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“’Fraid not. We’ll deal with everything at this end then figure out what to do tonight.” Dacre hangs up the phone before Mercier can say anything else.
I slam my fist down on the kitchen table, making the coffee cup on it rattle. “How the fuck did he find out? We’ve been living on his dime for years. Why now?”
Dacre shrugs. “You heard that oily fuckwad. I guess I was wrong and it is about the internship. Some asshole at Letterman must have let it slip and he finally pulled his head out of his arse to check up on me. Wall Street is a haven for gossipmongers and jealous twats. One of the other candidates probably told him out of sheer spite.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Dacre will be alright. He’ll have to live in some shit hole in Manhattan for a while, but he’ll manage. Mercier will probably go back to the streets. Me? I’ll fucking manage, but I don’t want to. I got a taste of living like a dog and I have no desire to go back to it.
“You can probably extend your stay at the apartment,” I grit out. “With Sin out of the way, you’ll be able to buy yourself some time. Even if it’s only for a few weeks. I’ll get a job in town somewhere and find some bitch to shack up with for a while until I graduate.”
Dacre licks his lips. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. We still have Sin. We made a decision last night, but we didn’t put it into action. She’s worth thirty million dollars. Let’s do what we originally planned, and when we have the money burning a hole in our pockets, let’s use it to take down my father and Waldgrave.”
I rub my chin. The anger I’ve been feeling gives way to a pang of excitement. “Just how are we going to do that? Thirty million is pocket change to your parents and Waldgrave.”
“That’s true, but I have an idea. When Waldgrave flies back into the US, he won’t know what hit him. I’ve thought of a way to bring the entire lot of Douche-canoes down and I think that Lucinda might be the key to helping us get what we want.”
20
LUCINDA
The whole apartment smells delicious. It always does when Mercier is cooking, but my mind isn’t on food. Adrenaline runs through every vein in my body, causing my toes to tap silently on the floor. Tonight, after we’ve eaten, and when Mercier goes to bed, I’m going to run. I’ve never been more scared in my life. I don’t know a soul in this city outside of this apartment and have no one I can trust, but anything is better than being another man’s plaything. Men’s playthings. Three of them. So far, only Mercier has touched me, but I don’t hold on to any hope that the others won’t start to think the way Mercier does. Josh especially. And with Josh, he won’t be playing. The soap opera plays as it always does, but I don’t hear the words of the actors. These men and women on the screen are like family to me and because of them, I know there is love in this world. It’s not just a place of fear and darkness and people who want to hurt me. They might not be real, but they are the realest thing I have to hold on to.
“Here, taste this. It’s hot, so be careful.” Mercier blows on the food, then guides my hand to the spoon. It’s thoughtful and strange. So out of character. He’s been tense for the last half hour, muttering under his breath since he came off the phone. I only heard one side of the conversation, but whatever was said, it’s jangled his nerves, and in turn jangled mine. He said he wasn’t fucking me, so I can only assume he was talking to either Dacre or Josh. I should be happy that they’ve obviously told him not to have sex with me, but I heard the implied ‘yet’ when he said he hadn’t. He isn’t fucking me yet. I swallow down the sauce. It’s salty and delicious as I knew it would be. I make the appropriate yummy noises and hope that he’ll move away from me. I feel his presence so closely. It’s oppressive and makes me think I should be doing something, but I don’t know what. My entire body tenses up as I wait.
“You’re in for a treat, my Sinful.”
I don’t know if he’s talking about the dinner or what he plans for me after we eat it. He slides away and my body relaxes. Whatever plans he has for me, I’ll have to endure them, because I can’t run away while he’s still awake.
A minute later, he’s back with a plate of food on a tray. Once again, my body turns to stone as he eases himself on the couch next to me.
“Still watching your soaps, eh? How about I choose the channel?”
I have no say in what we watch. I have no say in anything.
The sound of my actors stops abruptly as he flicks through the channels. I take small bites of my food. The meal is just as good as everything else Mercier has made for me, but I can barely taste it with the anticipation I feel in the silence between channels. When the sound starts again, a woman moans, then cries out. My mouth turns dry as Mercier rests his arm round the back of my neck.
“Now this is more exciting. What say you, Sinful?”
I clamp my lips together, terrified by the noises the TV is making.
“Do you make these sounds when you come, Sinful girl?” he asks.
I clamp my eyes shut. The woman moans again, louder this time.
He leans in so his body is flush against mine. “You’re not eating? Don’t you like the food I made you?”
“It’s delicious,” I manage to squeak out. I can’t eat with him so close to me. My stomach feels like it’s going to turn inside out.
“Let me help you, then. Open up, Sinful.”
I know the only way to get through this is to do what he says and pray for it to be over quickly. Last time he used words like these, it wasn’t food he was smearing onto my lips. My entire body shakes as open my mouth. I expect the worst, but when the taste of the food hits my taste buds, I relax slightly. It’s difficult to eat with the woman moaning, but I manage to swallow bite after bite.
“Aren’t you eating?” I say as he scrapes the plate and feeds me my last mouthful.
“I ate while I was cooking. Was it good for you, Sinful? Did you like the taste?”
My cheeks burn as I flashback to the other night and I don’t know whether he’s talking about back then or the meal I’ve just eaten.
I nod my head, fearful to add any words than might encourage him. “I think I’ll go to bed now.”
