by Jami Denise
He reached into his pocket, his eyes locked with mine, and pulled out a wad of cash, tossing it at Tony with a furious snap of his hand.
“Take the money, and leave. You have ten seconds before I end your life.” His voice was deathly calm on the surface, but there was a gritty undertone that meant he was not giving Tony a chance to argue.
Everyone else in the room seemed to fall back, letting him handle the situation. They were obviously as shocked as I was, and that worried me more. If this wasn’t his usual behavior, I was afraid to find out what brought the rage on. A momentary burst of pleasure rushed through me, satisfaction that he’d fought for my reputation and honor, but why?
He’d treated me the same as Tony, like the whore I was. Why he felt the need to counteract that was beyond me. The allusive bullshit was more than my exhausted mind could handle. I was crumbling. I could feel it in every cell of my body. Emotions were getting the better of me, and the adrenaline was beginning to fade. I had no mask at that point. I was only a girl in a room full of bastards, and I just wanted to go home.
I finally broke the spell between Flynn and me, and with a shaky hand, I dug through my purse for my phone. The night had erupted into a complete clusterfuck. There was no saving it, and I wasn’t interested in hanging around for the aftermath.
I turned, moving to a quiet corner of the room, and dialed Vince. Tears bit at my eyes, and I said a silent prayer, thanking God for Vince’s place in my life. He was the only man, only person, I’d ever been able to really count on.
“Jesus,” he spat. “Are you okay? I just got a text from Tony, and it didn’t make any sense.”
My breath shuddered. “Come get me. I’m stranded here, and the whole thing is making me nervous as hell. Hurry.”
“I’m already on my way. Hang tight, Janie. I’m coming.”
The call ended, and I clutched the phone tightly in my fist. Staring out the window at the lights of the night below, I let the tears fall. There had been very few times in my life that I’d felt so out of control.
I felt Flynn approach, and my entire body tensed up.
“Jayne, look at me,” he demanded.
There was no way in hell I was turning around with tears in my eyes. Vulnerability was a defect in my profession. I was not human to these bastards; I was meat, flesh to be devoured and discarded, and I’d be damned to show him any part of me.
“Vince is on his way to pick me up. I’ll be out of your way in just a few minutes. I apologize for the behavior of my companion tonight. I do hope you know that.”
He chuckled. “You call that cocksucker a companion? Turn around, Jayne. Look at me.”
I gave a hard, short shake of my head and bit down on the inside of my cheek, holding back the full-blown sobs.
His hand clamped down on my shoulder, and suddenly I was looking up into the deep, concerned eyes of a man I couldn’t understand.
“That bastard didn’t deserve to be your companion, or anything else. Why do you do this to yourself? Tell me!”
I scowled. “That is none of your damn business. Not all of us are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, Mr. Maguire. I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from the insults. I’ve been through enough tonight. Please. I’m on my way.”
He sighed, lifting his hand to cup my cheek. “I need to fucking know.”
Stepping back, I lifted my chin and glared. “Why? Why is it any of your business? You didn’t seem to give a shit about anything when you were parading me around your suite and jacking off on my back. You didn’t give a shit when you threw me out with an envelope full of cash! I’m an escort, not an idiot. I don’t owe you any explanations.”
I pushed past him, and without a second glance at any of the men meandering around, I stomped through the house toward the exit.
He didn’t follow, and I was glad. I had bigger things on my plate, like how the hell I was going to come up with enough money to pay the bastards off the next morning.
Vince was out front, and I’d never been happier to see him and his stupid flashy Dodge in my life.
I ran toward his car, tugged the door open, and flung myself inside.
“Girl, what the fuck went on in there?”
I broke down. The sobs wracked my body, and I bowled over with my head between my legs. “Just get me out of here. I want to go home, Vince. Please. Just take me home.”
SEVEN
The distant hum of voices coming from the television barely registered in the back of my head. The room was dark except for the glare of the screen, and Vince’s lap was warm and safe. I didn’t even argue when he offered to stay with me. The townhouse was cold and unfamiliar to me, and I felt off. I was scared. It was as if everything was coming down on me at once. The huge reality was grim, and I’d done a good job of pretending I could fix things, but the truth was right there, like a ten-pound boulder on my forehead. I was out of luck. Shit had gotten out of hand.
I rolled over onto my back, my head still in Vince’s lap. He looked calm, as always, but I knew he was just staying mellow for me. He knew things had changed, and I could almost see the wheels in his brain cranking. We were in a mess, and there was no way I could get us out of it by turning tricks.
I looked up at him and sighed. He looked so worn out, and I wanted to kill my dad for putting us through all the crap he did. The old bastard had lived like a king, and dragged both of us down his dirty road. We were nothing but pawns. He had to have known that eventually his dirty deeds would hit me.
“I have an idea,” I told him. “I’m not exactly sure if it’ll work, especially with the timetable we’re working with, but it’s worth a shot at this point.”
