Three, Two, One
ONE GIRL
Battered, barefoot, and huddled under a bookstore awning in the pouring rain, Blue only knows one thing. After fifteen months of captivity, finally… she is free.
TWO FRIENDS
Self-made millionaires JD and Ark are not out to save anyone when they stumble upon a wet and shivering girl one early Sunday morning. But when you sell sex for a living and salvation rings your bell… you answer the call.
THREE SOULMATES
After years of searching, love lifts the veil of darkness, and three people—with three very big secrets—find themselves bound together in a relationship that defies the odds.
Or does it?
Love. Lust. Sex.
This trinity might be perfection… but not everything should come in threes.
For JD,
Because he puts up with me three nights a week and I’m a total bitch to him. He really should fire my ass from his gym.
Denver Federal Center
Lakewood, Colorado
Present Day
“We can’t help you if you don’t help us help you.”
I just stare at the guy. That’s his angle? Help us help you?
“Ark—” He hesitates and gives me a sidelong look, like it’s just now occurring to him that Ark might not be my real name. I let out a small snort and a smile breaks. He does not appreciate the smile or the snort, because he rubs a hand down his face and huffs some air into it.
“Ark,” the other suit says, taking over. I guess this is when they do the good-cop-bad-cop thing. “Come on, man, we know, OK?”
Now that intrigues me. “What do you think you know?”
“We know people are dead,” Bad Cop interjects, warranting a feigned exasperated sigh and an upheld hand from Good Cop.
“People die every day,” I add, just so Good Cop doesn’t have a chance to play his card. It ticks him off too, because he has to take a deep breath.
“Ark,” he tries again. “We need to know what’s happening. People might still be in danger. More bodies might turn up. Bodies who might not be just bodies if we can intervene in time.”
“Nothing’s happening,” I say, stressing the word. “It’s over.”
Bad Cop slaps down a stack of eight-by-ten photos and they skid across the stainless steel table with a whoosh. “This,” he says, tapping one of the photos, “is more than nothing. This is a dead woman. And this—” He points to another photo, one I’m not sure I can look at and not be affected by. So before he can say anything I clear my throat like I’m gonna talk. It shuts him up just long enough to let Good Cop change the subject back to me.
“Ark, come on. We know there’s more to this than you’re saying. It’s clear that you were working with this guy. We’ve found hundreds of contracts in your office.” He taps another photo and sucks some air through his teeth while he lets me think about that. “Just start from the beginning. If you explain, I’m sure we can make things easy for you.”
I give off another snort. “Make things easy, huh?” That’s what they always say before they fuck you. I know. I’ve been fucked lots of times.
“Just tell us how you met her.” I look over at Bad Cop, who is surprisingly calm now. His façade is slipping. Or maybe he just knows I can’t be had that way. I’ve been on the streets too long. I’ve seen too much. I’ve done too much to be lured into talking with a fake promise. “Just start with this one,” he says, pointing to the dead woman in the photo, “and we can get to the other stuff later.”
I stare at him.
He stares back at me. “You’re gonna have to tell someone.”
“Eventually,” Good Cop adds. “I mean, come on, Ark. There’s bodies. You don’t walk away from this, understand? You don’t just get to walk away. We can’t cut that kind of deal and you know it. So just start at the beginning and we’ll take it one step at a time. We’ll put all the pieces together and write the report and then we’ll talk about your options.”
I already know my options. I glance down at the photos again, then flick them with a fingertip, making them slide across the smooth metal table.
Blue peeks out from underneath the ones on top. Her face in this picture is just the way I saw it that first day. Innocent, but stoic. Scared, yet strong. She was cold and wet. Her long hair was hanging down the front of that drenched summer dress that was too skimpy for summer, let alone late in the fall.
“You can pick it up,” Bad Cop says. “Go ahead.”
I can’t stop myself, so I reach for it, but the chain on my cuffs is too short and it jerks taut. Bad Cop slides her photo across the table so it’s directly below me.
