Page 31 of Pin-up Girl

Jules

Tonight was unusually chilly, and the cold bite of mountain air chapped my lips and froze the tips of my nose and ears. We had to grab our jackets, then take a detour for Elise to grab some cooler weather clothes. Emmett picked her outfit, something that would allow her to fit in with the place we were going. The job would go that much smoother if we were all dressed the part.

We hid out in Milo’s room all day, setting it up so if anyone asked, we were having a wild, drunken orgy with Elise. After my display in the kitchen, then Milo’s kiss in front of the house, it wasn’t a stretch.

There was nothing even close to sexual though. Elise went to shower while we put on a movie, half paying attention while we worked on assignments. With the way Wellington courses used online syllabuses, rubrics, and classroom chats, going to class wasn’t required, unless there was an exam. We had the lecture notes and knew what assignments were due this week, so that was how we spent our time.

Elise held it together, impressing the hell out of me. While the three of us were anxious and fidgety like we were coming down off a bad high, Elise left us alone to work on her own assignments like the calm, badass bitch she was.

Conversation had only picked up again once we got into the Caddy, gearing up for tonight’s job.

Milo took command of the conversation. “Elise, what do you know of Mi Fàn?”

I had taken the seat next to her, careful to keep enough space between us that we didn’t touch. Elise scrunched her nose up, then she opened her mouth, shut it, and shook her head. It was probably some smartass comment threatening to come out, but she thought better of it.

“Nothing, other than it’s a Chinese restaurant in the heart of the city.” Elise was the picture of cool composure with a hint of that sultry aura leaking out here and there, from the sexy, little red dress she had on to the glossy blonde waves trailing down her back. Her fingers, though, they were squeezed tight between her thighs like she was unsure, scared even. She should be scared. We were on our way to a job Infinity would never approve of—would even lose their shit over.

“That’s right. It’s a high-end bistro, only the elite of the elite are patrons there.” Milo flicked his gaze to Elise from the rearview mirror. The blue of his eyes was even more startling in the reflection. “But like Freddie’s, there’s an underground component only a few are aware of. It’s run by a man named Chao, who’s a nasty motherfucker but extremely good at what he does.”

The leather squeaked underneath her as she shifted closer to the middle, perking up now that she was getting some information. “What does thisnasty motherfuckerdo?”

Milo didn’t answer right away, letting Elise’s imagination run away with her. Emmett sent him a warning look. We only had about ten minutes until we arrived, and she needed to be whole-heartedly on board.

“Milo, you can’t dangle a juicy carrot like that in front of my face and then pretend you hadn’t said anything at all. What does this guy do?” Her exasperation had a hint of fear mingled in.

That was good. Fear would keep her compliant and alive.

Milo didn’t completely believe Infinity would try and take us out without even a conversation, but for what other reason would a black fucking Maserati—the ride of the Infinity leaders—try to make mincemeat out of Emmett? With the uncertainty around it, and what it meant if it was them, we were playing it safe.

In order to keep all our asses out of the fire, Elise needed to behave and be our fourth member, not a prisoner. If she felt like she was under any kind of duress, it would show and blow this whole thing to China.

“He runs an underground brothel. All Asian women, all illegal immigrants. He even has a man or two tossed in, but the men are from Russia. Odd, I know, but that’s how he likes it.”

“You’re kidding? A real brothel?”

“Yeah, he runs a regular whorehouse.” Emmett snickered without humor.

“I don’t believe it,” she mumbled under her breath.

I touched her shoulder, and when she looked at me, I nodded.

She gulped.

Now that she was a believer, Milo continued, “Chao is the scum of the world we live in. He takes advantage of his girls, but that’s the least of his sins. If you get a good look at some of hisstock,” Milo’s face twisted in disgust, “some look barely old enough to drive. I know a lot of Asians age differently, what with their lack of wrinkles, but these girls are too young to be there.Andhe auctions their virginity.”

She plucked at her pursed lips, staring down at her lap. This was the right information to give her, she would happily help us with Clownface now. “That’s some old time geisha-type shit. I can’t believe there’s anything like this so close to me.” Her next words were whispered. “This puts a whole new perspective on my reality.”

Emmett turned around to face us, the angles of his face sharpened by the shadows. “It does. Life is dangerous. No matter if you live on the streets or eat the finest caviar, danger dogs everyone’s steps. What we’re doing, we’re trying to separate ourselves from our particular brand of danger.” His gaze was heavy as he stared Elise down.

I jerked forward. Why was he sharing that?Thatwas a detail that should be fuckinghelduntil she passed our test. We had all agreed.

“Emmett,” Milo warned.

“No, I know this isn’t how we talked about doing this, but if she’s going in there with us tonight, she needs to know why we’re doing this. Otherwise, she’ll think we’re just some cruel bastards.”

Milo couldn’t hide his frustration, his knuckles turning white from how tightly he gripped the steering wheel. My own fingernails bit into my palms, so I wasn’t doing so hot either. He’d better fucking know what he was doing. If this went tits up, Elise would have to be dealt with, and that was a scar on my soul I couldn’t live with. There were too many already.

It was different when she was a stranger threatening our plans, but now that I’d kissed her and had her sleep in my room, she was real to me. I didn’t want her to fuck us over, and I didn’t want to be the one to dole out the consequences.

---