Page 97 of By A Thread

There was a knock, and then the door opened. “Hey, New Girl, you got a private dance in the VIP room,” Vance said, spreading his hands and then rubbing those big palms together. “Guy took a likin’ to ya.”

I shook my head vehemently. My stomach clenched. Even desperate, I wasn’tthatkind of girl.

“Not interested,” I said, looking around for my clothes. I was going to take my money, drink as much free alcohol as I could get, and go home to set this outfit on fire.

“You didn’t even hear the best part. Guy’s offering five grand,” he said.

I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned.Five thousand dollars?

“Club splits it fifty-fifty,” he said. “Not so bad, right? No touching. There’s a security button in the room and a bouncer right outside the door. He pre-paid.”

Twenty-five hundred dollars cash. On top of whatever I won tonight? That would cover the rest of the month. That would earn me two, maybe even three days off. I could buy the rest of the goddamn drywallandhave those shots.

All I had to do was sell my soul to the perverted devil waiting in the VIP room.

I wanted to cry.

“It’s only three minutes and twelve seconds,” Vance said. “He picked the song.”

“Twenty-five hundred?” I repeated.

He nodded. “Cash. Tonight. On top of those tips, and you’re definitely placing in the Top 3. Some poor geology major cutie pie just fell offa the stage out there. So I’d say Top 2.”

My sigh was so heavy it moved the wispy strands of hair on his forehead.

Five grand. Five grand. Five grand. It wasn’t even a choice at this point.

“Yeah. Okay,” I said, swallowing hard. “But if I see a dick, I’m breaking his face.”

He crooked his fingers for me to follow him. “You see a dick, sweetheart, you hit that security button and let Chauncey break his face for you.”

I nodded rather than answering because I was two seconds away from barfing.

“Oh, hey,” Vance said, stopping outside a red leather paneled door. “You want any special lights on in there? I can do disco ball, strobe. We got this pretty pink filter that makes everyone look ten years younger.”

“Dark,” I said grimly. “Make it as dark as possible.”

“You got it, sweetie. And remember, he gets inappropriate, you push that button or just yell. The walls are thin.”

Three minutes twelve seconds. Three minutes twelve seconds.

Vance fiddled with the lights and gave me a cheery thumbs-up.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

Into hell.

Into Dominic Russo’s personal ring of hell.

Humiliation burned my cheeks. Rage replaced the nausea.

He’d gone too far. Too damn far. My desperation wasn’t a joke. This wasn’t just playful teasing. Coming here to witness my damnation was cruel.

“What. The. Fuck, Dominic?”

“I paid for the dance.” His voice was gruff and low.

I stalked toward him, ready to rearrange his face. I was going to take my half of his five grand and shove it down his throat until he choked on it.