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  “The doctors think he has some kind of respiratory problem. We won’t know for sure until the tests come back.”

  “Where is Daddy now?”

  “He’s asleep. He complains of muscle aches and he has a really bad cough too. He’s been awfully tired lately and having migraine headaches. He’s been laying around the house a lot for the past couple of weeks. It’s just not like him.”

  Aisha was livid. Why hadn’t her mother called and told her any of this? Sandra Carlisle could be quite vindictive but Aisha hated to think that this was her mother’s way of punishing her for not being around or calling them as much. Ever since she started working at The Lynx, Aisha had found it more difficult to find time to visit as much as she used to. She mostly relied on phone communication to keep her abreast of what was going on, but of course her mother didn’t see things the same way. The two women were stubborn and often butted heads.

  “Mother, I can’t believe you haven’t said anything about this to me. I know I’ve been working non-stop and I haven’t been over there lately. But I’m still entitled to know what’s going on with you and Daddy.” Aisha ranted on the cordless phone while she walked through the house.

  “If you really wanted to see us, you’d make the time to do it. Maybe if you slowed down a little and took a look around at the things that are or should be,” she emphasized, “important to you other than making money and more money, then you would know what’s going on. ”

  Aisha knew by her mother’s last remarks that she was definitely punishing her. She began to cry, but managed to keep her mother from hearing it in her voice. “I’ll head over there first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll talk to you then,” Aisha remarked without responding to her mother’s cutting words. She said goodbye and went into her bedroom and plopped down on the bed where she allowed the heavy flow of tears to have their way. She was too tired and way too upset to hold them back. She buried her face in her pillow to muffle the sound. Without flinching, she reached over on the nightstand next to her king-sized bed and pulled out baby girl. After taking a few hits, she fell into a deep, restless sleep.

  CHAPTER 23

  “Welcome to The Lynx, Mr. Taylor.” Jason extended his hand out to the newest member of their circle.

  “Thank you, Jason. And now that we’re comrades, call me Kyle.

  “Of course, Kyle,” Jason responded.

  “From the looks of this establishment, I believe I’ve made the right decision to become a member. But as you know, I can’t be totally sure until I see what this place has to offer other than elegance of structure. If you know what I mean?” Kyle Taylor was smooth talking and much like his true self, he had the charisma that drew people to him.

  “Now that you’ve toured your new home away from home, let me show you the perks that come along with being a V.I.P. member of The Lynx. After that, I’ll show you to your suite. You must be tired after such a long flight.

  Kyle nodded, “Yes I am. I had the driver to bring me here without stopping at my Memphis home. But I’m about business, so let’s see what you have to show me.”

  “Of course.” Jason led him into the lounge area. It was close to midnight, and the ambiance of the lounge was impressive. Kyle’s eyes lingered on the host of stunning scantily clad women sitting and standing around in the lounge. From the cocktail waitresses to the voluptuous blonde and brunette dancers that moved back and forth over the raised floor, they were hot. Their assets moved invitingly along with them as they kept up with the beat of the hip hop song playing. Their attire left little to the imagination.

  “What do you think, Kyle? Do you like what you see so far?”

  “I do, I do. But I’ve seen even better where I’ve just come from.”

  “Is that right? Where might that be?” If I might ask.”

  “St. Thomas.”

  “I’ve made several trips to St. Thomas myself. They have some fine women there but they can’t compete with the ladies you’ll find here at The Lynx. I believe you’re well aware of that. Successful brothers like us don’t pay for services that we aren’t one hundred percent sure about,” Jason laughed.

  “Well said, Jason. And, oh so true. Show me more,” Kyle prodded. I want to make sure I did the right thing when I purchased a home in Memphis.

  “Come, I’ll take you to your suite.” Kyle allowed Jason to lead him down the same corridor Aisha had taken earlier that led to the private elevator.

  “I believe you’ll find that the key to the elevator is already in your possession.”

  “Is that so?” Kyle asked rather curious.

  “Just push the black square on the elevator and hold it there for ten seconds.”

