Page 46 of Love Bleeds Red
Rain streaks down the window of the high-rise hotel suite where they’ve put us, the summer storm turning the city below into a blur of neon and headlights. Me, Cat, Lydia, and the new girl, Katie. They moved her in shortly after Cat tried to kill Elise in her sleep. She still won’t talk to Lydia for stopping her. I wonder if she ever will again. I can’t say that I miss Elise, I’ll always hold a grudge for what she did, even though I know it was her sickness and fear that poisoned her… that she regretted making the call the moment she did it. It’s better that they moved her. Hopefully, she’s okay wherever she is.
“I refuse to play nice,” Cat says as she shoves expensive cocktail nuts from the minibar into her mouth by the handful. “Honestly, I’m surprised they haven’t fucking drugged me yet. When Yuri comes back in, I’m gonna ask for extra.”
“You don’t mean that,” I say, coming to her side.
“The fuck I don’t. Why would I want to be aware of what these fucks will do to us tonight. There’s no way out… We’re stuck here, monsters are coming, and I’m just so fucking done.”
“Maybe it won’t be that bad,” I say, knowing I’m full of shit the moment the words leave my lips.
Cat scoffs. “Don’t be naive. If I were you, I wouldn’t put up a fight with the needle. There’s no point.”
Katie, who’s been sitting on the edge of the bed watching our exchange, folds her legs against her chest. Her expression of shock, of fear, reminds me of how I must have looked that first time we “entertained” for King.
Lydia’s busy downing mini bottles of booze before someone comes in and catches her. I guess numb is the theme of the night.
“Maybe some of the staff noticed us,” I offer. “I tried to signal to that housekeeper in the hallway. Gave her a look. Maybe?—”
“A look?” Cat shakes her head. “Maybe I should do Morse code against the walls too? Or what about smoke signals from the bathroom? Fuck, B, no one’s coming. No one cares enough to look past the money these fuckers are throwing around.”
Her words hit like a slap to the face, but I can’t be angry. Cat’s just saying what we’re all thinking. What I’ve been trying not to think for months. With each passing day that Cat gets more desperate, more despondent, I’ve had to find tiny kernels of hope. One of us has to keep pushing, or we’ll both give up. “I don’t know,” I say.
“I do. They care about keeping us quiet and compliant,” Cat continues, her tone clipped. “That’s it. That housekeeper? She’s probably seen dozens of girls like us. You think you’re the first one to give her a ‘look?’”
Katie makes a small sound from the bed—something between a whimper and a sob. I want to go to her. To comfort her. But really, what’s the point?
“Jesus, Cat,” Lydia slurs from her spot by the minibar. She tosses another lipstick-stained empty bottle, adding it to the pile scattered around the black marble counter. “You don’t have to be so fucking brutal about it.”
“Brutal?” Cat paces in front of us.“You want to know what brutal is? Brutal is pretending we have any control here. Brutal is giving Bailey false hope when I know?—”
The door clicks. We all freeze.
It’s Sweeper that steps in. He hasn’t shown his face in months, not since that night with Jasmine. My heart thuds faster. He inspects the area, from the oversized sitting room to the open bedroom, checking us over. Behind him stands a man who towers over him, built like a brick wall with a large scar down his cheek, and a woman, not as tall but equally built with black hair twisted into a tight bun on her head. They’re both dressed like they’re waiting to break up a fight at any moment.
“Ladies,” Sweeper says, sounding bored. “Time to get ready. You have important guests arriving soon.”
He tilts his head, speaking low to the two people behind him, and they position themselves in the corners of the open space. They must be some kind of guards.
“Where’s the meds, asshole?” Cat blurts out, hands folded at her chest.
Sweeper steps into the bedroom. There’s no hint of amusement on his face. “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to that.”
“Well, you hoped wrong,” Cat snaps back.
He sighs and brings his face inches from hers. “You do not want to play with me tonight, Catalina. One call and you know what will happen to your family.”
I don’t realize I’ve moved closer to Katie until her hand wraps around mine. We watch their standoff, Cat’s defiant seething, Sweeper’s exasperated authority, until he finally gives in and pulls a syringe from his inner pocket.
I close my eyes for the rest of their exchange, having seen enough needles for a lifetime.
“Anyone else?” Sweeper asks, his eyes darting between the rest of us.
I shake my head and so does Katie, but Lydia steps forward, offering him her bicep. Maybe it means something about the situation that the two newbies refuse the drugs… Maybe Cat’s right, I am naive.
It hits Lydia right away, and she staggers to the bed. Sweeper curses under his breath and calls the female guard over. “Watch this one carefully. Check her vitals every so often.”
“On it,” she says. Now that she’s closer, I can see the way her shirt barely contains her biceps. “And the clients?”
They step away from us, but I hear Sweeper reply, “Let them do what they want to her. I don’t care.”
