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She doesn’t look friendly. Neither of them do.
“Donny says we should look out for Vanessa,” Stef added. “He says—”
The black-haired woman rolls her eyes. “I don’t care what Donny says.” She sits up, and her companion yawns and moves to the other end of the couch. “I’m Traci. Since you’re new, I’ll give you the same heads up I gave Stef. Don’t mess with any of the stuff here. Everybody’s got a routine already, and we don’t need the newbies messing it up.”
I tense at her open hostility, but I nod. “I understand. Trust me, I don’t want to… touch anything.”
“You can’t do that,” Stef complains. “This is communal property. And Vanessa is gonna need to figure out her costuming and make-up too, if she wants to earn.”
The other woman on the couch laughs and finally cracks an eye open. “How’s that working out foryou, Stef? Manage not to cry, for once?”
I glance at Stef, unable to keep myself from feeling sorry for her. New, and obviously being pushed around, and I can’t imagine Giulio likes that she cries with the people who frequent the place.
Damien probably does, though, I think bitterly. He probably sends people to her just to screw with her more so he can earn more money off of her with the real perverts.
“Hey. You don’t have to be cruel,” I cut in. “We’re all in the same boat here.”
Traci and her friend share a glance. “The same boat?” Traci says sarcastically. “Honey, this place is sink or swim, and I’m not sharing the life vests. The only way to escape is by making more money than everybody else at the club. And if you’re a bottom earner…”
The other woman snorts. “When’s the last time we saw Penny? Oh, right, she disappeared. Because she was so useless.”
I swallow hard. “Do… people disappear a lot?” I ask, my voice strained. I don’t really want to know, but at the same time, I feel like I need to.
Stef hunches her shoulders together. “No. People don’t disappear.”
The two women laugh. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” Traci’s companion says. “And, by the way—”
Whatever she was going to say, she cuts herself off and stares at something behind me. I turn around, my stomach instantly churning.
Damien.
“There you are,” Damien says. “I was looking for you, Vanessa.” He glances at the other three. “Giulio said he liked yesterday’s profits. Keep up the good work, Cat.”
Cat—Traci’s companion—smiles at him. “Thank you, Sir. I’ll keep making Giulio proud.”
I shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other. I stay quiet, wishing Damien would just… go away and leave me alone if I don’t draw attention to myself.
It doesn’t work.
“Come on, Vanessa,” Damien says.
I helplessly look at the three women in the room, but there’s no help coming from them. Stef avoids my gaze, while Traci smirks at me. Cat has already closed her eyes again.
I take a deep breath to steady myself and follow Damien out of the room.
7
DAMIEN
Ikeep one hand on Vanessa’s shoulder as I guide her toward the spare room. I tell myself I’m touching her to keep her from running, but I know the truth is that I simply want to touch her.
“I hope you slept well,” I say, despite knowing the answer. I’d checked in on the cam feed occasionally, watching Vanessa toss and turn during the night.
She casts me a wary look. “Yes,” she says.
I can’t think of anything else to say to her, but it doesn’t matter since we’ve already arrived.
Doctor Summers is already waiting for us. She has her usual kit spread out on the plastic table, ready to do her job and get out of here. I suspect she finds this work objectionable, but she shouldn’t have gotten involved with the mob if she didn’t want to deal with the dirtier side of the world.
