Page 116 of The Billionaire Who Saved My Cat From The Mafia

“Go on, Emma,” I say.“I’m sorry you had to see it all go down, but it’s okay to tell everyone what you witnessed.They should know.”

Emma nods.“It was pretty bad,” she whispers.“The men tried to drag Frankie into the car but Special K… he… he kind of went nuts.He dealt with all of them at once so that Frankie could escape.It was awful.”

I shrug.“See?A monster.”

Emma looks up at me, tears spilling over her bottom lashes.“Warrior, Special K.There were a lot of monsters on the sidewalk today, but you weren’t one of them.”

CHAPTER 56

Frankie

Funnily enough, it’s easy to find Niko.

He’s at Lynx, at his usual VIP table.He’s surrounded by his remaining posse members and getting a double lap dance from my friends Chanel and Bambi.Bambi looks shocked to see me but keeps grinding.

Chanel visibly blanches and loses her rhythm.

Niko flashes me a smug smile.I think he was expecting me.

And I’m not exactly surprised to see what he’s up to tonight.Only losers ask for doubles.We dancers make fun of men who want two women at once, saying they get half the fun for twice the price.

Doubles make small men feel like big shots.

And that is a perfect description of Nikolai Koslov.

He’d never even set foot in Lynx until he learned it’s where I worked.And then he couldn’t get enough of the place.Suddenly, he was our number one customer.He got off on watching me dance for other men, and then he took me home to use me.

Bambi looks over her shoulder at me and winces.“Have you returned?You want us to go?”

“I’m retired,” I tell her.

I don’t want to sit down.I don’t want any part of me touching any part of this place.Retirement is definitely a wise decision, because even if I somehow manage to survive Niko, I know I’ll never strip again.Where I used to see a classy place that provided a service, I now see a dingy shithole, playing to the lowest common denominator.

I’m done with this life.

I’m only sorry it took me so long to decide I wanted something better.

“Well, hello stranger,” Niko says in his thick accent, then smiles at me.I feel my skin crawl with disgust.He shoves Chanel and Bambi off his knees.“Go… get away from here,” he tells them.

They stumble past me, eyes huge with fear.I’m sure they heard about the mob hit the night I disappeared and put two and two together.

“Be careful, Fawn,” Bambi whispers as she brushes past me and slips from the VIP room.

And here we are.It’s time to play the game.

My plan is simple.I’m going to give myself back to Niko, and he’s going to leave the MacLaines alone.A plan can’t get any simpler than that.

“You look nice,” Niko says to me, then laughs again.His henchmen laugh too, because it’s expected of them.That’s when I notice that three of them are covered in cuts and bruises, and the entire left side of one man’s face is blown up like a balloon.

Special K’s handiwork.

“Thank you, baby.I know what you like.”I position myself in a coquettish pose.He likes me acting flirty and sweet while looking like a sex worker.

I stopped at my house on my way to the club.The place had been tossed.My computer and camera were stolen.My TV was shot at.My sofa had been knifed—the list goes on and on.

It wasn’t so much about Niko looking for me as it was Niko marking his territory.

But I found this little number in the closet.It’s one of my most ridiculous fuck-me outfits, with see-through cutouts and a skirt that barely covers my cooter.I’ve teased my hair up to twice its thickness, and there is an inch of makeup on my face.