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A neighbor hung her head out the window to yell, “He ain’t home, sweetheart! Went out the back way like his tail was on fire.”
Rats. She opened her mouth to ask the neighbor if she knew how to get to the L, but the window slammed closed again.
Fine. Okay. She could figure this out. Crossing herself and muttering a few disjointed prayers, she stumbled back to the sidewalk.
The cabby had dropped her off right here. They had come in from the left, so she’d head that way. Not that she remembered how long they’d been on this street, and it looked different walking. The previous turn had been a left, right? So she should go right at the corner. The buildings down that street didn’t look any nicer than the ones on Roman’s, but that didn’t mean anything. She couldn’t recall how long they’d been on the border of poverty during the drive, but it had been a minute or two. Which translated into quite a while of walking, didn’t it?
Half an hour later, her feet hurt from her impractical shoes and her hands shook like autumn leaves. Nothing looked familiar—and everything looked bad. When she saw the women standing on the street in their scanty dresses, calling out to men who perused their wares with wolfish interest, she knew she was in trouble. She’d gone into the heart of the Levee, and nowhere did she see a taxi eager to take her home.
God, she cried silently into the night. Where am I? And where are you?
“Mm, you look like a fresh one. How much, baby?”
She jumped as a hand gripped her arm, tried to pull away but only bumped into a foul-smelling chest. Fear poisoned the air as she looked first at the rough, feral face of the speaker and then the matching one of his leering friend. “No, you don’t understand. I’m not—”
“You don’t want to charge us?” The second man chuckled. “Fine by us, sweetheart.”
“Fine indeed.”
She fought back a sob. “Please, gentlemen. I’m lost. If you could just help me home—”
“Hear that, Topsy? ‘Gentlemen.’” The first man laughed, spewing liquor-laden breath into her face. “That’s rich, sweetheart. But men we certainly are, and if you behave yourself, maybe we’ll try for the gentle.”
“Oh, God.” It was all the prayer she could manage. In that moment, she wasn’t sure it would be enough.
