When I was done and all the curls were cooled and the hairspray was dry, I flipped my head upside down and loosened the coils with my fingertips. Amazingly, I achieved the effect I was going for. Large, loose, shiny curls fell over my shoulders and back. I really hoped the style held tonight.
I wanted to look pretty. For Adam.
After giving my hair yet another squirt of hairspray, I added some deep-pink lipstick, smiling a little remembering how Adam had looked with it smeared on his mouth.
Before heading for the door, I grabbed a cropped, lightweight red jacket that looked like leather but wasn’t and slid it on. My hair took longer than I thought it would, so I rushed toward the door, not wanting to be late.
I flung open the door to rush outside but stopped short when I nearly collided with something standing in the doorway of the apartment.
I gasped loudly as my heart leapt into my throat. My hand gripped the wooden doorframe to keep myself from tumbling over with the force of my halt.
It was Craig.
He looked at me through dark lashes. “Hey, baby.”
My stomach tightened and this sick feeling came over me. I did not want to see him right now.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded. “And what the hell have you been following me around for?”
He acted like he didn’t notice my bitchy tone. But I knew it was an act. “Can I come in?”
“No.”
The corners of his eyes tightened. “I just wanna talk, Roxie. I came by last night. I asked you to call me.”
I snorted. “You didn’t come by,” I snapped. “You were creeping around like some weirdo.”
He sighed and pushed past me into the apartment. I thought about taking off my shoe and giving him a good whack with the heel. I didn’t want him here. “Please go.” I didn’t shut the door. I left it open and kept myself rooted right beside it.
Craig turned. His hands were casually draped in his jeans and he rolled his hips forward as he walked closer. Damn him for looking so good. Damn me for noticing.
“I miss you, baby,” he said, his voice low as he stopped just in front of me. “You look real good.”
It wasn’t going to work. Not this time. I wasn’t going to fall for this. He might be my first love, the keeper of a lot of my firsts, but he wasn’t going to be my only.
“It’s over, Craig. We aren’t getting back together. Stop calling me. Stop following me. You aren’t welcome here.”
“Roxie.” The way he spoke my name was almost like an admonishment, like we both knew that what I just told him was a lie. Like we both knew when he turned up the charm, I’d come rushing back into our old patterns.
I lifted my chin and stared at him. I looked him straight in the eyes, not wavering at all. I wanted him to see it. I wanted him to know this time was different.
He must have seen what I intended.
Unfortunately, it pissed him off.
His baby blues went flat and hard. At his sides, his hands fisted. “It’s him, isn’t it?” he intoned.
“What?” I asked, standing my ground even though I wanted to take a step back.
“Are you fucking him?” Craig growled, angry. He was a possessive guy, and it wasn’t really in a protective sort of way. It was a selfish, controlling kind of possession he harbored.
“No,” I said, recoiling. I knew he was talking about Adam. Adam was the only other man I’d ever really looked at since high school.
“Don’t you fucking lie to me!” he snapped and shoved me against the door. Because it was open, the force of my body pushed it back and it banged against the wall.
“I’m not!” I insisted. He was pinning me against the wood, his hand on my throat. I felt his fingers wrapped around me and I knew I was only one hard squeeze away from not being able to breathe.
My body wanted to tense up. My heart was beating so hard it hurt. Panic pushed through my blood vessels, wanting to take over my entire body.
But I couldn’t let it.
Showing him I was scared only made it worse.
If he was going to hit me, if he was going to threaten me this way, then I would act like I didn’t care. I wouldn’t bow down to him. Not ever.
“I saw you,” he growled, shoving his face right up to mine. The putrid scent of lingering liquor on his breath made my stomach churn. God, I hated that smell.
It was the scent of anger, abuse. If Craig had been drinking before he came here, then this wasn’t going to end well. It wouldn’t matter what I said. Talking him down was almost impossible when he was drunk.
I never knew alcohol could make a person mean. Even though I worked in a bar, I was now severely uncomfortable with drunk men. They were unpredictable. It brought out the truth in them… It brought out their dark sides.
It was always something I could keep hidden, the way my body reacted around a drunk man. At the club, it was always under control. Adam wouldn’t put up with any kind of disrespect, and everyone knew it and the bouncers enforced it.
But I wasn’t at the Mad Hatter. There was no bouncer to make sure Craig behaved.
“What the hell were you at the club so early for today?” he accused. “All alone in that building with him. With the boss. How long have you been doing him?”
I shook my head.
He pulled me away from the door and then slammed me back into it. My shoulders took the brunt of the hit and my back stung.
“I’m not sleeping with Adam!” I insisted. “He’s my boss. He gave me a promotion.”
It was the wrong thing to say.
“A promotion, huh? You’re a little slut. Blowing the boss for more cash. You’re nothing but trash.”
Anger lit through me. How dare he talk to me like this! “Get your hands off me,” I growled, looking right into his eyes.
His hand tightened around my throat, threatening to crush my windpipe. “Come on, fucker,” I taunted. “Do it.”
