Free Cherish her: Laws of Seduction, Book 4 by Ava Hayworth

have to look at me like that. It’s really quite simple. Rex has been helping me out by doing a little investigating.””
    “But why?”
    James seems exasperated. “Don’t you think I would try to get to the bottom of why some lunatic is displaying horrific photos of you?”
    “But those photos aren’t me.”
    “You may not have been the actual model, but they represent you.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?” I look around at the other men in the room, who all seem to be in on the things that have been going on while I have remained completely ignorant. They are looking at their feet or at James, not daring to meet my eyes.
    “There hasn’t been much to tell.”
    This is so patently untrue that I don’t know where to begin. Hurt and dismay keep me from saying anything. Davis’s voice breaks the awkward silence. “Tobin is into some pretty nasty stuff.”
    Gordon interjects. “Why don’t we sit down before going any further?” He pulls his desk chair over to a seating area. Rex and Davis sit on the two stuffed chairs in front of a glass coffee table. This leaves the brown leather loveseat facing them for James and me. I perch lightly on the edge of my seat, wondering what the next few minutes will reveal.
    Looking at me, Rex begins, “As we suspected, Tobin has been targeting Davis’s girlfriends. He spoke to all of them to see if they had noticed anything unusual. They all told him about various incidents, but nothing that would cause anyone serious alarm or that would pinpoint Tobin as the instigator. That is, until Chantal.”
    Davis, who has yet to say a word, remains slouched down in his chair. I send him a probing look and prompt. “What happened to Chantal?”
    Without looking at me, he begins, “Chantal is the first girl I started seeing after I moved here from Australia. When we broke up, I didn’t have any more contact with her. Not because it was a bad break-up, but because we both just moved on, or so I thought. I actually met Tobin and his sister through Chantal. It turns out that Selene had wanted me for herself, and in a jealous rage enlisted Tobin to help break us up.”
    “I told you Selene was into you.” I can’t stop myself from interrupting.
    “Yea, but I never thought she was bat-shit crazy.”
    “Was she responsible for breaking you two up?”
    “Only partly. Let’s just say she hurried the break-up along. That wasn’t the end of it though. They basically sold Chantal into a prostitution ring.””
    My mouth drops open in shock. “What? How is that even possible?”
    Rex lets out a harsh bark of laughter. “If you have enough money, anything is possible.”
    I turn back to Davis. “Where is she now?”
    My anxiety grows exponentially in the silence that follows this question. James places his hand on my thigh. “We suspect that she may be dead.”
    As I look into each of their downcast faces, I realize that is what they all believe. I shake my head back and forth. “How do you know? How can you be sure?”
    James’s grip on my thigh tightens. “Lainey, remember when you were drugged at the night club?”
    I feel the blood drain out of my face. Feeling sick, I bend down and rest my head on my knees. Rocking back and forth, I listen as James continues. “We think that is the method Tobin used to get to Chantal. It appears to be a system that works well for him. The night you were drugged at the nightclub, Tobin saw Davis’s interest in you, and when the opportunity presented itself, he decided to deal with you the same way he had dealt with Chantal.”
    The thought of the horrible possible outcomes of that night is dizzying, and I bite back the cries that claw at the back of my throat. Instead, I try concentrating on the movement of James’s hand, which is making comforting circles on my back. James voice is low as he continues. “Rex was able to infiltrate the prostitution ring where Chantal was held prisoner by pretending to be a customer.