Lev

Mina

We drove back to Bleeding Hearts in silence. Vik caught the panicked look in my eyes and rushed me into the car. Lev was driving before the passenger door even closed.

“What happened?” Vik asked as Lev kept his eyes on the road.

I unhooked the button-disguised camera and handed it back to him. “Nothing.”

It was stupid to lie. Vik would see what happened when he watched the footage. I suppose part of me was hoping he wouldn’t watch it to the end.

No. Hope was too weak of a word. I prayed he wouldn’t watch it to the end.

Had I known that sandwich guy was going to be at Aphrodite’s Kiss, I would never have offered to play spy. The man had humiliated me now on two occasions. He would go to sleep tonight without giving me a second thought, and he would haunt me for a time to come. I knew I was giving him power by doing that, but crap, it was hard to stop myself.

As we arrived back at the club, Lev helped me out of the car and, without meaning to, I attached myself to him, wrapping my arm around his waist and looking up at him, a pleading look in my eyes, asking for silent permission.

He didn’t disappoint. He gave me what I needed, his arm tightening around me, pulling me into his side.

A soft sigh escaped me. When Lev held me, I felt as if nothing could touch me. He played the protector role well, and although I fought the fact that I needed it, it made me feel worth something, and that was more than I’d had in years.

We walked inside and down the long hall to Sasha’s office. Vik opened the door and Sasha paused, mid-pace. He looked up from his pensive state, and as his eyes settled on me, his lip curled.

I was getting real tired of his shit. I couldn’t figure out what it was he had against me. At first, I thought it was the whole wallet debacle, but as time went on, I saw it was more. I just couldn’t put my finger on what.

Sasha looked from me, to Lev’s arm that was fastened around my shoulders, then over to Vik, who he asked politely, “Got it?”

Vik held up the button camera, shaking it lightly before moving around Sasha’s desk to plug it into his laptop. He worked quickly, bringing up the file. Before he pressed play on the media player, Vik looked to me. “I think Nas is going to want to see this.”

This is going to be a group viewing?

My heart sank, but I took the hint and found Nas sitting in the dark corner of the bar, sipping a whiskey sour. As soon as she saw me, her face brightened. She stood, walked over to me, and took my arm. “Finally,” she muttered. “While you’ve been off playing Maxwell Smart, I’ve been dying of boredom. Why do you get to have all the fun?”

“Who the hell is Maxwell Smart?” I asked and she huffed out a laugh, ignoring my question.

A single glance around the floor and I knew what she meant. We had almost no patrons at all.

I walked Nas down the long hall, but before following her inside, I pause, pulling back. My nerves sizzled. “I’ll just leave you to it.”

“What?” she asked, a frown distorting her pretty face. “Sit with me.”

It wasn’t a request. Nas did not ask.

She ordered.

Hesitation held me back until, finally, I swallowed hard, walked into the office, and shut the door behind me. Lev sat on the guest chair, opposite Sasha. Vik stood, while Nas sat on the arm of Lev’s chair.

I huddled into the back corner by the door, feeling cold and hugging myself.

The footage was skimmed over until the show started. The second ChaCha was revealed, Nas spat out a string of outrageous and clever cuss words. Sasha looked ready to shoot someone. Namely ChaCha.

Twenty-five minutes into the footage, I piped up from my corner. “That’s it,” I stated. “I get up to leave in a minute.”

Vik turned to Sasha. “It’s a show,” he uttered with a small shrug, like he didn’t know what the big deal was.

Nas got it though. “Yeah, it’s a show,” she began. “But did you see the way the men reacted to it. It was positive and light. Not sordid. And the way they’ve done up the place.” She looked to Sasha. “It looks nice.”

Sasha nodded as if he were answering an unasked question. “We have to improve our show, improve our image. We’re go

As this conversation was happening, I was watching the media player, still playing the file, with my body cold with anxiety. On the screen, I had just stood from my table at Aphrodite’s Kiss and was walking away when…

“Hey, I know you,” was heard loud and clear. “You’re the homeless chick.”

All conversation stopped. All eyes turned to the screen.

“Please turn it off,” I begged on a whisper, my voice trembling.

But no one listened. They were too enthralled in the altercation happening on the screen.

“Too bad you’re not hungry anymore.” I bit the inside of my lip, my heart racing. “Damn, you’re a pretty one.” My throat closed and my arms tightened around my body. “I’m regretting not taking you up on your offer that night. My cock craves you mouth, baby.” Tears filled my eyes and I closed them tight, not giving him the satisfaction of crying over his actions one more time. “What would it take for the offer to be reinstated?”

“Hell to freeze over, you dirty asshole.”

I heard the low whine of someone standing from a chair. I knew he was in front of me before I even opened my eyes. Instead, I squeezed them closed tighter. “I’m sorry,” I told him.

I heard myself on the laptop. “Is that how you let men in your club treat women?” I cringed, slapping my hands over my face, knowing what was coming next. “No, thanks. I’ll be taking my business to Bleeding Hearts.”

Speaking through my hands, I let out a muffled, “Oh, God.”

I heard someone chuckle quietly. Nas spat out, “It’s not fu

Sasha spoke. “I know it’s not fu

“Shut up, Sash,” Nas hissed. Her voice softened a great deal when she asked, “Mina, you know that guy?”

I shook my head.

When Lev spoke, I felt his fury. “You said nothing happened. That wasn’t nothing.”

It was then that I opened my eyes and, sad as they were, they settled on Lev. “I didn’t want you to hear what he said.”

“Why?” he asked, bordering irate.

I bit the inside of my lip and spoke through the thickness in my throat. “Because what he said…” Oh, God, I was so ashamed. “It’s true.” I sniffled, the first of many tears trickling down my flaming red cheek. “He owns a sandwich bar. I asked him for food. He told me to suck his dick. At first, I refused, but,” a ragged breath escaped me, “but I was so hungry, Lev. So hungry,” I stressed. “And when I finally agreed, he told me it was too late and left me crying out in the street.” I looked down at the ground. “He didn’t get his blowjob. And I didn’t get anything to eat.” My voice turned to a whisper. “That was the day before I met you. That was why I stole Sasha’s wallet.” I looked up through my blurry eyes to lock eyes with Sasha. My whisper was hoarse. “I was desperate.”

No one spoke for a while. I didn’t want anyone to speak. I didn’t want looks of pity. I didn’t want sympathy. I wanted to go home.

“Okay,” Lev murmured in that soft way of his, and it was almost as if he’d read my mind, because he turned to the others in the room and stated, “I’m taking Mina home.”

Even though he wasn’t asking for permission, Sasha gave it in the only way I imagined he could. “Yeah, whatever. It’s not like we got customers to serve.”