  Kyle did as he was instructed and the elevator door opened. “Ah, another plus. You’ve already programmed my fingerprints, huh. How clever.”

  “The men at The Lynx are not your typical run of the mill men. We have the best of the best in every field. That includes the best of work technology that you could ever imagine.” They stepped on to the elevator and Jason guided Kyle again. This time he told him to push the blue square button that read 11. Kyle did as he was told and when the elevator reached the eleventh floor they stepped out, turned right and walked down the wide hallway until the two of them stood in front of Suite 1177. The two bedroom Presidential suite occupied the entire eleventh floor. When Kyle walked inside, he stepped on to black marble floors. The first bathroom had mahogany ceilings. To his right, was the sitting room which featured unique glazed faux finish walls, an entertainment center and Victorian antiques. Through another entrance leading from the sitting area was a study that had a mahogany and leather desk with matching leather both from the Ernest Hemingway collection. Another area of the study was equipped with a state of the art computer. Each room of the suite was lavishly decorated and furnished. Chandler thought to himself, I can easily get used to being Kyle Taylor. He turned and looked at Jason when they walked out on to the private balcony. Before he could say anything, Jason spoke.

  “Your clothes have already been brought up to your room. Someone will be up shortly, or whenever you say the word to unpack them for you.”

  “Okay. But give me a few minutes to relax and make some business calls, then you can send the person up.”

  “Sure, and we’ll talk tomorrow. You’ll get a chance to meet some of the other members at that time. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.” Kyle went back into the master suite and looked around. Next to the walnut California king size bed was an antique side table. A key rested on top of it in a solid gold tray. Kyle tried to see if it was the key to the locked drawer on the table, and it was. He pulled out the drawer and saw a black octagon shaped box. He opened it and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The white powder stung his tongue when he tasted it. Pure cocaine. Well, I’ll be….” he swore. He placed the box back inside the drawer and locked it back, placing the key on his key ring. He talked to himself out loud. “I’m going to take a bath and then I’ll call Aisha. I haven’t seen or talked to her in a few days.” Just as he started into the bathroom, he heard a light knock on the door.

  “Who’s there?”

  “I’m here to unpack your things sir,” the demure voice said from the other side of the door.

  Chandler opened the door and was in awe at the beauty of the young girl who stood before him. Her hair was the color of onyx and her eyes sparkled like diamonds. Her sweet fragrance wafted through his nostrils. Yet he wasn’t the least bit moved or aroused by her presence. She looked far too young and reminded him of his fourteen year old niece in Birmingham. He resisted the urge to pull the terrified looking girl inside his suite and tell her that everything would be all right. The frightened look on her face pushed him to his limit. But he had to play his part well if he was to be successful in nabbing these oversexed, drug dealing, perverted men he was about to encounter at The Lynx.

  “Come in, young lady,” Chandler spoke as politely as possible without sounding too mushy or s
uspicious.

  “Sir, are you ready for me to unpack your things?” He could barely hear her, as she spoke just above a whisper. She shied away from looking directly at him as she moved deeper inside the suite.

  “Yes, I’d like that. What’s your name?”

  “Hallie,” she said quickly.

  “Hallie. That’s a lovely name. I’m Kyle”

  He wanted to make her feel somewhat at ease. He hoped to be able to gain her trust over the next few days and then get her to confide in him. He was sure she was at The Lynx against her will and from what he’d discovered in his room, there was a lot of other illegal activity to be uncovered and he was just the cop to do the job. He focused his attention back on Hallie. He watched as she carefully removed each piece of clothing from his suitcase and hung them on the wooden hangars in the closet or placed them in the drawers. When she finally finished, she slowly turned toward him and began to peel each layer of her own clothing. She slid the delicate sleeves of the lavender dress down off her shoulders and was about to push the one piece dress down over her hips when Chandler ordered her to stop. He didn’t mean to frighten her with his fatherly tone, but at that moment he saw a child standing before him, not a woman.

  “Hallie, what are you doing?”

  “I’m here to please you, sir.”

  He rushed over to her side and pulled her dress back up over her shoulders. The girl cowered in fear. “Please me? What are you talking about, please me?”

