“
I have to try, Pete. I
owe her the chance. I owe it to Daniel.”
“
You were a good mother,
Liz. You did everything in your power to give Daniel a good home.
Daniel made some bad choices and got sucked in too deep for you to
pull him out. You’ve got to quit blaming yourself for his
death.”
“
I know, and I hear you.
But my heart refuses to listen. It’s shattered and the only way to
patch it up is to help that poor girl. She never had a chance, and
I have the resources to give her that chance. Daniel’s death
is—well if he hadn’t died, I never would have known she existed.
It’s nothing short of a miracle that you were able to follow the
trail and find her.”
“
Nothing is impossible for
the Savalli’s, it’s the one perk—” Pete’s voice faltered. Bringing
up his family wasn’t a good idea. It’s what ripped them apart
fifty-five years ago.
Twenty-Three
The July evening was
airless, but pleasant, as Katie leaned against a lamp post on
Sonoma Boulevard. She displayed her flirtiest smile as a black,
convertible Porsche Boxster slowed in front of her.
Damn, that’s a nice car.
Katie gave the other girls an admonishing look as she
approached the car that was now pulled to a stop against the curb.
She leaned over the window, making sure her cleavage was showing
just enough to entice. “Hi there, looking for some company
tonight?” Katie asked as she looked over the fine red leather
interior of the car. She didn’t care what the stranger looked
like—she just knew she wanted to drive away in this spectacular
car. She would make sure he was a repeat customer, so she could
enjoy an occasional spin in such an elegant machine.
Katie had learned to use her body to
please men. She enjoyed the control she possessed over their
bodies. She could easily arouse a man with a look or kiss and have
them begging and promising her the world if she would quench their
unbearable hunger. She decided men were desperate fools, who would
do anything for her—except what she wanted and needed most—escape
from a controlling and dangerous pimp.
“
Yeah, I’m looking for
some company tonight. Hop in,” the stranger replied, breaking
Katie’s reverie.
***
Pete Savalli was certain the girl
sliding into the passenger seat was Katie. He only had to study the
photographs once before the empty green eyes haunted his sleep. She
was just a girl. Her large almond shaped eyes were similar to
Elizabeth’s, but darker. Where Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled with life,
this young girl’s eyes revealed pain.
“
Nice car,” Katie said.
The seat was cool and soft on her back and legs and the smell of
new leather filled her nose. Her eyes skimmed over the plethora of
buttons below the navigation screen and she fought the urge to push
every one.
“
Want to find some music?”
Pete asked.
“
Uh, no. I’m okay.” Katie
stuttered.
Pete pushed a button,
turning on the radio and showed Katie how to browse through the
channels and genres. The kind gesture spiked Katie’s curiosity and
she finally looked at the strangers face. He was a handsome older
man. He looked to be in his fifties. Shades of gray streaked his
dark hair that swirled around his face from the wind. He was
wearing jeans and a tight charcoal T-shirt. Katie let her eyes roam
over his muscular chest and arms.
He takes
good care of himself. I wonder what he does for a living.
Katie flipped through the stations and landed on
“Crash Into Me” by Dave Matthews. She relaxed back into her seat
and let her eyes close. “What’s your name?”
“
Pete. What’s
yours?”
“
Katie. You seem nervous,
Pete. Is this a new experience for you?”
“
Uh, yes. Definitely a new
experience.” Pete gripped the steering wheel and looked at the
navigation system, revealing his next turn.
“
I’ll be gentle with you.”
Katie grinned and watched his body tense from her words.
Katie found herself talking nonstop on
the long drive. She hadn’t held a decent conversation with anyone
in so long and found it refreshing to talk about anything other
than drugs, money, and sex.
“
Have you been to an
Opera?” Katie asked.
“
Yes, several.
You?”
“
No.” Katie frowned. “But
I want to see
Madame Butterfly
one day.”
Talking to Pete distracted her during
the drive, making her feel like a normal girl. She hadn’t realized
that they had been driving for nearly forty-five minutes when the
GPS instructed them of their arrival on the left.
When the car pulled into a long gated
driveway, Katie was filled with uneasiness. “Is this your home? You
can’t take me home—I’m not a pet—take me to a hotel!” Katie
scowled. One rule she always followed was to never get personal
with a client. She had gotten her hopes up too many times that one
would fall in love with her and help her escape, only to be
disappointed, and usually beaten for staying gone too long. Home
was definitely personal.
“
Don’t worry, it’s
not
my
house.”
Katie sensed something was
off, but she wasn’t sure what. He looked nervous, and she let her
mind decide on the reason.
He’s probably
one of those serial killers who want to clean up the dirty streets.
He’s going to take me into the basement and chop me into
pieces!
Katie felt panicked as she thought
of all the tortuous ways he was going to kill her.
Whatever, Katie, you’d be better off dead anyway.
You’re always begging for your clients to help you flee the hell
you’re living in, well here it is—death.
Katie tried to calm her racing heart
by taking deep breaths. She welcomed the peacefulness of death, but
couldn’t prevent the fear from slinking through her spine causing
her to tremble.
“
What’s wrong?” Pete asked
with a concerned look.
“
You’re one of those
serial killers that prey on prostitutes!” Katie pointed her finger
at Pete.
“
What?
Why do you think I’m going to kill you?” Pete tried to stifle
the smile that played at his lips.
Katie studied his face and
wondered what she had done to be so inauspicious.
I finally find a client that I like and he’s
planning on killing me. Seriously? Who on earth is that
unlucky?
