AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hawk nodded, and one of the boys pushed off the wall and walked over to my blabbering boss, handing him a stack of bills.
“That’s your cut for letting us borrow her and another girl,” Hawk announced without tearing his eyes from mine. He held out the roll of money. “You dance. You serve drinks. Four hundred each for you and a friend. Paid now. Upfront.”
That would pay for the EpiPen.
And leave me with some extra.
“Done.”
“Miss—” Mitchell started, but one of the club members near him slapped him hard on the back, startling him a little and making him jump. It was obvious that, in this room where he was usually king, these men had quickly dethroned him. And I couldn’t help but allow myself to smile for just a second.
I held out my hand, Hawk placed the roll of money inside and let his fingers linger for a little longer than they needed to before pulling back. “I’ll get your number from Mitch here,” he announced, stepping around me and moving to the door. “Find a friend to bring along, and I’ll get you the details during the week.”
There was a second where I could feel a protest tickle my tongue.
It was an instant reaction when I felt like I was being ordered around.
A defense mechanism.
But the retort never came.
It died on the end of my tongue, and I suddenly realized something.
This man had my defenses falling.
Oh shit.
HAWK
“I guess I’ll just take this coffee and drink it myself.”
I blinked, trying to clear my vision and take in the shadowy figure standing over me. My sister sank to the ground, shifting her long, old-fashioned dress so it still covered every little bit of skin possible. At this point, I think it was probably natural for her to do so. After twenty-odd years, those types of things simply became normal.
Especially when they were beaten into you.
I shuffled my body away from the tree I’d been leaning against, resting my eyes. “If you drank coffee, I might actually take that threat seriously,” I countered, accepting the takeout cup she extended to me. Her hand drew back, unconsciously resting atop her growing belly, her fingers stroking it gently. “How you feeling?”
Though she managed a smile, I could feel how forced it was, refusing to meet her eyes. “The morning sickness this time is not pleasant. Neither are the back aches or the way my feet no longer fit in any of my shoes.”
Grace already had three children with a husband she shared with two other wives. I swear I don’t remember the last time I saw her when she wasn’t expecting. The people of The Valley believed that was basically what women were made for—to produce child after child in search of the one who would finally save them. One pops out, and if it’s not the one, they move on and try again.
Their daughters are raised to do the same when they get older.
Their sons are raised to work and care for the millions of children these fucktards produce.
I sipped at my coffee, enjoying the way the caffeine seemed to instantly take effect. I had no idea how many hours of sleep I’d had over the past week or so, but I knew it wasn’t many. The boys and I were working extra fucking hard to make sure opening night would go ahead.
“I don’t remember you having this many issues with the other kids,” I commented, my brow knotted. “Maybe you should get che—”
“It is twins.” My mouth fell open, and she let out a dark laugh. “Yes. My thoughts exactly.”
Grace was the only sibling I kept in contact with. I knew there were a handful or more who had left The Valley, but they never bothered to find me. I guess because I was the black sheep, the one everyone believed was bad, whether they listened to the prophets’ ramblings or not. I was the bad seed.
There was a reason Grace and I kept in touch, though.
She and I shared a connection I didn’t have with any of my other siblings.
We were twins.
