Forsaken: A Fallen Siren Novella Read Online Free Page B

reclaim my spot on the sofa across from him. “Believe me, whatever your indiscretion, I’ve heard it before. We’re not here to judge you. We’re here to find your son. Help us do that.”
    He nods, stands, sets his drink on the mantle of the fireplace. “I loved my wife. When she died, I was barely able to hold it together. She’d been sick for so long, you’d think I would have been prepared.” His back is to us, his shoulders slump even further. “Take it from me, you’re never prepared. I had a company to run. A son to raise. And there was so much scrutiny. I had to hold it together. Maintain control, so much control. Day after day until I couldn’t do it anymore. After Robby went down for the night, I’d crawl into the bottle. One night his nanny crawled into bed with me. She’d lived with us since Robby was born. I trusted her.”
    “And that was a mistake,” Zack interjected.
    “Yes,” Maitlan agrees. “I was drunk. We did some coke. There was a video.”
    The rest I can imagine. “She’s been blackmailing you.”
    Maitlan turns to face us. “Not any longer, she’s dead. I started making payments. Within a few weeks her recreational drug habit turned into a full-blown addiction. She overdosed in her apartment. There was quite a bit of cash and coke. Her property was seized.”
    “And with it the video?” I asked.
    “I had to recover it. I confessed everything to my attorney. He put me in touch with someone who could get it back. That man introduced me to Elysium.”
    Elysium. I know it as the place where mortals who are invited by the gods spend their afterlife, those who were heroes, righteous. Something tells me this Elysium is different.
    Maitlan continues, “It’s a club, the kind of club that caters to every man’s taste. Very private. Very exclusive.”
    Zack holds up his glass. “I take it we’re talking about more than a place you can go to smoke cigars and drink whisky?”
    That gets a small smile from the multi-billionaire. “On the surface it looks like your typical stodgy gentleman’s club. Members do stop in the bar on occasion, have a drink, a bite to eat, smoke a cigar. But most, including me, go there for sex. Encounters that are uncomplicated, even anonymous if you wish it. Fantasies made to order. It’s run by a woman named Eve Devlin. There’s nothing she can’t arrange… for a price.”
    “And what does all of this have to do with your son’s kidnapping?” I ask, my patience wearing thin.
    “I believe Eve has Robby.”
    My partner asks the question that’s on both of our minds. “And why would Eve Devlin take your son?”
    Maitlan waits a beat before replying. “Because I took from her the only thing she loved more than Elysium. I’m responsible for the death of her daughter.”
    Zack and I exchange looks.
    “She was your nanny? The one that overdosed?” I ask.
    “No. Eve’s daughter, Amanda, was employed at Elysium. She wasn’t one of the working girls. She managed the schedule, kept the books. Nice, though rather plain. Despite her upbringing she was shy and somewhat sheltered. There was a social awkwardness about her. I don’t believe we’d ever had a conversation that didn’t involve me booking a reservation until that night.”
    I interrupt him then. “I’m not a therapist, Mr. Maitlan. And Zack sure as hell isn’t a priest. If you’re going to confess—
    “I didn’t murder Amanda, if that’s what your thinking.”
    “Just tell us what happened,” prompts Zack.
    “It was just a couple weeks ago. I’d called in and requested—” He falters, clears his throat, “A favorite of mine. Amanda took the reservation as usual and assured me the girl would be available when I arrived. Only when I showed up, it was Amanda waiting for me in the room. Naked. In bed.”
    He pauses, shuts his eyes for a moment as though dredging up the memory is painful. When he continues, his voice is once again calm, controlled. “I’d stopped in the bar,