“
First of all, your car,
clothes, and I assume house are perfect—a dead giveaway that you’re
a control freak and probably have a serious case of OCD. You’re too
rich to have to buy a woman’s company, which means you only have
one agenda—to rid the world of as much dirt as you can. You
will
get caught, you
know, and you’ll get the electric chair!” Katie found herself
rambling due to her increasing fear, not so much of death but pain.
“Not that I care if you kill me. What’ve I got—?”
“
Whoa!” Pete put his hand
up. “I’m not going to kill you. I’m curious though, why do you
welcome death so willingly?”
“
Are you serious right
now? I’m sold to strangers for money that I’ll
never
see. I’m completely controlled
by the most evil man I’ve ever known, and will never be happy, or
free, to do what
I
want to do. Once you wake up in a pool of your own blood,
unable to open your eyes because they’re swollen shut, you start to
feel a little defeated.” The sarcasm oozed out of Katie’s mouth
like lava. “Anything is better than this . . . even death.” Katie
sat stunned over the fact that she’d just poured out her soul to a
stranger. Looking down, she traced the floor mat with her
eyes.
Pete’s gut ached, like he had just
been sucker punched. He wanted to pull this beautiful, fragile girl
into his chest and tell her everything was going to be okay. He
wanted to tell her that the life she had been forced into would
soon be over and she would know what freedom felt like. He had
never known anyone who loved as deeply as Elizabeth did—with her
entire being, no holding back. If anyone had a chance at helping
this girl, it was Elizabeth.
Pete exhaled slowly. “There’s no need
to fear me, Katie. I don’t have obsessive-compulsive disorder. And
you’re right, I’ve never paid for a date. I was asked to find you
and deliver you to a dear friend of mine. We’ll stay here tonight,
and fly out in the morning. Once we arrive, you will have all the
answers you need—and there is no death involved, I
promise.”
“
Wait! What do you mean
you picked me up for someone else? That’s not my game, mister—I
know I don’t have any control over my life, but I
do
get to choose who I
go home with. I am
not
walking through those doors. Take me back, right now!” Katie
folded her arms in front of her chest.
“
No, no. It’s not a male
friend, it’s—”
Katie cut him off. “Holy shit! A wife
of one of my clients? You can’t throw me to the wolves!” The worry
lines reappeared over Katie’s eyebrows. “Please, take me
back.”
Pete’s heart sank as he searched
Katie’s green eyes. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen. “It’s
not an angry wife, it’s your grandmother.”
Katie looked at him in disbelief. She
thought she knew what evil men looked like, but she had never
witnessed anyone as evil as Pete. How could he play on her fears,
pretend to be concerned, and then lie just to get her into that
house where an angry—and probably violent—wife of one of her
clients lived. “I don’t have a grandmother.” Katie’s words came out
staccato. “My grandparents on both sides are dead. Who the hell do
you think you are?” Katie got out of the car and started walking
down the driveway toward the street.
Pete slammed his fists on the steering
wheel before climbing out of the car and catching up to Katie.
“Stop. Where are you going to go? Back to that hell?”
Katie whirled around to
glare at Pete. “Who are you
really
? Do you work for James? Did
he put you up to this? Or did the Higgins send you—?”
“
Whoa! Stop blabbering
like a fool. I told you who I was and who sent me. I don’t know
James, but I do know all about the Higgins and you no longer have
to worry about them—they’ve been taken care of.”
“
You killed them?” Katie
questioned matter-of-factly.
“
You don’t seem too
brokenhearted about it.” Pete wondered what kind of hell a young
girl would have to go through to not flinch after learning of a
murder. He had seen plenty, and had become immune to any feelings
associated with death, but he was a man that had grown up seeing
death all around him. “No, I didn’t kill them. They’re alive and
well. Actually, I wouldn’t say they’re well, but they
are
alive. The police
should be finding evidence of meth production and distribution
right about . . .” Pete looked at his watch and smiled,
“now.”
“
Nice.” Katie nodded her
head. “So, you’re what—a crooked cop? Oh, I know! You’re
mafia.”
“
There’s no such thing as
the mafia, kid. You’ve got quite an imagination. I’m not a crooked
cop either, just a guy helping a good friend.”
Katie rested her fists on her hips.
“No such thing as the mafia, whatever. I happen to know for a fact
that—”
“
Shh.” Pete held a finger
to his lips, making her feel like she was in on a big
secret.
“
James won’t go for me
being gone overnight. He’ll kill me this time. I know he
will.”
Pete scowled. “You don’t have to worry
about James anymore. You don’t ever have to go back there. You have
a grandmother that loves you and wants you to have a happy life. Of
course, it’s your choice—I’ll take you back if you prefer. But I
should tell you, she’s a magnificent lady, full of life and
love.”
“
I don’t know, I’m
scared.” Katie chewed on her fingernails. “James will find me. He
has connections and he always finds me. When he does—death would be
a kindness compared to what he did last time.”
Pete knew he couldn’t say or do
anything to make her trust him, but he had to try. “I know you
don’t have any reason to trust me, so you’re just going to have to
trust your gut. If you say things are so bad with James, sounds to
me like your alternatives couldn’t get much worse.” He shrugged his
shoulders and waited for her decision.
“
Okay, I’ll go with you.
But if things don’t work out, I’m on my own—I’ll
never
come back to
California.”
Katie followed Pete to the front door
of a massive European style home.
“
Good evening, please,
come in.” A lady with shoulder length auburn hair smiled. They
stood in a large foyer with white marble floors and a table that
held a massive bouquet of flowers. “I’ve got rooms ready for both
of you upstairs. Would you like something to eat first? I’ve
prepared sandwiches in the kitchen.”
“
No thanks, I’m fine,”
Katie answered. Her stomach growled loudly in defiance, causing the
lady to smile.