Hold Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

should pretend to be?”
    I chew on the insides of my cheek. What would bother Mark the most? “He could be a law student at one of the best universities around here.” Mark wanted to be a lawyer, but his dad had other plans, so he ended up studying economics. We met in one of our economics classes where he was pretty much struggling until I helped him. He used to be nice back then.
    “Sure.” Alessandra waves at the bartender and orders herself a drink, then turns back to me. “Anything else?”
    “Not really. So how does your acquaintance know Caleb?”
    Alessandra’s lips quirk up. “Sorry. Can’t tell you that even if I wanted to. I’m just a proxy. All I know is that you won’t have trouble with anyone, and that’s what matters.”
    “Right.” I rub my arms. “Do you want to come to my father’s party?”
    “Hell no.” She touches her throat. “Business parties are incredibly boring and I just happen to be invited to a better party.”
    “What kind of a party?” I cock my head.
    She smiles at me and winks. “A very... enjoyable one.”
    I’m not even sure what’s that supposed to mean, but I don’t ask anything else. If Alessandra wanted to tell me more, she’d have done it already. All that matters is that Caleb accompanies me to the party, and if I’m lucky, Mark will never bother me again after that.

 
    Caleb makes his way through the dark underground hallways until he reaches Raphael’s office. When the door closes behind him, Raphael turns in his leather chair and smiles at him. As always, Raphael’s short black hair is perfectly combed, his blue eyes sharp, his dark suit perfect. “Ah, there you are,” he says. “A beautiful young woman needs you to be her escort tonight for some boring business event she has to go to. Wants you to be her boyfriend, a law student. Paid a nice sum for the entire night. You think you can do that?” Raphael gives him a pointed look.
    “Yes, sir,” Caleb says automatically, the words tasting sour on his tongue, but that’s the only acceptable answer.
    “Good.” Raphael leans back in his chair and takes out a phone, sliding it across the table toward Caleb. “You know what to do. If you try or even think something funny, you know who’ll pay for it.” Raphael’s smile widens. “So make sure the woman doesn’t have any complaints.”
    Caleb ignores the threat he’s heard way too many times and reaches for the phone. He doesn’t recognize the name, so the woman might be a new client. Probably some rich bitch who wants the world at her feet, just like many he’s encountered before, and he’ll have to do anything to fulfill her desires. Maybe he’s had sex with her already, but he almost never gets to find out the names of those he sleeps with.
    Somewhere at the back of his mind, the fact that he’ll have to take a video of her without her permission or knowledge so Raphael has leverage over her like he does over many others makes his stomach roll, but he pushes the thought away. He doubts he’s going to meet with an innocent woman. They’re never innocent. They know all about Raphael and what he does, and they don’t give a damn. All they care about is their own pleasure.
    As he holds the phone in his hand, he wonders what the woman will be like and what she’ll want from him. “Is that all?” he asks.
    “Almost.” Raphael opens a drawer and pulls out a small package of white pills. He tosses it to Caleb, who catches it, then Raphael waves his hand. “Go on now. Make yourself presentable. Jade can help you, but if I find out you gave her even one of the pills, she’s going to regret it, understood?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Leave.”
    Caleb immediately rushes out of the office, away from Raphael and the smell of smoke that fills the office. He stuffs the pills into the pocket of his pants, determined not to have Jade see it. She’d find a way to get him to give one to her, and he’s sure Raphael will check after he’s gone, and