Page 147 of Never Tell Secrets

“It means?—”

“I know what it means,” I cut him off. Elliot had once offered me the choice of signing one along with a fat cheque as ‘compensation’ for my time with Alfie.

“Of course, Alfie must have had you sign a dozen of those by now.”

“Not one.” He’d never asked. No matter how much damaging information he gave to me, he never once asked me to sign one of these. That didn’t mean anything. That didn’t change what he’d done. I took the pen and signed it without hesitation.

“Good.” He stood and crossed to a large cabinet behind him. He flipped open another panel on the doors and keyed in yet another code. The panel lit up green and he opened the doorswith a flourish. My eyes bugged out of my head as I took in the contents.

The cabinet was home to what I was sure was a very illegal pharmaceutical collection. An array of tiny glass cases, each containing different items that did who knew what. He selected four boxes and placed each in front of me. “You've got to tell me what you need.”

I looked down at the boxes, one contained a blue and white capsule, the next white powder. The third contained what looked like shrooms and finally a pink pill.

He pointed at each of them in turn. “Sleep, party, trip, fuck.” He looked at me. “What do you need, baby?”

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped without meaning to but he had a knowing look in his eye that had me wondering if he’d used that name on purpose.

I looked down at my options.

I could sleep and wake up with my problems still firmly in place. That's not what I wanted, what I wanted was escape.

Trip and party? Both of those put me firmly out of control.

That left only one option. A dangerous option.

Kal was Alfie’s friend but right here, at this moment, I didn’t care. I felt too numb to care. The pain was there, waiting, but it wasn’t here yet and I wanted to keep it at bay for as long as possible. Kal could help me do that. Besides, I owed Alfie Tell nothing.

Fuck him and fuck his cameras.

I pointed at the final one. Fuck.

Kal’s eyes didn’t even flicker, he just held my gaze with his own, studying me. “Are you sure?” He asked and I nodded.

‘Liar.’

Alfie’s voice, once again poisoning my ear. Even imaginary Alfie knew when I was telling a lie.

A predatory look in his eye, Kal rounded the desk. My breath hitched as he came to stand in front of me, not slowing his pace. He walked me backwards, pressing me up against the door.

“Shouldn’t I take the pill?” I whispered.

“It’s for later.” He reached around me, he opened it and my jaw dropped as I stepped inside.

“What the fuck…”

The room was circular, with a table akin to a sacrificial altar in the middle. Candles lit up the edges of the room in one complete circle. The ceiling was a tinted glass dome, the rain hitting the glass sent falling shadows around the room.

The atmosphere was electric, almost suffocating. Huge mirrors were placed at intervals around the room, broken up by large built-in cabinets, the contents of which were hidden.

“Two way mirrors, for the audience.”Audience?The word had me spinning to face him in alarm. “Don’t worry, we’re alone.”

I eyed him, wondering if he was telling the truth but something in his air told me he wasn’t lying. I stepped into the room, exploring it. I moved to one of the cabinets and opened it. Inside was more rope than I’d ever seen, in an array of sizes and colours, beautifully twisted and hung on hooks. A variety of cutting knives were attached to the door.

I swallowed, realising what this room was for.

“You put on shows here, like you did at the club?”

“Yes, that’s right.” He nodded, watching me closely as if I were a spooked horse prone to bolting. “Very exclusive shows, of course.”