Page 19 of Blood Money

“Liam!”

I rolled to my side and pulled my legs up. “Ava, it’s my job to take care of you.”

“No, it’s not. We’re both adults.”

“I’m your big brother.”

“You’re my stupid brother right now. How the fuck are you going to pay back this loan and the interest, which I’m sure is making the amount grow every fucking day.”

I sighed. “I’m working that out. I’ve got a second job.” I’d told enough truths for now. I wasn’t going to let her know I was working as a dancer at a Marchesi-owned club.

“And you think that’s going to do it? They aren’t going to wait decades to get the money back. I’m going to have to quit and work to help you pay for this.”

“No!” I pulled the quilt tighter around me. “Tuition is already paid. You won’t get that money back. Go to school and let me deal with this.”

“Liam, I–”

“Please.”

“They will hurt you if you don’t pay. I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough.”

I thought of Val, of the way I knew he could crush me easily if he wanted to—or seduce me into doing whatever he said. “Trust me. I know what I’ve done, and I’m going to get us both back on our feet.”

“You don’t have to shoulder all of this.”

“Yes, I do. Now, I need to go so I can get ready for work.”

“Fine. But you better check in with me so I know you’re still alive and not at the bottom of the bay feeding the fish.”

“Goodbye Ava.”

“Bye. I love you.”

I curled into a tight fetal position as I said, “I love you too.”

The next week passed in a whirlwind. Between working at Benny’s—the bar where I waited tables—and dancing at Pound, I was so exhausted I fell into bed the moment I got home, only waking when I had nightmares about the accident, the Marchesis going after Ava, or the day when the rent was due, and once again, I couldn’t pay.

Where was I going to go? I didn’t think I could find anywhere significantly cheaper than the place I was in.

You could stay in Ava’s dorm.

How sad would that be? Even if it was actually an option, I couldn’t afford the gas to drive two hours into the city to work every day.

Maybe one of the other dancers would let me stay on their couch. Of course, for that to work I’d have to actually make friends with someone. So far I’d kept to myself, talking as little as possible to anyone at work other than Tyler who was very hard to ignore.

I hadn’t seen Val again. Every day I expected him to show up to scrutinize my performance and make sure I was following all his rules. I wasn’t. I’d given several lap dances in the private rooms. The men had tried to grope me, but I’d managed to use Val’s name to keep them under control.

How much longer could I keep that up before he found out? And what else could I get away with? I knew many of the other dancers went much further in those rooms and scheduled meetings with the men at hotels. Would I do that? Could I do that?

Once I was homeless I probably would, but if Val found out…Maybe he wouldn’t. He obviously didn’t care enough to check up on me.

And Trevor sure as hell didn’t seem to care. As long as the dancers didn’t cause trouble and showed up on time, he was content. It seemed to be his goal to drink alone in his office all night.

I needed to pay Val back as fast as I could so I could start earning money for myself, assuming he’d let me keep working here after the debt was paid.

Assuming he ever showed back up.

Why would he? Did I really believe he wanted me that much or did I secretly hope I would be caught? Did I want him to punish me? I’d fantasized about it plenty of times. I was tired of always being the one with responsibilities. I wanted to surrender, to give myself over to him completely.

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