Author's note:
Special thanks to Silvercatseye for editing and Mike W. for proof reading the story before submission.
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Part Three: The Plan
Chapter 11 – The Advice –
Jake and Holly had showered together, but aside from kissing, both exhausted, they did little else. After they were done showering, they changed the soiled sheets, throwing them into a hamper, and lay down in the bed together. With the confidence of long-time lovers, both curled into a classic pose, Holly tucked up against Jake with her back to his front, her head tucked neatly under his chin, and his arms wrapped protectively around her. The heat of his body warmed her still-nude form.
Holly listened silently as Jake told her everything that had happened from the moment Callie stepped into the club: the chat in the upstairs room, the attempted rape, the killing of Jimmy, the encounter with Kade, and the dilemma he now faced. Holly continued to listen without interruption until Jake had talked himself out. Then with concern in her eyes, Holly rolled over so they were face to face. She planted a soft and chaste kiss on his forehead smoothing away the lines of worry, and after another minute, she spoke.
""This girl, Callie? She's the reason you came in here like a caveman trying to ravish me." It wasn't a question; Holly knew it was the truth.
"Was I that bad?" Jake said, feeling guilty. He hadn't thought about how this would make Holly feel. In retrospect, he should have gone to some other girl, one he had no emotional connection to, but he had really wanted Holly at that moment. "Look Holly, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have..."
Holly placed a finger over Jake's mouth and said, "Shhh, it's okay." Her smile was her usual one; happiness mixed with sadness, a bittersweet blend. "I know you love me Jake. You and I are both aware that if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be here right now. I also knew the day would come when you'd find a girl your own age that you'd want to be with."
Jake opened his mouth to interrupt, but Holly's fingers were already on his lips. "Please Jake, let me finish this."
After a moment's reflection, Holly continued. "I'm glad if this girl is the one for you, because you're a great guy and you deserve someone special. I know I'm not the one, but you shouldn't worry about me. I think the best thing to do is to go to your father and tell him what you told me, before Kade has the chance That way you can take away the power he's trying lord over you. I also suggest that you go to this girl Callie, apologize, and try to explain what happened."
"Holly..."
Shhh," she said again. She wriggled out of his arms, avoiding his eyes, not wanting to see what he was thinking, not wanting him to see the pain that her words had caused her. "Go on, get outta here, I need some sleep anyway."
Jake knew it was no good; Holly was pushing him away, distancing herself from him. Years before, when they had first met, Holly had had walls up; a mental fortress that could protect her sanity and emotions even after kidnap, imprisonment and forced service to dozens of men. She had dropped those barriers for Jake, letting him into her emotional circle, giving him a person who cared, giving him someone he could love. Now, the walls were going back up. A sense of sadness overcame him as he watched Holly turn her back to him, and he knew she wanted him to leave.
At the door of her room, he hesitated for a moment and then said rather huskily, "Thank you Holly, for everything. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." The door closed behind his form, and a moment later, the lock clicked into place through the ringing silence.
Chapter 12 –Unfulfilled Wish –
The sound of the door shutting may have been soft, but for Holly, it sounded like some pronouncement of doom. She couldn't help but cry as a sense of loss went through her. She had known this day would come eventually; it had been inevitable. But knowledge doesn't dull pain when the inevitable occurs. Even with the age difference between them, Holly had felt like Jake was the only male who had truly understood her, and now that connection would be gone.
Twenty years before, Holly had been brought to this place, as part of the first "crop" that Jake's father had taken. Over the years, Holly had lived here, surrounded by the walls of her room, vanished from the world above. She knew the twenty or so men who frequented this place intimately, knew that many had families who had no idea that the men lived a double life. She knew something of the mansion that stood atop the dungeon that she called home, knew that only a half-dozen men lived there. She knew also that there had only been a few men admitted to the secret in recent years; most of those for whom the facility existed were the same as had been present twenty years ago when Holly had arrived.
What was it that Madame Tamara had said? Holly fought to remember the words of that fifty-year-old woman who had taken the scared streetwalker in and taught her the arts of prostitution.
Walls are necessary in our line of work. They keep you safe. Never let them down.
Chiding herself for letting things go so far with Jake, Holly sat up and tried to wipe the tears from her face. She should have felt disgust with herself for being with Jake like this anyway; she was old enough to be his mother. Nevertheless, she couldn't help it, sweet innocent Jake had stolen her heart when he was just an 18 year-old boy, and she had always been secretly in love with him from that moment forward. Before Jake came along, the other men had been absolutely brutal with her, leaving sores, bruises, and once a set of broken ribs, the last courtesy of Jake's father. Once Jake had come into her life however, everything changed, as he became her savior and protector. Few men, even here, would chance Jake's physical skills or his uncertain temper. He didn't treat her like a whore either, like the rest of the men in the place. To him, Holly had been a woman worthy of gentleness and care; he was actually very sweet to her and they soon found in each other a sort of kindred spirit.
