Page 7 of Blood Money

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t do a little to help him out. I could see what a shithole his apartment was. He had only the most basic furniture and it all looked like he’d rescued it from the dump. Unlike most of our clients, I believed him when he said he didn’t have any money to give me. He was truly desperate—the way Vito and I had been once.

You can’t save them. Stop thinking of them like puppies. I heard Dom’s voice in my head. He’d always been critical of me showing a desire to help anyone outside the family, but somehow I had a little heart left, even after growing up with nothing. When I saw people struggle the way Vito and I had, there was a part of me that wanted to help them. But empathy was no good in my line of work. I’d kept my brother and me off the streets because I did what my father said. How long could I keep that up?

4

LIAM

Ifollowed Val into the back entrance of Pound. The lighting was as dim as I’d expected, but at least everything appeared to be clean. Music pumped through the club. I was sure if I pressed my hand against the wall I would feel the vibration.

Val led me down a narrow hall. When we were about halfway to where I saw flashing lights and long bar, he knocked on a door. Without waiting for a response, we stepped into a small office. An older man with a comb-over and thick glasses sat behind an old-fashioned desk.

“I’ve brought you a new guy,” Val said.

The man huffed. “We’re not hiring.”

“You’re hiring this one.”

“Val, why are you always causing me trouble?”

How the hell did this man have the nerve to talk to Val like that?

“Liam owes us, and he’s going to work it off here.”

“Does Dom know about this?”

Val slammed his hand on the desk, but the man didn’t even flinch. “I run this club, and I say who works here. Liam works for you now.”

The man turned his attention to me. “Serving or dancing?”

“I’ll do what?—”

“Dancing,” Val said, cutting me off.

The man frowned as he gave me a once-over. “He’s going to need some grooming before he’s ready for the stage.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Val said.

“And you’re leaving me to deal with that?”

“No, I’ll take him to my people.”

The air in the room was hot and stale. I resisted the urge to fan myself as I listened to them talking about me like I wasn’t there.

The man studied me again before turning back to Val. “What’s going on here, really?”

“None of your fucking business. You work for me. Do you need a reminder of that?”

“No, sir.” He gave a mock salute.

I waited for Val to yell at him or hit him, but he just laughed and said, “Good. So are you going to get the paperwork? Or do you plan to just sit there on your ass?”

The man looked up from his computer, frowning. “We’re putting him on the books?”

“Yes.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” Val finally acknowledged me then. “Liam this is Trevor. Trevor this is Liam, your newest dancer.”

---