Page 17 of Sinner's Sacrifice

“Whereas I’m certain they’re going to get worse.” He shook his head. “Come, we’re wasting the night.”

“And now you sound like you’re some kind of vampire.”

That made him laugh for some reason she couldn’t detect.

They went down to the garage and got into a limo. The driver looked like Mason, but he was wearing a different color suit.

“Mason?” she asked.

“Magnus.” The man’s voice was deep and dark. “Mason is my brother.”

She asked him to head toward a street popular with sex workers.

“This car is going to stick out at this hour,” Yvgeny said with a sour expression.

“No, I don’t think it will,” she told him with a wry grin. “I’ll bet you twenty bucks this isn’t the only limo cruising for a party.”

“Is that the lingo these days? Looking for a party?”

“Yeah.” She studied him and the look of distaste on his face. “I thought you indulged in parties fairly often.”

He laughed. “There was a time when I did indulge, as you call it, but after a while, sex for money becomes unfulfilling. I haven’t had a professional girlfriend in quite some time.”

“Oh.” That was odd. She’d seen him with beautiful women on his arm on several occasions. “So, who are the women I’ve seen you with?”

“Sometimes, in the course of business, it’s expected that I accompany a competitor’s daughter, executive, or someone like that to a public event.”

“Oh.” It seemed odd - his aversion to becoming emotionally connected to someone.

He must have read her thoughts on her face, because he gave her a small smile. “I would like to have a relationship with a woman, one that’s emotionally satisfying. But it’s hard to meet women who don’t already know who I am, and more importantly, don’t care about who I am.”

“Ah, yeah, I guess that would be a problem. I’d never thought of it that way before.”

“Money doesn’t solve everything, and quite often causes unforeseen problems.”

“I suppose life isn’t easy, no matter what.”

She studied the faces of the people they passed on the street, looking for any of the women she’d treated in the past.

Relief zinged through her when she recognized someone.

“Pull over here,” she instructed Magnus.

“Spot someone?” Yvgeny asked.

“Yeah, wait here unless someone tries to stuff me into their car.” She opened the car door.

“Samantha.” Yvgeny growled her name like it was a warning.

“I’ll be careful, I promise,” she said as she got out.

Twenty feet away, a couple of women were standing and watching traffic. Both had short shorts on with tight tank tops. Neither of them was wearing a bra.

One woman glanced at her, but Sam had never met her before, so her gaze didn’t stick.

The other woman saw Sam, smiled, and started walking toward her.

“Hey Darlene,” Sam said to her. She patted her bag, and the relief on Darlene’s face was so deep she looked like she was about to cry.

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