Physical Education (11 page)

With each door she passed, she tried the doorknob as quietly as possible. So far, each one had been locked, and so far, she hadn’t encountered another soul. She knew that Claire was in a room, but maybe hers was on the opposite hall. Hand trailing the wall for guidance, she followed the hall all the way down to the end, where she found a door.
Please, please
, she thought,
let it be a stairway.

She held her breath as the door swung inward. A diffused light illuminated the high chamber. Stairs rose up and down. So, holding onto the cold metal handrail as tight as a lifeline pulling one out of stormy waters, she started down, counting each step along the way. The chill of the cement stairs against her bare feet seeped through to the bone, and the further down she went, the darker the stairwell became. As she moved further into the bowels of the house, she reminded herself that it was the only way out. Others depended upon her.

She reached the first landing, stubbing her toe and grabbing onto the railing at the next flight.

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” she hopped on one foot, which never seemed to ease the pain but always made her feel better. Somewhere above, a door opened, and the sound of voices echoed through the darkness.

“We’re going to have to move these bitches soon,” the male voice said. “I’m getting tired of picking up the pieces of them, and the way that they’re going, soon there’s not going to be much left to hold together.”

The door slammed shut again and Amanda held still, holding her breath. No footsteps seemed to come down the stairs. If someone had joined her, he was moving awfully slowly and stealthily. Maybe he got called back, she thought, or distracted. She’d better take it as a warning to get the hell out of there as fast as possible.

With that thought, she hurried down the final flight. At the end, the door opened into a garage. A black car that looked like the one used to kidnap her was in one of the parking spaces. Looking around her, she searched out some type of wall button to open the garage door. It might make a lot of noise but, once she got out, she could run to a neighbor’s house for help. Or so she hoped. A rustling noise sounded from the other side of the garage and, right as another door opened, she ducked behind some boxes.

Out walked that sleaze ball Ralph, talking on a cell phone. “So tomorrow we move,” Ralph said. “All’s set for transportation. I’m headed out now to finalize a few things...”

He got into the car, and she lost the end of his conversation. As the garage door opened and Ralph drove out, Amanda managed to slip out the side, into the shadows around the house.

Little did she know that someone was already there, waiting for her.

Chapter Seventeen

Amanda fought against the person restraining her.

“It’s all right,” the voice soothed. “You’re safe.”

She pulled her head away from her assailant’s chest to take in his face. She stepped back, amazed. It was Reed, and he had brought the police.

More than slightly surprised to see Reed surrounded by uniformed police, Amanda ran her hand along the scruff of Reed’s beard. She had an odd thought given the situation: Who knew he had a few gray hairs in it? Until now, he’d kept himself pretty clean shaven. It was so good to see him. To feel him. It felt like she’d been without him for a lifetime, rather than a week.

“You look tired,” she said, bringing her fingertips up to touch the corner of his eye. Dark shadows marred his usually clear complexion. One would not describe him as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tonight. Then again, she knew she wasn’t a sight to behold, either.

“I am,” he said, drawing her close. Then, he was all business.

“Tell me the situation inside. How many women are in there? How many guards?”

“There’s four of us. You know Claire from the school. A black woman named Shatonda, who I last saw upstairs in the library, and Willow, who somehow seems to know you.”

Reed pulled back. “Willow’s still there? How is she? Is she all right?”

Obviously Reed knew her, too, Amanda thought. Hopefully, not too well.

“She seems all right. Pretty drugged up. They all are.”

An officer stepped close to them and cleared his throat. Amanda looked up at him, expectedly.

“Detective McAllister,” he said, addressing Reed. “Hate to interrupt this reunion, but if we’re going to keep any element of surprise, especially with this little lady’s escape, then we better move.”

When she heard the officer call Reed “detective,” she turned to check him out. There was more about him that she didn’t know, and these were serious things. Was he an instructor at a sex school, or was he some type of covert police operative? Where did his relationship with her fit into everything? And who the hell was Willow, and what did she mean to him?

“Right,” Reed said. “How many guards, and are they armed?”

“Anywhere between four and six, and I never saw any of them wearing weapons in the house. They didn’t need to,” she said, looking down at herself and her less-than attire of an oversized T-shirt. “We’re not a threat. Do they have weapons, though? It wouldn’t be out of the question.

“Oh, plus there’s the instructor Ralph from the school. Whatever ‘it’ is, he’s in on it.”

Reed acted like that last bit of information didn’t come as a surprise. When they were alone, Amanda was going to have a lot of questions for him.

