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I slipped my phone out of my pocket and dialed in an order for a couple of sandwiches from Shaun’s, a place down the block. Once that was done, I washed up and grabbed some waters from the bar on the main floor of the place. The sandwiches arrived and, those in hand, I returned to the door. I was going to feed the girl, give her something more than the bits of nothing she’d been living off for the last few days.
Maybe I could get her to talk, to say something that could get her out of this situation. Either way, I wasn’t going to let her die without doing my part to prevent it. I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Chapter 3
Connor
Her eyes flashed with fear as I entered.
“What the fuck do you want?” I almost laughed. The lass had spunk.
She hurried over to the corner of the room, putting as much space between herself and me as possible. I took a moment to look around, to note the state of the room. The place was dingy, with cracked paint on the walls, the harsh halogen lights above allowing every bit of dirt, grime and mold to be seen. It was empty other than a table with a folding chair on either side and a crumpled-up bedroll. The sorry state of the room was a sharp contrast to the rest of the club, which was all luxury and old-school décor.
It made me sick to realize that this poor girl had spent the last few days in there, each moment consumed by the question of whether or not her next one would be her last.
“Easy.” I stepped over to the table, placing the bag and waters on top of it. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
She snorted. “Yeah, I bet.”
The girl, Kiki, looked rough. She was dirty and disheveled, her lip swollen and her cheek bruised. Even so, her beauty shined through.
An idea occurred to me.
“Listen, I just want to talk—that’s all.” I nodded toward the bag of food. “Brought something good to eat. Thought you might be in the mood for a real meal. But what do you say to getting out of here, if only for a little while?”
“Getting out of here?”
“Yeah. There’s a room just down the hall, a little nicer than this one. I can’t keep you there forever, but I thought it might be nice for a change of scenery. At least while you eat your food, and we talk.”
She regarded me with entirely justifiable suspicion.
“What’s your name?”
“Connor. And you’re Kiki, right?”
She nodded.
“Nice to meet you, Kiki. Come on.”
I grabbed the bag and waters and opened the door. Kiki looked out into the hallway with more skepticism, as if there might be a gang of thugs out there waiting to pounce. When she saw that there wasn’t, she followed me out.
I walked with her side-by-side, the two of us making our way down the back hall of the club. We reached the door to the spare office and I opened it for her. The office was on the nicer side, with couches of soft, plush leather and a window that looked out onto the city streets. Kiki’s eyes scanned the interior, and it didn’t take a genius to understand what was on her mind.
“Now,” I said, setting the bag and water down on the table in the sitting area. “I’m here as someone who wants to help. The first way I’m going to do that is by telling you not to even think about trying to run.”
She froze in place, as if she’d just been busted.
“I don’t blame you for thinking it. But this place is full of guys who would shoot you on site if you tried to make a run for it. Go ahead and sit down, get some food in you. As I said, I just want to talk.”
Kiki regarded me with another mistrusting look before carefully moving over to the couch and grabbing the bag. She pulled out a sandwich, the smell of the food filling the air.
“One’s chicken parm, the other’s a club. Take whichever you want. Hell, take both, if you’re that hungry.”
She went for the chicken parm first, unwrapping it slowly. Once she saw that it was what I’d said it was, her hands became a blur as she unwrapped enough to take a few bites. She chomped once, then twice, eating faster than I’ve ever seen a woman eat.
“I know you’re hungry but try to take it easy. You’ve been living on nearly nothing for a few days, and your stomach’s going to hurt like mad if you wolf all of that down too quickly. Sip your water; let it digest.”
With great restraint, she set down the sandwich and took a few sips of water.
