Page 48 of Hers To Keep
“They’re of legal age,” he says, answering my unspoken question. “They’re not the same girls from The Gallows. Once they graduate from there, meaning they turn eighteen, they’re brought here, or to one of the other clubs around town, where they can take part in more illicit activities. These are The Calypsos.” I turn to him confused by his response. “Hidden, underground sex clubs spread out in the neighboring affluent towns. Located in the basements of hotels, office buildings, city halls, casinos, the possibilities are endless. Where the girls of The Gallows can choose to move once they’re old enough, and work for higher wages and engage in more intricate activities.” My mouth drops, my eyes widening at his response.
“The girls of The Gallows, they’re never forced to do anythingwith any of the clients. It’s more of a come see, don’t touch. The perverted men go to see the young girls dance, strip down to their lingerie, but may make no form of physical contact with them.”
“But Macallan,” I say, remembering the way he put his hands and lips on me without my consent after he drugged me.
“He crossed a line, he’s gone now, but I will make sure he pays for that. He should have never touched you the way he did. It isn’t supposed to be allowed.”
“What are you two whispering about?” asks Carrington, grabbing a drink from the tray of another girl as she passes by.
“Don’t drink that,” I scowl, taking the drink out of her hand and setting it on the table beside us. She scoffs, rolling her eyes, and crosses her arms at her chest, pushing up the cleavage of her lace bodysuit. “You know about all of this?” I ask her, looking around and finding the men standing around eyeing us sickly.
It’s absolutely disgusting, the depravity that lurks within one of the richest towns in the United States. The way the rich find it necessary to entertain themselves is deplorable.
“My brother works at The Gallows, but I’ve found out some other things, not because they’ve told me, but because I’m observant. Daddy isn’t as slick as he thinks he is,” she says proudly.
“You’re going to get your ass in a lot of trouble, Carrie. You don’t have the slightest idea of what those around you are capable of.”
“Oh please, Ace, I’m not as stupid as I may look. Besides, my father will always make sure his little girl is untouched.” Both Ace and I laugh at her naivety.
“Oh, Carrie, darling, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ace says, wrapping his arm around my waist. “You forget who your father works for, you forget who he has sworn his loyalty to.”
I move to stand in front of Carrington, placing my hands upon her shoulders. “You aren’t safe, Carrington, not even God himself could protect you from the devils who lurk in these parts of theworld.” I turn away from her before she can respond and head toward the woman I’m here to see. My mother.
As a little girl I loved her blindly. She’d read me bedtime stories, she worked day and night, and I assumed it was to provide the best life she could for us. She was my mother, the only person I had. The only being who should instinctively love me. But that is definitely not what she felt.
Then over the years, as I grew and became more aware of her disdain toward me, I battled daily with my internal feelings and emotions.Should I save a woman who thinks nothing of me? Should I continue to blindly love someone who wants nothing to do with me?
I did. Over and over again, day in and day out, I made excuses for her. I justified her actions, her ire with the fact that she’d been dealt a hard life. Alone in this world with no one to guide her down the right path, she had no other option. I continued to foolishly believe that deep down, under all the pain and anguish, under all the alcohol, drugs, and anger, she cared for me too.
Now I know she feels nothing. I would go as far as saying she doesn’t even hate me, or resent me, or is at all jealous, because that would require her to feel any kind of emotion, and I’ve concluded that my mother is empty inside. Nothing but a rotted husk, beautiful on the outside, but inside crawling with maggots and vermin, a putrid scent emanating from her empty corpse as she goes about the earth.
I can see it in her eyes as she blankly stares at me. She knows what I think of her, how I feel about her, and she doesn’t have a care in the world.
Lilith Steele is the only person Lilith Steele cares about.
My blood is boiling inside me as I approach her, my hands sweating, my body trembling with anger, and my eyes burning from the smoky haze that envelops the room. The man beside her turns to face me as I arrive where they stand, but my eyes never once leave my mother. She smirks wickedly at me knowing exactly why I’m here.
Grabbing a cigar out of the hand of the man beside her, she brings it to her lips and blows out a cloud of smoke before she speaks. “My darling daughter, so nice of you to join mummy here tonight,” she coos, all the while the man beside her looks back and forth between the two of us, clearly looking for the resemblance. I look up to him, my gaze leaving my mother for a moment and take in his somewhat familiar face.
His hair is a dark blond almost brown, his eyes a bright, unique shade of blue, and his suit suggests elegance without being overly pretentious. He reeks of privilege, but unlike the other men I’ve met so far, he has a softness in his eyes. Well, besides the fact that he’s at some illicit sex club speaking to my mother, but to be fair, I guess so am I.
He stares at me impassively like he’s seen a ghost of sorts. Maybe he’s just wondering why someone so young is in a place like this. Hmm, not only kind, but seems to have a conscience as well.
“Ahh, yes,” Lilith says, and we both turn our attention back to her. “This is…”
“Maxwell Smoak,” Ace says, interrupting her, as he comes to stand behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist.Great, another Smoak.
I cringe at the memory of finding out my mother and Chaz were responsible for the death of Silas Smoak, Alek and Drea’s grandfather. I close my eyes and can still see the look of betrayal in Mayor Malcolm Smoak’s eyes when my mother confessed and put all the blame on Chaz, once again causing another’s death.
“The mayor’s brother?” I ask, turning my attention to Maxwell. He suddenly looks standoffish, his gaze flickering between my mother and me. He must be aware he’s standing next to his father’s killer. Well, I guess she’s now exonerated of her crimes.
“Younger brother,” Lilith says, taking Maxwell’s arm in hers. He nervously steps away from her, seemingly uncomfortable with the situation before him.
“Yes, Malcolm is my older brother.” He stares at me, making me slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation.Who would have thought that today at my boyfriend’s eighteenth birthday party, I’d be in a sex club, speaking with my mother and her murder victim’s son?
“So you’re Alek and Drea’s uncle?” I ask, trying to lighten up the awkward mood.
“Yes, although…”