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“I’ll pay double what he did to keep your silence. Just tell me how much and I’ll make sure you get it.”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know how much.” She looks out her window and tells me where to turn up ahead.
“I don’t get it. You were a paid escort, right?” When she doesn't look at me, I let out a long sigh. “Listen, I’m not judging, I just want to make sure you don’t talk about what happened today and that you’ve got enough to keep you out of doing this shit. Shouldn’t you be in school?”
“I graduated already.” She points to a street up ahead. “I’m down this one at the end.”
The neighborhood is run-down, with dilapidated houses and trash in the streets. “You live here?”
“It’s my mom’s place.” Her hands shake as she folds them into her lap.
I pull up to the house at the end, and it’s one of the worst. There are boards over the windows, and the porch is falling in. There’s knee-high grass in the front yard and a rusted car in the driveway.
“Your mom makes you live in that?” I can’t keep the horror out of my voice.
“Some people don’t have a choice. And she doesn’t make me.” She looks down at my expensive suit, and I feel like an asshole. “If she had her way she’d be alone with her boyfriend of the week. But it’s not exactly like I’ve got a lot of options.”
She’s right. I shouldn’t judge, and I feel like shit now. As much as I get what she’s saying, I can’t in good conscience leave her here.
“Do you have anything in that house that’s yours?” She looks down at her empty hands and shakes her head without looking at me. “All right then.” I put the car in reverse, and her head snaps up.
“What are you doing? You said you were taking me home.” Fear flashes in her eyes, and I clench my jaw. Who made her so damn afraid?
“I’m taking you to a safe place until we can figure something out. You said you’re eighteen day after tomorrow?” She nods. “All right then.”
“I don’t have any money. Even when I turn eighteen, my situation isn’t going to change.”
“I told you I’d cover it. Just let me take care of this and sort out a better situation than that.” I glance around the neighborhood as we leave and try not to think about what I’m doing and how this could be a terrible mistake.
It’s a quiet drive back to Hollow Oak, and when we get to the gate, I put in my code. She watches me as they slowly open and sits up a little in her seat to look around.
“Where are we?”
“My house.”
“What?” The panic in her voice is clear.
“Listen, I have plenty of room, and you can stay here until we figure things out, okay? It’s obvious that whatever was about to happen today wasn’t your choice.”
She presses her lips together, not admitting to anything.
“Fine, you don’t have to tell me, but I can’t fix it if you don’t.”
I park the car in front of my house and go around to her side. When I open the door, she hesitates but finally steps out of the car and stands there expectantly.
“Come on in. I’ll show you around.”
I don’t have as many on my household staff as Boone does, and my property isn’t as luxurious. But I have a gate, and I like my privacy.
“This is Pierce.” I introduce Demi to my house manager, and he nods. “He can get you anything you need. All you have to do is ask.
“Pierce, this is Demi…” I pause, not knowing her last name.
“Slater.”
“Miss Slater will be staying with us for a little while. Can you please make up the guest room upstairs?”
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Pierce says and nods. “I’ll go do that now.”
One thing I love about that man is he doesn't ask a lot of questions. Showing up with a half-naked minor isn’t exactly an ideal situation.
“Let’s get you some clothes first.” I try not to look at her dress and the curves that are nearly spilling out of it. “I’m sure I’ve got something you can wear.”
I hear the click of her heels behind me as we walk upstairs and down the hall to my bedroom.
“This is all yours?” she asks.
“Yeah, I’ve lived here for about three years now.”
“It’s empty.”
I let out a laugh. “Yeah, I haven’t really gotten around to decorating. My room is just down the hall from yours if you need anything.”
We walk into the master, and she stops in the middle to look around the large space while I go into the closet. I grab a couple of T-shirts and a sweatshirt, then a pair of shorts that I know will be too big but she can probably roll them at the waist. Once I’ve got a couple of things, I come out of the closet and see she’s gone.
