Page 95 of The Complete Truth Duet
“Shit,” I muttered. This was going to be a big hit to my Freedom Account, but what other choice did I—
“I can get you that money.”
My head popped up.
A perfect smile split her perfect face. “I wasn’t lying. I got a rich guy on the hook.”
“This hook big enough to dangle two grand off the tip?”
Her head snapped back with genuine surprise. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” I mocked, closing my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Why are you still here?”
“Because I’m thinking right now you need me. You give me four hours, I’ll have that two grand for ya. Six and I can make it a cool three.”
I pushed off the railing. “Generous offer, but what the hell would you get out of it?”
She turned her head away and whispered, “Protection.”
My mouth gaped as I stared at her for several seconds. Then I let out a loud laugh. “Protection? Is that a joke?”
She pursed her lips. “Guerrero girls get respect, do they not?”
“Maybe on the street, but respect is a big word with a lot of meanings.” I waved my arms around again, this time less like a The Price is Right model and more like an irate mother. “Within these walls, respect doesn’t exist. And don’t for one second think you will be different. Dante isn’t interested in you modeling for him. The man doesn’t even own a camera. He wants to whore you out, take seventy percent of your money, and then keep you captive in this building for the rest of your godforsaken life. So, if you have any concept of the word respect, you’ll get gone. Take your two thousand dollars, get a fucking job that doesn’t require you to lay on your back, and respect yourself. Now, if you will excuse me, I have shit to do.” I stomped up the stairs, all of my patience exhausted.
“I still need Dante’s number!” she called after me.
“Fuck. Off.”
“I’m dead without it.”
I froze, dropping my chin to my chest. She was dead if I gave it to her too.
I shouldn’t have asked.
I shouldn’t have cared.
I didn’t even know her name.
And yet….
“Who are you running from?”
Her voice got closer as she spoke. “I swiped a couple bills off a guy. You know, just to get something to eat and…and, well, I need help. If I say I’m working for a Guerrero, he’ll back off. I need that real bad.”
I turned around. “So go to the cops.”
“That shit doesn’t work. You know that.”
Unfortunately, I did. All too well.
“You have no idea what you are saying right now. Women don’t come here to escape—they leave here to escape. Do you hear me? This isn’t the place for safety.”
She defiantly held my gaze. “Maybe not. But like your little word respect, safety is a big word with a lot of meanings. Let me decide for myself. Okay?”
I reached up, caught the star on my necklace, and dragged it back and forth across the chain. “Please don’t make me do this.”
She took a step up. “You’d be helping me out a lot. And I’ll help you out too. I’ll cut you in on whatever I take home each night. Fifty-fifty?”
“Your cut would be thirty percent. Guerreros get seventy. And then out of that thirty percent, you have to pay fifty percent to cover rent and utilities. So, out of that two thousand you’re making tonight, you’ll end the night with three-hundred bucks in your pocket.”
“Okay, so you’d end up with seventy-five, then.”
My chest ached. “I don’t want your money.”
She took another step up. “Okay. Then I can help in other ways. Whatever you need. I can do it.”
“Jesus. Why are you so damn determined to do this? I’m giving you an out. Take it.”
“There is no such thing as an out anymore. You got an out? What about the other girls here? They got an out? No. And whether you let me in here or not, I don’t have an out, either.”
I huffed a humorless laugh and planted a hand on my hip. “You do realize you’re asking the devil for help, right?”
“At rock bottom, the devil’s the only one left to help.”
Wasn’t that the damn truth.
I shook my head. “I’d have to clear this with Dante first.”
“Okay.”
Jesus, was I really going to do this? Girls were usually dropped off to me. And here I was, letting a new one in when I finally had the ability to tell her no.
“If I call him, there’s no telling what he’s going to say.” I slid my gaze up her long, tan legs and over the swell of her large breasts.
She was gorgeous. If I called Dante, I knew exactly what he’d do to her. And it wasn’t going to feel anything like safety.
“I know,” she replied, hope sparkling in her eyes.
I held her stare, giving her every opportunity to stop me as I lifted my phone.
