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“So, these girls under AV?” she started, picking at his shirt button. “Do you know them?”
His left-hand fingers began tapping the armrest, the ring she’d given him looking delicate on his rough, large hand. “Not all of them, no.”
“But they’re all there voluntarily, right?” She needed to be certain. “They’re not… coerced or anything?”
She felt him pull back and look down at her. “Where’s this coming from?”
She told him about the encounter with the woman, feeling him stiffen again. He pressed the speaker.
"Victor. Get the cameras from Zephyr's work today. I want to see every client who walked in and out of there."
Zephyr kept fiddling with the button. “It's the Syndicate, isn't it? It's bad news.”
He didn't confirm or deny it.
"The girls under AV," he distracted her while they waited. "They might not have come into this world voluntarily, but it’s not easy to get out. Many get too used to it, scared of the normal. Many enjoy the money it can rake. And many want to escape but don’t know how.”
“You can’t help them get out?” Zephyr asked, genuinely wanting to know. His world had begun to seep into hers, but she still didn’t understand how it worked.
He gave a humorless chuckle. “I’m not a savior, Zephyr. And it’s best if you don’t think of me as one. The most I can give these women is a choice—to join me and be safe, or remain unsafe. And once they join me, they’re free to leave any time. But I’m not a good, moral man. I can kill you as easily as I can make you orgasm. Blood or cum, my hands wear them both well.”
That was probably the most he’d ever said to her in one go, and it was a lot to take in. Zephyr liked to think she was moral, but how much of that was her upbringing? Would she have felt the same had she led a life alone on the streets and not one with a warm, loving family? Would she have cared about right or wrong when the goal had been survival?
She didn't know. And she had to accept who he had become now, and not the boy he’d once been, even though his morality had always been skewed.
She gave him a squeeze, and though he didn’t return it, she felt him relax slightly.
One day at a time.
