“Can I do anything for you, my lady?” he asks.
“Caleb... are you okay?” I try to reach for him and pull him a bit aside so we’re not in everyone’s view, but he avoids my touch. His perfectly composed smile falters, and he looks at me like he’s seen a ghost.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says, his face paling.
“I know. I just...” I haven’t seen any cameras anywhere, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any, so I lean forward, hoping Caleb won’t step away. “I want to help you,” I whisper into his ear, and he flinches.
“With what?” His brows draw together in confusion.
“I’ve seen what that man... what that man did to you. You didn’t enjoy it.” I say quickly into his ear. His whole body stiffens as his wide eyes look at me.
“I don’t know what you think you saw, but you’re wrong,” he says. “You should leave now. This isn’t a place for you.” He steps around me and starts walking away. If it hadn’t been for the quiver in his voice, maybe I’d have believed him.
“Caleb...” I turn to go after him, but then I stop dead in my tracks as I see a masked man approaching Caleb.
“Caleb!” the man yells, his voice laced with anger, and Caleb immediately stops to face the man. Without hesitating, the man lifts his hand and slaps Caleb hard across the face. I flinch, curling my fingers at my sides. “What was that, huh? Apologize to the lady. Now!”
Caleb reluctantly turns toward me, his eyes slightly narrowed. “I apologize if I offended you,” he says, lowering his head. The masked man looks at me, and I’m glad I’m wearing a mask too so he can’t see my face.
“I’m truly sorry for this slave’s behavior,” the man says to me, his voice turning friendly. “If you want to punish him yourself, I’ll gladly...”
“No, that won’t be necessary,” I say. Is this Raphael? The man is slightly taller than Caleb, and he’s lean and muscular. I can see his hair is black, and his eyes are gray or light blue. The mask covers most of his face, so I’m not sure how old he is, but he doesn’t seem very old.
The man sneers at Caleb. “Leave.”
Caleb simply turns around and walks away, and the man steps toward me.
“You’re Alessandra’s friend, aren’t you?” he asks, offering me his hand. “I’m Raphael. Your host. I hope your night is not unpleasant.”
His grip on my hand is strong and I squeeze his hand back. My skin is tingling and I want to pull my hand away and wipe it on my dress. I can’t believe I’m here holding hands with a true monster and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do.
“Unpleasant?” I force myself to smile, and pull my hand back. “Quite the contrary.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Now if you’ll excuse me...” He smiles at me and strides off toward one of the men at the bar.
As I look around, I spot a sign for the restroom and immediately head there. When I’m sure no one can see me, I wash my hands, take off my mask, and splash some water onto my face. While I stare at my reflection in the mirror, I wonder what I can do. Caleb is clearly here against his will and I can’t let Raphael keep doing this. I know where these parties are being held now, but I have to make sure no one finds out I’ve been the one to reveal the location.
All I need to figure out is when they’ll gather here again. I reattach my mask and head out. I see an empty black sofa not far from the couches, so I sit down and cross my legs. From here, I have a good view of the couches, some tables, and even of a strange wooden structure of some kind.
Raphael takes a seat on one of the couches, taking a cigar out of the pocket of his suit jacket. He’s talking to another masked man, who is lounging on the couch opposite Raphael. A girl is kneeling on the floor and sucking the man off, and he and Raphael are talking as if nothing’s going on.
After a while, I’m surprised I’m still here, but then Raphael raises his hand and waves at someone across the room who I can’t see. A couple of moments later, a nude man with short messy dark hair and blue eyes saunters toward Raphael, his lips tightly pressed into an angry line. The man seems to be of the same age as Caleb, and he’s almost as handsome. His muscular chest is covered with bloody scratch marks that go all the way down his lean body.
On his hip, there’s a tattoo identical to Caleb’s. Raphael says something to him, and he only looks angrier until Raphael says something else. The man closes his eyes for a moment, then climbs on the couch next to Raphael, who immediately pulls him close so the man’s head is resting on his lap. The man’s chest rises and falls rapidly as Raphael runs his hand over his back.
Putting out his cigar in the ashtray on the table, Raphael picks up a small bag and slips something between the man’s lips. A couple of moments later, the man’s body relaxes and he closes his eyes. I notice my nails are digging into the arms of the sofa, so I get to my feet. I smile at masked people and give them curious looks, even bite down on my lip from time to time, but when I’m done circling around the room, I know there are at least ten armed guards in the corners, ready for action if something goes wrong.
There’s special bathroom for the slaves or the workers, as Alessandra called them, and the door is guarded by an armed man. I counted at least ten naked and twelve masked people, not counting Alessandra and me. I don’t even know where Alessandra is. Another door near the bathrooms is locked with a keypad, and she might have gone through it.
The room doesn’t have any windows, and I still can’t tell if there are any cameras. The bartender isn’t wearing a mask, but I’m not sure if he’s another worker or just a regular bartender. I decide to wait for Alessandra, even though there’s not much more information that I can get. I doubt anyone will say anything incriminating or identifiable around here, but I need to know when the next party will be so I can tip off the cops. I don’t know how I’ll do that yet, but I need to get Caleb out of this hell.
Alessandra finally reappears, and she nearly trips as she comes toward me, her makeup smeared, her dress wrinkled. She leans on my shoulder as we sway toward the door.
“Had fun?” she asks, her breath smelling like cigarettes and alcohol.
“Totally,” I say as we go toward the exit. We dump the masks into the box and Xen opens the door for us. I flash him a smile before stepping into the well-lit hallway of the hotel full of unsuspecting people. Glancing behind me at the room and the door once again, I try to memorize every step.
“Want to come again? There’s another one next Monday,” she slurs.
