“What?” My blood pressure receded out of stroke range and I nearly collapsed to the floor.
Detective Agosti smiled and smoothed a thumb across one of his dark eyebrows. He stopped and tapped his temple as my gaze got stuck on his laughing eyes. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours. If you don’t play ball with us by then, I’ll drag you and your little dick bunny back in here. Solicitation. Public indecency. Fuck, we could probably get tax evasion if you’ve been doing this long enough—on him, not you. The officers wrote up their statements. Both listed that you were publicly receiving oral sex. You tell me something useful, and the only thing we charge you with will be public indecency.”
“Either way, I lose my fucking shirt.”
“Yes. That’s not my fault. Clock’s ticking. Unless you want to tell me something now?” He stuffed his phone into his pocket and batted his long lashes at me.
What a prick.Ittook everything I had not to fucking slug him in the mouth. “They won’t send me to jail for solicitation.”
“Wouldn’t be so sure. Depends on the judge. Tamaki hates sexual predators.”
“Predators! I’m not a—”
“Paying young boys for sex.”
My mouth fell open and I almost gagged for a second. “He’s legal!”
“Is he?”
My heart nearly stopped. “Isn’t he?”
Grim-faced, Detective Agosti stared at me, and I groped behind me for a seat that didn’t exist and almost fell before I firmed up my knees.
He snorted. “Yeah, he’s legal. I’m just fucking with you. That’s the point, jackass. How would you even know?” He winked at me.
“Fuck you.”
He snickered as I rushed toward the door.
“Am I going to get Tased for leaving?”
He shrugged. “No, no trick. You’re free. Twenty-four hours. Think about things. You try to leave the city, and we’ll have you picked up.” He yanked my phone from his pocket and tossed it at me, and I held my breath as I caught it. Next he sent my wallet sailing, and I dropped it on the floor and had to pick it up. Anger had my stomach hot, and I wanted to say something horrible, but I had no power here. No leg to stand on. This was a fucking mess, and I was a nobody—again.
It had been a long time since I didn’t mean anything to anyone, and the hole that opened up in me almost made me sick. I turned away from him and stuffed my wallet into my pocket, then opened the door and pushed past some of the cops in the hallway. There was a shout, but then a soft laugh followed it, and Detective Agosti said, “Let him go.” I wanted to scream.
Outside on the sidewalk in front of the station, I dodged shouted questions and microphones shoved in my face. A tall man in a badly fitted brown suit came at me with his hand up, and I flinched away. His thick gray brows wrinkled. “Sorry,” he said in a rush and let his hand drop. “Andrew Sunni. Your lawyer. They released you?” He frowned at the station behind me in confusion. The sun was only a few peach and purple streaks in the darkening sky, and I panicked as I stared upward. I’d been in there a long fucking time, and I had no idea if Stormy was okay or not. What could I even do for him, though?
“Sorry, I gotta go.”
“But—”
I strode away and pulled up the Uber app on my phone as I stalked down the street. I had to wait at the corner for five minutes but was ecstatic to get into the Subaru as soon as it stopped. The reporters had followed me; although, no one had the nerve to come shove a camera in my face, and they seemed to be having an argument nearby—probably about how to best accost me. It was a struggle not to flip them off as the car departed.
On the way to Cakealicious, a café near the Courtesan Hotel, I sat in silence. Once I arrived, I got out and stood in front of the café until the Uber went on its way and then walked over to the hotel. The historic building—originally a mansion built for people with more money than God—was perched like a castle on regal grounds. The architecture was beautiful and I had to stop for a second to admire it as the lighting across the front blazed to life. The gold-and-glass front doors gleamed. Three stories climbed upwards and multiple wings sprawled out across the surrounding lawn. Off to the left, shadows of willow trees swayed along a walking path that wrapped around the Courtesan and continued next to the lake, providing a dreamy star-drenched view.
Stormy had let me fuck him by the water once. I hadn’t been able to decide which was more beautiful—him or the night sky.
Shivering at the memory, I started walking again. The arched windows with molded carvings along the tops invited me to stare because there was always something new to notice among the masonry artwork. I took one last glance up the front of the building and then squared my shoulders. At the doors, I nodded at the men who stood outside in the cool spring air. One man dipped his head in return, but the other acted like he hadn’t seen me at all. Inside, I strolled across the glossy marble floors shot through with gold veins and dodged a fainting couch holding a sleeping man. The mahogany service desk stood immediately to my left and I zeroed in on the pissy blond who kept guard over it.
Darcy looked ready to kill when his shrewd blue eyes met mine across the expanse of high-gloss wood.
“What are you doing in my mother’s establishment?” he asked. His words were polite, but I spoke Darcy’s secret language because I’d known him long enough, and that tone was as good as a string of fucks.
“I’m here to see Madam Winters.”
He shook his head and a big man behind him moved around the desk to stand beside me. I glanced up and gave him a little twiddling wave with my fingers.
“Boy, you’re a large fella, aren’t you?”
