Page 34 of Dollhouse

“I’m not a whore!” she cried.

“That’s good, keep telling her, boy!

“Y–y–yes, y–y–ou are. You’re my whore!” I choked on my words, struggling to tell her the vile things he wanted me to.

“Louder!” he roared.

“You’re a dirty whore!” I yelled and she sobbed harder.

“Whose whore is she?”

“She’s my whore! She’s my dirty little whore!” I couldn’t hear the zip of his pants over her sobs, but I knew what he was doing the moment I looked over at him. Bile rose in my throat seeing his expression darken as he looked at her naked, shivering body.

* * *

“Ro? You okay?”I snap out of my thoughts at the sound of Eli’s voice. He places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes, offering me comfort.

I nod vacantly, but he knows me better than that, though, thankfully he doesn’t push me.

“Talk to me if you need someone, please, brother.” I nod again, unable to speak. “Good. So, anyways, I was thinking about the whole Westside situation. And you’re right, there’s got to be more to it than them just wanting a pretty piece of ass.” I already know that. There’s no reason why the Westside Disciples would want Tate, unless they’d also be trading her just like we are.

But trading her for what? What do they want from her?

“We already know this; it doesn’t make any sense, though.” I finish cooking and fix us both a plate, handing him his and making my way toward the table while he follows.

“I checked into it though. Before two weeks ago, they didn’t know what she looked like or who she was. We’ve been watching her since the moment she stepped foot into our city, and she’s never met or had any run-ins with any WD members, or their associates.” I can tell there’s more, so I urge him to continue when he pauses. “Ro, they know her by her real name.” My eyes almost bulge out of their sockets.

Nine months ago, when Tate got off the bus into our city, we knew about it instantly. The Triad knows of every single person who decides to take up residence in our city. No one slips under our radar.

King and Eli were instantly interested, meanwhile, I couldn’t care less about her. That’s because I didn’t know who she was. I avoided her, as I do most women, when she interviewed for Sinners, a club we own. Of course they made sure she got the job—it only made it easier to keep tabs on her.

I never bothered looking at their new fascination, I never do, but I should have. Now I’m regretting that I didn’t, right from the beginning.

“Who here would know who she really is, want her for some reason, and have affiliation with WD?” Eli’s question hangs heavy in the air between us.

Fuck.

“We can’t give her to them until we know all the facts. We’re going in blind, it’s not smart.” Am I saying this because I genuinely believe it and care for her well-being? Or because I want to be selfish and keep her?

“I agree. Not when we can’t see the bigger picture and the motives behind their reasons for wanting her.” I’d tried to separate my personal feelings from the situation, but I should’ve known that would be impossible to do when it comes to her. Had it been anyone else, I would’ve been able to turn them over without any hesitation or questions, but it’s her. It’s Tate.

The girl I failed to protect all those years ago.

I guess part of me is looking at this as my second chance, and by protecting her now, maybe I wouldn’t feel so guilty for not protecting her then when she needed me to the most. Perhaps I could learn to hate myself a little less by making up for things in my past.

“You do know that by not delivering her, our deal will be off, right? The disciples will continue to sell in our city.” I say, shaking my head.

“Let’s go to the meeting tomorrow. Surely there’s something else Malakai wants besides Tate, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to get it out of him and find out why he really wants her.” I highly doubt that. Malakai is smart; he’d never allow anyone else to know his reasoning behind the shit he does. But I nod, because Eli is standing beside me, wanting to keep Tate a little while longer despite the fact it would be problematic for us.

“Okay, but she can’t go home or back to the club. She can’t be seen in public at all. They know what she looks like now and they’ll come after her if she’s at home unprotected. For now, she stays with us until we find out the reasoning behind them wanting her. Let’s not tell her yet, and I’ll tell King when he gets up.”

“He might be asleep for a while; they were fucking like jackrabbits last night.” I roll my eyes, taking a sip of my coffee.

“I don’t know how the fuck you slept through that last night.” He chuckles, giving me a wink.

“I didn’t, I jerked off instead. She’s nice and loud; King’s a lucky bastard.” Eli stands up from his seat with a laugh when I flip him off. “I’m going to win her over, maybe get my dick wet too.” I couldn’t tell if he meant it or not. Wouldn’t surprise me though, he never cared before about sticking his dick in the same hole King and I stuck ours. It isn’t uncommon for us to share women, but he’d only be sharing a pussy with King, not me.

Realization hits me as I clean up the dishes from breakfast.

---