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He names a figure easily twice what I expected him to give me for it, and I nod immediately. “That’s fine,” I say quickly, seeing Ruby open her mouth and wanting to agree before she can try to haggle. “Thank you.”
When the cash is in my pocket and we’re out of the store, Ruby lets out a sound of protest. “I could have gotten more from him! I’m sure I could have–”
“You gotplenty,” I tell her firmly. “And I want to do something nice for you.No arguing,” I insist as she opens her mouth again. “Let’s get a late lunch before we have to go back to get ready for work. My treat.”
It’s strange to see someone so appreciative of something so small. In my old life,doing something nice for a friendmeant letting someone borrow a particularly expensive piece of jewelry, loaning out a yacht for the weekend, or an invitation to someone’s vacation home. I would never, in my wildest dreams, have thought that dinner at a small restaurant near Ruby’s apartment would be something I consider a treat.
It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve been out to eat. The food, too, is nothing that I would have ever considered special before. It’s meat drenched in mushroom sauce, with roasted potatoes and beets, but after weeks of peanut butter and noodles, it and the glass of wine I splurge on feels like decadence.
“You really didn’t have to do this,” Ruby says, plowing through her own food. “I didn’t do anything–”
“You absolutely did. He would have given me as little as he thought he could get away with if not for you and your tits.”I gesture towards Ruby’s neckline, and she laughs, adjusting it playfully.
“They are pretty great.” She grins. “And they’re going to make me atonof money with this new guy, in the dress you helped me pick out. As long as I can get him out on that date.”
“I’m sure you’ve got it in the bag.” I finish my food, putting the money down on the table to pay for it. “We should probably get going, though. We have to be at work in just a few hours.”
“Igor’s going to be annoyed after sending you home yesterday.” Ruby looks at me, a hint of worry in her eyes. “You should have just kept the extra money. You could have stayed home tonight–”
“It wasn’tthatmuch. He’ll get over it as long as I make him money, and I will tonight. I won’t let myself get distracted.”
“You should think about what I said,” Ruby urges gently. “If he comes back. I’ll do some asking around like I promised, try to make sure he’s safe. But a man like that could be worth a lot–toyou. I don’t know what it is you’re working so hard for, but I know it isn’t to stay here.”
The words stick with me as I pack my bag for work, lingering.A man like that could be worth a lot to you.
Not doing more than the club required had been a point of pride for me when I started, a way of clinging to some semblance of my former self. I’d been a dancer before, so I could be a dancer now, just a different kind. I didn’t want to be anescort.
But is it really so bad? Ruby does those things, and it doesn’t make me think any less of her.I think of how it had felt to pocket the extra money from the chain, and I imagine bringing morehome, enough to really put me on the path to getting free of this place.
I don’t have to decide now. Just think about it.
I throw my bag over my shoulder, heading out of my apartment and down the stairs, telling myself firmly that I won’t be taking a cab tonight, no matter what I hear.
I’m half a block down the sidewalk when I hear a man’s voice behind me that makes me freeze in my tracks.
“Athena?”
I know the voice, smooth and low and arrogant, and I hate the way it makes my heart stutter in my chest and my blood fizz in my veins. For just a moment, I consider continuing to walk down the street without giving him another moment of my consideration–and then I slowly turn around.
Mikhail is standing there, as I’d known he would be, keys in his hand and a car idling at the curb. He’s wearing a dark red button-down tonight, tucked neatly into black trousers, rolled up to show those muscled, tattooed forearms. A different bracelet is around his wrist, silver this time instead of gold–or more likely platinum–and the same watch is on his other wrist, shining in the dim light of the street.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” he says smoothly. “But now that I have–can I offer you a ride? I imagine you’re on your way to work.”
Yes, because some of us have to work for a living.The words bite at my lips, acidic and sharp, but I hold them back as a different suspicion takes deeper root. “What areyoudoing here?This doesn’t look like the kind of place where you take a casual night’s drive.”
He smirks. “What if I said I was on my way to the club, too? Would you get in the car then?”
That would make sense.“Are you?” I can’t quite keep the bite out of my words.
“No.” He says it casually as if the answer means nothing. “I hadn’t planned to come by tonight. In fact, I have other errands to run. But one of them brought me here–which seems lucky, since such a beautiful woman shouldn’t be walking alone in the dark.”
He steps back, tapping the hood of the car. “It’s just a ride, Athena. Afreeone. I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
There’s no such thing as a free ride.Even in my old life, I knew that. Everything costs something. What this will cost, I have no idea. But Ruby’s words are still lingering in my mind, and more than that, I don’t want to keep walking the several blocks remaining to the club.
And what if he’s the one who’s been leaving threatening messages? What if he left the chain? What if you’re walking into a trap, stepping right into the car of the man who’s threatening you?
Well then,the other half of my mind retorts,all this will be over, and I can stop fearing what comes next.
