Chapter 7

February 13th

Question. If I end up in jail, can I cross off the jailhouse trope?

Paige ducked her head as they walked through the hotel lobby. Her face was a puffy mess from crying. Her eyes were red and swollen. Paige was also pretty sure she was going to die from embarrassment. She wanted to shrivel up and hide behind Max's broad shoulders. With her luck, Jack Griffin was probably going to walk in right now and fire her.

Max opened the back of a black SUV that was clearly used for police work. She felt utterly defeated and accepted that her life was now over, Paige climbed in. Oh dear God. She was going to lose her job. She wasn't going to have any money to be able to afford the small fifth-floor walkup that she loved. And books! How could she afford books in jail? Well, at least she thought they had libraries there. She could start the Cell Block C Book Club.

"Miss Turner. We're here."

Paige looked up and saw they were in a parking lot behind a police station. There was a backdoor that officers were escorting handcuffed men and women through. It looked like the gates of hell, and she was just waiting for someone to judge which level of Dante's rings she'd be sent to.

Max opened the locked SUV door and helped her out of it. He made sure she didn't fall as he escorted her in the back door to the police station. Paige was too scared and numb to look at the people lining the seats and those talking to officers. There was yelling, cussing, crying, and so much noise she just shut down. Even her tears shut down. This was it. She was going to be a criminal. And a virgin. And now she had to explain her pathetic life to the sexy, and definitely not a virgin, Max and his superior in hopes of avoiding jail.

Max led her to a small room and closed the door behind her. There was a small metal desk with a metal chair on each side. The desk and the chairs were bolted to the ground. The room smelled like a combination of bleach and urine.

"Have a seat." Max pointed to the chair. Paige cringed a little, wondering what was on it as she sat down. "Want a coffee or something?"

"No. I'll probably just spill it."

Max was quiet for a moment and then he snapped his fingers. "I thought you looked familiar. You were that woman from Café Felix who spilled her coffee on my friend."

Paige looked down at the metal table and saw the reflection of the lights in it and nodded. "Yes. And you were the nice one who bought me coffee after your friend called me a cow."

"He can be a jerk sometimes. Sorry about that." Max slid into the chair opposite her, but Paige was so embarrassed that her tears started flowing again and she couldn't look up at him. "So, tell me about tonight."

"Is this being recorded?" Paige asked as she finally looked around the small room no more than eight by eight feet.

Max nodded and pointed to a camera in the corner of the ceiling. "It is. It's standard procedure. So is your right to request an attorney. Do you remember your rights as I read them to you at the hotel?"

Paige nodded. "I know them. It's just not what you think. This is probably the worst night of my life. And if people see this, my life will be over. I will be the first medical case of someone actually dying from embarrassment."

"Pretending to be a virgin isn't so embarrassing. Neither is prostitution. We've probably arrested more supposed virgins for prostitution than ones who actually admit what they do. Like I said, if this is your first arrest it'll probably just be a fine."

"Yeah, but in this case, I really am a virgin, and it's not prostitution."

"Look," Max said, putting his clasped hands on the table and leaning forward. "Let me get you a water, grab my computer, then we'll talk. Okay?"

Paige nodded and didn't look when Max left the room. He wasn't gone long. He came back with a little paper cup of water and set it down in front of her. Then he opened his laptop and typed for a minute. "Paige Turner, right?"

Paige nodded again.

"Does your social security number end in 3003?"

Paige nodded once more. Max was quiet as he looked her up. Then he sat back and shrugged. "Yeah, this is your first ever offense for anything. The judge will give you a slap on the wrist. Then, you just have to promise to never do it again. A pretty woman like you shouldn't be selling yourself like this. I'm sure there are other options for you to earn some money. If you want to talk to me about it, I can see if I can help."

"Do you offer all the prostitutes this service?" Paige asked. She had thought this would be more Scarlet Letter ending with Paige having to walk from the police station with people shunning her.

"Actually, I do. I don't deal with you all on a regular basis since I've been a detective for the last couple of years, but a virgin auction was enough to bring me in undercover. Now, did the escort service make you do this?"

"No! They were so nice and helpful."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Okay, let's start at the beginning. How long have you been doing this?"

"Look, it's not what you think." Paige didn't know how many times she could say it before it would sink in.

"Then tell me what it is." Max leaned forward again and Paige finally looked up at him. His brown eyes still had that edge, that hardness, that came with seeing bad things in them, but they weren't hateful or even angry.

"My friends—"

"The ones who were in your room with you?" Max asked.

"Um, I can neither confirm nor deny that." Max's lips twitched, but he didn't press for their names. "See, we're in a book club together." Now Max's eyes flashed with curiosity. "Every New Year's Eve, we meet and discuss our favorite books of the year and set our resolutions. We're all pretty boring bookworms who prefer our romance novels to the real world, so we all resolved to be more like the heroes and heroines of our favorite books. They all seem so brave and so strong. I even stood up to my boss to demand he listen to me about a work issue."

