Chapter 4 : Private Room

Everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to answer Dante. I didn’t expect it to be so hard to form a proper sentence up until now.

“Of course, Mr. Faust. I would be honored,” I replied, placing my hand in his.

The crowd clapped again as Dante led me out of the ballroom. As we walked out, I heard Miss Valerie introducing the next man to choose his companion. I hoped that all the girls would be safe tonight with those men.

Neither Dante nor I said anything as he led me through the mansion. It seemed like he knew this place well, which irritated me for reasons I did not want to understand or investigate any deeper in my brain.

We finally made it to his destination, a beautifully decorated private room. There was a white couch and a table with a bucket of champagne and two glasses, along with a tray of strawberries, cheese, and crackers.

But what had my full attention was the large white bed in the middle of the room. I stared at it and my heart began to pump wildly. What the fuck did Dante expect from me tonight? Did he think we were going to have sex? Was that why he brought me here? Did Dante think that our kiss meant that I was going to take my clothes off and allow him to have his way with me?

Because that’s not what was happening. I didn’t care how attractive he was, I still had my morals. I stood in the doorway and looked at the bed, nervous to enter the room. Dante turned back and gave me a reassuring smile.

“I just want to talk to you. I promise to be the perfect gentleman,” Dante stated.

I nodded and stepped into the room, not fully closing the door behind me. We sat on the couch and I told myself to calm down. In my line of work, I had to keep up my physical stamina, so when I wasn’t at work, I was in my local gym, boxing. I had a nasty right hook and I’d taken down men much larger than Dante. If he tried anything, I was sure I could take him.

But it made me worry about the other girls here tonight. Were they able to protect themselves from unwanted advances from the men here? This was just another reason I had to take down this stupid, sickening society.

I reached out and grabbed a bottle of sparkling water that was also in the ice bucket, ignoring the champagne. Dante did the same and I was happy that neither of us was drinking. Since I didn’t eat much at the party, I loaded up one of the tiny plates that were provided for us and began to eat.

I leaned back and studied Dante. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking or his reasoning for asking me to be his companion tonight. I didn’t think he simply wanted to talk and get to know me. I wasn’t sure what his motives were, but I was going to figure it out.

Had he somehow recognized me? Dante was a powerful man, who I suspected to be helping run the escort system. So, maybe he knew I was a private detective? Maybe he knew I was trying to investigate the missing women before?

Dante turned toward me, his arm on the back of the couch, and took a sip of his water.

“I know you’re not here to be a part of the escort system,” Dante told me abruptly.

What. The. Hell.

I choked on a piece of strawberry. I coughed and managed to swallow it so I didn’t choke to death. How the fuck could he possibly know that? How was my cover blown already? Shit, this wasn’t good. How did I play this? Deny, deny, deny.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I replied, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. It was a hard thing to do because my eyes were watery from almost choking.

Dante didn’t respond, but stood up and shut the bedroom door softly. I was nervous being alone in a room with him, but now for a completely different reason.

“Come on, Mrs. Clarke. You can stop pretending. I know that you’re here undercover and trying to take The Golden Hive down,” he said flatly, but I couldn’t help but notice he lowered his voice as he did so.

Damn it, he used my legal last name, not the one I had told the society. That meant he was most likely not bluffing. How did he figure this out? As if he could read my mind, Dante answered my unspoken question.

“I have the greatest minds in technology working for me, Gabrielle. I know what you do and I know that you’re here on a mission,” he explained matter-of-factly.

I half expected for armed guards to come through the door and haul me off somewhere. If Dante was aware that I was a private investigator trying to take down the system he was involved in, why were we sitting here and talking? Shouldn’t the people who also ran The Golden Hive be knocking down the door to try and scare me? Or even kill me?

Since my cover was blown, I dropped the doe-eyed act and frowned at Dante.

“Well, if you know who I am and you haven’t revealed my true identity to anyone, that means you either want two things from me,” I told him, crossing my arms.

He raised one eyebrow, clearly amused. “Enlighten me.”