  “I’m here for you, to serve your needs, Mr. Kyle. What would you like me to do? How can I show you how much I want to satisfy you?”

  “You’re just a child. Tell me something, Hallie?”

  “Yes, what is it sir?” she asked, eager to respond to his request.

  “How old are you?”

  Hallie’s face turned ashen. She didn’t know what to say. Why would he ask her such a thing? She had been brought to The Lynx three months ago and she was still new to what was expected of her. She longed to be back home in St. Thomas with her three younger brothers and two little sisters. When her father woke her up that terrible night, she didn’t know that her life was about to change. Some of her friends on the island had suddenly disappeared over the past two years without a trace and she’d heard frightening stories about what happened to them. But she didn’t want to believe the horrid things she heard about them being kidnapped, raped, sold as sex slaves and child laborers. “Hallie, wake up,” her father had demanded that horrible night. He shook her hard and yanked her out of the bed. “Hallie,” he screamed again. “Hurry, they’re waiting on you.”

  “Who, Father?” she asked. “Who’s waiting on me? Is everything okay?”

  “You have to go. It’s time for you to do something to help the family. I can’t do it alone anymore. You’re thirteen years old now. You must fulfill your responsibilities as a woman.” He pushed her toward the front door. She saw her mother and siblings hovering inside the dingy hut they called home. A look of helplessness and despair lay openly over her mother’s face. Her brothers and sisters watched as her father continued to pull her toward the bamboo door. When he opened it, she saw three men she’d seen from time to time on the island. She’d heard terrible rumors about the reason the men scaled the island. Tonight it seemed as if the rumors weren’t rumors at all. They really were who people said they were – men looking to buy young girls and sometimes boys from the poorest inhabitants on the island.

  “Daddy, please. Please don’t do this.” She felt fear rise up inside and envelop her newly developing body.

  “Come on, Hallie. Everything will be all right.” She kicked and screamed against the darkness.

  The three men laughed. One of them remarked, “She’s a feisty little thing isn’t she.” Another one of the men passed a wad of money to Hallie’s father. She met the empty gaze of her father as he turned and walked back in the house. He push the door closed behind him.

  “Hallie, I asked you a question,” Chandler repeated. “How old are you?”

  “Almost fourteen, Mr. Taylor,” she responded, sounding even more like a little girl to Chandler than she had just moments before.

  “Get out of here, Hallie.”

  “What did I do wrong, Mr. Kyle? Please, I’ll do whatever you want. Just tell me. I don’t want any trouble,” she begged.

  “Trouble? What kind of trouble?” Chandler asked the terrified child.

  “I, I don’t want them to hurt me anymore. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Then what I want is for you to go. I’m tired and I don’t want to be bothered,” he insisted. He couldn’t trust her with his true identity and real reason for being at The Lynx just yet. The young girl hurried toward the door. A look of relief washed over her innocent face.

  “Goodnight sir.. I’ll be here early tomorrow with your breakfast.”

  “Fine. Now go. I told you, I’m tired.” When she closed the door, he formed his hand into a fist and slammed it against the wall. He couldn’t suppress the thoughts of the vile, filthy, disgusting acts that were probably being done to Hallie and the other girls who were there against their will. He hurried to bathroom, ran some more hot water to warm up his now cold bath water. He soaked for almost forty five minutes before climbing out and checking the time.

  “Dang, it’s almost two in the morning. Too late to call Aisha. I’ll call her first thing tomorrow morning. I want to see her and talk to her so bad. I’m craving her.” He turned back the thick covers on the bed and climbed between the pure white 1000 thread count Egyptian sheets. He fell asleep immediately.

  CHAPTER 24

  “Aisha, pick up the phone,” Tameria screamed into the answering machine. “Aisha, if you’re there, please pick up the phone. It’s an emergency!” Aisha shifted her body in the bed as she slowly awakened to the screaming woman who interrupted dreams of her and Chandler walking hand in hand along the river walk.

  Still half asleep, she clumsily felt around on the bed for her cordless phone. “Hello, whuzzup, Tameria? What time is it?” Aisha asked, too sleepy to be angry.