"Your pimp?"

"No!" Paige rolled her eyes. "I work for Griffin Publishing and I want to be an editor. My boss rejected a book that I know will be a bestseller. I actually went to him and told him he was wrong for ignoring it and me, and he should give romance novels the respect they deserve."

"Well, Miss Turner, you seem to be pretty confident. I don't think you need to pretend to be a heroine. It sounds as if you already are."

Paige gave him a little smile. He was easy to talk to, and he wasn't throwing her in jail yet. The impression she'd gotten of him at the coffee shop seemed to be who he really was. Tough, but fair with a splash of undercover kindness.

"Thank you. I'm really trying. Well, the day you met me at Café Felix I was trying to be the main character of my own story. See, in romance novels there's something called a meet-cute."

Max nodded. "Yes, the moment the two main characters meet."

"So, it was pretty cliché, but I spilled the coffee on purpose. I was trying the meet-cute that seems to work every time."

"Only this time my friend was an asshole."

Paige nodded. "I tried so many meet-cutes and they all ended very badly. Then I was having book club and my friend was using a hookup app and I thought maybe that would be a good idea. I thought that maybe guys could tell I was a virgin and didn't want to have anything to do with me because of it. So, I thought, let's get rid of it then maybe I'll seem more worldly or something."

When Paige looked up, she saw that Max's eyes were a deeper, richer brown than they'd just been. Then he swallowed hard and frowned. "Wait, you're serious? You really are a virgin?"

Paige buried her face in her hands to hide her flaming red face. "Yes," she hissed. "I told you that. Many times. And now everyone knows. It's humiliating. No man is going to want me after I couldn't even give my virginity away to someone who supposedly wanted it."

"Trust me, a man would love to be your first. Now, how did you get from a hookup app to selling your virginity through an escort service?"

Paige lifted her head from her hands. "There's this book called Sale by an erotica author named Authoress X. I thought I would go to the pros instead of through a hookup app, especially since my friend got robbed by her last date."

"So, you turned to the escort service?"

"Yes, but not in the way you think. I found one where they run background checks on the men." Paige paused and rolled her eyes. "Obviously not good checks since you got through."

"We do have a whole department for undercover identities. Still, better me than some rapist or murderer."

"Okay, true. But that's why I had people with me looking out for me."

"And where are they now?" Max asked as he absently rubbed his neck where he'd been stunned with ten thousand volts.

"Um, moving on with my story." Paige took a breath and launched back into her story. "The escort service said I couldn't sell myself because it would be illegal in New York. I said I just wanted it to appear that way. If you read both the application and the email sent to you as the winner, you will see, in the fine print, under Terms and Conditions, that my virginity would be a gift to you and I will refuse any money given to me. Instead, I asked for you to donate it to a literacy program—but only if you wished to." Paige saw his face harden into a cop look. It was clear he didn't want to give away what he was thinking. "See? It's all legal, right? It's not against the law to gift my virginity to you through an application process, is it?"

Max didn't answer her when he turned back to his computer. She saw him lean forward as if reading the email the escort service had sent him. He squinted and then pressed a button repeatedly on the keyboard. Then his brow relaxed and he shook his head.

"Said Virgin only wished for the appearance of an auction to heighten the excitement of losing her virginity," Max read out loud. "Said Virgin hereby wishes to gift Winner her virginity at no cost to Winner. Virgin and Escort Service hereby refuse to accept any payment for said virginity, including, but not limited to cash money, checks, gift cards, jewelry, or any payment of any kind. Instead, if Winner so desires to thank Virgin for her gift, he may, if he independently desires to do so, and under no influence from both Virgin or Escort Service, donate part or all of the winning bid amount to one of New York City's literacy programs."

"See?" Paige asked, hoping like hell the lawyer for the escort service was right and this wasn't a crime.

Max sat back in his chair and shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. "You're right, Miss Turner. There's no crime here. Your friend dropped the money and clearly didn't realize what I was giving him. There was no intent for payment for your virginity. Your friend who stunned me didn't know I was a cop, but was protecting you. In fact, you're right. This was probably safer than using a hookup app. But, that doesn't mean escorts don't get roughed up, killed, or sexually assaulted. It's not glamorous, Miss Turner. No matter how sexy or exciting it might look in a book."

Paige sighed. "I know that now. For a split second when you walked into the room, I thought otherwise. But now I know better. I'm just an ordinary girl who can't even give her virginity away. That's certainly not in any book I've ever read." Dammit. She could feel the tears threatening once again. She didn't want to cry in front of this sexy man who probably thought she was as much of a loser as his friend had. "Can I go now?"

Max stood up then. "Yes. Let me drive you home."

"I can get a taxi."

"I'd feel better if you let me take you home. Wait here." Max gave an order and Paige found herself sitting very quietly and starting at the door after him.

