Chapter 2 HANDSOME STRANGER
AMELIA
Three years, four cities and eleven names later, my husband still hasn't found me.
Currently I am Cara Mike in a rented apartment, in a not so good apartment building. Thankfully, my landlord didn't ask too many questions due to the fact that I gave him a lot of cash for just three months.
But I wouldn't even stay here for too long, I needed to move again.
I had a strategy and it was simple, that's why it worked. Befriend random women, get them to trust me and three to five days later I'd gain access to their bags when they took a call or went to the bathroom, take a picture of their ID and social security if it's there and leave.
Use their information to open little credit cards.
I wasn't a full blown criminal so I made sure to only spend their money on necessities like food, groceries, bus tickets until I find my next victim or move to the next city. As for the men, they were easier to get a hold of but that was through not so simple means. Sex means nothing to me now if it meant me staying far away from the monster who was still legally my husband.
I walked into a coffee shop next to my building, in search of my next victim. I had spotted a few of Ermannos' men at a mall a few days ago and was thankfully able to flee before they spotted me.
I saw a woman reading a book who looked like she might need some company.
Perfect.
“Is that any good?” I nodded at her book, taking a seat at the table next to her.
She looked up with an expression which suggested that she indeed has been looking for a friend to talk to about her book. “honestly? I've read the same page four times.”
I smiled warmly to make her feel I was all ears to whatever she had to say when in reality I didn't really care.
I'm sorry.
“Cara.” I lied through my teeth, extending my hand towards her.
“Sophie.”
Three days later I knew her coffee order, ex boyfriend, messy friendship breakups, where she worked and her favorite food.
On the fourth day, she got up to go use the bathroom and that was my time.
“Excuse me.” She practically ran to the bathroom.
Quickly, I grabbed her bag and took a picture of everything I needed when suddenly a little red card caught my eye.
Picking it up, the card read “Obsidian. Members only.”
It was an exclusive sex club which was hosting a masked event on Saturday. Sophie didn't look like the type to indulge in such but then, it's never good to judge a book by its cover.
I had no business with it but I had spent over three years doing nothing but running. The world of pleasure was something I had always loved until Ermanno ruined that for me. So this might be a good idea.
“Just this once.” I told myself, slipping the card into my pocket.
The dress I bought was the most expensive purchase I had made my entire life. But I couldn't walk in there looking shabby, especially if I wanted to meet a man whose identity could pay for my next few months.
Slipping on the gold mask, I looked at myself and my face was perfectly hidden.
Perfect.
The club was underground with just a simple staircase and a man in a black suit at the entrance.
“ID?”
I handed over Sophie's card which he scanned before letting me through.
I shivered in excitement at what I would see behind those doors. At the bottom of the stairs was a set of double doors which opened automatically.
The first time I noticed were women in barely anything walking around. Some with partners and others without. Some were leashed and crawling alongside their masters.
The further I walked the more the music got louder. Just as I reached the main event section, I noticed a hallway which had glass rooms on either side and I could see people having sex in different positions with different equipment.
A whimper escaped me at the sight.
Focus!
I turned away and walked into the main club.
“Can I have a small glass of something not too strong?” I said to the bartender.
With a friendly smile he said, “I got you, miss.”
They slid me a glass of amber liquid which surprisingly wasn't as strong as it looked. From my spot at the bar I observed the club. The wealth oozed off all of them. The most influential with the dirtiest of secrets.
Ermanno used to visit places like these and threatened to bring me here and fuck me in front of evryone if I didn't behave. I shook those thoughts away, eyes subconsciously mapping out exits just in case my past chooses to catch up with me.
I didn't hear him walking up to me but felt the heat radiating off him as he was behind me, making me turn in alarm.
He was so tall that I had to tilt my head back to get a view of his face which was hidden beneath a black mask. He wore a dark suit which hugged him deliciously and smelled like heaven.
I shivered slightly from the imposing aura he emitted.
Who is this?
“You've counted the exits twice.” He said, voice deep and velvety.
Huh? “Sorry?”
All rational parts of my brain had vanished as heat pooled between my legs. No one had been able to get such reactions out of me and yet, this strange man who had barely done anything was doing so.
He chuckled. “I said you’ve counted the exits twice.”
My body stiffened. He had been watching me. Could he be one of Ermanno’s men? All sexual desires dulled.
“I don't know what you’re talking about.”
He stepped a bit closer, voice dropping.
"Since I've been watching you. Which has been—" he checked nothing, no watch, no phone, "—about six minutes. You've looked at the main staircase, the door behind the bar, and the emergency exit near the east wall." He tilted his head slightly. "Twice each."
"Maybe I just like doors."
"Maybe." He didn't sound convinced. He also didn't sound bothered. "Or you're the most alert person in a room full of people who came here specifically to stop being cautious about their lives."
I looked at him again, his eyes were striking beneath the mask but I couldn't tell their actual color because it kept changing under the light.
What does he want?
I had to be extra careful.
"Is there a reason you've been watching me for six minutes?" I asked.
"You were the most interesting thing in the room."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only honest one I have." He nodded at my nearly empty glass. "Another?"
"I don't take drinks from strangers."
"You're at a masked party. Naturally no one would know who is who." The corner of his mouth moved but he didn't smile. "I don't think strangers are what you're worried about."
I held out my glass. He took it and a few minutes later he returned with two fresh drinks then positioned himself beside me so that we were watching the club.
Leaning in he said, "You haven't told me your name," he said.
"You haven't asked."
"I'm asking."
I paused, he might know Sophie so I couldn't use her name.
"Mia," I said.
He hummed, which meant either he didn't care or he didn't believe me. I couldn't tell which and found that I wanted to.
"Just Mia?"
"Just Mia. You?"
"Does it matter tonight?"
"Touché."
His hand came to my lap and I stiffened all over again. It felt like he was burning a hole on my dress with his body heat and also my panties. I crossed my leg to squeeze my thighs but his hand did not move.
"You don't dance," he observed.
"Neither do you."
"I came for the drink and anonymity." He turned his head to look at me, I felt his stare burning into me but didn't dare look. "You?"
"Same."
"Then we're the same kind of person."
"I doubt that."
His hand moved, trailing up my thigh, bunching up my dress. I forgot how to breathe as he got closer to my core.
"You're tense," he said quietly.
"I'm always tense." I said, breathily.
"That's a sad thing to say."
"It's the reality of my life."
His hand came up to my core, cupping and I almost begged him to fuck me right there. Finally, I looked up at him and he had a smirk from feeling how wet I was.
"Mia." My fake name in his mouth felt strange, like wearing a shoe on the wrong foot. "Would you like to get out of here?"
