Page 41 of Hold Me

“Yes. He just wants to talk to you directly about Isaac. Are you hoping for something else?”

“Of course not.” I cut her an annoyed look. “I just need to know I won’t be wasting my time.”

“You won’t be. I promise. Raphael arranges all Isaac’s jobs, so if anyone can get you an hour or two with him, it’s Raphael.”

“Then I’m looking forward to it.”

I’m almost hyperventilating as I step in front of one of the biggest restaurants in the city. The lights are flashing brightly, a red carpet stretching out all the way to the door. A guy in a black suit offers me his hand and helps me get out of the car that Raphael sent for me.

“This way, miss.” The man bows and opens the door for me. Something beeps, and a guard approaches me.

“Your purse, miss, please. You’re not allowed to enter with a phone or any recording device,” he says. I hand him my purse and he inspects it, taking out my phone. “It’ll be waiting for you here. I assure you no one will touch it.”

I’m not happy about it, but I nod, then pass through the metal detector or whatever it is again. This time it’s quiet. I almost gasp when I see the whole restaurant is empty. There’s just one table in the middle of the room and Raphael is sitting at it. Seeing his face is slightly unsettling because he’s incredibly handsome. As he gets to his feet and starts toward me, his smile broadens.

“Welcome, Lilith,” he says. “I hope you don’t find our security measures offensive. I just want to ensure your safety and discretion.”

“Thank you.” I almost cringe when he takes my hand and plants a kiss on my knuckles.

“Come.” He leads me toward the table, and I let him pull out the chair for me. Raphael being so nice to me is sickening, but not as sickening as the way his eyes travel to my cleavage. I even put on a red dress and matching high heels.

After the waiter pours some wine for us, Raphael’s intense eyes find mine. “I admit I was surprised to hear about your request. You didn’t strike me as the kind of person...”

I raise an eyebrow at him. “I haven’t met anyone who immediately revealed their deepest desires to strangers.”

“Of course not.” The corners of his lips quirk up. “I usually don’t do this, but Alessandra seems to trust you, so I decided to give you a chance too. You see, in the business I lead, I have to take all precautions.”

“I understand.” I take a tiny sip of the wine and hope Raphael hasn’t put something in it.

“Good. Then you’ll understand this.” He pulls out a phone and slides it across the table to me. “Go on. Pick it up.”

I lift the phone and realize it’s a video. I can see two people having sex, but it’s too dark to identify them and the angle is all wrong. The girl looks like me, but I know she’s not. Then, at the end of the video, Caleb’s face shows on the screen, and when the camera moves, I see myself lying naked in the bed next to him. Then the camera zooms in on my face.

My throat constricts, my mouth dry. It takes me a moment to gather myself and set the phone back down. “What’s this? That girl isn’t me.” I glare at Raphael, gritting my teeth. Caleb probably took the last part of the video when we slept together after my father’s business party.

“Insurance,” he says. “No one will ever see this video. Unless you cause me trouble, then I’ll have to share this with the world. I imagine the press would be delirious over it. And don’t think anyone would believe that’s not you or even care. I can make sure of that. And if the word gets out that you paid for all of that...”

I bite on the insides of my cheek so I don’t show any kind of reaction. If he released that video, I don’t even want to think what effect that would have on my family and me. By the time I found a way to prove anything about the video, the press would already go crazy and wouldn’t leave me alone. One more reason to hate Raphael and take him down no matter what. As if I already don’t have plenty of reasons. “I see.” I give him a bitter smile. “But if this video sees the light of day for no good reason, I’ll make sure you regret it.” Hopefully, it’s not in Raphael’s best interest to have Caleb’s face all over the news, but what do I know? He could just keep Caleb locked up somewhere if it came to that.

He eyes me for a moment, but then nods. “Fair enough.”

I exhale slowly, intent on not doing anything stupid. “Now that we cleared that up, can we finally talk about Isaac?”

“Ah yes. Alessandra told me you wanted only him, but he’s not easy to get. Everyone wants him.” He looks so pleased about himself that I want to punch him. “But if you truly want him, there’s a way for you to get him. This Saturday. But it won’t be cheap.”

“Money isn’t an issue.” And I’m sure he’s well aware of that, or I wouldn’t be here.

“That’s good to hear, because there will be an auction. If you can outbid everyone, you can get an hour with Isaac on our premises. There’s one thing you need to know, though.” He gives me a warning look. “If you get him, you have to return him to me with all body parts intact. I don’t know what your fantasies are and I don’t care, but he’s very important to me. So you can do whatever you want to him as long as it doesn’t leave permanent damage.”

I nod, unable to say anything. Just what exactly does Raphael think I’d do to Isaac? I guess I don’t want to know. And I can’t believe he’s actually pretending to care, or is he? I’m not sure about anything with this man, except that he is probably mentally unstable. “I’m sure Isaac appreciates that you care so much about his well-being.” I bite my tongue, hoping I didn’t sound too sarcastic.

Raphael doesn’t seem to notice, his eyes gleaming. “He does. I’ve done so much for all of them. Gave them a purpose in life. Most of them would be dead somewhere in the gutter or looking for their next fix if I hadn’t come along and turned them into every person’s dream. Now they know just how valuable they are.”

I can’t do anything other than stare at him. Is that really what he believes? That he’s done a great deed and helped humanity? Oh God. I swallow the bile that has risen in my throat, and I’m not sure I can listen to this nonsense any longer. I just force myself to smile and nod. The waiter finally approaches with food, and I’m glad Raphael’s mouth will soon be too full to speak.

The auction turns out to be one of the most terrible things I’ve witnessed, and even the dinner with Raphael seems less disturbing now. I’m rooted to my chair. There are six men and four women next to me, their eyes glued to the stage. A man dressed in black leather pants, his muscular chest exposed, a mask covering his whole head, is standing in the spotlight and bringing in people.

When a naked girl comes onto the stage and tries to cover herself, the masked man grabs her by the hair and forces her to move her hands. “How much would you give for this beautiful piece of ass?” He slaps her butt hard and she whimpers. “She’s a pretty crier too.”