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I thought I’d gotten away with it too. They’d let me leave the store, walk all the way back home, and even eat a few bites of the premade sandwich before they came knocking. Then I couldn’t beg for forgiveness and give it back. Now they’re collecting. I have a feeling they’d been watching me long before I tried to steal from them. They knew too much not only about me but my mother too.
Another man joins Sherman’s table, and I watch as he nods in agreement with whatever the first guy said. Sherman shrinks down as they get in his face, and my fear starts to grow. Sherman is going to take his anger out on me when these men are done with him.
When I decide I have no option other than to run, Sherman beats me to it. He bolts toward the front of the restaurant and out the double doors. His men follow him, leaving me standing at the bar alone.
“Oh god,” I whisper.
I could not be this lucky. Then again, I’m guessing Sherman isn’t going to pay whatever price it was to have me and my virginity. I don’t even know how much he was paying for it. I’ll likely be shoved on to the next man they put me with, or worse. I could be in trouble for not following through with it. That I didn’t somehow seal this deal or something.
After witnessing this, I know I have to get out of here. I take a step toward the sign that shows where the bathroom is because there’s no way I’m making my escape out the front. What if Shapoval’s men are out there? I freeze when the two men who sent Sherman running both glance at me. I think they might be brothers. They’re of a similar build, which is massive. Especially compared to my short ass.
“What about the girl?” the one who only just walked in a few moments ago asks loud enough for me to hear, and then he nods in my direction. With their eyes on me, I notice they’re the exact same shade, but something about this one’s stare is more intense. It keeps me grounded in place.
“Take care of it.” The first guy sighs. “The last thing I want for my wife right now is a scandal.”
“It’s done.” He nods and makes his way toward me. His eyes never leave mine, and I back up a step until I run right into the bar. When he gets to me, he takes my purse right out of my hand without asking and opens it up. He grabs the fake ID and scowls at it.
“I’m Amanda Tomsan, and I'm twenty-two.”
“What’s your real name?” he asks, and I swallow. “Answer me, little girl.”
“Demi.”
“Demi,” he repeats before putting the ID back into my purse then fishing out the little bag of white powder I’d taken from my mother’s bedroom.
“What is it?” He holds up the plastic bag.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly, and he puts that back too. He tucks my purse under his arm and then looms over me.
“How much was he paying you for the night?” He looks like a pissed-off father, and his eyes cut right through me down into my soul.
“I don’t know,” I repeat.
“I’ll double it.” He grabs me by the arm and hauls me from the restaurant.
“Double it?” I squeak and try to yank my arm away. He only holds me tighter until I fall into his side and his arm wraps around me.
“Don’t fight me or you’ll regret it.” I stare up into his eyes, and he waits for me to challenge him. I only nod, knowing I’ll never win against a man this big. “Good girl,” he praises before he takes me for himself.
Chapter Two
CURT
“I’m guessing this fake ID doesn’t have your real address on it?” She nods as the valet hands me my keys, and I walk her over to the passenger door. Once she’s inside, I get behind the wheel and drive away from the restaurant, putting distance between us and Sherman Hawthorne’s mess. “Then you’re going to have to tell me where you live.”
“Why?” She looks over, her beautiful honey-colored eyes blinking up at me.
“What do you mean why? So I can take you home.” I glance down at her dress that’s basically a Band-Aid on her body and shake my head. “How old are you really? There’s no way you could pass for twenty-two.”
“I’ll be eighteen in two days.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
She shrugs her shoulders. “Believe what you want, it doesn’t matter anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Are you really going to take me home?”
“Yes, if you tell me where you live.” She gives me directions, and it’s not far from here.
“What did you mean by ‘doubling the price’?” Her voice is soft, but it’s sweet and tender like she’s afraid. I don’t want her to be scared of me.
