Page 27 of Keeping My Enemies Closer: Pt. 1
“You’re here because your uncle was a traitor,” I spat.“You’re here because your mother cannot be bothered to act like an adult.Do you know how many people apply for second jobs before resorting to prostitution?”
Forgetting herself, Zoya pushed at my chest.“I need the money to leave!”
That was the third time that she’d mentioned leaving St.Moran, and if she thought that I was angry over the auction, that was nothing compared to how I felt every time that she mentioned leaving me, and little did she know, there was no way that I was ever going to let that happen.
“And then what?”I taunted, letting go of her arm.“You’re going to find a good job, a nice apartment, and then when you meet the man of your dreams, get married and have children?”
“Don’t mock me,” she hissed, no longer yelling angrily.
Ignoring that, I asked, “Who’s the girl that helped sneak you in here?”
Zoya’s eyes widened again as she shook her head.“No, please...don’t...don’t ruin things for everyone else just because I broke the rules.Every girl here is because she needs the money, Kasimir.None of us are here for...this isn’t a game to us.”
“Then you should have thought about that before you masqueraded as someone else to con your way into this auction,” I replied pointedly.I stepped to her, making her have to retreat until one of the shelves was digging into her back.“And what’s in it for me,lepestok?How do I benefit from letting you get up on that stage?”
“I would think that never seeing me would be good enough,” she replied quietly.“But...but if it’s not, then...I can give you half of whatever I make tonight.”
“Because you think I might be hard up for cash?”I drawled out.
That fire was back in her eyes, but I was more concerned with how she wanted to leave St.Moran than anything else.While she might not know it, I wasn’t done with her, and I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be, truth be told.
“So, what?”she asked.“You’re going to make me leave?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that there was no way in hell that I was going to allow her to get on that stage, but then what?While I could stop her from auctioning herself off tonight, I couldn’t stop her from standing on a street corner somewhere.I also couldn’t stop her from selling pictures of her tits on the internet if that’s what it came down to.I had no control over Zoya when she was out of my sight-tonight being proof of that-and I didn’t like it.
“No,” I answered.“Far be it for me to crush your dreams of fleeing St.Moran.”
Her brows immediately furrowed, not trusting me, which she shouldn’t.“What’s the catch?’
“There is no catch,” I lied.“It’s a simple business decision,lepestok.We promised the participants ten girls from which to bid, and I am not going to allow your trickery to ruin tonight’s events.Our reputations were born of our word, and I am not going to let you destroy that with your carelessness.”
Zoya winced a bit, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.“Uhm...okay.”
“I guess you better run along with the rest of the girls,” I remarked dismissively.
“Thank you,” she replied, and it was definitely too early to be thanking me for anything right now.
Stepping back, I opened the pantry door, then moved to the side to allow Zoya to walk past me.However, instead of letting her run off on her own, I followed her into the lobby, and when I went to stand next to her near the elevators, that’s when she became wary again.
“What are you doing?”she asked as she looked up at me.
“Making sure that you’re delivered to the suite safely,” I answered, and I knew that she was itching to call me a liar.
Instead, she just said, “Oh.”
Once she was safely knocking on the suite door, I finally went back to checking things out, leaving her to decide what to tell Stephanie and the girls.
