Anchor Line (24 page)

             
He got up from the sofa, shaking off Susan and Lisa’s tugs on his arms and legs. Slowly, he started walking over to Addie and Jess, when Jess screamed.

             
“Carl!” She didn’t look happy, she looked like she wanted him to do something. So he did. He grabbed Addie by the upper arm and manhandled her to the elevators about eight feet away. Jess grabbed her clutch purse and was right on his heels.

             
              They made it in the elevator and it was about to close when Conrad stuck his steel toed boot between the doors so that it would open back up. He was an opposing force to be reckoned with on a good day. When he was pissed, it was something else. And right now, he was pissed. At himself, at Addie for seeing him there, at Carl and Jess for helping take Addie away. Everyone in his immediate vicinity.

             
“Conrad,” Carl stepped forward, “I think you need to back off and let these ladies go home.”

             
“Fuck that.” Conrad said to Carl. Then he looked at Addie. “I texted you when I got home. You didn’t answer. What did you want me to do?”

             
Seeming to come out of her stupor, Addie looked at Conrad and smiled. “What did I want you to do? Well, you’ve proved to me that you won’t wait for me. So, what did I want you to do? Nothing you haven’t already done with those two skanks.” She answered, pointing at Susan and Lisa.

             
“Bitch, who you callin’ a skank?” Susan said from behind Conrad.

             
“Okay,” Addie took a step forward in the elevator, “Maybe whore is a better word. How’s that work?”

             
Susan went to move again when Conrad threw out an arm and pushed her back.

             
“Back the fuck off Susan. Right fucking now or so help me God, I will throw you out of this club.”

             
Susan moved back a few feet to be embraced by her friend Lisa.

             
“Conrad,” Carl started again. “Back the fuck off man.”

             
“Not until Addie and I talk.”

             
“I have nothing to say to you.” She sneered at him, her upper lip curling. She took another step up to him so that she was a foot away. “You make me sick. If you want to talk to me, it’ll be a cold day in hell before I answer you.” Then she leaned closer and sniffed him and pulled back. “You smell like whore pussy. Fuck off Conrad. Fuck the hell off and leave me alone.”

             
Stunned by her bold words, Conrad moved his foot. He watched as Jess pressed the close door button over and over until the doors started to move closed. He waited until the elevator doors closed and Addie was sealed behind them before he spun around on Susan and Lisa.

             
“Don’t let me find out later that you knew she would be here with Jess.” Conrad pointed a finger, moving it between the two of them. “I will kick you out of this club and you will never come back.”

             
“So, if we told you now, that we knew, you won’t have us banned?” Lisa flipped her hair back from her face.

             
“Sure.” Conrad sounded almost pleasant, as his demeanor changed. He’d use them to get the information he wanted and then take care of business.

             
“I found out from Caryn that works in the same building as Jess that she was bringing her friend.” Lisa smiled thinking she’d gotten over. Then pretend pouted, “Is Sir going to spank me?” She batter her eyelashes at him.

             
Conrad smiled. “I’ll do one better. Don’t go anywhere. I have to get something from the truck.” He turned around and headed straight for the stairs at the end of the hallway where the restrooms were. Running for all he was worth, he made it outside just in time to see Addie in her car, being driven by Jess and followed by Carl in his SUV leaving the parking lot.

             
“FUCK!” he yelled. “MOTHER FUCKING BITCHES!”

Chapter Sixteen

             
Making his way to the main entrance, Tammy looked confused when he didn’t enter through the hallway, but from the main entrance. “I need Richard. Now!” he almost yelled.

             
Tammy picked up a phone and dialed. “Conrad needs to talk to you Sir...yes Sir, right away.” After hanging up, she hit the button for the private quarter’s elevator across next to the check-in desk, “Go on up.”

             
Conrad made his way into the elevator and waited im-patiently as the doors closed and took him to the second level, dropping him off in a beautiful but small red velvet foyer with gilded framed paintings of naked women. He stepped off the elevator.

             
“Ah, Conrad. You look pissed my man, what gives?” Richard walked toward him wearing only a pair of leather pants. He was leaner than Conrad, and had red hair and bright blue eyes. He and Richard had served together for five years before Richard lost his parents overseas to some freak accident, he collected millions of dollars and bought this building and created Messosotto.

             
“Susan and Lisa knew that Carl’s sub was bringing a girl here and sidelined me into a scene.” Conrad was a bit calmer, but as he explained, he got more pissed.

             
“Those two have been nothing but trouble.” Richard huffed. “If there was a risk that she was coming here, why did you scene with them?” He asked, trying to be the voice of reason.

             
“First of all, I didn’t know there was ever a risk of her coming here, and secondly, I was thinking with my dick. Okay? Is that what you want to hear? I like Addie, I really do, but I can’t give her what she needs.” Conrad went to scrub his face with his hands and he could smell Susan and Lisa on his skin. So, he dropped them by his sides. “I can’t get away from them.”

             
Richard noticed the action that Conrad was going to make and dropped his hands to his sides instead. He smirked. He scratched his head and laughed. “Conrad. Man, you are like a brother to me. You know I’ll do anything for you. But dude, you have to hang up this BS on how you can’t give a woman what she needs. You have to live life man. Tell me. How’d they find out that Jess was bringing Addie? I thought Jess didn’t like them?”

