Read Celeste Files: Unjust for Free Online Page A

at the door. Celeste followed her gaze as a man stepped into the room holding a camera. Between his thinning brown hair, tanned slightly weathered skin and small paunch hanging over his jeans, she placed the man in his late forties or early fifties.
    The man stepped inside the room, kicking the door behind him. “Where y’at, sugar?”
    Celeste tensed as a chill coated her skin. Knowing that voice, she stared harder at the man, pictured him underwater, his mouth sealed shut as he tried to hold his breath, his eyes wide with fear, his hair swaying to the ebb and flow of the current as it dragged him under. The man was Denis Comeaux, the dead boat captain.
    “ Come see what I am .”
    His words taunted her. She looked to the young woman on the bed, who cried and groaned, then back to Denis. Celeste didn’t want to see what he was or how bad the man could be. She did not want to be here, wanted to be back in bed with her husband.
    Hot air wrapped around her. Celeste waited for the ghost to speak, but nothing came. Instead, the air, the heat, enveloped her and kept her immobile. Heart beating hard, she prayed the woman survived whatever was about to happen. She prayed the woman was still alive.
    A phone rang. Denis pulled his cell phone from his back pocket and answered. “Yeah, I got her. I think you’ll be happy. Eighteen, nice tits and ass, long dark hair like you wanted. I’ll take pictures of her now and send ’em over.” Denis paused, then shook his head. “Are you telling me that was a requirement? After the bullshit I went through to get her?” He sighed. “Fine. Hang tight.” Denis stepped forward and removed the woman’s gag. “ ¿Eres virgen? No me mientas. ”
    “ Sí ,” the woman responded. “ Por favor no me hagas daño. Por favor, déjame ir a casa .”
    Celeste now wished she’d kept up with the Spanish classes she’d taken in college. The only words she recognized were ‘virgin’, ‘lie’, ‘please’ and ‘home’.
    “You ain’t goin’ home, sugar,” Denis said, and put the phone back to his ear. “She claims she’s a virgin, but she could be lying. Since this wasn’t something we discussed, either you take her as is, or she goes to the next highest bidder. Look for those pictures. I’ll want an answer within the hour. After that, the price goes up.” He ended the call, then pocketed the phone. Raising the camera, he aimed it at the woman. “Say cheese.”
    When the camera flashed, Celeste winced, and the heat that had been confining her evaporated. She focused on the woman, who continued to cry and groan, and tried to wrap her brain around what was happening here. The camera flashed again, causing Celeste to stagger back and the room to fade.
    She wasn’t ready yet. She wanted to know who this woman was and what had happened to her. As the room continued to grow hazy, Denis moved toward the woman and ripped her nightgown. The woman cried out, and Celeste’s heart ached for her, along with her entire body, when another flash went off, flickering like lightening in a dark thundercloud.
    Then everything went black. Terrified of being back in the darkness again, Celeste reached out, but connected with nothing. Heat surrounded her, and she froze.
    “ That was just an appetizer to whet your taste buds .” Denis’s voice filled her head. “ You do as I say and we’ll get along just fine .”
    “What do you want from me?” she asked, and tried to slow her racing heart.
    “ Revenge .”
    Celeste’s body plunged. She squeezed her eyes tight and clawed at the air, hoping, praying she could latch onto something, anything to stop her from falling.
    “Jesus,” John shouted. “Wake up.”
    Celeste opened her eyes, realized she was back in bed with John, and quickly sat upright. She looked to where his hands gripped her wrists, then to his face. Light from the partially opened bathroom door streamed into the room, touching on the worry in his eyes and the anger lining his