Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 38961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
“Just like you!”
I snap my eyes back to her, and a smile spreads across her face. Yeah, she’s got my attention now.
“What did you think? They came in and saved the day? ‘Let’s save the poor little farm girl from the Mistress Auctions. We’ll sweep her away and all live happy ever after.’ Is that what you thought? That the Cortez brothers are your knights in shining armor?”
I can tell from the look on her face she knows something I don’t. I want to smack the smug little smirk off her mouth. I should turn, walk away, and not listen to another word she has to say, but I stay rooted to the spot, staring at her. I’m not going to ask what she knows because I can tell she is all too excited to give me the information on her own.
“Who do you think got your drunk of a father into the poker game, hmm? You think he got to sit down at a table like that without someone getting him a seat? Someone like, maybe, the Cortez brothers? The same someone who knew he’d lose, that you’d need a pile of cash in a bad way.”
I feel a lump grow in my throat. I’m not sure I could talk if I wanted to. The dam would break, and I don’t want her to see my tears. No, she’d enjoy them too much.
I feel my mind start to swirl as I try to play back the events and remember how they all unfolded.
“Starting to click together now?” Her snide remark jars my nerves. “Like I said.” She snaps her fingers once again. “The Cortez brothers wanted you and they made sure they got you. Even if it meant throwing Samantha at you. I'm sure she made a pretty penny roping you in for them. Not exactly knights in shining armor, are they? No, just your plain old johns.”
The way she puts it makes it all so dirty now. I can't stand to be here another minute. I push past her, making my way to the exit, her laughter following me. Fuck this. I'm out of here. Fuck them and fuck her.
I almost make it to the glass revolving doors with the Nevada lights shining through them when two figures block my path.
I knew they'd show at any second but I’d hoped I still had a little time. I never make it far off the elevators before one or both of them show up. I'm convinced they have security alerting them of my every move.
“Lucky, what's wrong?” Aaron says, reaching for me, but I step back, out of his reach.
“Fuck,” Justin says, looking past me. He must have spotted Natasha. “Remove her from the property,” he snaps at a security guard standing by the door. He promptly jumps to.
“I'm going to fucking fire someone. She shouldn't have made it in here without being spotted,” Aaron says, irritation on his face.
“Baby, I promise you, anything she said is a fucking lie.” Justin says, looking into my face. “Fuck, don't cry. It breaks my heart.” It's then I realize my face is wet, the tears finally coming. Justin tries to reach for me like Aaron did, but I rebuff him too.
I expect Natasha to fight the guard, to scream and yell, but she doesn't. Maybe because people might be watching. Can actually hear her now. She strolls calmly by with guard escorting her like she just didn't crash my world.
“Did you set this all up?” I ask, squaring my shoulders. I shouldn't be having this fight with them right out in the open, but I really just don't care at the moment. They won't be able to try to distract me like this.
They both blanch at my question, telling me all I need to know because they clearly know what I'm talking about.
“It's not what you think.” Justin is the first to break the silence.
“It's a yes or no question,” I throw back at him.
Aaron just stands there, his face growing hard. He's pissed. Good.
“Yes, but—”
I cut him off, not caring what he has to say.
“Then I'm done here. Our contract is up. I'm free to go.” I go to push past them, but Aaron grabs me by the arm. “I said I'm done here.” I try to jerk my arm free, but he only pulls me closer, leaning down to my ear.
“Well we're not done with you. You think we'd let you go so easily? We'd do all this work to get you here and just let you slip through our fingers? Come on, Lucky, you're smarter than that.”
I glare up at him. I feel Justin move in closer. They are caging me in between them, not caring who can see what’s happening.
“You can't make me stay here,” I say, but it comes out breathier than I intended.
Keep it together, Stella. They tricked you into being here. Made you think they saved you when they orchestrated the trouble in the first place.
Aaron's free hand goes to my stomach, rubbing softly, and then I feel Justin's hand there too.
“You could already be carrying our child. You haven't had your period since you've been here. ” He presses his lips to my ear, his warm breath against my skin. “I would have noticed since we've both been inside you every day, multiple times.”
My body starts to buzz. He's right, I haven't. But I had that IUD, so I couldn't be. Maybe that messes with your periods or something.
“You're wrong.” I whisper my reply, but they both are so close I know they hear me. I'm oddly sad that I'm not. “Samantha had me implanted with birth control.”
Aaron pulls back so he can look me in the eyes, but Justin is the one to speak “I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you.”
Before I can process his words, I’m in Justin’s arms, and he's striding across the lobby of the casino. People part to make way as Aaron bulldozes a path through. I can't even imagine the look he is giving people to make them move so quickly.