             
“She doesn’t.” He sighed. “I threatened to get them kicked out if they didn’t tell me if they knew that Jess was bringing Addie here. Lisa said they found out through Caryn, who works in the same building as Jess and Addie. Caryn is the mutual connection.”

             
“I hate that bitch too.” Richard spun on his heel, waiving at Conrad to follow him. The living room was not the palatial decor you would expect. It was painted a light tan, with white trim moldings. Simple dark brown curtains that had a thick, single white stripe at the top hung in several windows. There was a comfortable dark brown cloth pit group that sat in the middle of the room. On the walls hung several pictures of Soldiers in desert camouflage and vehicles and aircraft. On the wall to the right, of the foyer hung a rather large 60 inch TV.

             
“Do you want something to drink?” Richard asked as he picked up his cell phone from the coffee table and a remote in his other hand turning off the TV, it switched to a few camera feeds that were set up. 

             
“Nah, I’m good. I have to get home and shower.” Conrad answered looking at his hands, not really wanting to touch anything he had with the smell of those two bitches on his hands.

             
“In the bathroom over there is some lemon soap. I always put lemon juice in it.” Richard nodded to the door next to the pit group. “Takes the smell off your hands.” He smiled.

             
Conrad practically ran to the bathroom and cranked the water on as hot as he could get it and pumped the soap into his hand and scrubbed up to his elbow, then his neck and face. Then rinsed and dried himself with the towel. Coming out of the bathroom he watched Richard dial.

             
“Jack. Richard.” He pointed to Conrad and then to the TV, “I need you to round up three subs for me. Yes.” He paused. “Susan, Lisa and Caryn...oh did you? Why didn’t you intervene?” Richard looked at Conrad while Conrad was watching the screens. “I’ll wait on the line. I have been waiting for this day for a loooong time. Yep.” Richard then watched the TV as the three women were rounded up by three men and taken to the vestibule.

             
“Strip ‘em.” Richard said with finality. Those were the only two words that he needed to say to ban anyone from his club for life.

             
The two men watched as the women’s contracts were pulled out of the filing drawer by Tammy, and torn into little pieces, put into a bowl and burned. Susan was screaming from the look on her face. Lisa and Caryn just stood there in disbelief. Their wristbands were taken off and they were escorted out to their cars. As they drove away, the three Dungeon Masters came back into the vestibule.

             
“Perfect.” Richard said smiling at Conrad now. “Thank you.”  He hit the button on the phone and tossed it on the sofa table, then picked up the remote and changed it back to the Food Network. “It’s done my man.” He smiled. “Now get the fuck out of here and go get your woman.”

             
Conrad shook Richard’s hand. “Thanks man. I owe you.” And then he took off like he was on fire.

             
Now in the safety of her car, Addie let go of all pent up emotion and started to cry. Deep heaving sobs, tears rolling down her face. Jess reached over and grabbed her hand to try and give the little comfort that she could.

             
“Addie I am so incredibly sorry.” Jess whispered squeezing her hand.

             
“It’s not your fault Jess. Who knew that his first night out from the field he’d go to the Messo. But I should have known. And to actually claim that he texted me. Fucking liar, I’ll never trust him again.”

              “Honey you don’t mean that.”

             
“Yes, yes I do mean that Jess.” Addie opened the glove box to look for tissue or napkins that she always shoved in there. Finding none she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and looked out of the window as Jess drove her home while Carl followed behind.

             
Jess pulled Addie’s car into a parking spot and cut off the engine. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay at our house? Or I could stay here.” Jess offered.

             
“No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to go up and get a shower put my jammies on and drown in a vat of Caramel. But I’ll be okay, I’m gonna to bed.” Addie looked at Jess and forced a smile, then opened her car door getting out.

             
Jess made sure she locked the car and walked to give Addie a hug and told her that if she needed anything to call. Addie walked up the stairs opened her apartment door and took a deep breath. Closing the door behind her she was sure to lock it and deadbolt it. Then she walked down the hallway passing the kitchen all the way to her bedroom where she walked straight into the closet turning on the light and stripped everything off except for the silver necklace that she had on. Taking the necklace off she walked toward the dresser and hung it on the necklace tree, and then hit the light switch for the bathroom and cranked the water to as hot as it would go.

             
Standing under the spray of water she realized that she still had the red bracelet on from the Messo.  Pulling it off and throwing it out of the shower, she took her Irish Spring soap and her loofah and scrubbed her skin until it was red, wanting to wash the whole experience away. Washing her face with her scrub and then her hair with her shampoo and conditioner, she just stood there and cried for a moment letting her self-pity takeover. Feeling better that she had cried it out, she turned off the water grabbed her towel and dried off, then braided her hair, turned off the bathroom light and went to get jammies from her dresser.

             
Now dressed, she turned off the bedroom light and the closet light, grabbing the remote for the TV and slid under the covers. Upon seeing that ESPN was still on her TV she quickly changed it to HGTV and grabbed the other pillow that didn’t smell like Conrad and tried to go to sleep. Sleep was not quick in coming unfortunately, but the banging on her door told her that Conrad was quick to follow. Refusing to get up and answer the door Addie pulled the covers over her head, yet the relentless banging would not stop. When the banging stopped her phone started ringing. That was when, she realized that she’d left her pocketbook on the counter in the kitchen where she normally left it. It was so automatic, she didn’t remember. Knowing who it was, she still didn’t bother getting up out of bed to answer it. When the third call started, the banging on the door started again as well.