by Marni Mann
I’d be in trouble, too, for the things I’d done last night. I’d drugged Dean without his knowledge, and then I’d spent thousands of his money. Was he in the right frame of mind to tell me no? He had acted childlike, slurring his words and shuffling his feet. But he’d seemed to understand my questions, and he’d somewhat responded.
Still, that didn’t make it right.
I didn’t even get to keep the gift. I just got five percent of what Dean had bought it for. But, God, that five percent was going to change my life. It was going to provide in a way that never would have been possible if I hadn’t gotten this job. Not just financially either. It was giving me the family I’d always wanted.
“I would never tell anyone,” I said. “You can trust me.”
“We didn’t think you would,” Nix uttered.
Mina smiled, the same way she did whenever she told me how proud she was of me. “We just have to take precautions to make sure it doesn’t happen. Think of us like the FBI. They have to make sure their agents don’t mishandle confidential information when they’re given access to top security files. We do the same thing.”
This wasn’t like when I had worked the deli counter at the grocery store. I was now a part of an organization that had access to lots of information on tons of different people. I knew what nightclubs were involved. I knew what The Auction building looked like. I knew enough that I could hurt The Achurdy if I wanted to.
But I wouldn’t do that.
They were giving me everything I ever wanted. And, in return, I would take their secrets to the grave.
I put my hand on top of Mina’s. “Tattoo me.”
Her grin widened. “I’m so proud of you.”
I didn’t want that to ever change.
“I want to be one of you,” I said.
“We’re going to make that happen today.”
She said something to Nix in Armenian. I didn’t recognize any of the words, and she spoke too fast for me to catch any to look up later.
Nix reached for my hand and dragged the razor across the small area, shaving off the tiny fine hairs. After several swipes, he dipped the tip of the gun into the ink and tapped the foot pedal that wasn’t far from where I was wiggling my toes.
“You don’t have to draw it out first?” I asked.
I hadn’t seen a marker, and I was sure that was part of the process since I’d watched so many of those tattoo shows that Wynter loved.
When he smiled, I hadn’t expected perfect teeth. He was too rugged for that. But what gleamed back at me was straight, white, and much prettier than my own.
“Don’t need to,” he said. “I’ve done so many, I could do this in my sleep.” He held the gun inches away from my skin. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
The buzzing of the gun filled my ears, and splatters of ink covered the paper beneath my hand. The needles didn’t hurt when they pierced my skin. It almost felt like a reward. The Achurdy was doing so much for me, and I would be getting lots of opportunities now that I was with them. Getting a tattoo was the least I could do.
Mina left the room just as Nix was finishing up. He took a napkin and wiped across my finger. The ink smeared on my skin, turning it all black, before the excess was cleaned off. The design was dainty and so detailed.
I really liked it. Way more than I’d thought I would.
As he covered the tat with ointment and plastic wrap, Mina returned. She was carrying a black box that she set on the desk. “Open it once he’s done.”
I waited for him to complete the wrapping, and then I lifted the top of the box. I gasped when I saw the piece of jewelry inside. The ring was gold and chunky, almost identical to the one Mina wore. But my animal was a tiger with sapphire eyes.
She took the ring out of the box and held it in front of me.
“It’s beautiful,” I said. “I love it.”
She placed the tiger at the tip of my nail. “Now, you’re one of us.” She slid it over my knuckle and set it in the middle of the plastic wrap. It fit snugly. “And it’s our secret.”
I glanced between her and Nix. Both of them had this strange hunger in their eyes. It was enough to make me think they were going to get it on the second I left. Maybe tattooing was an aphrodisiac for them. I just knew a different energy was in the room, and the tat seemed to have caused it.
“It’s our secret,” I repeated.
“I’m proud of you, yerekha.”
“You won’t regret this,” Nix said.
I didn’t know why, but I believed him.
I shouldn’t have.
I should have fucking run.
But, back then, I hadn’t known any better.
Mina
Present Day
I twirled the lion around my finger and watched the gold glimmer under the sunlight. The emeralds needed to be polished, and so did the grooves around the lion’s ass and behind his ears. It still sparkled, just not the way I wanted it to.
I’d have the new girl clean it. Hell, now that I was thinking about it, I’d have her shine all my jewelry. Maybe it would teach her a little discipline.
She talked too much. She wasn’t appreciative of everything I had given her. Her eyes questioned my authority, and I didn’t fucking like it.
She wasn’t submissive like most of the others I’d hired.
Not like my pet, Wynter. Or Tyler, her old roommate.
Oh, Tyler.
She had been different than the others. She’d seemed to realize what our lifestyle couldn’t provide where it usually took everyone else much longer to catch on. She had been one of my highest earners, and that still hadn’t been enough for her.
Tyler hadn’t been after just the money. She’d wanted it all—money, family, and love.
I could provide all but one.
Such a waste.
The phone rang from the kitchen where I’d left it on the counter. I walked in from the balcony and answered it. “Wynter,” I said, dragging out the last syllable.