His response made me pause for a second. His attitude had completely changed in the past few minutes. Now that we were alone, Dante was no longer acting like a charming billionaire. It seemed like he had taken the mask he wore when he interacted with the public. The ‘real’ Dante seemed to be more reserved and calculated.

“You either want something from me, or you’re on my side. You want to take down the system you’re a part of too,” I said.

Those were the only options I could think of.

Dante’s lips curled up slightly as he watched me. He seemed to consider my words before he finally nodded.

“I’m on your side, Gabrielle. I want to help you burn this fucking place to the ground,” Dante told me, his eyes shining with passion.

My mind tried to process this turn of events. Part of me wanted to work with him. It would be nice to have someone to help me on the inside. Especially someone who was as involved in The Golden Hive as Dante was. But, was it smart to trust him? He could be pretending to be on my side and then stab me in the back. Was it a good idea to believe this stranger? A stranger who was one of the biggest benefactors to the system I was trying to take down?

But what other choice did I have?

Dante already knew my true identity. He knew my mission and the reason I was here. He could have turned me in already, but he didn’t. So, it was the smartest idea to trust him for now.

“Alright,” I agreed with a sigh. “If you tell me what you know about the assholes who run this place, then I’ll do the same.”

He nodded.

For around an hour, we exchanged the data we had both collected. Some of our information was the same and that made me feel more comfortable with having him as a partner in this. At least, his tech guys were on the same level as Bridgette in gathering facts.

I wasn’t completely sold on this new tentative partnership. Before I went undercover, I was used to working alone, besides having help from my team from time to time. I hoped that Dante was trustworthy. This mission seemed to be too important for him to screw up for me. I needed to know why he was doing this in the first place.

“Why are you doing this, Dante? Why do you want to bring down The Golden Hive? Why now, and not earlier?” I asked him.

“I don’t know you well enough to answer that question,” Dante said honestly.

I stared at him while I considered his words.

“Fair enough.”

Then we were quiet for a while. I could tell that Dante was thinking the same thing as me. He was silent and assessing me, but it seemed like we were the only choice that the other had for a partner in this. I hoped that Dante was truly on my side in this. I would kill him with my bare hands if he betrayed me.

“Well, in exchange for keeping each other's true reasons for being here, we will agree to work together. Partners?” he asked me, sticking out his hand for a handshake.

I looked down and considered his offer. It was the same thing he had done earlier this evening when he held out his hand asking me if I wanted to be his companion. But this time was completely different.

This was way more than going up to a private room with him. Shaking his head would mean working with him on the biggest case of my career—something that meant much more to me than work. This case was personal because I needed to know what happened to Sara, and I needed to shut down The Golden Hive so no other woman would go missing inside these walls.

But Dante knew my real identity and the reason I was here. I had to work with him. I just hoped that he was more of a help than a hindrance.

Tentatively, I shook his hand. I felt a swooping sensation low in my stomach when his warm hand touched mine. I told my hormones to calm down. Since Dante and I were going to be working together, there could be absolutely no more physical interactions between us. Not even another stolen kiss.

After our handshake, Dante stood up and looked down at me.

“I have to go. But I’ll be back soon and we can trade more information then,” he said, walking across the room and opening the door. Before he made his exit, he looked over his shoulder at me. “Stay safe, Gabrielle. I’ll be back soon,” he promised me.

Then, he left and shut the door behind him.

I sat on the couch and processed everything that had just happened. I was still suspicious of Dante. I wondered what his reasons were for wanting to bring the system down. I wondered if he’d trust me with such information. Would I tell him my reasons if he asked me?

As I walked back to my room, I began to grow nervous. What the hell did I get myself into? I was now trapped inside an escort system, secretly working with one of their biggest benefactors, and living under a false identity. I had no contact with the outside world or my work friends anymore.

I suddenly felt really lonely.

As I got ready for bed, I realized that there were only two ways for this situation to end.

I would either have to crack the case or be trapped in the escort system forever.

Well, there was one more possible outcome.

Death, if I was discovered.