“The third time. They always played cards at some point during the day. I wasn’t interested. I stayed away even when Trina and Daphne tried to get me to join. I preferred just lying in the sun.
“Then it was as if they wouldn’t take no for an answer. Suddenly they were demanding that I play at least a few hands. I told them I didn’t have a lot of cash on me, so they said they’d play for pennies.”
“Let me guess. You won,” he frowned.
“Several times. Not a lot of money but it was fun. The next weekend it was the same but now they wanted it to be a minimum of five dollars. Then it was ten, twenty, and eventually a hundred. I didn’t want to play anymore.”
“Did they force you?”
“Absolutely. The man that seemed in charge of it all, Tomas Giamanco, said that if I didn’t play, I’d be swimming back to shore. We were a couple of miles out.”
“They knew what they were doing,” said Joey. They put several more items in the basket, then strode toward the front,using the self-checkout line. When the bags were placed in the truck, he headed toward the cabin.
“What happened after you played that hand? The one where he threatened you.”
“I lost. It was like eight grand but I pulled the money from my college fund and paid it. I told Trina and Daphne I wasn’t going again and to stay away from me. The next weekend three men knocked on the door for them, just like always. Except this time, they refused to let me stay in the apartment.
“I thought about screaming but it was clear they were carrying weapons. They told me I had no choice, that Mr. Giamanco was demanding my attendance.Then I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“I knew something was wrong beyond the obvious. There was a man on the boat asking me questions about what I was studying, what was the paper I was working on, that sort of thing. He even put several formulas in front of me to test my knowledge. When I answered them, he nodded at Mr. Giamanco. When we got back to shore, they said I owed them almost three-hundred thousand dollars and they were going to get their money from me.
“I was so stupid. I should have called someone, anyone to help me. I was scared and felt trapped. They took my phone, destroyed it, and then told me I had to work at the club. I refused and they let me leave. I packed my bags, booked a commercial flight to go home, and got all the way to the airport before they blocked me from entering.
“There were police everywhere but they said if I screamed, Daphne and Trina were dead. I know now that they were part of it, although I haven’t seen either one of them in weeks.”
“Marissa, I have to ask this. Did they force you to do anything beyond strip?”
“No,” she said swallowing and looking away. “Stripping was bad enough. They made me do certain poses, bending over, spreading my legs, that kind of thing but I wasn’t required to have sex with anyone. Some of the girls are forced to do that.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you didn’t have to do that.”
It took nearly two hours to get back to the cabin. After everything was put away, Joey made a call to the others to tell them everything that Marissa had told him. It matched everything they knew so far.
“What now?” he asked Christopher.
“Stay tuned. We’re about to go to a club.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The men entered the club three at a time. First it was Christopher, Red, and Patrick. Then, Gator, Wes, and Bo. Bringing up the rear was Ham and Bullett.
“Let us take the lead,” said Gator. “Don’t risk your careers for this. We appreciate your help but if something shitty goes down, get the fuck out of here.”
“Sir, that’s not happening,” said Bullett. “I respect the shit out of you but I’m not leaving anyone alone in this place.”
“Stubborn fucking Rangers. It’s why I hate working with you assholes,” he smirked.
“I’m right here,” said Ham.
“I know.”
They took their seats along the stage at several tables, ordering beers and bottled water. They would only drink the water. There was a young woman on stage looking awkward and inexperienced. Her dance moves were jerky and it appeared she was stumbling, but not from alcohol or drugs. From lack of experience.
When she finished, there were only a few dollar bills on the floor, she stopped, covering her breasts as she picked them up, then ran off stage.
The next girl was far more experienced. She had piercings in all the hidden places, tattoos on top of tattoos and she was prepared to writhe and wiggle in the face of a man for any amount of money. She was a professional.
