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“No.” Ash’s head shook fiercely, a defensiveness to his stance, almost blocking me from view. “She’s not part of this.”

“Really?” The man tipped his head. “I can pay handsomely for her also.”

A rock sunk in my gut, everything feeling off.

“Pay?” The word came off my tongue with confusion. “What’s going on?”

Ash swung back to me, shuffling me back, his voice a demand.

“Leave. Now.”

“Ash…” Confusion lined my forehead, though I was pretty sure I already knew in my gut.

“Please.” His voice broke, his eyes pleading with mine now.

“Two thousand leu for you both,” the man stated, his self-assurance lifting his mouth in a smug grin. He knew what he had just laid out. “It is a lot of money.”

It came to around five hundred dollars and could cover our expenses for a long time.

My head turned back to Ash, understanding flowing down on me.

Oh my gods…

Ash was prostituting himself to get money. To getusmoney.

He wouldn’t look at me.

“Ash,” I whispered his name.

After a few moments, his eyes finally met mine, his shoulders rolling back, his expression detached.

“Go, Raven.”

My heart ached because I knew this wasn’t something he wanted to do this time. This was out of necessity, not for pleasure. And he was doing it forus.

“No. I’m not leaving you to do this.”

“You are,” he replied. “It’s not a big deal.”

But it was. I could feel it. Ash might be open with sex, but that was when he could give it freely, his choice. This was because we needed income. To become a prostitute was very different from choosing to sleep with them.

Staring up into his green eyes, my heart slammed in my chest, adrenaline pumping in my veins, emotion swirling in my gut. I couldn’t walk away knowing what he was doing. I knew what I had to do.

“Two thousand leu.” I pulled away from Ash and journeyed closer to the man. “Each.”

The man choked out a surprised laugh as Ash grabbed me, hustling me back.

“Don’t listen to her.” He started to push me down the hall.

“Ash.”

“Raven.” He shook his head. “You are not doing this.”

“Why not?”

“Why not?” he sputtered. “First, because I said so.” My eyebrows hauled up to my hairline from his response. “Second, you are not meant to be part of any of this shit.”

“What does that mean?”