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Guido Bastone’s in the front office with his madam, Zarita. She sits cross-legged in a chair and laughs at something he says as the door swings shut behind me. Guido’s leaning against the counter, smiling at her. I wonder briefly if there’s something happening between them—but I don’t give a damn either way.
Guido walks over and shakes my hand. “I’m glad you’re back, Maxim,” he says. “I feel as though our last visit didn’t go the way I’d hoped.”
“Don’t think anything of it,” I say, while inwardly seething. “There was another emergency happening. It had nothing to do with you.”
Guido nods and smiles as if he believes me, but I’m sure he has his doubts.
“Come then. Let’s walk around the property. I’ll take you to the back room first and you can meet the girls.”
I gesture for him to lead on.
I’m halfway listening as he talks. He explains how he got started in the city. It’s a classic rags-to-riches story, and it’s almost impressive if it didn’t involve him yoking a bunch of girls into debt slavery and forcing them to fuck for cash. He shows me the kitchen and living area in the back and I meet a little young thing named Mira, and a silent brooding type named Lan, and I’m shown the bunk bed area. It’s a messy explosion of stuff, but it’s not too bad.
All throughout, I picture Siena in this space. I keep thinking I’ll see her, but she’s not around. I imagine her sleeping in a bed, keeping her own tidy little corner of the room, cooking dinner in that kitchen, laughing with the girls in front of the TV. Living her life the best she can. Why do I keep doing this to myself? I should let her go. She’s nothing, and I’m not free. None of it matters.
“Your father seems to think we can help each other,” Guido says as he guides me around the back and up the stairs. “I’ll admit, I’m coming around to the idea. There’s a new house I’m building near the lake district, and I’m wondering if you would like to help run it.”
Nausea pierces my stomach. I’d rather rip out my own eyes with a rusty spoon. “I’ll mention it to my father,” I say, doing my best to maintain my neutrality.
He nods happily. We reach the top of the steps and he stops in front of the first room. “This should be empty,” he says, more to himself than to anyone else. He probably doesn’t want a repeat of the other day.
I lean against the railing and look down. I spot Zita standing outside of the office, staring up at me with a strange grimace on her face. She’s pale, and her lips are pulled back in a strange snarl, like she’s afraid of something. I get an ugly feeling, and turn back to tell Guido to stop—but it’s too late.
The door’s open and he’s half inside. “What the hell is this?” he says, rage in his voice.
I reach for my gun and push forward. I draw it, prepared to deal with whatever’s coming—and stop short as I barrel past Guido into the room.
The place is neat and tidy. Bed on the right, TV on the left. My ears start to buzz and a stone rolls up my throat. Bile tastes sticky and acrid on my tongue.
Siena sits at the edge of the bed. She’s trembling, her arms wrapped around herself. Her face is pale and her mouth is open and she looks shocked and terrified.
She’s wearing this outfit. This fucking outfit. Low-cut top with lots of frills. A bow in her fucking hair. Lipstick, eyeshadow. Too much makeup. Shorts that are barely shorts, more like goddamn panties.
She looks like one ofthem.
I grip my gun so tight I worry it might go off but I’m frozen in the moment.
Siena looks from me to Guido. She shakes her head, her jaw working, like she wants to say something but can’t come up with the words. Guido comes forward and shoves my gun away, and I should kill him for that—but he’s right. I put it back into the holster.
“Siena, what is this?” Guido says again, his hands spread. “What the hell are you doing in here?”
“She made me do it,” Siena says, her voice a trembling whisper. Tears are in her eyes and they roll down her cheeks, smearing her eyeliner. She dabs at her face awkwardly with the back of her hand. “Zarita made me. She caught me—” She stops and looks at me.
Fuck.
I feel like lightning smashes into my skull.
We got caught. But how? Nobody was around. The place was empty. But it hits me.
Security cameras.
They have cameras.
Why the fuck didn’t I realize that?
Because I was too busy wanting Siena to stop and think for one second. I feel like a bastard, like a real piece of shit. I should be better than this, but I was too busy getting fucking hard and making her come to use my brain. And because of that, she’sherein this room wearingthat fucking outfit.
I’m so angry I can barely think. I see red, and all I want to do is storm back down and kill Zita with my bare hands. I want to watch her eyes bulge out and her lips turn blue as the life leaves her worthless corpse.