Her would-be lover and rescuer took off his black neoprene jacket and draped it over her shoulders. With a final kiss on her forehead, Reed called out to one of the officers: “Ramirez. Will you see Ms. Wilkinson out to one of the cars and make sure that she keeps safe?”

The young officer didn’t look too pleased to have babysitting duty. He’d probably much rather be storming the sex house and rescuing the naked damsels in distress, Amanda thought, rather than sitting out in a vehicle with her.

“Will do, sir,” Ramirez said. Just like that, Reed handed her off to another officer, and he was off, about to save the other women being held. How she could possibly be jealous at a moment like this, Amanda had no idea. Watching Reed walk away from her, without even a backward glance, fueled the green demon.

Chapter Eighteen

While Officer Ramirez and his partner transported Amanda back to the police station to take her statement, Willow had obviously gone with Reed. He didn’t even bother to stop by the car she was in before heading out.

The image of Reed carrying Willow out in his arms, her head tucked into his chest, continued to replay through Amanda’s mind. Anger boiled, starting in the pit of her stomach, streaming through the veins throughout her body. Her hands shook as she tried to reign it in. She hadn’t come into the school needing anybody, and hell, she didn’t need anyone now either, especially a lying undercover cop.

Foolish to think that Reed was interested in her, for her. Instead, he remained just another means to an end. A way to get to that chick Willow and her kidnappers. Maybe even make a name for himself.

Shit. He probably set up her kidnapping, too. Leaving her naked and vulnerable, just the perfect little kidnapping victim. Well, she’d be no victim anymore.

That was part of the reason why she had been at the school, trying to take control of her life, on her own terms (well, within their guidelines).

* * * *

Across the room, Reed could see Amanda giving her initial statement to Marge. A blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her face looked pale and her eyes oversized and shocked in the glare of the florescent lights.

As if she could feel him looking at her, she glanced up, eyes meeting for too brief a time. He felt that instant connection between them, the undeniable draw, and then she looked down and away. When she raised her eyes again, attraction was replaced with an altogether different look: Anger? Indifference?

Reed’s main goal in life was to help others and to keep them safe. In his search for his sister, he had almost lost Mandi, too. Now that he had them both back, he needed to regain his relationship with both. Something told him that it wouldn’t be easy.

He’d have to accept Willow as the young woman she’d become. She’d enrolled at Sex U. for a reason, and after meeting so many of the students and instructors, he knew that it didn’t have to be a bad one. And Mandi, well there was a lot left to learn about her, but hopefully she’d give him the chance.

The police station bustled with the extra activity. A sex-trafficking ring blown wide open. Gorgeous women and international intrigue. Conversations buzzed about Reed’s unauthorized, undercover operation. He knew that he was breaking the rules, but since he had done it on his own time – earned vacation time – there wasn’t too much they could say about it. And they would still get to take credit for the bust.

“Hey McAllister,” said Tommy, one of the guys he’d worked with for years. “You get a piece of that sweet ass over there?” indicating Mandi.

“I’d like to be under covers with her,” chimed in Manuel Morales, a new guy he didn’t know too well.

Reed bristled. If he were a cat, his claws would definitely be extended. As it was, it took everything he had not to deck Morales. Exactly the reason why he preferred to work alone on a case. He didn’t have to deal with assholes like Morales.

“Mind your mouth, Manny,” Reed said between clenched teeth. “Ms. Wilkinson has been through a lot, and she deserves to be treated with respect.”

“Oh, I got plenty of respect for her,” Morales pantomimed, making a grab for his crotch. “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me.”

Reed felt his temper growing. It had been a long night. Damn, it had been a long month.

“Back off, Manny,” Tommy said, standing up to get between the two of them. “Sorry man. Didn’t know we were treading on dangerous ground.”

Reed shook his head. He shouldn’t let their good-natured banter get to him. Now that he had Willow back, he should feel better. She sat off to the side, against the wall, waiting for him to take her home. Instead, he looked back at Mandi. His job may have been over, but he wasn’t through yet.

“So did you know and/or recognize any of the people who kidnapped you, Ms. Wilkinson?”

Question after question, the female police officer taking her statement repeated herself. After a while, the chaos of the room fell to a low din as Ms. Officer Margaret Monotone droned on.

“As I said before, one of the guys was an instructor at the school,” Mandi answered. “I’d seen him before, but no one else.”

Ms. Monotone took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Pale green eyes flecked with spots of gold met hers, and Mandi thought that with her glasses off, hair down and a touch of make-up, Officer Margaret could easily transform into a hottie – Madam Margaret. Wonder why she hid behind the disguise. Maybe she needed to sign up for some lessons in
her
vacation time.

