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Before she can fully stand, I stop her. “Wait. If it’s money you want, I have plenty. Let me give you some.”
She sneers at my offer. “I already told you; I don’t want your fucking handouts. I want to earn.”
“Why? You said you want to leave Reno, right?”
“I need to get my mom and myself out of this city as soon as possible.”
“Is it because of Ray?” I ask. Her sad eyes meet mine, and I know I hit the nail on the head. Of course it’s fucking Ray. “What did he do?”
“What hasn’t he done, Colin? He’s the devil.”
“Can you be more specific?” I need to know the particulars because if he hurt her, that’ll be the end of him.
“I don’t even know you. Why should I tell you anything?”
I take a calming breath. This is yet another conversation that’s going around in circles. We’re both keeping so many secrets, and neither of us trusts the other. It’s hypocritical of me, but I have to find a way to get through to her without exposing the things I’m hiding.
That’s when it hits me. I need to get her close. Close enough she learns to trust me again, and the best way to do that is to hire her. Except she’s not going to agree to anything without a decent paycheck.
Cy’ll be pissed I’m taking from the bottom line, but even if I have to take her pay out of my cut, it’ll be worth it.
“We need a second madam,” I blurt.
“But Mary—”
“Is old and can’t be there twenty-four seven.” The spark of hope I see in her eyes has me feeling like I’m doing the right thing.
“What’s the pay?”
I have no idea because we don’t really need another madam.
“Fifty dollars an hour.”
“That’s not enough.”
“If, after a month, you still want to be a courtesan, I won’t stand in your way.” I regret the words as soon as they’re out, but when I see her perk up, I know it was the right thing to offer. It’s a fucking lie, though, because I’ll never agree to that. Still, it buys me the time to figure this whole thing out.
“Do you promise?”
“Yes.” I’m going to hell, but that’s nothing new, so I don’t care.
“What does the job entail?”
I have no fucking clue because there is no job, but I can’t tell her that. I’m in this too deep to turn back now.
“You’ll move into one of the rooms and shadow Mary while she trains you. After that—”
“I can’t move in for the entire month. No way.”
She was so adamant about getting away from Ray that I thought that would be a perk of the job. It would allow me to keep tabs on her and know she’s safe. There’s no way I can budge on this.
“It’s part of the job,” I say.
“Mary lives on site?”
“Well, no, but that’s why we need you. Sometimes shit happens, and she’s not there.” Fuck me. I’m spewing so much bullshit that I can’t keep track of it all.
“I can’t leave my mom alone in that house,” she whispers.