His eyes flared. Instead of doing what I challenged, he yanked me away from the door again. My feet skidded across the floor as I tried to gain some traction. His hand left my throat and he gripped me by the shoulders. His fingers cut into my arms even through my clothes, and I winced.
“You’re mine. We aren’t done. No one else is allowed to touch you,” he hollered. He began to shake me, like he could somehow talk some sense into me.
“Stop it.” I gasped as my head rolled on my shoulders with the force of his shoves.
“I swear to God, if I see you with him again, I will fucking kill him.”
Fear like none other slammed in to me. The thought of him hurting Adam made me physically sick, and I gagged. How dare he threaten Adam! It was sad, but I’d grown accustomed to his threats against me, but threatening someone else because of me… this was new.
He continued to shake me. My teeth rattled. I reached out to steady myself, taking fistfuls of his T-shirt. “Stop,” I stuttered, grasping him.
Craig gave me one last shove, and I heard a snap. I stumbled back when he let go of me, and I glanced down at my hand. The gold chain he always wore around his neck was dangling from my palm. It had been caught in the shirt when I grabbed it and his shove made the chain break.
Horror filled me. Oh no.
I looked up at Craig. His eyes were wide and angry. His nostrils flared as he looked at his broken possession. Then he tore his gaze away from it and pinned me with a hot stare.
“It was an accident,” I swore. “You shoved me.”
Craig gave an angry shout and snatched the chain out of my palm. “You’re going to pay for this.” He snarled and grabbed me by the front of my shirt.
“I can get it fixed,” I vowed, hating the way I rushed to make it right. This was his fault, but my bravado was gone. I was scared now. He was pissed.
He dragged me across the room and threw me on the couch. My back hit the front and bowed around it. Pain exploded, but I didn’t have time to think about it because he picked me up and tossed me onto the cushi
ons and straddled my hips. The slap he delivered across my face stung and made my eyes water. I turned my head, letting my hair cover my face and eye as I stared at the plain-colored couch cushions as the ache radiated across my cheekbone.
“You think you can go out with him and me not know!” he roared. “You think you can straddle the back of his bike and press yourself against him and me not know! You’re trying to make a fool out of me!” he snapped. “I won’t have it.”
He grabbed my chin, squeezing and forcing my head around so I had to stare up into his angry face.
How can someone so good-looking be so ugly?
I didn’t say anything even though I wanted to yell. There was a difference between bravery and stupidity. He was sitting on me, pinning me down. Whatever I said right now would only make it worse.
“Do you understand me?” he said, chest heaving.
I nodded as his fingers dug into my jaw.
He got up abruptly. His weight leaving me was such a relief. I scrambled up to my feet, pushing my hair out of my face and glaring at him.
He threw the chain at me. It hit me in the stomach and fell at my feet. “I want that fixed. Today.”
“I want you out of my life.” My voice was deadly calm, utterly serious. I couldn’t do this anymore. I wouldn’t.
His eyes narrowed. He stalked toward me. My body prepared itself for another blow. “You want him that bad?”
“This has nothing to do with Adam,” I ground out.
“Don’t you fucking say his name to me!” he roared. I winced and my ears rang. Surely, the neighbors could hear him… Why wasn’t anyone helping?
“You make me sick,” he said, his voice quieter. “I thought you were better than that.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about. How could he imply that any attraction I might feel toward Adam was wrong? Adam was ten times the man he would ever be.
He heaved a heavy sigh. “I’ll let you go.”
My eyes snapped up to his. I wanted so desperately to believe what I just heard.
He chuckled. “The desperation in your eyes is not a good look,” he spat.
“What do you want?” I asked. I didn’t care if I sounded desperate. I was.
“I need you to do something for me,” he said, his voice finally back in control. “Do it and you won’t have to see me again.”
I clung to this sudden ribbon of hope, even though I knew it was probably a lie.
He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and withdrew a business card and extended it to me. I took it but didn’t look away from him. I wanted to be aware of what he was doing at all times.
“In two days, be at that address. The time is on there. Come dressed like the trash you are and be ready to perform.”
Perform?
A sinking, sick feeling settled in my gut. Oh no…
I glanced down at the card. PINK PRODUCTIONS.
I snapped my head up. “I told you no,” I growled.
He shuffled closer and grabbed my chin again. My jaw already hurt from how he grabbed it earlier. I struggled to pull away. His hands made me sick. How the hell I ever got pleasure out of them I would never ever understand.
He tightened his grip and stepped even closer so I could feel the muscles beneath his clothes. I wanted to sag in defeat. His sheer size and muscle mass outmatched me tenfold.
“I told you it was a done deal,” he said quietly. “I’ve already been paid. The money’s been spent.”
So that’s how he paid for that car…
“You will do this, Roxie,” he intoned. “And in return, I’ll get out of your life.”
I felt tears well in my eyes. Damn him! Damn my weaknesses, damn my anger, and damn my fear.
His eyes softened. “Don’t cry, baby,” he crooned. “I love you.”
