by Brook Wilder
“Let me go!” I squealed, trying to wrestle the handlebars out of his grip. When that didn’t work, I got up and pushed the bike over.
I got maybe five yards before he was on me. He put his hands on my shoulders and I spun around, lashing out with my hands and feet. He skillfully sidestepped my blows and tackled me, forcing us down onto a patch of scrub grass.
“Piper! Piper!” he kept repeating.
“Let me go! Let me go!” I kept yelling back as I struggled. It didn’t take long, however, before my struggling got pretty weak and, within moments, I stopped fighting altogether. “Please, just let me go,” I tried weakly but, in spite of everything, it actually felt good to feel him holding me.
“I’m sorry, Piper,” I heard him say from behind me, “but you know I can’t let you go. You know what they’ll do to you if they find you. And even if they don’t, you know what Anna will let Vinnie do to the other girls.”
He was right. I couldn’t force the other girls to pay for my freedom. I had to go back. I’d just have to play with the cards I’d been dealt, just like everyone else.
Theo left his bike behind and helped me into my car. He drove, neither of us saying anything much, until we pulled up in the parking lot behind Madam X’s. Theo shut off the engine and turned to me. He seemed to think for a long while, before finally asking, “Why did you run? I told you I got her to call off the deal.”
“I guess she must have changed her mind…” I said, softly.
“You mean it’s still on?” he sounded pretty mad about that. “What about buying yourself out?”
“Vinnie increased his offer. I can’t match it. Anna will do whatever gets her the most profit.”
“Fuck!” he yelled, hitting the steering wheel so hard he scared me. His frustration was palpable but, elated as I was to see he really did seem to care, I still couldn’t think why. I opened the car door. “Come on,” I told him, “bring me in, sheriff. You’ll get a gold star.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, but it did seem pretty redundant.
“What choice do I have?”
I headed off towards the door before he could answer. Instead, he scrambled out of the driver’s side and followed me.
“Oh, here,” he said, handing me my purse.
“Where did you find that?” I asked him, a smile creeping back onto my face.
“You left it behind when you stole my bike. What? You think I took your car because it would be good for chasing? You left your keys.”
“Well, maybe you should start locking your bike?” I had no idea why but, hanging with Theo, everything seemed a little less hopeless.
***
I stood in Anna’s office, watching her swirl a half full martini in its glass. Theo was just outside the door, standing there like some royal guard.
“I never forced you to come work here, Piper,” Anna began. “I never said you had to accept my help when you were at your lowest?”
“You didn’t,” I confirmed. “You bailed me out, true, but you also put, like, a seventy percent interest rate on what you paid and charged about ten grand for that first six months’ room and board. You take half of what I make for booking each client, another twenty percent for ‘overheads’ and I have to pay you back your loan from what’s left over, as well as reimbursing you for all the clothes and makeup you get for me. So, really, Anna, who’s doing who the favor?”
Her winsome smile and impassive eyes didn’t change throughout my whole speech. “Regardless, my dear, you made a commitment to me which I must insist you keep. And before you run away again, consider this,” she stood up, the smile vanishing completely, “not all the girls here earn as well as you do. There’s Lucy. There’s Victoria and Becky, among others. None of them are living up to their full earning potential and, most likely, they never will. I may find it more profitable in the long term to employ them elsewhere, as tools to demonstrate what can happen to employees who cause dissent, for instance.” She came around her desk and stopped very close to me. She looked up and whispered, “How long do you think they would last, bound ass up to a bed, and I just put out a sign saying ‘Pussy - $10’? Do you think I’d make some money back? Do you think those animals would be remotely capable of sticking it in just their pussies? Just something for you to consider, next time you think I’m being unfair.”
CHAPTER 6: Theo
Anna dismissed Piper from her office and we avoided each other’s eyes as she walked past me. Best not to give Madam X any more ammunition than she already had, it seemed. And, saddened as I was that Piper was still looking at being sold to Vinnie, I was mad as hell at Anna.
“We had a deal, Anna,” I had to stop myself from yelling.
“We did?” she feigned ignorance.
“Don’t fuck around,” I seethed. “Yesterday, up in your penthouse.”
“Darling,” her voice went high and derisive, “you really should know better than to try and use sex as a currency with a madam. Really? Did you think I’d have an orgasm and forget all about good business? Sorry, darling, but you’re not that good.”
She turned her attention back to the papers on her desk, leaving me standing there like an asshole. I had to admit, she had a point. Right or wrong, I couldn’t do much about it. I hated her so much right then, for me and for Piper, but there wasn’t much else I could do but shuffle downstairs and get to work.
‘Work’? Really? That was a joke. I was basically doing nothing a well-dressed and moderately trained gorilla couldn’t do, and I had far too much time to think. Too much time to think about Piper and what she must be going through, having to smile and flatter the assholes that come in here with this threat hanging over her, and too much time to think about me and how much more I could be doing.