“How was my tattooed hottie boyfriend this morning?”
As she laughed, I smiled. She was such a ballsy slut. That was one of the reasons I’d hired her.
I touched my lips, running the pads of my fingers over them. “God, he tasted good.”
“Tell me all about it. I want to know every detail.”
Now, it was my turn to laugh. “You’re such a needy bitch.”
“You have no idea.”
I circled the kitchen, on the hunt for something to eat. I settled on a peach, which I brought up to my mouth but decided against it.
I didn’t want to lose his flavor just yet.
“Oh, I think I do,” I said.
She sighed. “Then, at least tell me if you got off before breakfast?”
“So feisty this morning, aren’t we?”
“I’m just horny.”
“Baby, you know that can be taken care of.”
“I know.”
I walked over to the window, looking out onto the sea, tracing the waves on the glass. “Did I miss anything today?”
“I emailed you everything.”
“I saw, and I read all your notes.” I heard a noise behind me and immediately turned around. It was just a letter falling onto the floor. I waited a second longer to make sure it wasn’t something else, and then I started to breathe again. “I’m just making sure there wasn’t anything else you might have left out by accident.”
“I’ve been waiting to hear from you all day, Mina. I really thought you would have called and told me everything. At least the things I need to know.”
I should have called. It was part of my job. She was doing work for me that hadn’t ever been required of her before. Her tone told me she was struggling with trying to balance it all.
I didn’t blame her. It was a lot.
But the reality was, I was her boss. I could call her whenever the hell I wanted, whether it was first thing in the morning or the next goddamn day.
And
I was going to get in touch with her. I’d just needed a second.
I couldn’t tell her that though.
I could barely admit that to myself.
“When we get off the phone,” I said, “I want you to notify the board and tell them I’ll be in tomorrow. We’ll go see them together.”
“I’m surprised to hear that, honestly.”
“I had a feeling you would be. See you soon, yerekha.”
I left my cell on the counter and slid off my ring. The deer skull was the only tattoo I had. Because a ring always covered it, the ink tended to fade. Once a year, I would get it touched up. I was due for a touch-up now.
I smiled at the thought and went into my bedroom to get dressed.
Tyler
Five Years and Six Months Ago
I untied the scarf from around my face and tucked myself into the corner of the limo. As soon as I got comfortable, I began to rub the balls of my feet. They were killing me. I had so many pairs of new heels, and none of them were kind. They were all so pretty; they raised me four inches and made my calves look so slim. But, by the end of the night, they were excruciating.
It didn’t matter.
I had made almost five thousand in commission tonight, and it was worth every bit of pain.
Once that money was deposited into my account tomorrow morning, I’d have close to half a million dollars saved. That was what I had earned over the last several months, working five nights a week. Well, that was mostly true because, of course, I had spent some. I’d purchased a computer and a data package for my new smartphone. I now drove a Jeep Wrangler, the car I’d always dreamed of having. And Wynter and I had recently rented a storage unit since all of our clothes and accessories no longer fit in our dorm room.
I felt the limo start to slow, and then it came to a complete stop. Even though I was unable to see out the windows, I knew how long it took to drive to my dorm and that we were parked a few blocks from my building. It was safer than pulling right up in front—less attention that way.
As the driver opened my door, I slipped on my heels and took his hand, allowing him to help me step out.
“Good night, Tyler,” he said.
I tried to ignore the throbbing in my feet as I moved onto the sidewalk. “Night, Tom. See ya tomorrow.”
I hobbled to my building and waved my campus ID in front of the card reader at the entrance. Once I heard the buzz, the lock unlatching, I went in and took the stairs to the second floor. The lights were off in our room, but I heard the TV as I walked in, and it gave just enough of a glow, so I could see where I was going. With Wynter in bed, I quietly placed my heels in front of my closet and wiggled out of my dress. I draped it over the back of the chair, adding to the pile that needed to be dry-cleaned.
“Hey,” she whispered.
I stood in my bra and panties, shivering from the cool air that came in through the cracked window. “I’m so sorry I woke you. I tried to be quiet.”
“I wasn’t fully asleep; don’t worry. How’d you do tonight?”
I flung my bra on the desk and threw on a T-shirt before I climbed into bed. “Ninety-seven thousand.”
“Damn, girl. Was it something sparkly?”
“An antique diamond bracelet. Not my style at all, not that it matters.”
She laughed and stacked her pillows, so she could sit up. “Are you working tomorrow night?”
“Yep.”
“How about the night after?”
“I’m off, but—”
“We’re going out,” she said, interrupting me.
“Out, out, you mean?”
“Yes, out, out. I need a break from this place.”
She needed a break?
I wasn’t sure why. Classes took up our mornings, the afternoons were spent shopping or going to the spa, and The Achurdy dominated most of our evenings. It felt like we were never home.
I would kill to have a night where I could lie in bed, eat pizza, and binge-watch bad reality TV. But, on the nights I didn’t work, I usually tried to get at least a little studying in. I was so behind in school, and I knew I’d have to cut back on my class load next semester. Fifteen credits were just too many with a full-time job.