Oh my God, was that supposed to make me feel better?
Finally, he released my chin and stroked the side of my head, like he was petting a dog or a possession. “Just do this for me.”
I’d rather die.
“You wouldn’t want anything happen to lover boy, would you?”
That got my attention. I might give up my life, but not Adam’s.
He smirked. “I thought so.” Craig stroked my hair again. “Be at that address day after tomorrow, Roxie. Come dressed like the trashy bitch you are.”
He stepped away, but I felt no relief.
Causally, he strolled toward the door like he didn’t have a care in the world, like hitting and threatening someone he supposedly loved was natural.
He turned in the open doorway before leaving and gave me the kind of charming smile I fell for when I didn’t know any better.
“And, Roxie? Wear your hair like that. It looks hot.”
When he was gone, I sank down onto the sofa, my entire body trembling. I sat there for a long time, numb and staring off into space. Reality eventually came creeping back, and I felt the heavy card crushed in my hand.
I looked down and a sob ripped from my throat.
I was finally getting what I wanted. I was getting rid of Craig.
The price for my future was very steep.
PINK PRODUCTIONS.
It sounded innocent, almost pretty.
It was none of those things.
Craig tried to sell me to them before, and I wouldn’t have it. Seems he somehow made a deal behind my back. He pretty much sold me to a company with no morals at all.
The price for my freedom and apparently Adam’s safety…
Starring in a porn flick.
18
Adam
She was late.
Roxie was never late.
She was probably just nervous, fussing over her hair or some shit, and lost track of time. But the more I told myself that, the harder it got to believe.
Harlow poked her head in my office as I looked at the clock. “Has Roxie called in?” she asked.
I muttered a profanity. “No. She hasn’t called you?”
She shook her head, worry in her eyes.
“Did you see her before work?” I asked.
A guilty expression crossed her face. “I knew I should have stayed home,” she said almost to herself.
I motioned for her to come into the office. “What the hell does that mean?” I asked as she walked in.
“I haven’t seen her. I stayed at Cam’s last night.”
That bad feeling in my gut intensified. “Is there a reason you look guilty?”
Harlow sighed and averted her eyes.
“Spill it,” I ordered.
“I think he’s bothering her again,” she admitted.
I knew she was going to say that. I mean, I’d pretty much been thinking the same thing, but just hearing the words out loud pissed me off. “What makes you think that?”
“He’s been calling. Blowing up her phone,” Harlow said. “I asked her about it. She doesn’t say much, but…”
“What?”
“She’s been a little jumpy lately.”
“Fuck.”
“She was home alone last night.” Harlow worried, wringing her hands. “I offered to stay home, but she told me to go.”
That would explain the dark circles beneath her eyes and her distracted head.
“It’s my fault—”
I held up my hand. “No, it isn’t. Roxie is stubborn as hell.”
“Still, I think I might be all she has.” She said it softly, like it hurt to voice aloud.
It fucking hurt to hear.
“She has me,” I ground out.
Harlow glanced up, her eyes wide. “I thought you two were just friends.”
I gave her a level stare. “You know better.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I do. Glad you finally do too.”
I grunted and reached into my pocket and pulled out my keys. “Can you keep an eye on the place? I’m going to check on her.”
Harlow nodded.
I shut my office door on the way out and scanned the crowd already
forming in the bar. Cam was behind the bar, and I knew he and Harlow would be able to handle things here.
I nodded at Ty, the best bouncer in the place, on the way out and stepped into the parking lot. It was still light out, but because it was late summer, it wasn’t as bright as it would have been just last month.
I turned the corner of the building toward my bike and collided with Roxie.
She bounced off my chest and I reached out to steady her. I couldn’t help but notice all the dark curls falling over my fingers.
“Roxie,” I said. Relief flooded my system. “I was just coming to check on you.”
“I’m sorry I’m late,” she said. Her voice was slightly off. Forced. “I lost track of time.”
She was shaking again. I felt the slight trembling beneath my hands.
“Hey,” I said, releasing her. “You okay?”
She glanced up at me, then ducked her head. Her face was red. I went to grasp her chin to look at her again, but she flinched.
Rage burned through me. It ate away all the worry I had for her just moments ago. I’d never had a woman flinch away like she was scared.
“Look at me, Rox.”
She did, letting her curls fall around her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her skin uncomfortably red. “Why is your face so red?” I asked.
“Oh,” she sighed. “The A/C in my car went out. I’m just hot.”
“Didn’t you just have that fixed?” I asked suspiciously. I was suddenly taken back to the night I sent her home because of that damn non-working A/C. She was sick from the heat, and I told her to go. I’d ultimately sent her home to be attacked.
It was the night I slept on her couch.
“Apparently, the guys at the garage thought they could charge me full price and slap a Band-aid on it to make me think it was working again.”
I clenched my jaws. What kind of asshole takes money for a job, then lets a woman drive off in the heat, knowing the problem wasn’t fixed?
Trashy Page 10
