Page 18 of Claiming Liberty
“Yeah.”
“So Angel is a frequent visitor at Chaffer’s mansion?” I ask, hoping neither of them catch the slight break in my voice.
I don’t know why I didn’t think of it until now, but… The idea of Angel going to sex parties, sleeping with women on the island… It’s repulsive.
Kingsley blows steam from his mug and takes another sip.
I follow his lead, if for no other reason than to be polite. I fucking hate green tea.
“Yeah,” Layan answers when Kingsley takes too long. “I used to see him all the time.”
“Used to?” I ask, too much hope in my voice. “You haven’t seen him lately, though?”
I don’t know why I even ask this. To hear confirmation, I guess. He hasn’t even been on the island since we left each other.
My stomach drops. What if he went to this Chaffer’s placewhileI was on the island?
I think of the nights I spent stripping, how he never liked to come to the manor. I always thought he was just working, but what if he went somewhere else?
Layan brings her mug close to her chest. “I meant before Kingsley, when I was Eli Colley’s slave. Like a year ago.”
I stare at her blankly.
“You don’t know who that is either, do you?”
“I go sometimes, and I haven’t seen Ramos in a while,” Kingsley says, not giving me a chance to respond while speaking in a tone that makes me think bringing up her old master touched a nerve. He runs his hand over an impressive, blond beard. “Hey, do you need anything? Peter told me Ramos just recently ‘gave’ you to him, so if you need any more clothes or something, I can try—”
“Peter said Angel gave me to him?” My eyebrows raise, and Kingsley’s head tilts. I don’t think any of us are on the same page, and I want to call back my question. Surely, there’s a reason Peter lied to them, if that’s what he did.
“Is that not what happened?” Layan is the one to ask.
I hesitate for only a few seconds before speaking. “It—it is. I just didn’t realize how much information Peter was giving people.”
Kingsley’s face slumps sympathetically. Layan doesn’t look as convinced.
I search my brain for a change in subject, and an idea sparks.
“Hey, do you also go to the manor sometimes?” I ask Kingsley.
He shakes his head. “Not really, no. I wasn’t…” Discomfort settles over him, and he hangs his head. “Until Layan, I wasn’t aware of everything that goes on with the women there… I didn’t… I thought, uh…”
Is he trying to explain himself to me?
“He didn’t realize a chunk of the women coming to the island are kidnapped and that they start there,” Layan finishes for him.
I blink at them but don’t question it further.
“So you couldn’t go back then?” I ask, feeding my hope.
He meets my eyes. “Go back?”
I nod.
He looks at Layan before turning back to me. “Umm, what for?”
I lower my mug and inch forward like my excitement is propelling me. “I have a friend there, two of them actually, and I really,reallywant to make sure they’re okay.” I tell myself not to get too excited, my heart picking up its pace. “Is there any way you could go for me? All you’d have to do is ask around about an April and a…” I trail off as my heart sinks. I don’t know Elsie’s new name.
Fuck. Fucking fu—