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I give him my back and my smile fades along with my act. I rolled my eyes and gulp my martini down, biting the olive angrily. A part of me wishes I would have slapped Caplan on the back of the head for hanging out with these people.
Something in the dark has the hair on the back of my neck standing up. My instincts roar for me to get out of this building, but I had a goal I had to meet. My eyes roam the poorly lit room, only giving me flashes of light when the cycle of purple and blue switch directions. A fever builds on the inside of me, becoming warmer with every passing second.
I’m not sure what to make of it. I want to run, but I don’t want to run out the door. I want to step into the darkness that’s compelling me. Even the urge to listen to the silent call isn’t enough to distract me from my goal.
Nothing can.
A hot palm presses against my lower back and it takes all I have not to tense, push him away, and punch him in the face for touching me.
“Ready, Baby?”
I do my best not to roll my eyes at the pet name. It’s easy to use, but a little degrading in the sense he is using it because he doesn’t mean for it to sound sweet.
“Ready as ever I’ll ever be,” I say honestly, keeping a flirty smile on my face while he guides me down the hall to a private area.
The gem in my purse is heavy but so is the knife.
“What’s your name, Baby?” he asks me just as we get to the door of the room he just paid for.
“Calling me Baby is just fine,” I tell him, batting my long lashes at him while I twirl my tongue around an olive before sucking it into my mouth. There’s no way in hell I’m telling this asshole my real name.
He laughs, wrapping his other arm around my waist as we step into the room. There’s a long black leather couch against the wall, a private bar, and a stripper pole in the middle of the room for what I have to guess are private dances.
“My lucky night, you stumbling into the club. I needed the distraction,” he says, plopping down on the couch and bringing me down with him.
I park my ass on his lap, my nerves getting the best of me. The door is right there. I could run. I could run and never look back, dropping this stupid rock in the middle of the road. Then, it could be someone else’s problem.
But it’s worth so much. If we didn’t need the money so badly, I would have flushed this thing down the toilet, which is still the smart thing to do. The urge to keep it for me and my family is strong. It really could fix all our problems, even while creating so many new ones.
My brother’s life is more important, so I need to play the part of a clueless hooker.
“Do we get a bartender and a show?” I pet his chest, holding back a gag.
“We will in twenty minutes. I wanted alone time with you,” he says, his hand drifting up and down my thigh.
“Oh, you can tell me what happened to your hand,” I remind him, taking it again and holding it as if it’s about shatter. I kiss the top part where the skin is marred and broken with dried blood. “You poor thing,” I purr, probably coming on a little too strong.
I wouldn’t know. I have never done this before. I’ve been holed up in the store and maybe I’m acting out like this because I need excitement in my life. I don’t know. I don’t really care.
This is the one thing that’s made me feel alive, no matter how fucked up it is.
“Some punk kid came in here, started talking about how to join the…” he catches himself. “Company I work for. We like new recruits,” he adds. “They are eager and want to climb the ranks. We are expanding so I didn’t mind talking to him.”
Joining the mafia? What the hell is Caplan thinking? He left that part of the story out.
“He went on about how he needs quick money. His family was in debt, and they needed to get out quickly. I told him this isn’t the type of organization you join on a whim. If he needed quick cash, he could be a runner for us, someone who drops…” he watches his words again and my heart rate is beating faster with rage. “Merchandise for us.”
Merchandise.
Drugs.
Oh, Caplan was going to get his ass beat when I get home.
“The kid was adamant. He wanted to join regardless and his eagerness threw me off. I told him no. We got into an argument, and he threw a punch, so I kicked his fucking ass and reminded him what an idiot he is. He stole something very valuable from me too. When I get it back, his life is mine. He stole a very rare gem, one worth millions.”
“And if he returns it, will his life be safe, or do you kill him regardless because he stole it?” I ask, knowing damn well this answer was going to change what was going to happen in the next second.
“Kill him. No one makes a fool out of me and gets away with it. Whoever touches that gem is good as dead.” He pushes me off him and pulls a gun from his waistband; the loud cocking of it has me frozen.
