That’s when I spotted the man himself in the far corner of the room — Mac. He was looking on with blatant satisfaction as two other burly guys pinioned my arms behind my back.
“I hope you’re happy,” I cursed.
Mac shifted off the wall and strode to me.
“I am, thanks for asking. This has certainly brightened my day, and it’s only getting better.”
Mac stopped walking and pivoted to cover the few remaining steps between him and her. He leaned down to her bound body and laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t touch her!” I shouted before I could stop myself.
So much for staying calm.
“I’m just waking her up,” he said mildly as his lips moved to her ear. “She smells so good.”
I know.
“Go fuck yourself.”
“I’d rather fuck her, if you don’t mind.”
With that, Mac jostled her shoulder roughly, and whispered in her ear, just loudly enough for me to hear, “Kiki, my pet, wake up. Look at this sorry excuse for a man.”
After several long moments, I saw the green of her eyes.
She was alive.
CHAPTER 28
Kiki
I BLINKED ONCE, twice, trying to regain my understanding of the world.
Where was I again? Had I laid down to take a nap? I’d been so sleepy all of a sudden…
And then my vision focused, and I saw Tate standing before me, arms held behind his back by two men I’d never seen before. His body trembled with a fiery anger, and reality rushed over me.
Tate was gorgeous in his fury — even my distracted, crazed mind told me that much. His blue eyes shone like the ocean, his muscles straining beneath the seams of his shirt as he attempted to wrestle free from the guards. His chest heaved and his luscious lips, which I had kissed so deeply, fell open as he murmured my name.
“Kiki, Kiki, Kiki.”
It took me a moment to remember what he’d done, how he’d betrayed me. The seconds between waking and that realization had been beautiful, but false. This wasn’t some kind of savior. He was a bad man who’d done bad things and who had in no way earned my forgiveness.
I opened my mouth to tell him to go away, then realized I had a gag tied tightly around my face.
Tate, seeing my forced silence, turned to Mac.
“Tell your men to let me drop the bag.”
Mac nodded his head, and the men allowed Tate to drop the carry-all. It hit the floor with a dampened thud. No sooner had it touched ground then they took his arms behind his back once more.
“There’s your money,” Tate explained, kicking the bag with a free foot. “Let her go.”
That was it. I couldn’t stand him trying to buy me off once more.
“I don’t need your help,” I said through the gag, the words muffled by the cloth.
Mac laughed and reached behind my head to undo the bind.
“I’m gonna let you talk,” he told me, “but behave, okay?”
I wanted to chomp my teeth at him, to take a bite of his flesh, to make him feel pain, but I also didn’t want to feel that damp rag and sudden darkness once more, so I played nice.
Mouth free, I looked to Tate and replied, “I can pay my own way.”
“You didn’t let me explain earlier,” he said through tight lips. “This is the money I owe Mac. At least, according to his fucked-up rules. Unbeknownst to you — I’m guessing he never tells girls this — Mac takes a forty percent cut of whatever you make off your virginity sale. When you decided you didn’t want payment, Mac didn’t receive his chunk either. Isn’t that right, Mac?”
The other casino owner nodded.
“That’s about the long and short of it,” Mac agreed. “No need to sound so cranky, it’s just business.”
“I had no idea,” I whispered.
There were so many emotions running through my mind that I barely even registered my anger at Mac for trying to quietly take four hundred thousand dollars from me. For a man like that, I knew, the money was nothing, but it was nearly twelve years of my wages. But moreover, what did this mean as it regarded Tate? Had he really not been trying to buy me this whole time, but rather to give me shelter from Mac’s wicked ways?
Tate nodded at me, the veins in his neck popping out as he struggled against the guards.
“I didn’t want to tell you, Kiki, you shouldn’t have had to worry anymore.”
“Is that why you arranged the poker game, so you could cover the expense?”
He looked askance, then replied, “No, I found out afterwards. Still, I hope you understand that all I’ve ever wanted to do is take care of you, to ensure that the only person profiting off you is you. Men like Mac shouldn’t make a penny off your back.”
Mac laughed and interrupted, “Hey, watch your tone. My guards are always ready for a fight.”