Page 7 of Kiss of Death
“To make fast money. Why are you here?” Ivy quipped, and the corners of Smoke’s mouth tipped up like she amused him. She hoped that was the answer he was looking for and he’d leave her alone.
“With the way you were just dancing on that stage?” He scoffed. “I would have believed that more if you had been dancing like when you thought Otto was the only one watching you.” He winked before he let go of her and leaned back up against her vanity.“Besides, if you really want fast money, you’re going to have to take those clothes off, and you’re one of the handful of women here who don’t.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her like he was pissed he just caught her in some lie. “Let’s try this again. Why are you here?”
“What does it matter to you? I didn’t know your name was Gia or Otto that I had to answer to you,” she snapped at him, wondering if he was the one who did her background check and had stumbled on some inconsistencies.
“Why won’t you answer the question?” he asked with a smirk teasing his lips.
Because I don’t know what you know and don’t want to overplay my hand.
Ivy wasn’t a hundred percent sure how far Smoke—or whoever it was—had dug into her background. She knew what the information she had given them would yield when they did their quick search, but she also knew there were ways around shit. She tried to stick to as much of the truth as she could so no one would question anything, but had she somehow fucked up? If she couldn’t keep this job, she’d never be able to get her and her sister out of here.
She went to speak, to tell him something that would hopefully appease him, when the door to the locker room opened and a few of her coworkers strolled in. One of them caught sight of Smoke and screeched his name before launching herself at him. He caught her quickly and kissed her neck. “Hey, sweetheart,” he purred and the woman—whose name Ivy seemed to have forgotten—melted into him.
Ivy rolled her eyes, even though she was grateful for the distraction. She could finally escape and call her sister. She went to grab her bag when Smoke grabbed her wrist, stopping her. He pushed the woman off of him. “Give me two seconds and I’m all yours darlin’.”
He smacked her on her ass, sending her on her merry way and Ivy laughed. “I thought there was a no fraternizing rule here?”
Smoke shrugged. “I do whatever I want. Besides, I think the boss is going to break that rule soon enough.” His grip on her arm tightened. “You’re not off the hook, spitfire.” He pulled at her arm, and she fell into his body. He brought his lips to her ear and kept his voice low. “I find out you’re not who you say you are and hurt the people in this club, I’ll make your worst fear seem like a dream come true. Understood?”
Ivy heard the truth in his threat and fear licked the base of her spine. She nodded and felt an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. If she and her sister managed to escape, she’d still have to look over her shoulders. She didn’t think Smoke was the type to forgive or forget.
Smoke let go of her arm and pushed off her vanity. “Nice chatting with you, Ivy.” He turned and sauntered over to the woman who’d thrown herself at him early, and Ivy quickly grabbed her bag and headed to the bathroom.
As soon as the bathroom door clicked behind her, she locked it. She wasn’t sure if Smoke would barge in after her, but if he did, she was going to pretend like the flimsy lock was going to hold up against his weight.
She shifted through her bag and pulled out her burner phone. It was preprogrammed with only two numbers. One number was for her to pick up any time it rang, no matter what, and the other was for her sister. It was her only direct line to her sister. She wasn’t allowed to see her, but she was grateful that she still had access to her.
She hit the dial button, hoping her little sister would be able to pick up. She was past her normal time and knew if she missed it, there was a chance Ivy wouldn’t get to talk to her today.
The phone rang three times and Ivy almost hung up knowing her sister should have picked up on the second ring. She went to hang up when she heard Eve’s bratty tone come through the speaker. “This is late, even for you, Ivy.”
She felt herself relax, and a smile stretched across her face. “This coming from the girl who was always late for anything she set up?” Ivy chuckled. “I miss you, Eve.”
And Ivy did. She hated that she put Eve through any of this. If she hadn’t ignored all those red flags from her ex, they would still be in California and Eve would be well on her way to finishing her degree. Instead, she’d been used to keep Ivy in line to do whatever had been asked of her.
“I miss you too, Ivy. You’re worried, aren’t you?”
Ivy had tried to keep the concern out of her voice when she spoke to her sister, but she should have known she couldn’t hide anything from her. They weren’t twins, Ivy was five years older than Eve, but they had a connection that ran deeper than a normal sister bond. Ivy couldn’t keep her feelings from Eve, no matter how hard she tried. It was why Eve had stopped talking to her about the things she had gone through when Ivy wasn’t around.
In the beginning of their captivity, their captors used to make Ivy watch, bound and helpless, as they raped her sister repeatedly. They wanted to break them both, and they had succeeded in part. It wasn’t until much later that,Ivy realized she was the collateral. Eve had taken the brunt of their abuse to keep them from killing Ivy. They had always wanted Eve because she was of fair skin with no marks on her body. Ivy had just been an unnecessary bonus.
“It’ll be okay. You have a gift of getting what you want. This time will be no different.” Eve sounded confident in Ivy’s abilities, but this was different. She had been able to talk her captors into using her so her sister stayed safe and unharmed. They made her run petty scams, and it had been easy.
The stakes were higher for this, and there was more of a risk. If she fucked up, she’d lose her sister and possibly her own life. If she was able to pull this off, she’d still might lose her sister and her life. It was a lose-lose situation when she got down to it.
Ivy shook her head knowing if she kept worrying about what was to come, she’d never be able to focus. This would be easy; it had to be. She’d get whatever information she could and get out. There was nothing here that could make her second-guess herself or lose focus of what’s at stake.
What about Otto?
The question floated around in her head like a devil trying to tempt a saint. Otto was her boss—nothing more, nothing less. She would not worry about what her actions would mean for him. Her first and only concern was to save her sister.
“Hey, Ivy. I’m going to have to cut this call short. I’m not in the house.”
“Where are you?” Ivy couldn’t keep the panic out of her voice.
Had they lied to her and moved her without warning?
Was this their way of telling her she needed to work quickly?