Paige wanted to cry with relief. She wasn't going to be arrested. She wasn't going to jail. She wouldn't have a record. She wouldn't get fired. However, this level of humiliation might be unparalleled in the history of embarrassment.

The door opened and Max strode over to her with an easy confidence of someone who knew he was sex on a stick. Someone who had actually used his stick and knew he knew how to use it. Paige groaned and wanted to just disappear. There was no hope for her.

"My boss agreed that there were no charges to file. You're free to go. Follow me and stay close." Max pulled out her chair and handed over her purse.

Paige mumbled a thank you as she took it and followed behind him. The booking area was even more packed than before as she followed Max through the building. People were drunk or on drugs. Actual prostitutes tried to flirt with their booking cops. A man was barking like a dog, and as Paige passed him, he leaped out at her. His restraints weren't short enough to hold him back but before Paige could even scream, Max was there. He shoved the man back into the seat and all Paige could do was stare. Her heart pounded wildly as the man snarled and foamed at the mouth to get to her.

Max didn't seem bothered as he yelled for a duo of uniform officers to handle the man. They rushed over and it took both of them to get the man under enough control for Max to let go and turn back around to her. "Let's go." Max held out his hand and Paige quickly took it.

"What's wrong with him?" Paige asked as Max kept a tight grip on her as they moved through the rest of the intakes.

"Bath salts most likely. The later in the night, the more intense it gets here."

Paige pressed herself against his side. He felt safe. Paige didn't know him, but knew she could trust him to get her out of there unharmed.

She kept her head down as he pushed their way through to the door. Finally, they were out of the crowd and Paige could breathe again. "This way," Max said, leading her away from the SUV they'd taken earlier.

"I thought you were taking me home."

"I am. I'm off duty now so I'll take you in my car."

Max gestured to a car and Paige followed where he was looking. A black Mustang's lights flashed as he unlocked it. Never had a car fit a person more. "Are you sure it's not too much trouble?"

"I'm sure. I don't live all that far from you. Plus, I owe you. I feel like an idiot for not reading the fine print. They always say to read the fine print."

Max opened the door and Paige slid into the seat. This was a lot better than riding in the back of a cop car. Paige's bag vibrated as Max walked around the car to the driver's side. She opened her purse and dug around for her cellphone.

"Your friends?" Max asked as he drove out of the parking lot. "They're probably worried about you."

Paige saw the mass of texts and missed calls. She pulled up their group chat and gave them a brief summary and told them she'd be home in fifteen minutes.

Luckily, Max didn't ask her any more questions about her virginity. Instead, they were quiet as he drove toward her apartment. They were minutes out when Max finally talked. "Tell me about the books you read."

"What about them?"

"Which would you recommend?" Max asked.

Paige felt her eyes widen. "You'd read a romance book?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"You're not really the demographic of a romance reader."

"What demographic am I?" Max asked.

"Romance cover model demographic." Paige's face flushed. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. "What kind of books do you like?"

"Mystery and suspense," Max said before rattling off a couple of the latest books he'd read.

"Then you'd want romantic suspense. It's just like those genres, but in addition to the mystery and suspense, you also have a love story."

"Do you have any that you recommend?" Max asked.

Paige snorted. Did she have any? Does a bookworm love books? The trouble was trying to narrow it down to just a few. "I think you'd like this series about a female black ops team operating under the direction of the president." Paige started to tell him about it, but then stopped when her apartment building came into view.

"I take it they're with you? Which one stun-gunned me?" Max asked as she saw Eli, Leah, and Amelia standing on the sidewalk.

Max stopped the car and Paige hurried to get out. "I don't know what you're talking about. We're just bookworms. We don't stun people."

"So says the bookworm who tried to sell her virginity. Maybe I should read that book first." Max winked at her and Paige bolted from the car. In seconds she was enveloped in a hug by her friends.

"Is that Mr. Hot Cop?" Eli asked, hiding his head from Max's view.

"Yes. He didn't arrest me and he drove me home."

Max wasn't driving away though. Instead, he rolled down the passenger window and leaned toward it. "Hey, book pimp, you want me to get the cuffs off?"

"Oh shit. He's going to arrest me." Eli started to panic as Paige looked down at his hands.

"Where are the cuffs?"

"We had building maintenance cut them off. We told the guy we were having sex and I lost the key," Leah told her.

Paige grabbed Eli's hand and raised it so Max could see he was cuffless. "See, you got the wrong people."

"Sure thing, Bookworm X. Stay out of trouble." Max rolled up the window and drove away.

"Maybe I should have gotten caught. I'd let that man strip search me." Eli stared off after Max.

"Are you a changed woman after being in the pokey?" Amelia asked as she tugged her inside.

Paige spent the rest of the night telling them about her interrogation and avoiding arrest. The sun was starting to rise when she finally crawled into bed. That was it. She was done with this stupid resolution. She'd almost been arrested, for crying out loud. There was no way she was going to continue.