Battered, barefoot, and huddled under a bookstore awning in the pouring rain, Blue only knows one thing. After fifteen months of captivity, finally… she is free.
TWO FRIENDS
Self-made millionaires JD and Ark are not out to save anyone when they stumble upon a wet and shivering girl one early Sunday morning. But when you sell sex for a living and salvation rings your bell… you answer the call.
THREE SOULMATES
After years of searching, love lifts the veil of darkness, and three people—with three very big secrets—find themselves bound together in a relationship that defies the odds.
Or does it?
Love. Lust. Sex.
This trinity might be perfection… but not everything should come in threes.
For JD,
Because he puts up with me three nights a week and I’m a total bitch to him. He really should fire my ass from his gym.
Denver Federal Center
Lakewood, Colorado
Present Day
“We can’t help you if you don’t help us help you.”
I just stare at the guy. That’s his angle? Help us help you?
“Ark—” He hesitates and gives me a sidelong look, like it’s just now occurring to him that Ark might not be my real name. I let out a small snort and a smile breaks. He does not appreciate the smile or the snort, because he rubs a hand down his face and huffs some air into it.
“Ark,” the other suit says, taking over. I guess this is when they do the good-cop-bad-cop thing. “Come on, man, we know, OK?”
Now that intrigues me. “What do you think you know?”
“We know people are dead,” Bad Cop interjects, warranting a feigned exasperated sigh and an upheld hand from Good Cop.
“People die every day,” I add, just so Good Cop doesn’t have a chance to play his card. It ticks him off too, because he has to take a deep breath.
“Ark,” he tries again. “We need to know what’s happening. People might still be in danger. More bodies might turn up. Bodies who might not be just bodies if we can intervene in time.”
“Nothing’s happening,” I say, stressing the word. “It’s over.”
Bad Cop slaps down a stack of eight-by-ten photos and they skid across the stainless steel table with a whoosh. “This,” he says, tapping one of the photos, “is more than nothing. This is a dead woman. And this—” He points to another photo, one I’m not sure I can look at and not be affected by. So before he can say anything I clear my throat like I’m gonna talk. It shuts him up just long enough to let Good Cop change the subject back to me.
“Ark, come on. We know there’s more to this than you’re saying. It’s clear that you were working with this guy. We’ve found hundreds of contracts in your office.” He taps another photo and sucks some air through his teeth while he lets me think about that. “Just start from the beginning. If you explain, I’m sure we can make things easy for you.”
I give off another snort. “Make things easy, huh?” That’s what they always say before they fuck you. I know. I’ve been fucked lots of times.
“Just tell us how you met her.” I look over at Bad Cop, who is surprisingly calm now. His façade is slipping. Or maybe he just knows I can’t be had that way. I’ve been on the streets too long. I’ve seen too much. I’ve done too much to be lured into talking with a fake promise. “Just start with this one,” he says, pointing to the dead woman in the photo, “and we can get to the other stuff later.”
I stare at him.
He stares back at me. “You’re gonna have to tell someone.”
“Eventually,” Good Cop adds. “I mean, come on, Ark. There’s bodies. You don’t walk away from this, understand? You don’t just get to walk away. We can’t cut that kind of deal and you know it. So just start at the beginning and we’ll take it one step at a time. We’ll put all the pieces together and write the report and then we’ll talk about your options.”
I already know my options. I glance down at the photos again, then flick them with a fingertip, making them slide across the smooth metal table.
Blue peeks out from underneath the ones on top. Her face in this picture is just the way I saw it that first day. Innocent, but stoic. Scared, yet strong. She was cold and wet. Her long hair was hanging down the front of that drenched summer dress that was too skimpy for summer, let alone late in the fall.
“You can pick it up,” Bad Cop says. “Go ahead.”
I can’t stop myself, so I reach for it, but the chain on my cuffs is too short and it jerks taut. Bad Cop slides her photo across the table so it’s directly below me.