Under His Care (15 page)

She turned the shower off but it continued to drip because her landlord absolutely refused to make repairs. That’s what you got when you lived in Watertown and paid $500 a month to live in a tiny basement apartment.

Raven wrapped a towel around her hair and then walked to the mirror.

That’s when she noticed her phone buzzing again. She glanced down and saw UNKNOWN CALLER and got a shiver.

“Dammit,” she whispered. Her heartbeat accelerated as she stared at her cell and contemplated what to do next.

She sent it to voicemail and started brushing her teeth, frustrated and nervous.

What if they’re calling you because Jake Novak was interested in you? Maybe he sent someone to track you down and ask you on a date on his behalf.

That didn’t sound like his style, but she’d heard of famous guys contacting publicists or agents to get a girl’s number.

Still, whatever the reason for the calls, Raven didn’t want to deal with it this morning, still hung over, slightly regretful, and needing to get to work so she wouldn’t be late for her shift.

And then the cell phone was buzzing again. UNKNOWN CALLER.

Now she was pissed.

“Hello,” she said angrily, holding the cell phone to her ear while she spit toothpaste into the sink.

“Is this Raven Hartley?” the voice asked. She could tell instantly that it was the same guy as the voicemail she’d listened to a few minutes ago.

“Please stop calling me,” she told him.

“We have a big problem,” he replied, “so you better think very carefully about what you do next.”

Raven swallowed the rest of her toothpaste and stepped away from the sink. Her heart was racing again, and she was feeling vulnerable and queasy. “I don’t even know you,” she said, her voice less authoritative than she would’ve liked.

“My name is Max Mendez and I’m affiliated with Club Alpha.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Well it might not, but it will very soon, because you work for us now.”

Raven choked back a laugh of disbelief. “You must be kidding.”

“I’m dead serious,” he said. His voice didn’t have a trace of humor.

“Well, that’s pretty funny,” she said, “considering I’m about to leave for my job right now, and I don’t think I’ll be seeing you there.”

“You mean your job at Charlie’s Café in Watertown Square?” Max asked her.

She was stunned, and now the fear was icy, like an iron hand around her throat. This creep knew where she worked. He had her phone number. “This is harassment,” she told him. “I’m going to call the police if you don’t leave me alone.”

“I’ve given you the courtesy of a phone call, Miss Hartley, because we’ve had a client complain about you. A very important client. This is unacceptable to our organization, and we intend to make things right.”

“Was it Jake Novak?” she said, knowing he was the only person who would have had any reason to complain about her. She hadn’t even talked to anyone else.

He continued on as if she’d never spoken Jake’s name. “A client at the party last night expressed interest in your services, and you said that you weren’t going to participate in the requested arrangement.”

“That’s right. I won’t sleep with a guy for money because I’m not a hooker.”

“You don’t get to say what you will or won’t do, Miss Hartley. You work for us and you’ll do what the client tells you to do.”

His confidence had unnerved her, but she fought back. “I don’t work for you and prostitution’s illegal.”

“I have the contracts you signed in front of me right now,” Max stated, his voice calm and terrible and cold. “So although you might feel you don’t work for us, these very same contracts tell a different story. You do work for us, and we expect you to honor your contract.”

“Or what?” she said, laughing, almost wanting to upset him now. “I’m dead broke, buddy. Go ahead and sue me if you want, I really don’t care. But you better stop calling me, because I’m not afraid to let the police know what you’re doing, and I also have a lot of friends who won’t take very kindly to your threats either.”

There was a long pause and she thought maybe the creep had finally hung up, but then he breathed a low, soft sigh into the other end of the phone. “You
will
honor your contract, Miss Hartley.”

And then there was a click and he was gone.

THE END OF THE DEBT 1 EXCERPT

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