“Don’t kill me, but I have a paper to write and two tests to prep for.”
She laughed. “Nice try, but you’re not getting out of this.” She moved, so her feet were dangling toward the floor, the TV shining over her bare legs. “We’re going to a fancy dinner and then to the club where we’re going to sip amazing cocktails and dance our asses off.”
I couldn’t hide the worry in my voice. “Which club?”
“Not one of our clubs. It’s one neither of us has been to before.”
We often went out for dinner and caught a late movie or took painting classes where we’d bring our own bottle of wine, or we’d spend the evening with the other girls at one of their places. But, besides the night I had met Mina, Wynter and I had never gone to a club before.
“I’m surprised you want to go dancing,” I admitted.
“I miss it.”
“It sounds like fun, but…” I pulled one of the pillows into my lap and hugged it. “If I ran into one of my marks, you don’t think he’d recognize me, do you?”
The other girls had said they spent so much time in clubs, it wasn’t where they wanted to hang out during their nights off. But the reason I never suggested going to one with Wynter was that I feared I’d run into a mark, and I didn’t know what would happen if I did.
“Have you been worried about that?” She slid off her bed and came over to mine, sitting between my feet with her legs crossed.
“Yes.”
“Oh, girl, no wonder you’re always looking over your shoulder whenever we leave campus. You don’t have to do that anymore. Didn’t Mina tell you?”
“She said the guys wouldn’t remember, but…I don’t know. They never see her face, so she has nothing to worry about. It’s our faces they see, and…” What was I so concerned about? That they’d hurt me? Ask for their gifts back? Try to have sex with me? All of it, I thought. “It just makes me nervous.”
She lifted the blanket and wiggled underneath it, stretching her legs toward my arms. “I ran into a mark a few months ago. It was the first time that’d ever happened. We were both walking into the same coffee shop, and he held the door for me, stood in line behind me, and never knew it was me. After I paid, we looked at each other, and he didn’t say a thing, didn’t even act like he was trying to place me from somewhere. You have nothing to worry about.”
“So, they don’t remember The Auction? That part makes sense. But what about the club? You know, when they first meet us.”
“From what I’ve heard, that part is really blurry. They remember going there, probably meeting a girl, but the details are vague. Plus, the clubs are so dark, you can barely see a thing in there.” She squeezed my ankle, like she was trying to calm me. “Stop stressing, girl. Mina has been doing this for years, and she’s never had a problem. We’re completely safe.”
Wynter was right; I didn’t have a reason to keep looking over my shoulder, and I had to stop stressing. If there had been an issue, the clubs would have been shut down, and The Auction wouldn’t exist anymore.
I felt better, and I regretted not bringing this up sooner.
“You haven’t said no to shaking your ass with me,” she said.
“I’m not going to say no.”
“So, you’re in?”
I smiled, knowing she could see it from the light of the TV. “Yeah, I’m in.”
“Tylerrr,” Wynter said, the cocktails causing every few of her words to drag out much longer than normal, “I haven’t had this much fun in, like, forever.”
“Right?” I giggled.
Her ass was pushing against mine, and my hand was linked with hers in the air, swinging to the beat of the music.
“I haven’t been this drunk in…” I tried to remember. “Like, forever.”
; This was the first time I’d gotten to use the fake ID Mina had given me. All the underage girls had them. That was just another awesome perk of our job.
We turned around and faced each other, now both of our arms in the air with our hips grinding in sync. I felt the ice hit the sides of the glass, and I hoped some of it would pour onto me. It was so hot up here, and I was covered in sweat.
Wynter had chosen this spot—a narrow catwalk on the second floor of the club, the bridge crossing over the whole dance floor. It wasn’t just steamy; it was loud, too, and there was smoke floating around us that pumped from a machine below.
I wiped the side of the glass over my face and then sucked down the last drop. It tasted like sour gummy candy, and it made my lips pucker.
I loved it.
I loved everything about tonight.
“Girl, give me your ass.”
I twirled, rubbing my butt into Wynter’s. Both of us were laughing so hard, I could actually hear her over the music. I set the glass down but not before scooping out a piece of the ice and running it over my neck. It melted to just a sliver and slipped down the top of my dress. As I reached for a second piece, the music changed. There were no words, just bass.
“Can you feel that?” she asked.
The speakers underneath us caused a vibration that traveled through my body. I felt it everywhere—even between my legs.
“Oh my God, yes.”
And I liked it. Probably a little too much.
“It’s almost as good as my vibrator.”
“Almost,” I agreed, giving her booty a push and turning toward her again. I knew how good her vibrator was because she had convinced me to buy the same one. “I wonder what it would feel like if we straddled the speaker.”
“I fucking love the way you think.”
My head tilted back as I laughed. But, when my stare returned to her, Wynter’s eyes were wide, and the expression on her face set off a strange alarm in my chest.