“You going to put Shelby in the playroom again?” Costello asked, trying to sound merely curious.
“No. She did great up there though, made over fifty grand in one night. But I have enough girls up there right now. You think Ariana would benefit from a night there?”
“As one of the littles?” Costello managed to keep his anger in check, but barely. If he had to bring her up to the playroom, he’d lose his shit.
“No, no, just as an educational trip,” Frank grinned showing off his yellowing teeth.
“Like a field trip?” Costello laughed.
“Yeah, let her see where she’ll end up working if she can’t get adopted. I think we should expose the girls to the alternative. We can get them trained and sold faster that way. Positive reinforcement from you Daddies and harsh reality checks from the playroom.”
Costello squeezed his hands tighter in his pockets. “If that’s how you wanna play it. Sure.”
Frank nodded. “Yeah. I like that idea. One girl at a time though. I don’t want to have to put up security to keep the girls safe from the clients. Having one girl off limits is enough.” Frank picked up his phone. “I’ll put Johnny on it. He’ll get it done. Ariana can go first, tomorrow night.”
That soon? At least she wouldn’t be touched. At the minimum, Costello could protect her from that much.
“No problem. I have her down until dinner. I’ll have Maria get her up and take care of her until tonight. I’ll keep my regular training session though tonight.”
Frank nodded, but he was already engrossed in his text messages. “Sure, that’s fine.”
“Thanks, Frank.” Costello left him to his business and got out of his office.
He’d have to keep his distance from Ariana when possible, which meant she would need to put all of her energy into following every fucking rule. She could not get caught.
At least Nancy would stay off her back. Costello trusted Maria. Even if she started to suspect, she’d bring the worry to him before going to Frank.
Plans formed as he took the stairs up to the dayroom. He’d have Maria watch over Ariana for the rest of the day, and when he went to tuck Ariana in, he’d explain the severity of the situation.
And then, somehow he’d need to start figuring a way to get them both out of the fucking House with their lives.
“That soon?” Ariana sank onto the edge of her bed as Costello finished laying out everything that would be changing. She’d already had a bath and been dressed in her soft lavender night gown. She’d brushed her hair, and Maria had braided it into two braids for her before Costello came to tuck her in.
“Yes, but I don’t want you to worry about that. What you need to understand, Ariana, is I have to keep some distance right now. I can’t let anyone think I’m paying you more attention than I would any other girl. So, you might only see me for naptimes and bedtimes. Unless all the Daddies are in the dayroom.”
Ariana nodded along as he continued.
“You have to do your best not to slip.”
“I know,” she said. There was nothing else she could do but continue playing the part.
“There’s something else.” Costello pulled the chair closer to the bed. “Tomorrow night I have to bring you to the playroom.”
“What? No!” Ariana jumped from the bed. “I saw what those assholes did to Shelby. I’m not doing that.”
Costello shot up and grabbed hold of her shoulders. “You won’t. You’re not going to be there to play. You’re going just to watch.” He squeezed. “No one will touch you,” he vowed.
Her pulse raced beneath his touch. He had the ability to both calm and excite her at the same time.
“And at the adoption party?” She searched his eyes, hoping to find a plan hidden there.
“I’ll figure it out. You aren’t going anywhere with anyone other than me, Ariana.” He ran his hands down her bare arms. “I swear it.”
She wanted to believe him. So badly, she wanted to hold on to his promise and let it pull her from the nightmare she was living.
“This entire thing is so absurd. I can’t seem to get my brain to wrap around it.” She laughed but one that stemmed from a twisted and dark reality. “I mean…I worked in a bakery. I barely made enough money to pay my rent and feed myself, and now I’m going to be worth a million dollars?” She eased out of his grip.
“It’s fucked up. I get it.”
She blinked. “You get it? How can you possibly understand this? This place steals women and sells them. Keeping them addicted to a drug that wipes out who they really are so they can play to the fantasies of a bunch of assholes. You’ve had a hand in that. You’ve helped and will continue to help.”