“No, I would assume she didn’t want to be killed by Stephano. But that was just my assumption.”
I hated that Chase was stepping in, too. Now that he was married, he thought he knew everything about women. But only a few months ago, he would have done the exact same thing I had done and wouldn’t have known what he did wrong, either.
“I think what Jordan is trying to say was that you should have discussed things with Roxanne. Especially after you two decided to make things physical. She could have assumed you just got what you wanted from her and then were telling her she wasn’t needed.”
“Wow, Chase has become domesticated.” Nate laughed.
“I could see how she would be confused. Especially coming from a lifestyle where people use those women and then drop them,” PJ added.
“Well, what am I supposed to do now? She’s gone!”
“She said she would see us later. Let’s just finish the job and you can make it up to her this evening,” PJ said as she looked at the group. “We should get going. It’s going to be difficult to get a meeting with Stephano.”
I felt absolutely horrible, but I really didn’t think I had left Roxanne feeling like I had used her. My gut said that something else was going on. The only good thing was that she hadn’t taken any of her personal things from the hotel room. If she had planned on just leaving and never coming back, I would have expected some of her things to have been gone.
“All right, well, let’s get this party started. Chase or Nate, which one of you is going to sell PJ to Stephano?” I asked, although I had already decided that I thought Nate should do it. I was trying to communicate better since everyone seemed overly sensitive about things.
“I think it should be Nathan,” Jordan said. “He seems more like the kind of guy who would buy a girl and then decide he didn’t want her after all.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, it’s true, Nate. You do have commitment issues.” Chase laughed.
“I’m only thirty-four years old! It’s not commitment issues. I’m just enjoying my single lifestyle.”
Nate looked the part and he naturally acted the part; he was going to be the perfect person to sell PJ to Stephano. Now all we needed to do was get an appointment with him. Getting an appointment meant that we needed to have someone introduce Nate to Stephano. We were going to have to use PJ’s contact from the port authority.
“Okay, okay, let’s get him on the phone with Stephano and get me sold so I can get some intel to you guys as soon as possible,” PJ said as she checked the camera she had in her eyeglasses.
“Do you think he’ll let you keep my glasses on? This camera is our only link to see what’s going on,” asked Jordan.
“Yeah, he’s not going to care if she wears glasses. If anything, he’s going to care that she has clothes on. So, no wire or any guns. We can’t risk him finding those,” Nate added.
“All right. Let’s move on this. I want to have this girl rescued by dinner time so I can eat a fat and juicy steak,” PJ said as she rubbed her stomach.
Chapter Eighteen
ROXANNE
After talking with PJ, it was clear that she had book smarts, but not street smarts. I felt like there was no way she was going to make it into Stephano’s house. If, by some miracle, she did make it into his house, he would quickly see through her plan and realize that she was not really from overseas at all.
It drove me nuts that Jackson was pushing me out of being involved in the investigation. I knew what was going on just as well as PJ and the others. I was invested in helping Ana and it was more than just a job to me. I wanted to change my entire life and I was going to start by being there to get Ana out safely. Deep down, I knew I had a much better chance with Stephano than PJ or any of the guys could have. I knew him so much better than all of them combined.
I couldn’t just stand by and watch as the whole operation went down in smoke. Ana’s life was still on the line and I couldn’t risk having her sent overseas. It had become personal now, and I was more determined than ever to make a difference and save her. She was a nice girl and didn’t deserve what was happening to her.
The last few days with Jackson had opened up my heart more than I even knew was possible. I couldn’t remember the last time I had passionately cared about a cause. But there I was, worried to death that something bad was going to happen to Ana.
If my plan worked out, then Jackson would have to look at me as more than just some girl who was there for him to have fun with. He would have to look at me as someone he could work with and certainly someone who deserved to be paid $250,000 for helping rescue Ana. I wasn’t a charity case, and I didn’t need Jackson to protect me. I had been looking out for myself my entire life.
The best way to get Stephano on my side was to make sure he knew he was in control. He didn’t like it when the women who worked for him thought for themselves. This had been an area of contention between the two of us the entire time I had worked with him. But I knew right away what I had to do in order to gain his sympathies and get inside his house.
“Punch me,” I said to Michaela.
“Um, hi, Roxy, it’s good to see you, too. And no, I’m not going to punch you. But I did tell you never to call me again.”
“I didn’t call. This time, I came to see you,” I said with a smile. “Come on, I’ve been gone and Stephano is going to be pissed. Just punch me, please.”
“I’m going to punch you, but not because you want me to. I’m going to punch you because you’re putting me in danger by coming here. Stephano could be following you and you led him right to my work.”