He gazed down at me, lifting his beer bottle to his lips and taking a slow drag before setting it down on the table next to him. “Jayne, I don’t know what else you can do. I’m not letting you put yourself in danger. Not anymore. I shouldn’t have let you hit the men as it is. Tonight could have been really fucking bad. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I smiled. “I know that. This is easy, I think. I can sell my house in California. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days, and I don’t think I want to go back. I want to break clean all the way. No more girls, no more games. I want to be free. I don’t know how, or where, or what the fuck I’m going to do, but I can’t do this anymore.”
He pushed my hair out of my face and gave me a sad smile. “Kid, I don’t know what to say. This is all so fucked up.”
I shifted so that I could nuzzle him a little closer and smiled when his arm went around my waist. Safe. Vince was safety, calm.
“So let’s do that. Can you help me make some calls tomorrow? I need to find someone to take over the business, too. I don’t care about it, but I do care about the girls. I don’t want them ending up in the hands of some jackass pimp. California is as shady as Vegas, if not worse. They deserve to be taken care of.”
“I’ll figure it out, Jayne. I have some calls to make on this… I’ve heard a few things about your dad, and who has him. I need to dig a little more.”
“Thank you, Vince. I don’t tell you I love you enough. I’m so freaking glad I have you.”
“Always, kid. I love you, too, Janie girl. We’ll get through this, and I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I basked in that for a while. I knew I could count on him. He’d never hurt me, and he’d never let me down. I was grateful every single day that I had him. There was no one I trusted more, no one I cared about as much. Vince was something special, and it pinched at me again how lucky I was that he was the big brother I never had.
And then, in perfect big-brother form, he dropped the bomb we’d both been tossing around, hoping it wouldn’t hit the floor.
“What about Flynn, Janie?”
“What about him?” I asked, defensive and angry.
“Kid, this is me you’re talking to. What the hell is going on with you two?”
I clenched my jaw and slapped my e
yes shut, turning over so I was facing the far wall. I didn’t want him to see my reaction. He’d read right through me.
“Apparently, he likes to hang out with whores. He’s a freak. What do you want me to say?”
“Janie…”
“I don’t know, okay? He confuses me completely. He hires me, but he’s barely touched me. He treats me like shit mostly, but then tonight he totally came to my defense. I’ve never met someone so complicated in my life. I can’t read him at all.”
“But you like him. That’s what I’m talking about, Janie. You feel something.”
“Jesus, Vince. Are you insane?”
He chuckled. “I’ve known you long enough to know something’s different.”
Huffing, I climbed off his lap and started pacing. I didn’t like confrontation, and I wasn’t in the mood to try and explain what the hell was going on in my brain concerning Flynn Maguire.
“Vince, let’s go over the facts, shall we? Flynn is worth, what? Millions? He’s gorgeous, mysterious… gorgeous,” I said, laughing. “Of course I was attracted to him. I’ve been attracted to men before.”
He sat forward and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but he made you blush. I’ve never seen you blush, and I sure as hell have never seen you get flustered about a job. That’s one thing, Janie. You turn off before a job. With Flynn, you acted like you were getting ready for a date.”
I threw my hands in the air and stomped my feet. “Jesus! You’re turning into some old romantic ass. A date, Vince? He paid to have sex with me. I don’t remember him showing up at the door with roses and asking your permission. He’s a client, and he sees me as nothing more than a piece of ass. He had a new girl tonight, a real trashy bitch that looked like he picked her up off the strip on his way to the party. He’s a dirtbag, just like the rest.”
He smirked. “Well, I’ll be damned. Janie King, you like him.”
My eyes bugged out of my head. “You’re crazy. Just stop.”
Shaking his head, he stood and walked over to me, clamping his hands down on my shoulders. Leaning in, he smiled and looked deep into my eyes.
“It’s okay.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “I’m going to bed. You coming?”
He kissed my forehead and nodded. “Yeah, give me a minute. I’m just going to lock up and make sure everything is good before we go to bed.”
I turned and made my way toward my room. I missed my home in California. The townhouse was just a pit stop, and it was so impersonal and shabby compared to what I was used to. There wasn’t much about the place that resembled me at all. I’d gone through a broker and had them find me something furnished so I wouldn’t have to deal with anything. The regret of that decision was fierce on nights like these. It was another reason I was glad I had Vince around.
My room was bare, aside of the bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. I hadn’t exactly had time to decorate since I’d been in town—or the funds, to be honest. I’d liquidated my bank accounts and most of my other assets to pay the fuckers off. The only things I had left were the house, the business, and my car.
I flopped down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Thinking about Flynn was the last thing I’d wanted, and I felt so stupid having Vince call me out on it. It was embarrassing.
Vince’s footsteps coming up the staircase snapped me out of my little meltdown, and I quickly jumped under the covers and snuggled into my pillow. In a way, I wanted to open up to Vince and tell him how I really felt, but it would only cause problems. He was all I had, though. I didn’t have any friends, no girlfriends to gossip with, and no sisters to dish with. Vince was it. That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t good enough, because he was the greatest. The saddest part was that I was all he had, too. We were this ridiculous, fucked-up, dysfunctional, thrown together family, like a weeknight casserole created with leftovers. We were tossed away by the people that were supposed to take care of us, and left to find our way in the world.
Thankfully, we found each other.
