How could I be so god damn stupid? How did I not see Camden’s intentions before letting him into my place so he could rob me of it all? Not only did he take away my future as an escort, but he took away the past, too. How blind was I to let it all happen in a matter of minutes?

“His name is Camden Steel. He is my lover,” I say. He is my ex-lover now, I think to myself. “He was with me in my apartment all weekend and he must’ve stole all of it while I was sleeping in my bed twenty fucking feet away. How could I be so goddamn stupid?” I ask, knowing the operator won’t answer.

I hear the police car sirens coming closer and tell the woman I can hear them. I hang up on the woman that just witnessed my complete and total breakdown. I’m still in just a towel, water dripping down me, so I lift off the ground in a twirl to grab my robe before I head toward the front door of my apartment. My phone rings in my hand and I look down to find a text from Camden.

Princess, I miss you so much already. Let’s have lunch.

I read the text twice to be sure that what I’m reading is actually fucking real. What an absolute mother fucker. Does he actually think I haven’t noticed the empty safe? How stupid does he think I am?

I hit reply.

Bring back my jewelry and maybe I’ll let you go fuck yourself.

The phone starts ringing right after I hit send, but I have no time to answer it. The door is shaking with the knocking on it, and I hear Colin’s voice coming through the crowd of people assembled outside my door.

“Ma’am, you called in a robbery?” The first officer I see looks like he is a teenager, but he’s wearing a Chicago PD badge and has a gun strapped to his belt, so whatever. That’s all I need when that mother fucker gets back here.

I whirl around and race toward my dressing room. I stop short when I see a pair of diamond tear drop earrings on top of my armoire. Next to it is a photograph of me with Heath and we are… oh fuck, we are naked. I quickly toss the photo and earrings in my drawer and turn around just in time to see the lot of the policemen and Colin coming through my bedroom door. I point to the dressing room and with all the strength I can muster, I say, “The safe was cleaned out. I didn’t realize it until this morning, after I showered and was starting to dress.”

Colin comes over to me and pulls me into a hug. I’ve never been so overwhelmed to have someone’s arms around me. Colin is safe. He knows me like a brother knows his little sister. He feels right. He is the right person to hold me right now. The rest of the people in my life? I’m not so sure anymore. I’m not sure of anything anymore.

Why would he do this to me? It’s not like he needs money. He owns Steel Charter and it is worth quite a bit of money. Maybe they are having money issues. I’ll have to look into their file when I get into work. And if he needs money, he could’ve asked me; he knows I’m with him for the long haul. If he needs my jewelry so badly, it has to be for a reason, but stealing it wasn’t the best way to go about it. Then to plan to see me again – why would I want to invite him back if he’s a thief.

Nevertheless, the facts are all plain as day. He was the only person in my apartment all weekend long. He was the only one with access, and very intimate access, I might add, to my personal belongings. Only Lola has been this far into my apartment and that was for her to sleep off her drunk.

Before I see the sick bastard that did this to me, I can feel his presence throughout every part of my body. He has a way of melting me now that we spent all those glorious moments between the sheets.

“Luca, baby. What the hell happened here? What was with that text?” Camden looks sincerely concerned and I don’t know exactly how to play this one off. Does he honestly think he can get away with taking all of my jewelry, only to leave a photo of me and Heath together? If he has known where I’ve been since he got my name off the passenger list, then he easily could have followed me to Savannah where I spent a weekend with his…God fucking damn it, son of a bitch, mother fucker – he lied. Everything he said to me was nothing but lies and betrayal. And for what?

I look over to Colin who is sizing Camden up and down with some weird look I’ve never seen on his face before. I get up to stop him. I need one of my best friends by my side, not locked up in a damn jail cell for murder.

“Officers, this is the man that was with me the entire weekend. He was the only one with access to my safe. I believe this is the man you’ll want to question.” I stare deeply into Camden’s eyes with a rage in my heart that I can’t believe I have in me.

“If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Steel, the officers will escort you the fuck off my property now.” I look down quickly so he doesn’t see the disappointment or the single tear that just formed in my eye, ready to trail its way down my cheek.

I quickly wipe my eye, pushing the tear away and turn to Colin. I flash five fingers to him, letting him know I’ll be five minutes. Colin imperceptivity nods at me. He looks fierce like he wants to actually dress me now, refusing to let me out of his sight. Oh, holy hell. I’ve had enough alpha men in my life forever.

I think about having told Carl I am done with the lifestyle and even though things with Camden will not be working out since he is the biggest mother fucking bastard cocky son of a bitch I’ve ever met, I still feel good about that decision… My life needs to slow down. I need to find a happy balance between work and Chicago’s nightlife. Perhaps, this was full circle. I started and ended with Camden Steel. I am over it.

THIRTEEN

Colin is trying to do everything possible to cheer me up. He stops at Starbucks on the way to the office and grabs me a coffee without my asking. He puts the radio on my favorite station, in hopes I will get lost in the music. He’s being overly attentive as well.

I don’t cheer up, I refuse to. I walk like a mummy through the lobby and into the elevator. Holding my cup of coffee, I replay the look on Camden’s face over and over. My heart is breaking at the loss of him, yet to think before last week, I was adamant that I didn’t even have a heart.

Annie is standing next to my door as I approach and she still looks pissed off at me from Friday. What the fuck did I do to her?

“What is it, Ann?” I ask, using her real name for the first time ever that I can recall. “Please, tell me what I can possibly do for you since you’re supposed to be my assistant.”

Her gasp is audible. Hell, the front desk clerk probably heard it. I wince and slide by only to slam my door in her face.

“Well, that’s the beautiful Luca we all love,” Leo laughs from my love seat. Mitch is sitting next to him, open jawed.

“Damn, Luca. That was harsh.” Mitch can hardly look at me.

“That mother fucker I trusted ten years ago and again only ten fucking minutes ago robbed me. Everything in my safe is cleaned out.” Again, I am shaking at the thought of those beautiful pearls. Strands and strands of them. I think about the fact that I will never see them again. No, I will see them again, because the police will search Camden’s property, wherever that is, and find them.

“What?” they both bellow out with fury and dismay.

I nod in reply before losing my calm. I crumble to the ground in sobs. My two friends run to my side and carry me to the loveseat, where both of them try to appease me with soft back rubs and soothing words. I love these guys. They are so innocent and sweet. They’d never hurt me.