The worst part was the raw vulnerability I felt when I saw the naked photos of me. It was a shame deeply embedded into the very fiber of my being, and something I promised myself I would never do. My body was mine now. It belonged to me and only me. But here was the proof I couldn’t deny that, in the pursuit of freedom, I had allowed my seductions to drag me into a depth of darkness I never wanted to revisit. I’d harnessed the power of a man’s universal weakness and used my sexuality as a weapon. A machine of war. And even if I’d never slept with any of those men, it didn’t matter. It didn’t change the filth crawling over my skin when I examined the evidence of my sins.
Agony split me in half, and when I raised a trembling hand to wipe away a stray tear, Ace had the decency to look away. He wasn’t taking an active role in my humiliation, but I wondered exactly how much of these he’d seen. If he’d studied them. If he thought I deserved whatever was coming to me.
“You’ve made your point.” I shoved the contents back into the envelope, crumpling the photos at the bottom. “Now tell me where my sister is. What’s it going to take to keep her safe?”
He shifted, but his eyes didn’t connect with mine. It was the first sign of human emotion he’d displayed. I could feel in my gut that he didn’t like this. But that didn’t change whatever was about to happen.
“You’ve stolen a lot of money and humiliated a lot of powerful men. Your sister too—”
“I get it.” My jaw clamped down so hard it felt as though my teeth might break. “Just get to the point. What’s happening here?”
A sigh heaved from his chest, and Ace leaned forward, propping his elbows on his thighs as he turned to study me. “Here’s how this goes down. Give up any fight you have now because it won’t change the circumstances. You want to protect your sister, and she wants to protect you. Tonight, my friend will offer her a deal that can save you both, and she will take it.”
“What friend?” My eyes darted around the apartment, checking for other signs of life I may have missed. “And what sort of deal?”
“It’s not important.” He shook his head. “The only thing you need to know is that you’re out of options, Birdie. Your sister will take the deal, and if you want things to go smoothly, you’ll accept it too.”
He didn’t have to tell me I was out of options. For my whole fucking life, I’d been out of options. Trading one exploitation for another was all I’d ever known. Jumping from one frying pan to a different fire.
“Tell me about the deal,” I pressed, unwilling to accept that our house of cards was crumbling around us.
The vein in his neck throbbed as dark hot eyes pierced right through me. “The terms of that arrangement are between Gypsy and my friend, and all you need to know is she’ll be staying with him now. Your part of the deal is much easier. So easy, it only requires one thing from you. Leave town, and don’t come back.”
“No,” I croaked. “That will never happen. You’ll have to kill me first.”
“You’ve made your bed.” Ace spoke through gritted teeth. “Now you have to lie in it.”
BIRDIE GODDAMNED BLUE. FLASHES OF her wove through my mind like spidery webs, obliterating my focus and ratcheting my frustration. I’d punched a one-way ticket for this merry-go-round since the day I’d carted her ass out of the Venetian a little over a year ago.
One simple request. That was all I’d asked of her. Leave town, and don’t come back. But could she do that?
No. She never fucking did what she was told. And here we were, caught up in this game of cat and mouse all over again. Only, who was the cat and who was the mouse was still to be determined as she prowled the floor, undoubtedly seeking her next victim. She’d moved on from casinos after she’d come to understand I had eyes everywhere. Whenever I learned she was back in town, a simple text was usually enough to bring her to heel. She’d make herself scarce, and I’d watch her from a distance until she popped back up again. The girl was a fucking boomerang.
Rinse and repeat.
She only saw me when I wanted her to, but my job with her was never done. It was becoming a fucking problem. Lucian asked me to keep an eye on her, so I did. His interests rested squarely on her sister, and Birdie was not part of that equation. Once she’d learned that Gypsy had signed the deal Lucian offered, she no longer had a dog in that fight. But Birdie was still running wild, and I found myself chasing every lead I got on her like I was a goddamned fiend. She thought she’d outsmart me by changing up her scene. Casinos, clubs, they were all the same to me. Either way, she didn’t belong here.