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Damien’s words still ring clearly in my mind.I’ll try to calm Giulio down, but I make no promises.
I’m not scared that Giulio willphysicallyhurt me, even though I probably should be. He’d had plenty of chances to give me to other men the night before, and if he’s really in on this whole pregnancy bullshit, he won’t risk violence as well.
I think.
The problem is that he’s made it clear he’ll use the people around me to hurt me, and that’s even worse than taking a beating. I’d prefer being fucked and beaten to watching Stef get hurt… and he knows it.
I’ve sobbed myself dry, thinking of Stef’s unconscious body on the floor. I don’t even know if she’s okay, and there’s no way for me to find out. She usually brings me breakfast, but I doubt she’ll be in any condition to perform any of her usual chores. Though if Giulio is pissed enough, he’ll probably give her more work without letting her recover.
I should’ve kept my fucking mouth shut instead of making things worse for Stef, but I’d been so angry, I hadn’t been able to help it.
When the door swings open, I sit bolt upright, getting up to meet Stef halfway across the room so she can sit down and rest for at least a few minutes. But it’s not Stef at the door.
It’s Cat.
I freeze, unsure of what to say. I remember how she’d offered herself to Johnny, but I have no idea how to interpret what she’d done.
“Oh, you got your beauty sleep?” Cat says, shoving the plate of food at me. “Nice that some people around here get to rest.”
I want to protest that I didn’t sleep at all, but I feel too guilty. I may not have slept, but I hadn’t been up half the night—or all night—servicing Lauro Romano and his son and men. I hadn’t been fucked unconscious, either. I have no room to protest or give any of my own excuses.
“I’m…” I don’t even know what to say. “I’m sorry,” I say thickly. I had been so sure I couldn’t cry anymore, but tears threaten to fall again anyway.
“Jesus Christ, are you seriously crying?” Cat rolls her eyes. “I thought Stef was the crybaby around here.”
I wipe at my eyes, trying to calm myself down, but it’s too late. Thinking of Stef just makes the tears come faster. “There’s nothing wrong with crying,” I defend myself, but the words are weak, and I know it. “And you should leave her alone.”
Cat’s expression darkens. “Yeah? Like you did? Good fucking job, by the way. Giulio wouldn’t have suggested a fucking gangbang if you hadn’t shown up.”
“I just wanted to help!” I protest. “I thought…” I don’t even know what I thought, not anymore. I thought that I could deflect some of the attention off the others, but that had backfired.
“If that’s the kind ofhelpyou bring, keep me out of it.” Cat sneers at me. “Damien told you to stay the fuck away. All you have to do is enjoy your cushy life, but you’re desperate to rub it in everybody else’s face that you’re Giulio’s current fave, huh. But, kudos to you, you’ve done more damage to Stef than Traci and I ever could. It’d be hilarious if I hadn’t had to step in to fix your mistakes.”
I don’t know why shedidstep in, and I’m afraid to ask. Now definitely isn’t the time.
“I’m not his favorite,” I say, finally taking the plate from her. I’m wary of turning my back on her, but at the same time, I’d deserve it if she did do anything to me.
Not that she’d dare, because I’m Giulio’sfavorite.
“He just wants to get me pregnant so I can have his babies,” I say, bitterness creeping into my voice as I set the plate down on the bed. “That’s the whole reason he and Damien kidnapped me.”
“Oh, boo-fucking-hoo. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? Because you know what would have happened to anybody else who lashed out at Giulio, in fucking public?” Her smile turns nasty. “Let’s just say, they don’t continue working here. No, there’s a pit worse than this hell, and Giulio has no qualms about kicking anybody into it.”
Fear makes my heart skip a beat. “He won’t… He wouldn’t… Not to Stef. Because of me,” I manage to get out around the lump in my throat. Oh, god. How much damage had I done with that single careless act that had been meant tosupportthe other girls, not wreak havoc on their already shitty lives?
Cat starts laughing. “Yeah, of course he wouldn’t. Giulio’s just a sweet little teddy bear who cares about a few drugged-up, washed-out strippers. Whores. I mean, as far as bosses go, I’ve had worse, but how fucking naive are you? We’re fucking disposable. Except you, I guess, until you pop out his babies.”
“This isn’t… This isn’t…”This isn’t how things are supposed to be, I want to say, but Cat would eviscerate me if she even knew what I was thinking. “Please. You have to help me out of here. I’ll— I’ll go to the police. I’ll tell them what’s happening. I’ll get us all out of this,” I say desperately, glancing down at the clothes Giulio had given me. Dressed like this, during the day, I should be able to get away from here without ending up in an even worse situation.
Cat immediately backs away from me. “What the fuck? Are you stupid? You want to get us all arrested?”
“They won’t arrest you!” I protest. “It’ll be obvious you’re all being abused, that you don’t want to be here. It’s human fucking trafficking, Cat! There’s protection against that!”
“Last time I dealt with the cops, they made me strip down in a jail cell and blow them. So, fuck off.” Cat spits at me, the glob landing on the floor near my feet. “I’ll take my chances with Giulio.”
“I have… I have leverage,” I say desperately, clinging wildly at any straws I can. “Giulio’s rival in Benton City, Victor Corvi… He wants me.” Not that I know why. “If I can just get in touch with him, he can figure something out.” It sounds ridiculous, even to me, but I don’t know what else to say.
“Who the fuck is Victor Corvi?” Cat asks. “And how is one mobster better than any other?” She rolls her eyes at me again and turns around. “Whatever. Enjoy your gourmet breakfast and the luxury of being left the fuck alone, which nobody else here gets to claim.”
