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“Don’t make me ask again.” The gun was cocked. “Step out of the car.”
“Why not go ahead and get it over with?” Ellie turned her focus to the crowd of ten or twelve young men lining the driveway. “Are any of you remotely aware of what is going on here?”
“They’ve been paid well,” Seth said, nudging her with his weapon. “They won’t talk and they won’t befriend you. Keep walking.”
“How can any of you stand there and do nothing? Act like men! What kind of sons of bitches are you!”
A young man walked up to her then, sporting his gang colors. Jiggling his shoulders and smirking, he said, “You hit that right, girlfriend. We’re all sons of bitches. That’s why we ended up on these streets protecting men like him when they want to have their way with women like you!”
The crowd cheered. Ellie gulped.
She was pushed forward and Heather was released to walk on her own. The driver and Seth didn’t treat them with respect. They handled them roughly until they were behind closed doors. Once the world outside was behind them, they seemingly changed their demeanor.
Their tight expressions relaxed. Seth removed his jacket and hung it on a coat tree. The driver placed his cap there as well.
“What are you going to do with our friends?” Heather asked.
“You should worry more about what we’re planning to do with you,” Seth told her, opening the first door on the right. “In there.”
The exterior of the home suggested a rundown shack or crack house but the small room had apparently been professionally decorated. A massive walnut desk took up most of the space. There were four leather chairs directly in front of it. Knickknacks lined a bookshelf along with vin
tage books showcasing their tattered bindings.
“I admire you, Ellie,” Seth said, accepting two bottles of water from the driver who reappeared then. He handed one off to Heather and another to Ellie. “Your friends were apparently eager to pull one another apart and you rose to the fore. A man could use a good woman like you at his side. You’re a leader. It shows.”
“What kind of leader blatantly lies to those who are looking to her for advice?” she asked, twisting off the plastic cap and taking a drink.
Seth sat on the corner of the huge desk. “A good one.” He waited a moment and then added, “But I’m not sure you lied to them exactly.” He swung his gaze to Heather. “Did she lie to you intentionally?”
Heather glanced at Ellie. “No. She would never do that.”
“I told them everything would be okay and that we’d stick together, but you separated us.”
“You’ll see them one more time. I may be hired for my expertise and skills but I’m not entirely heartless. You’ll have an opportunity to say your farewells.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Oh come on, Ellie. You and I aren’t that different.” He paced the floor. “People like us, we all have reasons for what we do. We’re the kind of people who contemplate those reasons before we act, think about them before we take a leap. Take you, for instance.”
“What about me?”
“You sleep with four men. Was that a conscious decision or did you just fall in bed with them and decide it was comfortable enough to remain a while?”
Ellie noticed Heather beside her, clenching her fists and resting them on her knees. Seth seemed amused then and looked pointedly at Heather. “No comments? She sleeps with your brother, from what I’ve heard.” He didn’t give Heather a chance to respond. Instead, he bent down and hissed at Ellie’s ear, “Yes, you always know what you’re doing. Don’t you, Ellie?”
“I’ve made my mistakes.”
He frowned. “So you’re saying Allister, Bradley, Ryan, and Derek were mistakes?”
“Of course not.”
“I see. So you realized that kind of choice would slam doors to other opportunities.”
“I love Allister, Bradley, Ryan, and Derek. I chose them. They chose me. I don’t give a damn what doors are closed to me now. I have the men I love.” She slowly lifted her head and snarled. “And they’ll enjoy—”
He put his hand up. “Before you add what most women tend to say, I’ll warn you. They won’t find you. They aren’t coming for you. I’ve been doing this for six years now, Ellie. I always leave cold trails and colder bodies. No one is saving you and so you know—not because I’m cruel but because it’s better for you if you start down the path to acceptance now—you will never see Allister or any other lover you’ve had again.”
Heather gasped. She gripped her chair with both hands.
