Page 9 of Cruel Debts (Killers of Port Wylde #4)

“You can’t go anywhere right now, girl. No doubt the shootout has him on high alert, but you know a lot more than you should, and that’s dangerous. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and take you back, or just have you killed to keep you quiet.”

That was what I was afraid of. I turned off the water, yanking back the shower curtain as I hesitantly slid from the tub and scrunched my toes in the soft bath mat.

“What the hell can I do, then? It’s not like I’m well-connected or anything.

” I was, but she didn’t need to know that.

Keeping her in the dark was imperative. I didn’t want to have to go home.

Not until I found my brother. I wasn’t about to throw away all the work I’d done so far.

“Why would you pay for my protection, though?” Buried beneath the relief that I might not have to leave was the confusion over the reasoning behind protecting a single girl who didn’t make her a ton of money. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m nobody to you.”

Minnie frowned, crossing her legs as I brushed a comb through my hair, hands still shaking slightly from the whole ordeal. I was sure the panic would set in eventually, the realization of what I’d just barely survived probably sweeping over me like a tidal wave.

“You mean more to some people than you think. You made an impression on several of my patrons and . . . business associates. They’ve noticed your absence, and I’m sure if given the chance to protect you, they would step in no hesitation.”

My jaw dropped. “All I ever did was paint a few people’s naked bodies, Minnie.”

Her shrug of dismissal was unsurprising. “Sometimes, that ten-minute interaction is all it takes to make a lasting impression or a connection.”

I didn’t like the idea of someone I’d painted before being my 24/7 babysitter.

“I’m a grown woman, and no offense, but some of your patrons are less than trustworthy.

” I rolled my eyes, hissing when the comb snagged on a rough tangle at the end of my hair.

“Fuck, when was the last time I had a good brush through my hair?”

“Did that monster even make sure you had the basic necessities?” She hadn’t pressed too much, but it seemed to relieve her greatly that he hadn’t raped me, at least. One thing we could agree on, I supposed.

“I left everything but my phone and a change of clothes here when I left. He said I could come back for it all later.” I huffed, yanking the comb through the knot so roughly it tore free a chunk of hair with it. “Obviously, that was all a lie.”

“I’ll let the other girls know not to accept any freelance contracts, and I’ll make sure security knows to watch for that bastard.

” She flicked her fingers across her screen, squinting at a message for a moment.

“I’ll be damned if men like him ruin my good image, or put my girls at risk, ever the fuck again. ”

“Good idea.” I waited, hands hovering at my towel, wishing Minnie would take her ranting elsewhere. I loved her to death, but I just wanted to collapse into my bed and forget this whole thing happened.

And then she said the words I was dreading.

“Maybe we should get the cops involved, T. I mean, it’s not like you were gone for a night. You were missing for more than a month?—”

“No cops.” I shivered at the idea of pretending I knew nothing as Detective McCoy sat by and interviewed me. Detective McCoy. What a joke. And just like that, my hesitation morphed into rage. “I don’t trust the cops around here.”

“Smart girl.” She stood, flipping her phone around to answer a call.

“Hey there, St. Clair. Listen, I know you’re not in the business of personal protection, but I was hoping you could make an exception for one of my girls.

” She waved to me, mouthed I’ll be back and marched into my living room, posting up on the end of the couch.

I moved to my bedroom and closed the door behind me, praying her call would give me time to take a breath alone.

It didn’t take long for everything to come crashing down on me. I couldn’t let it drown me, though, not with Minnie in the other room. I couldn’t break down until I was alone. I had to be strong.

There was no use in making others suffer with me. I hated when people pitied me. What was there to pity?

I was rich, I had a good family, I even had damn good grades and a portfolio of volunteer work and leadership skills that would put most college grads to shame.

Every bad thing that had happened so far was of my own making.

Maybe I was the stupid one here, for thinking I could handle finding Keehn on my own. For thinking I was strong enough, smart enough, to tough it out in a city without any form of ID, with no bank account, and without the backing of my family name.

The spiral was knocking on my door, and all I had to do was open it and let the thoughts, the feels, the acceptance, all of it in. I slammed the door on it and winced at the physical pain it caused me to pretend my mind wasn’t frantically looking for an exit, an escape.

“Tee?”