“Do you know the name of the individual?”

“Ralph Tingsly. He administered public punishments,” she said, the memory of her own spanking bringing a blush to her cheeks.

“Would you be able to pick Ralph out of a lineup?”

“What do you think?” she replied.

“Honestly, Ms. Wilkinson, if you’re asking, I think if you hadn’t signed up for this sex school then you never would have been in a position to have been kidnapped, first, and possibly sold as a sex slave.”

What brutal honesty. “You have no right to judge me,” she said. Suddenly, all the noise of the room assaulted her senses: phones ringing, people talking, papers shuffling. The past few days came crashing back to Amanda. Too much. Too quickly. An underlying smell of vomit clung to the room, and she felt ill.

The chair beneath her felt like it was pressing in her ass, and she longed for a long, quiet soak in the tub.

The detective she was talking to suddenly stopped and looked past Amanda’s shoulder, and that’s when she felt him. His strong presence standing there behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up, taking in his concerned expression. His dark blue eyes clouded with worry.

“How’s it going here, Marge?” he asked, continuing, “I’m sure Ms. Wilkinson has had a few trying days and would like to decompress.”

“Sure thing, Reed,” the mono-bot replied with so much more inflection in her voice. “I think we’re about done here. Ms. Wilkinson, I may call you to follow up on a few items, if that’s all right.”

“No problem.”

It was hard to stay mad at someone when he looked like that, and every cell in her being cried out for the comfort of his touch.

“Why don’t you gather your stuff, and I’ll get Willow.”

At the mere mention of Willow’s name, he could feel Amanda tense beneath his palm. He didn’t understand her deal, but he’d sure like to work off a bit of her stress.

Chapter Nineteen

Reed brushed past her in order to open the car door. The quick flash from the heat of his body sent shivers down her back. She might want to be mad at him, but her body sure didn’t want to be. Instead, she wanted him to wrap his strong arms around her, hold her tight and listen to him promise her that everything would be all right.

The cool leather seat bit into the backs of her thighs. She seriously had to stop running around without any clothes on, she joked to herself. That, or at least stop getting into cars half-naked. Fantasies of a warm bath lulled her once again.

Quiet. Peaceful. Warmed to the bone. Leaning her head back against the car seat, she shut her eyes, letting the stress of the last few days go. If only it would be that easy.

The driver’s side door opened and then shut. Amanda could feel Reed looking at her, awaiting some type of acknowledgement. Keys rattled as he started the ignition, and still she kept her eyes closed. Breathing in, and out.

“So, taking you home?” he asked.

Home? That was the last thing she expected. She sat up, taking him in. “Back to the school,” she responded. “I want to finish the program.”

After clearing his throat, Reed said, “Do you think that’s the best idea, after all that’s happened?”

“Now who are you, my keeper?” she said. Part of the reason why she had enrolled at SFSU was to get away from the constraints of the world. Yes, it had rules that must be followed, but it still was more liberating than day-to-day life. She got to be who she wanted to be, and she’d thought Reed understood that. Now she wasn’t quite sure what to think.

“What about Willow. Don’t you need to take her home?”

“She’s not done yet,” he sighed. “I plan on meeting up with her later tonight.”

A pit of worry settled in the bottom of Amanda’s stomach. Was he just acting like a taxi driver right now? She was part of his responsibility. His job. Nothing else.

“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” Amanda asked, afraid of his answer.

“Yes, of course she does. We’re all that we have,” he said. “I’d do anything for her.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you waiting. I’m sure you know the way back to the campus better than I do.”

With those words, Amanda settled back into the seat once again, eyes closed. She knew that she should ask Reed more questions. Like why he’d lied to her about being an instructor. And if everything that had happened between them had been part of his job.

* * * *

The silence in the car stretched out. Reed swore that he could hear the sound of Amanda’s breathing. And was that her stomach growling? She’d been at the police station for hours. She must be starving. He glanced over at her. Everything was pulled up tight together. Her feet up on the seat, knees against her chest, arms wrapped around her knees. It was like she’d rolled up into a little ball and blocked out everything around her.

“You know, Claire’s headed back home,” he threw out there.

“Good for her,” she mumbled without even looking at him, and then followed with something even more unintelligible.

“What did you say?”

She lifted her head, eyeing him with a mixture of distrust and disgust. At least that’s what it looked like to him, and having grown up with an irate younger sister, he was familiar with those expressions.

“I said, ‘I’m not Claire.’”