I was twenty-six. I wasn’t a kid anymore. I’d proved my mettle among the ranks of the Steel Angels, I should be doing more than babysitting whores. I wanted a family, eventually, a little home of my own where I could teach my kids to hunt and fish. I needed to start planning for my future or I wasn’t going to have one. I needed to talk to Frost, the president of our crew, about some more worthwhile work.
Again it was an uneventful night. I didn’t see Piper again until she was leaving, around three like last night. She traipsed wearily into the break room and we both managed to give each other a weak smile.
“Coffee?” she offered and I could think of nothing I wanted to do more.
She had changed into her jeans and t-shirt again. Even though she looked tired, her skin still seemed to shine. I just couldn’t stop staring at her as we made our way to the diner again. I longed to be holding her, smelling her, looking out across some woodland that was far away from here, watching deer play. Then I felt something that snapped me out of my daydream. She gently curled her hand into mine and squeezed it.
“I never said thank you for coming to get me,” she said softly. “It was the right thing to do and I’m grateful, even if I didn’t seem like it at the time.”
I said nothing, I just squeezed her hand back as we reached the diner.
***
“What are you thinking?” Piper asked me after a few minutes of us silently staring into our coffee cups. The truth was I wasn’t thinking about anything specific. My mind was like a bar during happy hour; a hundred different conversations seemed to be taking place and it was tough to focus on just one. In one corner, I was thinking about Piper and how to save her from Vinnie. In another place, I was wondering how she would really do if I couldn’t save her.
Elsewhere, I was calculating how difficult it might be to take Vinnie out of the picture altogether. And then there was my fury at Anna, which kept replaying the sex in my mind and thinking about that, while sitting opposite Piper, made me feel embarrassed and guilty. Another part of my brain was visualizing the conversation with Frost about how I didn’t think my potential was being fully utilized.
However, almost all of me was troubled by the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about this gi
rl. I didn’t do this. I didn’t obsess and I certainly didn’t fall in love. So why did I want to help her so much? Why did I just want to make her happy? Of all the girls I’d known, why did I seem to care so much about a damaged hooker with no future. Not that I did relationships, but there was no chance in this world for us. None.
“Nothing,” I replied. We gave each other a sly smile. “How are you doing?” I tried.
“I guess I’m okay, just tired. I’m beginning to figure that this thing with Vinnie, maybe I’m just blowing it out of proportion. Maybe I’ll spend ninety percent of my time as arm candy, wearing jewels and expensive dresses at all the black tie functions he goes to.” I was pretty sure she was trying to convince herself at least as much as she was trying to convince me.
“Yeah, maybe,” I tried to sound supportive but the thought of her going anywhere with Vinnie turned my stomach. “Listen, I know I’ve no right to poke around in your business, and I you don’t have to tell me how you got here, but can I ask you what you want? What you’re looking for?”
I had no clue why I asked her that. Maybe I just wanted to know something personal about her, without her having to bring up a load of bad emotions to tell me. Maybe I wanted to know what I could do for her. Just maybe, I wanted to know if she ultimately wanted the same things as me.
“My mom died when I was really young,” she said, looking out the window beside us, back at the brothel. “My dad worked hard to take care of me, but he was killed when I was in junior high.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, “you don’t have to tell me this stuff if it hurts.”
She looked at me and smiled a little. “It’s ancient history, now. I’m over it. After he died, I went into foster care. I knew it was going to be temporary, though, no one ever wants to adopt a twelve-year-old. I bounced through a few of families. I was just a meal ticket to some, and it was often too much trouble for them to get up and take me to school. I guess I was just too hot and tempting for the dad in another, so I got out of there pretty quick. I just focused on learning. I wanted to be smart so I would lose myself in school. I got really good grades in high school and a grant to go to UCLA. I was going to be a doctor, but I ended up here.
“That’s tough,” I said. She seemed okay still, though.
“But you asked what I’m looking for?” she looked right at me. “I’ve been alone, taking care of myself pretty much, since I was twelve. I don’t remember many things about my dad anymore but, I do remember, he made me feel cared for, protected and safe. Theo, I just want to feel safe again.” A tear rolled down her cheek. She’d been hiding her pain so well as she spoke. I wanted to wipe it away. I wanted to hold her and tell her I’d keep her safe. Problem was, it wasn’t like me to do that. Plus, I didn’t think I could live up to that promise and she didn’t need another person lying to her. “What about you?” she asked, dabbing her eye dry.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve just told you more about me than I’ve told anyone else in fifteen years,” she smiled. “You don’t get that for free, spill.”
So I told her some things. I told her that my ma and pa were bikers. How they died in a cycle wreck when I was ten, leaving the gang to take care of me. We were a family anyway and it wasn’t the first time this had happened. I didn’t go to school, but I still learned stuff. Reading, writing, math, but also fighting, shooting, hunting, fixing things. It wasn’t a bad way to grow up and I had a place for life among the Steel Angels.