  “Wake up. You need to get to the hospital right away.”

  As if someone had suddenly prodded her with a hot poker, Aisha jumped upright in the bed. “What’s wrong? Tell me Tameria, what’s wrong?” She screamed frantically.

  “It’s Mr. Carlisle. He came through the emergency room about an hour ago. You need to get here as soon as you can.” Tameria hated to be the one to have to call her best friend with such horrific news, but better her than some other doctor or nurse who didn’t know anything about Aisha or the Carlisle family.

  “My daddy. Oh my God. Tameria, is he all right?” She moved across the cold hardwood floor with the swiftness of a jaguar, grabbing a pair of sweats off the back of the door.

  “Just try to take it easy and get here as soon as you can. Come to the first floor Critical Care Unit.”

  “Oh, Jesus, have mercy,” Aisha cried. Her hands shook and big tears rolled down her round face. . She dropped the phone and slammed the door behind her.

  “Oh, Lord, I need you to hear me. I need you to answer me. Please make my daddy be okay.” She pleaded as she sped to St. Francis Hospital on Park Avenue. Her tears almost blinded her and thoughts of her father possibly dying flooded her mind. He was always in her corner. She was Daddy’s little girl. Whenever her mother criticized, ridiculed or punished her, she would run to the safety of her daddy’s arms. Though short in stature, his love for Aisha was mammoth. No one ever meant more to him than his daughter. Sometimes Aisha believed that her mother was jealous of her relationship with her father. Maybe that’s why she acted like Aisha could never do anything right. Aisha used one hand to steer the car and the other to ramble in her purse for her cell phone. After several seconds of holding down the speed dial button, the phone dialed her mother’s cell number. The phone immediately went to voice mail. “Dang, Momma, why haven’t you called me? Fifteen minutes later, she turned off the Poplar-Germantown exit toward Rid
geway Boulevard. Her heart pounded as she saw the lights of the hospital. She talked to herself. Daddy, you’re all right. You’ve just got a virus, nothing serious. She turned swiftly into the full emergency room parking lot, barely missing the bumper of a parked car. She frantically drove around the parking lot in search of a parking space. Lord, come on. Don’t allow this to happen. I’ve got to find a place to park. I’ve got to get to my daddy. After circling the lot a few more times, she decided to park in a handicapped space. She couldn’t worry about a ticket or being towed. All her thoughts were on her father. She jumped out of the car and raced to the information desk and asked for directions to Critical Care.

  “I need to know about my father, Benjamin Carlisle,” she told the clerk at the window. Exceptionally nice, the middle aged redhead pointed in the direction of the far right corner of the comfortably furnished waiting area. Aisha saw her mother with her head in her hands, looking like she’d aged over night.

  She rushed over to her and sat in the pearl gray leather chair next to her. “Mother, tell me what’s happened to Daddy?”

  “Aisha, I tried to call you earlier but you wouldn’t answer your cell phone. Your father has a brain aneurysm that burst. He’s unconscious. They don’t know if he’s going to make it,” she cried.

  “I’ve got to see him.” She immediately ran back to the window clerk. “Please, tell me where I can go to see my father?”

  “Sweetie, the doctors are working on Mr. Carlisle right now. I’ll let the floor nurse know you’re here. Are you his daughter?”

  “Yes, yes I am and I need to talk to the doctor about seeing my father.” Aisha couldn’t contain her fear. Her mother walked up beside her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

  “Aisha, they’re doing all they can. We have to pray and believe God for healing. Let the doctors do what needs to be done.”

  “Aisha, your mother is right. We’ll let you know when you can see him. The nurse or doctor will call as soon as they can and let you know what’s going on. I’ll call you up here when they do and you’re to go right around that corner,” the clerk pointed to a corridor next to her reception area. “There’re several phones lined up on the walls with a number over each one. I’ll tell you which phone to answer. I promise, as soon as I hear something, you’ll be the first to know,” Aisha’s face was pallid and she began to feel sick to her stomach. Sweat formed on her brow.