Amanda stabbed the power button for the radio. The Killers’ song “Somebody Told Me” flowed through the car, and she cranked up the volume to the point where Reed could feel the bass thumping through his bones.

“Well somebody told me
You had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year.”

And she didn’t say another word for the remainder of the trip.

* * * *

As soon as they pulled up in front of the school’s compound, Amanda threw open the door and literally jumped out of the car. She didn’t even bother to shut the door, and she certainly didn’t look back to see if Reed had followed her.

Hands on the steering wheel, Reed looked at the empty seat vacated by Mandi. Her presence gone, the feeling of animosity that had physically permeated the car on the ride back had also dissipated. Still, he felt nervous, and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen. He was so used to always being in control, but now he felt like he’d lost all power.

Through the car’s open door, he could see Mandi’s retreating figure, her slender legs carrying her back onto the school grounds. In his oversized jacket, she looked frail and fragile. Not the persona of “toughness” that she usually gave off. He wished that he could protect her from any future unpleasantness, but at the same time he felt like she wasn’t going to give him the chance. She’d built up a wall of independence around her, and it was going to be an uphill battle to make his way back in.

* * * *

The cool San Francisco summer evening chilled Amanda as she dashed toward the campus doors. In the last few moments of the drive back, she would have done just about anything to get out of the car with Reed. Her emotions raged out of control. Could she really be mad at him for rescuing her? Did that make sense at all? She knew that he drove her back to the campus out of some sort of misplaced duty, not that he really cared about her at all. It was, after all, his job.

As she reached the school’s entranceway, she heard the slam of a car door behind her, followed shortly by the closing of another and the quick progression of footsteps. The moment she entered the waiting area, she instantly felt better, almost as if she was returning home after a long and unwanted trip. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d first come to the school, but really it had been a little more than a month. Hard to believe that she’d been gone only a week.

A draft of air skimmed up her long shirt. She shivered and pulled Reed’s black leather jacket tighter around her body.

Inside the waiting area, she heard a door open off to the right. Outside was marked “Staff Only.” Ms. Lucy approached her with an expression that looked both concerned and stern. Reed fell in step behind her, and she felt his reassuring hand rest on her lower back, as if he were guiding her.

For a moment, Ms. Lucy’s external façade broke down, and the headmistress enfolded Amanda within her arms, pressing Amanda’s face into her more-than-generous breasts. Amanda breathed in the scent of lavender and lemon zest, and she was struck by the odd combination.

“Ms. Wilkinson, I’m so glad to see you,” she said. “I take it that you are all right? No long-term harm came to you?”

Basically, the same question all the officers seemed to have wanted to know: Had she been raped? The answer was no. Besides being whisked away from the campus and kept mostly locked up in a room, nothing “untoward” had happened to her.

After one more tight squeeze, Ms. Lucy stepped back, and it was as if another personality took over.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Amanda said. “I’m fine. Just glad to be back.”

With a nod of her head, Ms. Lucy’s attention turned toward Reed. “And you, Officer McAllister,” she said greeting him more formally than normal. “I and the school’s founders would like to thank you for figuring out what was going on here. If word of this gets out, the school, well, I’m not sure what would happen to the school.”

Caught in the spotlight of Ms. Lucy’s demanding gaze, Reed shuffled his feet, seemingly uncomfortable. “I only did what was necessary,” he replied.

“You took on more than your average job duties, wouldn’t you say?” Ms. Lucy asked, her right eyebrow slightly raised. “And talking about jobs, this bust is going to leave us short-staffed for the rest of the session. With Mr. Tingsly being arrested for human trafficking, and you returning to your civic duty …” she trailed off.

Amanda hadn’t really thought it all through. With the undercover job done, there was no reason for Reed to stay on staff at the school. Was there?

“I plan to finish out my contract, if the school will still have me,” Reed said. “Aside from some paperwork that I have to finish, I still have some leave time coming to me. I try to live up to my commitments.

“If that’s all right with you and the school, that is?”

Ms. Lucy smiled as if she’d been expecting his reply. “All the students and the staff love you, Reed. We’d be happy to have you stay on.

“Any limits to your, ahem, duties? We do have an opening in Rules, Regulations and Punishments now that Ralph is gone.”

Amanda felt like her remaining energy was being sucked out of her core as each moment passed. She sagged against Reed. Enough chit-chat. Could they just go in now?

Reed chuckled. “We can talk about that later. Right now I think Ms. Wilkinson needs to unwind and get something to eat.”

“Of course,” Ms. Lucy said. “I should have thought about that. Why don’t you take her to the private baths, and I’ll arrange for a meal to be sent over.”