He walked into the room and turned the light off. “You took the left side, damn it.”
I giggled. “Snooze, you lose, buddy. Deal with it.”
His boots hit the floor with a thud, and then he sat at the edge of the bed and stripped down to his boxers. Climbing in bed, he pulled the blanket over himself and leaned over to kiss me on top of the head.
“Good night, kid. Love you.”
“Love you, too, V.”
The next morning, I got up early so I could start working on my financials. I did some research online, looked into some realtors, and left some notes for Vince. He was better with all that crap, so I knew he’d take care of it. Once I crunched some numbers, I figured I would still be around fifty grand short, which meant there was no way I could stop seeing men.
I had double the payment to give to the assholes holding my dad that morning, but it just frustrated me to death that I was still short. It was endless. At that moment, I wondered just how fruitless my attempts were. Was my dad even going to make it out? The questions swirled around in my brain like a ship in a storm. It was chaos. I was so tired, emotionally and physically, and with the insertion of Flynn Maguire, my life no longer made any sense.
Vince came up behind me, squeezing my shoulders. “Stop stressing out, kid. We’ll figure it out. I’ll work on some things today. You want breakfast?”
I gave him a sad smile. “Vince, do you ever wonder what it’d be like to be… normal?”
He laughed, swinging the cupboards open, pulling out pots and pans. “We’re not normal? What are you trying to say?”
I rolled my eyes. “I mean, don’t you wonder about… I don’t know. A real life. No looking over your shoulder, no criminal activity, a normal relationship, stuff like that.”
He barked out a sarcastic laugh and leaned against the counter. “You could have that, Janie. You walk away from this shit, and you go get it. I can deal with this alone. Fuck, your dad could rot in hell for all it matters. You deserve better, and if you want that, you should have that.”
I let my head fall against the table with a thud. “I think I’m fucked, V. I like him. I like Flynn.”
I could hear him chuckle, then heard the crack of eggs against the pan. “Tell me something I don’t know, kid. So, what are you going to do about it?”
I peeked at him from underneath my hair, not letting my face leave the cold surface of the table.
“Nothing. There’s nothing to be done. It’s a bitch when you can’t get what you want.”
He clucked his tongue and shook his head. “First for you, baby.”
It sucked, but it was true, which is why it was incredibly miserable to think about. “Yeah, well, disappointment doesn’t look good on me. It’s not my color.”
He raised an eyebrow. “No, no it’s not.”
EIGHT
They were getting antsy. Things were slowly falling out of my hands, and time was no longer on my side. They’d shot down every option Vince threw their way, and I was close to giving up. There was only one thing I could do, and with Flynn calling constantly, I had to go through with it.
“He wants you to meet him at The Maguire again. He will be in the club at eight o’clock sharp. He left another note.”
I snagged it out of Vince’s hand and flopped down on the couch to read it. “I really hate these stupid memos.”
I couldn’t help the excitement that stirred inside of my belly at the thought of seeing him again—the traitorous flutters and the silly girl smiles I hated with a passion. It’d been a full ten days since I’d seen him, and you would’ve thought it’d been years. The ridiculous part was that I didn’t even know the guy well enough to care, but I did, and being at his mercy was humiliating.
For the first time ever, I was humiliated by what I was doing.
“Red. Jesus, he’s so predictable.”
That’s all it said. Red.
“So, what are you going to do?”
I looked over my shoulder
and sighed. “I guess I’m going shopping. I’ve run out of red, and this guy obviously isn’t giving up on the red fetish.”
Vince had the nerve to chuckle. “Well, I apologize, but I’ll pass on shopping. You have two dates tomorrow, and one on Tuesday. I’ll work on getting you a few more, but if you can pull off more dates with Maguire, that’s our best bet.”
I grabbed at the roots of my hair, frustrated as hell. “I’m not going to beg him, Vince. He obviously isn’t backing away, and after the fiasco at the poker party, that says something. He’s either crazy, or crazy.” I laughed. “He’s fucking crazy. That’s all there is to it.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “You can do this. We’re so close, and I promise I won’t back down. I’m still trying to get some intel on who has Sammie. We could find something on this guy, and we’d be set.”
I didn’t see that as an option. We were out of our league, and as much as I wanted to deny it, it was the truth. They were smart, whoever they were. My dad had royally screwed himself, and I still wasn’t sure why. Sloppy. He’d gotten so damn sloppy. Knowing what caused him to make the decisions he made would have given me the clues I needed.
“That sounds good, Vince. Monday I have an appointment with the doctor, and I truly need another day off.”
“I know you do.”
He was as frustrated as I was, and in a way it scared me. Vince wasn’t one to let people get an advantage on him. He was smart, really smart.
I trusted him to handle it, and between the two of us, we were bringing in regular money. I just had to hope that they’d stay patient with me while I tried to get together the ridiculous amount of money they wanted. I still wasn’t convinced that my dad actually owed as much as they wanted from me, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.
A few hours later, I’d spent way more money than I’d intended and hurried home to get ready to meet Flynn. Since he wanted to meet me at the club, I chose a slinky little number and a hot pair of heels. Red. All red, of course.
