Page 23 of Ravaged Souls

“It doesn’t matter.” I straightened my spine and reached up to carefully wipe under my eyes. “What’s done is done.”

The door to the locker room swung open just as Ginger made to open her mouth. It was another one of the dancers, a stunning brunette named Vicki. She and I were sharing VIP tonight.

“There you are,” she said, sighing her relief as she flipped her pretty straight-ironed hair over her shoulder. “Sorry to interrupt, but I really need you back in VIP. It’s getting crazy out there.”

“Be there in a sec.”

When she was gone, I grabbed my mask and got to my feet, sighing as I slipped it on.

“Duty calls.”

“Maybe we can talk some more later?” Ginger asked, gnawing nervously on her lip.

“Yeah.” I offered her a smile. “We can talk. We’ll start with the fingerprint bruises peppered all around your neck.”

Ginger swallowed and reactively reached up to her throat. She looked away from me as she gently rubbed over the spots. “It’s nothing,” she muttered.

“If you’re gonna lie about that, then I guess you sleeping with Finn is a lie too, right?”

“WHAT?!” Ginger’s mouth fell open, her cheeks stained crimson. “He told you!?”

“So that really wasn’t a lie.” I chuckled as invisible smoke began fuming out of Ginger’s ears. “Oh well, we can discuss it after work. And please, for the love of God, fix your makeup. You look like a rabid raccoon with messy red hair and huge tits.”

Chapter 10

Jace

Istaredouttheback window of my father’s limo as the driver pulled into an old, abandoned airport, swallowing roughly when I took in the four semitrucks and three other limo’s waiting for us out in the airfield.

“Keep it cool,” Finn softly whispered beside me.

I looked at Finn before glancing up and over to my father who was currently on the phone. He grunted sordidly at whoever he was speaking to and shook his head, mouthing off some profane words I made quick work of tuning out.

“Listen to me, Jace. I know this is your first Harvest but trust me when I tell you that you have no idea how fucked up this shit really is. Any remorse you may be feeling right now,bury it. Deep. These men see them as nothing but two things: product and profit. They expect you to feel the same. They will not hesitate to slaughter you or them if you step a toe out of line.”

“Noted,” I grumbled.

“I’m serious, Jace. You don’t understand what’s about to—”

My dad loudly huffed, scoffing as he slammed his flip phone shut and rubbed a shaky hand across his thick jaw. He reached up to the limousine roof and pressed a button, turning his head as the partition leisurely slid down, revealing Gregory, my father’s driver. “Have we arrived?”

“Yes sir,” the man replied a little shakily.

“Excellent.” Father turned back to me and Finn, a demented smile on his face. “It’s showtime, boys. I hope you’re ready to have some fun tonight.”

The driver got out and in less than two seconds, the back door opened. Father departed first. I hesitated, but after receiving a quiet, heavy shove from Finn, I got out and stood beside my father. Finn shut the door behind him and joined my side a moment later.

It was quiet as we started the trek toward the semis, my guts twisting the closer we approached. Once we made it to the center of the airfield, the back doors to the other limousines opened. One by one, three men stepped out.

Like my father, the men standing before us were dressed strictly for business in expensive designer black suits, with the fancy white collars, slacks, and leather shoes. As for Finn and I, we were ordered to wear button-downs, slacks, and the sharpest, shiniest pair of business-friendly shoes we owned. And like us, they were armed too. I could see the large bulge from their guns poking out beneath their suit jackets.

“Damien. Glad to see you made it.” The man who’d spoken approached my father and reached out to shake his hand. He was tall, in his early forties I presumed. He had dark salt and pepper hair and was built like a brick wall. He reeked of booze and Cuban cigars.

Father firmly shook his hand and as the man’s glossed gaze slid away from him and landed on me, his lips spread in a wide smile that made me internally shiver. “And you must be the famous Jace we’ve heard so much about.”

“Yes sir.” I shook his offered hand, ensuring not to break eye-contact with this lunatic. Anyone bold enough to be in business with my father had to be one. The guy then looked away from me to Finn.

“Nice to see you again, Finn. You here for emotional support?” My brows furrowed up a bit as the man gently nudged his head in my direction.

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