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“Then what was it?”
But she only sadly shakes her head. “I can’t talk about that right now, Tristan.”
Frustration mounts in my chest. I don’t like being in the dark. After everything that’s happened since she’s reappeared in our lives, the least she can do is give us the full truth. Instead, she continues to hold it close to her chest, locked away in her heart to never see the light of day.
She’s an anomaly I didn’t account for, a complication that I can’t necessarily fix, and the lack of control I have fills me with anxiety. Now that the truth about her identity is out of the bag, where do we even go from here? Will she take her money and walk out on us…again? Will she choose to stay?
Knowing that she could end up rejecting us once again sends a sharp pain through my chest. I have to get out of here before I’m tempted to do something I’ll regret, something that I won’t be able to fix.
I simply turn away from her and give her a taste of her own medicine—leaving without a single word.
CLEO
“What do you mean, it didn’t go through?” I all but squeak. After checking my account for days, Lucian finally called me to inform me that the transfer was sent back due to the account not existing. This has to be some kind of trick, some kind of scam for him and his stupid club to potentially exploit desperate girls looking to make quick money.
“There was a problem with the transfer, but it’s a simple fix,” Lucian says, his voice calm and steady despite my growing panic. “It may be as simple as the wrong number on either the account or routing number when you filled out your form.”
We take a few moments to confirm the numbers and find that I’d screwed up the order of two numbers when I wrote it down. I almost want to slap myself. Here I am thinking this man, and the guys, are trying to cheat me out of my money, but I’m the one who wrote down the wrong information to begin with.
“So how much longer do I have to wait to get paid now?” I ask. Even though I enjoy being at the hotel, I’m ready to be in something more permanent. The longer I have to depend on other people to provide, even just the basic needs I have, isgiving me massive anxiety—especially when it’s coming from Tristan and Talon.
“Actually, if you can come to the club today, I can get you your money in cash if you’d like,” he says, and the words are like music to my ears. A smile settles on my lips before I can stop it, my mind already conjuring up all the things I plan to do the minute I receive it.
“Um, yeah, sure,” I stammer. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay, great. I’ll see you then,” he says and hangs up.
I stand here in the silence of the hotel room before I release a loud squeal and jump onto the bed. I’m about to have four hundred thousand dollars. Sure, I had to go through hell and high water to get it, but I earned it, and it’s mine.
I sit up and force myself to calm down. There’s so much to do! Car shopping, apartment shopping, clothes shopping…I release an excited squeal once again before I rush around the room to get dressed. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited or happy, as well as relieved to know that all of my troubles are now over. I can move on with my life, the guys can go back to theirs, and things can go back to the way they were before everything went to hell in a handbasket.
Finally.
I take the bus to Purgatory and the bouncer lets me in this time without much sass or pushback. I make a beeline for Lucian’s office, anxious to get paid and be on my way. His office door is open this time, and he’s standing in the center of the room as if he’s just entered it. I knock lightly on the door and give him a small wave when he turns around.
“That was fairly quick,” he muses with a small grin. “Please, have a seat.”
I stroll across the room and take a seat in the chair across from his desk. I can barely sit still as Lucian walks across the room and stops in front of a large painting. He presses againstthe frame of it to reveal the door to a large safe hiding behind it. It’s like something out of a movie almost, as if he’s a super villain with many hiding spots and safe rooms.
My leg bounces as he puts in the combination to the safe before pulling open the heavy door and disappearing behind the painting. When he reappears, he’s holding a duffle bag—my ticket to my newfound freedom.
It almost doesn’t feel real. I discreetly pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. Maybe I’ve slipped and fell in the shower at the hotel, and I’m bleeding out on the floor, and this is all a dream. But it’s definitely no dream.
Lucian walks around his desk and puts the bag at my feet. “I believe this belongs to you.” He gestures to it. “Feel free to check it.”
I’m nervous to touch it, scared that it’ll disintegrate before my eyes if I move. But I reach forward and unzip the bag with shaky hands, my breath catching in my throat when I open it to find stacks of cash. The money is cool and crisp to the touch. It almost seems wrong to have access to this much money so quickly, but it’s a sacrifice that was worth making.
“Thank you,” I say, my voice thick with emotions.
It’s one thing to know that I’m getting money and having to wait on it, but it’s a different experience when you’re face to face with it.
“There’s nothing to thank me for. You earned it.” He walks back around his desk and takes a seat. “Just make sure you keep it safe until you can get it to a bank or at home.”
His words snap me back to reality. There’s no way I could take the bus back to the hotel with all of this money. Even though the bag looks like a regular gym bag, criminals snatch bags from women that they perceive to be weak all the time. I definitely can’t afford to lose this money, as I’d have a hard timetrying to explain to the cops how I got the money in the first place.
“I have a ride,” I say with a small smile.
Lucian nods approvingly. “Good. If that’s all you need, you’re free to go. Enjoy your new life.”
