Page 21 of End It All

I frowned. "I don't have any money."

Grand Myah waved a hand. "Some things are more important than money. Your name carries a lot of weight. AnyVitale can come and go here freely. Do you need a room? You can stay for a while."

I gawked at her. "Really?"

"Darcy, get him a room too. Something nice with an en suite bathroom." She winked at me. "Welcome to Silver Dreams, Mr. Vitale."

I stared at her. "Thanks."

As she walked off, a pretty blond rounded the counter. She smiled at me and held out a hand. "This way, Mr. Vitale."

Still dumbstruck and high off my ass, I took her hand. As we walked, people smiled and flirted. I felt like I was in a completely new world. She led me to a door and produced a keycard out of the pocket of her tight shorts.

"This will be your room. You can stay as long as you'd like. Would you like us to wash anything?"

"Um." I shook my head. "No. Wait," I said as the thought came to me. "I could use a phone. A burner."

"No problem, I'll have someone get one for you and have it delivered in the hour. You can eat at the bar or in your room, which would you like?" she asked as she swiped us in.

My jaw dropped as we stepped inside. The warmth that surrounded me from central heating made me realize just how freezing I had been since I left Quincy's. A big screen TV took up one wall, a huge bed was against another, and there was even a couch, table, and chairs. Everything was draped in colorful fabric. It felt like I'd stepped back into one of my mom's fantasy romance novels. I put my bag on the bed and Darcy hung around.

"Preference for where you eat?” she asked. “Oh, and the bathroom is right through there," she said with a nod of her head. "Feel free to get cleaned up."

I nodded. "Room is fine. Thanks. By the way, do you have any more of this?" I asked as I produced the joint.

Darcy laughed. "I'll take care of you, Mr. Vitale. Anything you want, you can have."

Her suggestive words hung in the air and all I could do was nod again. Darcy excused herself, and I was left alone in the room that felt way too rich for someone like me. I whistled as I looked around.

"Damn. I could get used to this."

My belly was full,the bed was comfortable, and Darcy had brought me a phone all before I slept in for a few hours. I was living the good life. Although, I was arguing with myself currently. I wanted to call my mom and let her know I was okay, but I worried about alerting the cops.What if they've found our secret phone on her end?

Nothing good would come of that.

A knock pulled me out of my daydream. I quickly stuffed the phone into my pocket as if I'd gotten caught and shot up from the bed. My heart raced before I quickly told myself it wasn't the cops. No one knew I was here. I was safe.

I opened the door. "Darcy, I don't need anything... Shit."

Quincy slammed one of his huge hands on the door and shoved it open. I stumbled back, nearly losing my footing. Quincy let himself into my room and shut the door, throwing the lock before he turned to me and cracked his neck left and right.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I told you about the place, you dumbass," he growled. "It smells like a whorehouse in here. Have you just been doing drugs all day?"

"I'm pretty sure it is a whore house," I muttered. "And yeah, so what? I can smoke all I want. I don't need a parent."

Quincy grabbed the back of my neck and nearly folded me in half. "Where's my wallet, you little shit?"

I grunted. "On the table! Get off me, man."

He marched me over to the table and when he found it where I said it was, he turned me loose. I adjusted my clothes and rubbed the back of my neck as he opened his wallet. The money was gone, but the cards were still there along with the roach of the joint I’d had. He held the latter up and showed it to me.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

I shrugged. "You stressed me out."

Quincy balled up his fist. I flinched back involuntarily, and he released it as quickly as it had formed. He closed his eyes, then opened them and stared at the ceiling, and exhaled long and slow. When he looked at me again, he nodded toward the bed.

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