

“Did Mr. Lanutti ever warn you of what would be happening?”

“No. I had no idea until I saw him at the police station when I was arrested.” I will not cry.

“Were you helping Mr. Lanutti and, in turn, entrapping Miss Bennett?”

I look over at Tasha. Entrapping her? “No. I was just as surprised as everyone else.”

The defense attorney keeps asking me questions making me want to curl up into the fetal position in the middle of the courtroom. Rehashing my entire time spent with Damon is agonizing, especially since I am doing it in a crowded room.

When my testimony is over and they say that they do not require me to come back, I thank God. The whole time I was up there I didn’t need to look around the room to see if he was there, I could feel him.

As I walk out of the courthouse I see Lo in her car waiting for me. I am only about ten feet away when someone grabs my hand. I know who it is before I even turn around. “You are not allowed to have contact with me.” I avoid his eyes not wanting to get sucked into him.

“Jessie, please talk to me. You don’t understand the hell I have been in since you left.”