“Thank you.” Smiling shyly, Nicole tugged her hand back, giving the impression of being demure when Nathan knew she was more likely repulsed by Sloane’s display of affection.
He understood her disgust. It was all Nathan could do to keep calm when he wanted to beat the shit out of Sloane for even touching her.
The young girl had witnessed the exchange, too, and seemed to grow more distressed with each passing moment. Nathan guessed that she was Sloane’s current “it” girl, and was feeling threatened by Nicole’s appearance, and Preston’s obvious interest in her.
“Nice place you have here,” Nathan said, sounding suitably impressed.
“I’m glad you like it. There’s plenty to enjoy, from the open bar, to the dance floor, and even private massage rooms.” He inclined his head at Nathan. “Care to join me for a drink while Holly introduces Nikki to some of the other girls?”
“That would be great.” Nathan couldn’t have asked for a more ideal arrangement, which would allow him some one-on-one time with Sloane while Nicole tried to find out if Angela was somewhere in the nightclub.
They both had a job to do tonight, and the sooner they gathered the information they needed and located Angela, the sooner they could get the hell out of there.
Nicole followed Holly into an adjoining lounge area, feeling the resentment coming off the young girl in waves. Clearly, she didn’t appreciate having to babysit Nicole-the new girl on the block who appeared to have captured Sloane’s attention.
The first thing Holly did was beeline to the bar and order a mixed cocktail and a glass of water, not bothering to ask if Nicole wanted anything to drink. While the bartender set the water on the bar, then began pouring alcohol into a shaker to create her martini, Holly retrieved a pill box from her purse and shook out three tablets. She popped them into her mouth and washed them down with a huge gulp of water.
Nicole had no idea what Holly had just taken, but she was absolutely certain it wasn’t aspirin. “Are you okay?” she asked, genuinely concerned for the girl.
“I just need something to calm my nerves,” she said brusquely. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
The guy behind the bar finished her cocktail, pushed it toward Holly, and she downed half of it in one long drink.
Nicole cringed, resisting the urge to take the martini from the girl and dump it out somewhere. Knowing her actions would draw unwanted attention, she opted for words instead. “Should you be drinking alcohol with those pills?”
Holly glared at her. “What are you, my mother?” she snapped.
“No. But I’m smart enough to know that taking pills with alcohol isn’t a good mix.” She sounded like an adult instead of a sixteen-year-old, but she didn’t care-and Holly was too worked up to notice. With her own past experience under her belt, Nicole knew all about taking drugs to get through an increasingly unpleasant situation.
Which was why watching this too-young girl attempt to mask her emotions with narcotics made Nicole’s protective instincts rise to the surface.
“Well, it works just fine for me.” Holly finished off the cocktail, placed the empty glass on the bar, then walked away.
Grateful that she’d stopped at one drink, Nicole followed Holly, who continued to ignore her despite Sloane’s instructions to introduce her to the other girls. It killed Nicole to see this young girl falling apart over Sloane, who didn’t give a crap about her beyond his own depraved needs.
While Nicole wanted to shake some sense into Holly, she knew she had to take a different approach. She couldn’t just come in and immediately change the girl’s way of thinking and dealing with things. First, she had to gain her trust and put her at ease. Then maybe, just maybe, she could eventually reason with the girl.
It was a long shot, but she had to try, because in Holly, she saw her past. Mark Reeves, just like Sloane, had lured her in with sweet talk and promises, then used her sexually. Kinky desires had evolved into more deviant demands, and with him whispering in her ear how much he loved her, and her system pumped with just enough ketamine to keep her relaxed and compliant, he’d done things to her that with a clear conscience she would have flat refused.
Those memories were what spurred her with Holly now.
Gently, she grabbed Holly’s arm to stop her, and the girl came to a halt-mainly because Nicole didn’t give her a choice. She pierced Nicole with a spiteful look, but Nicole wasn’t about to be deterred. Holly put on a tough act, but Nicole could sense the vulnerability beneath the girl’s belligerent facade.
“I’m not interested in Preston,” Nicole said, getting right to the crux of the problem between them, and hoping that her reassurance would help to soften Holly toward her. “I already have a boyfriend.”
The tension stiffening Holly’s spine eased a fraction, and the look in her eyes gradually filled with resignation. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, her voice choked with distress. “He’s interested in you. I can see it in the way he looks at you. He used to look at me the same way.”
Unexpectedly, Holly grabbed Nicole’s hands, the sudden desperation etching her young features almost frightening in its intensity. “If you’ll stay away from Preston, I can change his mind about me. I
Tears filled Holly’s eyes, and Nicole could see the girl breaking down right in front of her. Her belly burned with fury at witnessing how Sloane’s influence had affected this girl’s psyche. Sloane had toyed with Holly’s emotions and twisted her perceptions of their relationship to keep her amenable and dependent on him.
The girl was an absolute mess-from Sloane’s manipulations, the drugs he’d obviously supplied, and the alcohol that Holly used to dull her pain. The instinct to protect the girl was strong, but Nicole knew from experience that convincing Holly she needed to escape this awful, mentally abusive situation wouldn’t be that easy. Not when Holly had obviously been brainwashed and couldn’t see past her need to be with Sloane.
Right now, Nicole could at least be a friend to the girl, someone she could talk to and maybe even come to trust. And in forging a friendship with Holly, she could hopefully gain the information she needed about Angela.
Wanting privacy for the two of them, Nicole led Holly to a secluded corner where they sat next to each other on a red velvet couch. By then tears were streaming down Holly’s face, and Nicole retrieved a tissue from her purse and handed it to the other girl, who used it to dab at her eyes and wipe away the moisture on her face. In the process, she accidentally removed some of her makeup, and her true age began to emerge.
While Nicole waited for the girl to calm down, she casually glanced around the lounge, looking for a certain blond-haired girl. She saw a few mingling and flirting with the male guests, but none that resembled the photograph of Angela Ramsey.
“I’m sorry,” Holly said after a few moments had passed and she was composed once again. She exhaled a shaky breath as her fingers played with the small, diamond heart pendant around her neck. “I don’t mean to be such a bitch, but sometimes I just can’t help it. You’re so pretty and I’m so afraid that Preston is going to replace me with someone new.”
Which would happen sooner or later, Nicole knew. It was inevitable, considering Sloane’s track record. Holly hadn’t learned that lesson yet, but Nicole was certain she would soon.
Holly’s eyes had become glassy, and her body had gone lax as she slouched against the corner of the sofa. The alcohol and whatever pills she’d swallowed were taking effect, making her much more relaxed and mellow. Nothing more than an illusion until the narcotics wore off and the anxiety and fears returned.
Nicole eyed the sparkling diamond heart that Holly kept clutching in her hand, as if by embracing the pendant she could somehow hold on to the person who’d given it to her.
“Did Preston give you that necklace?” Nicole asked.
“Yes.” A faraway look entered Holly’s eyes, and she smiled dreamily. “He gives me lots of nice, pretty things.”
Nicole bet Sloane did. Whatever it took to give the girls a false sense of affection while they were with him.