Minnie called to me from the toher room, and I was never more thankful that I’d thought to lock the door, because she tried the knob and a shiver of remembrance ran down my spine.

He used to come in without warning, demanding access to me at all times. I was at his every whim, and there was no privacy or downtime unless he gave it to me.

“You’re not there anymore,” I whispered to myself, reminding the present me that I was safe, I was home. “Get it together, Trinity McCoy.”

“Tee? I have good news.” Minnie stayed on the other side of the door as I rifled through my closet looking for something comfortable to wear.

I settled on a pair of sweatpants that were a size too big, a black tank top, and an oversized hoodie with a couple of well-worn holes in it from smoking joints with the girls after the club closed.

“What’s up?” I asked as I slid into the clothes, my voice muffled.

“Your protection is on the way now to meet you.”

I glanced around the room, suddenly self-conscious about the clothes I’d chosen. I didn’t want to be viewed as a slob. “Where are they going to stay?”

“If you open the door, I’ll tell you,” she tried, and reluctantly, I gave in, unlocking it with a sigh.

“Okay, you win.” I gestured for her to take a seat on my bed. “Start talking.”

Minnie suddenly looked everywhere but at me. “Well, here’s the catch—you’re not going to stay here.”

So she was sending me off, keeping her club safer. Made sense. I really couldn’t blame her, either. I wasn’t the only girl she had to think about.

I frowned at my clothes and turned to the closet again, reaching for a suitcase I’d stuffed in the back when I first moved in. “Where the hell are you sending me, then?”

“It’s called the Guild.”

The Guild.

Rumors always spread in a place like this, and being an underground, exclusive sex club, the rumors that flew here were usually more in line with the seedier parts of life in a town like this. SO I’d heard whispers here and there about the Guild.

Some said they were hired killers, their only motivation money. Others claimed they were crazy vagrants the city had decided to shack up in the asylum and ignore. But the truth, I suspected, was a combination of both.

Which made them dangerous.

And, I supposed, that was what made the Guild the perfect candidate for protection. Who in their right mind would mess with an organization out here murdering people for sport, or money, or whatever?

“Do you know these people?” I wasn’t too keen on the idea of trusting someone I’d never met. And if Minnie didn’t know them, then how could she possibly think this was a good idea?

“One of them is a business contact, and she’s sending her best and brightest—they’ll make sure you’re well-protected, and if you need anything, St. Clair has said she’ll make sure you get it. So you just let her know if you need anything at all. Her words, not mine.”

I didn’t like the idea of owing one more person, but what could I do? I didn’t have much money stashed away, and what I did have wouldn’t last me long. “Can I still have my nights back here at the club?”

Minnie blinked in surprise. “You want to work, knowing you’re in danger?”

My shoulders lifted, and when they fell, they felt like they’d gained a hundred pounds of added stress. “A girl’s gotta make a living. I don’t like owing people favors, so I’d rather keep my income. Plus, the routine might help me get things back to normal.”

Normalcy was key in getting over this ordeal and getting back to my life as I knew it. It was, perhaps, a coping mechanism, a masking technique to hide the broken pieces of me that I didn’t even realize were cracked yet. But right now, I’d let her, and myself, believe it was about the money.

“I suppose, as long as one of the Guild members accompanies you here when you work. I’m not trying to have anything hinky happen to you under my roof just so you can earn a buck.”

“I appreciate it, Minnie,” I breathed, pulling at my sweats. “Should I change clothes?”

“Just pack yourself a bag. You can come back whenever to grab more if you need it.”

Packing a bag was easy.

It was coming to terms with yet another huge life change that was harder.

In a matter of hours, I’d be in yet another strange place, with dangerous people I’d never met, holed up for who knew how long. I would have no friends, nobody to talk to yet again, and nothing but my own thoughts to keep me company.

Fucking fantastic. Wonderful.

One more nail in my coffin of stubbornness.

I found myself standing outside Minnie’s office an hour later, waiting for the door to open and introduce me to my new future. I’d slammed a pair of sunglasses over my face to hide my eyes, and though it made everything dark as hell, it felt safe, like a wall between me and uncertainty.

It was the only protection I had anymore.

With a sigh of resignation, I shifted my bag from one shoulder to the other and blinked back tears of frustration.

Let the future begin.