Page 35 of Traitor

Every time I tried to interject with something, though, Lorenzo kicked me underneath the table. So, I used the tablecloth to my advantage. While the men were talking, I reached over and placed my hand on top of Teo’s leather shoes.

And when he wiggled his toes, I knew he felt me.

God, I hope I remember this right.

I counted out the soft taps, trying not to make any noise at all. With one of my hands on Lorenzo’s calf, massaging the hell out of it, I tapped out a message in morse code against the top of Teo’s foot. Except, halfway through the damn message I saw a shadow move beneath the break of the tablecloth.

So, I quickly moved back into place and slipped Lorenzo’s shoe off.

“Ah, that’s the spot, butterfly. And you can suck on some toes down there, if you’d like.”

I wrinkled my nose. “If it’s all the same to you, maybe I can wash your feet first.”

I heard him snap. “Hey! Someone get me a bowl of warm water, some soap, and a washcloth! Now!”

People started scurrying and I used it as a cover to slide back over to Teo. I finished typing out my message and did it one last time for good measure, hoping and praying that I got the tapping right. But, once everything was slid under the table to me, I had to sink myself into the hole I dug.

But, that didn’t mean I couldn’t be painstakingly slow at washing his feet and massaging his legs.

Lorenzo was so completely different from Teo in every regard. While Teo treated me like a semi-decent human being, Lorenzo simply saw me as a play toy. Which is why he never reacted to things the way I thought he might. It required me to re-learn a way of life I never wanted to learn in the process. It forced me to become in-tune with the Devil himself just to make sure I could weasel my way out of this problem in the first place.

My God, I hope Teo knows morse code.

“Make sure to get between the toes, butterfly. My feet really do get sweaty around those areas,” Lorenzo said pompously.

I swallowed down vomit as I placed his foot gingerly back into the soapy water of the bowl.

The more I washed his feet, the more pissed off with myself I became. I can’t believe I’d been stupid enough to believe this torturous oaf over a man that showed me his kindness and respect. Maybe not all of the time, but he gave me a chance to earn it. And so what if he didn’t let me go home? It wasn’t as if I had a home to go back to anymore.

Not now that I knew what I did.

I’m going to put that woman in prison myself.

Rage toward my mother built inside. The idea that she thought so little of me as to leave me in the clutches of men like Lorenzo and these traffickers boiled my blood. My vision dripped red as I finally abandoned Lorenzo’s right foot for his left, preparing myself for yet another disgusting, degrading action like cleaning someone’s fucking feet. The more they talked, the more intimate I became with their plan.

And it made me sick to hear the sneakiness of Lorenzo’s voice.

I paid so much attention to what they were saying that I wasn’t paying attention to his foot. And when it slipped out of my hand, it crashed into the bowl. Soapy water went spraying everywhere and I yelped as I stood up. But, my head knocked against the underside of the table and I heard the crashing of glasses before wine and whiskey and crystal scattered everywhere.

“What. The fuuuuuck!?”

Lorenzo shot up from his chair and flipped the fucking table over. I shot up to my feet, gazing into his angry eyes as my shoulders hunched. His hand cocked back and cracked against my cheek before I got a chance to move out of the way.

But, when I heard a whoosh from behind me, I held my breath.

“That’s enough, Lorenzo. I didn’t come to bury a body today,” Teo said.

I heard Lorenzo breathing, he was so angry. “You’re lucky he’s here right now, you pathetic little wench. Because all of my other girls I have bought in the past have met their demise early and on less than what you just did.”

I rose my eyes to his face. “I’m so sorry. Your skin is so soft and I--.”

“Silence!” he bellowed.

I felt Teo’s stare on me as I lowered my gaze to the ground. I closed my eyes and envisioned putting Lorenzo behind bars. Watching as they shackled him and locked him down behind a solitary jail cell where he’d go mad talking to his own shadow. I had to work at not smiling. The idea was so enchanting and so luscious that it made me salivate.

But, I knew the justice system wouldn’t be enough to stop him.

Not with my mother at his side.

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