“Good,” he replies before he finally jogs down the front steps and strides briskly over to the car where he slips inside. He’s acting unusual and I’m not sure why. Still, I take a deep breath and open the screen door to head into the house. My steps sound loud when my heels click and clack across the creaky wooden floor. A door to the left suddenly opens and then a guy with dirty blond hair steps out, wearing a pair of camo pants and a black tank top. At least, I hope his hair is dirty blond and not just greasy blond. “Zoe! I’m so glad you found the place. Come in and let’s talk.” He holds his arm out toward the room he came from.
“Great, thanks,” I tell him as I slip past him and into a bedroom that was turned into an office with a desk and computer, along with several folding chairs.
“Have a seat.”
I carefully sit down in a chair, afraid it’s so flimsy it may collapse under my weight.
“So,” the man who I’m assuming is Mr. Stanton starts when he sits on the desk right in front of me, “have you ever done porn or a sex tape before?”
“No,” I admit, my face turning a bright shade of red. Although, technically Winston and I were recorded on security cameras that night long ago having sex. I don’t think that counts.
“And you’re not sure if you’ll be able to?” Mr. Stanton guesses with a grin.
“Exactly.”
“Well, I assure you that we’re professionals here. Everyone is tested regularly, and all movies are scripted and choreographed so you know what happens before we shoot. If you don’t like the script, you pass on the movie, it’s that simple.”
“And you do all the filming here?” I ask curiously.
“Not here in this house, but yeah, here on the property. Each of those buildings you see are different scenes that are constantly changing, but we may record a few movies in each one before moving on.”
“And the pay?”
“Our pay usually starts at a thousand a film for our female actresses, but since you’re Zoe Donahue, a well-known name, we’re willing to offer you two thousand a scene to start out.”
“And how many… ‘scenes’ would I do in a month?”
“As many as you want,” he replies with a broad smile. “Some girls do three or four, others can knock out as many as ten or more. Each scene takes a day or two to film, then you’re free to move on to the next one. We could get you in a film by next week if you’re ready.”
“Wow, that’s, um…can I think about it for a few days?” I ask.
“Sure. Before you go, let me grab you a few of our DVDs to take home and watch to get a feel for the position.”
“Okay, thanks,” I reply, even though I’m not sure I need to see them. This, starring in a porno, is just not something I think I’m ready to do.
Chapter Eleven
Winston
* * *
“Answer the fucking phone! Pick up, pick up, pick up,” I chant quietly as the phone at my ear rings while I keep an eye on the man at the front door of the house.
“Hello?” Danny, our IT guy, finally answers.
“Thank fuck,” I say in relief. “I need you to run an address and name, like right fucking now. It’s urgent.”
“Okay. Sure. Give me a second,” he says. “What is it?”
I tell him the address of the farmhouse and the name Stanton, then wait while he runs it.
“Oh shit,” he says on the other line.
“What?” I ask.
“Why did you need me to run this?”
“Just tell me!” I snap at him.
“That place and that man are associated with some hardcore porn production.”
“Porn?” I repeat with a string of curses. “She’s going to do porn? No fucking way.”
“You all right?” Danny asks.
“No, I’m not all right! But I’ll deal with her later. For now, can you text me the photos of the dagger tattoo on one of the men who took Tessa?”
“Sure. Give me a second. You guys have any luck finding him yet?”
“I think I may be staring right at him.”
“No shit?” Danny asks. “Is Roman with you?”
“No. I’m alone.”
“Well, don’t fucking engage!” he exclaims, like I’m an idiot.
“I won’t. And I only got a brief glimpse. Send me the pictures from the surveillance video and I’ll try to get a better look and see if it’s a match. But he’s standing outside of the porn place, so it wouldn’t be that big of a coincidence to find him here, right?”
“Not really. Except, what the hell are you doing outside a porn studio?”
“Long fucking story,” I grumble.
“Well, Winston, don’t be surprised if you hear some screams of pain instead of pleasure around there. Which would actually make sense if that guy is there, if it is him…” Danny babbles nervously.
“What are you talking about?”
“That company is known for making violent porn, like torturing woman and shit. Some of the women could be victims, not actresses, if you know what I mean.”
“Jesus fucking Christ! I need to get Zoe out of there!” I say, opening the car door just as the screen door swings wide and she steps out of the house. She even smiles and waves goodbye to the asshole at the door.
“Who is Zoe, and why is she in a porn studio?” Danny asks.
“Gotta go.” I shut my car door again and end the call just as Zoe climbs in the passenger seat.
“You’re never going to work for these fucking people unless it’s over my dead body!” I growl at her.
“I know. I’m not,” she whispers with a shaky breath. “That place is fucked up.”
“You have no idea just how fucked up!” I exclaim before I force myself to look cool and calm in front of the men wandering the grounds, since they’re bound to all be watching us. “But we’ll discuss what the hell you were thinking later. For now, do you have any business cards or promos?”
“I can give you my business card later, Winston, just get us out of here!”
“I will. Trust me, I can’t leave here soon enough. But first, I need the card, Zoe. Please? It’s important. I need an excuse to go talk to the man standing at the door again.”
“And that excuse is my business card?”
“Yes, I was going to say that you forgot to give it to his boss and ask if he will he make sure he has it.”
“I don’t want them contacting me!” she whispers. “Besides, they already have my number from when I set up the appointment.”
“Then what the hell does it matter? I need to see the tattoo on that man’s right arm again and I need to have a plausible excuse to go look at it. Did you get a good look?”
“I don’t know. He had lots of dark tats,” she remarks. “One on his arm was like a big knife maybe…”
“I think it’s a fucking dagger, and if I’m right, then he’s a dead man, one we’ve been looking for the past few months!”