“So what happens when one of your gang is in trouble?” she asked.
“We fix it,” I told her. “We look out for each other. I care about my brothers, even the ones I don’t know.”
She smiled at that. “Good to know,” she murmured.
“Guess we should be heading home,” I volunteered. The sun was peeking up over the horizon again.
“But I’m not tired, Theo,” she whined. “Teach me something instead.”
***
We went back to the club, but stayed in the parking lot. I showed her how to handle a piece; how to load it, unload it, charge it, hold it and aim it. She pouted when I wouldn’t let her shoot it, so I had to explain that firing even a couple of shots in this part of LA would most likely land us in jail. Plus, my SIG wasn’t exactly California compliant, holding fifteen rounds instead of the legal ten.
Instead, after our chase yesterday, I was inspired to show her how to jump and land from a moving vehicle and still be able to walk away. We used her car for some static attempts. Piper was throwing herself into it, launching herself at the ground and laughing hard every time I told her to go limp. After an hour of fooling around, I drove the car around the car park at walking pace and she dove out perfectly, landing on her feet to let her legs take the impact, then rolling out.
“Woo-who!” she yelled, throwing her arms around my neck. “Nailed it!”
“Sure did,” I laughed, hugging her back. Then, just like the movies, we had a moment in each other’s arms. Our eyes met, our breathing grew rapid. I wanted to kiss her so bad but I couldn’t. In the back of my mind, all I could think of was that I’d be just another guy, just another asshole she’d have to let touch her, whether she wanted it or not. Suddenly, though, she gently pushed me away.
I gave her an inquiring look and she nodded her head towards the club. I looked over and saw Anna standing in the open door. She didn’t say anything, just turned and walked slowly away.
“Hey,” said Piper, trying to bring us back to the present, “let me give you a ride to go pick up your bike before I go home.”
***
We didn’t have much to say again in the car. I could tell that the all distraction for Piper had disappeared when she saw Anna watching us.
“It’ll be okay,” I told her, “she’ll bitch at me, not you. She knows you’ll just tell her to go fuck herself.” I saw a slight smile at that.
“You could be right,” she conceded, “but what if she decides to take you away? Request another Steel Angel to replace you? We’ll never see each other again.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I told her.
We reached the bike and it was just where we’d left it. Piper parked the car behind it and I was able to inspect the damage from it hitting the floor. Happily, nothing was broken. There were a few small scratches on the end of the bar and on the footrest, and the rear brake pedal was bent, but it was nothing major at all. I started her up and she roared into life. It was good to hear.
“Let me ride it back,” pleaded Piper from over my shoulder, that playful smile creeping back into her voice.
“Why should I do that? It’s your fault she’s out here and hurt.” I yelled back over the noise of motor
“Yeah, but I look good on it,” she laughed, flinging her long leg over the saddle and settling in. I couldn’t argue with that statement at all, and the idea seemed to make her so happy.
“Straight back to the club,” I told her. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Woo-who!” she whooped again and roared off before I could even get back in the car.
I sped back in the direction of Madam X’s. It was weird how Piper seemed to be able to compartmentalize everything that was going on in her life. Everything sucked for her, she had to have sex for money, all day, to pay back a five-year-old debt, and was looking at losing her freedom to a sadistic, abusive mob boss but, if she could get the wind in her hair for five minutes, she was able to deal, to carry on. She was so much braver than I could ever hope to be and I loved her for that. I guess I was falling for her, no doubt about it. It was not like me, it was stupid, it was doomed, but it made me smile.
***
My smile faded as I neared the club.
As the building came into view I saw my bike, parked by the wall and unharmed. Next to it was a black Mercedes, one of the big ones you see CEOs riding around in. Then I saw Piper, looking up at a big guy in a dark suit. I got a little closer and recognized it was Vinnie. He was smiling at Piper and she was shaking
her head. I’d only seen this Vinnie guy once, the night before last, and him being here at dawn couldn’t be a good thing.
I began to get angry again, about the unfairness of Piper’s situation, that it was essentially his fault we couldn’t be together, so I held onto that anger. That anger was good. If I could get mad enough to steam in, not give Vinnie a chance to figure out what was going on, I had a chance to get him off balance and uncomfortable. I’d used the tactic before and it had worked. I spotted two more guys in suits over by the Merc, but I knew they wouldn’t do anything until Vinnie gave them the order.
I screeched up and stormed out, not killing the engine, not even shutting the door, and charged towards Vinnie. I got a proper look at him in the early sunlight. Subjectively, was a pretty good looking guy. He must have been in his early thirties, with neat black hair, a certain glint in his brown eyes, and a good tan. What I hadn’t noticed at our earlier was exactly how much bigger and stronger than me he looked. Nope, I didn’t like my odds if we went toe-to-toe. I could only hope his size made him slow.
