Page 57 of Pucker Factor

“Well, he didn’t take me,” I pointed out. “It was one of those other jerks. And besides, he’s just doing his job.”

“Yeah, and his job is to sell us!” she snapped.

“Shh!” I hissed, trying to keep her quiet. The last thing we needed was more interest over here. “You have to keep your voice down.”

“Why? Are you afraid they’re going to come over here and not be as nice as him?” she motioned to the guy.

“Um…the thought had crossed my mind.” Geez, was everyone so stupid? I was bonding with this man. It was good to get someone on your side. Besides, it was clear this wasn’t the life he wanted to lead. I would try to help him find different work, but I wasn’t sure the guys would hire him after what he’d done, even if I did defend him.

“Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble,” the guy said.

“Really?” the woman hissed, grabbing the bars of the cage. “You don’t want to cause trouble by locking a bunch of women up that were on vacation?”

“Calm down,” I urged. “My boyfriend will be here soon.”

“Oh, yeah, let’s just wait around for your boyfriend,” she spat.

“Trust me, he’s not like other boyfriends. Although, he’s really more of a one-night-stand that turned into multiple one-night-stands. Does that count as being a boyfriend?”

“Did you stay the night with him?” the guy asked.

“Yes, but only because our plane landed here instead of Florida.”

He huffed. “That’s rough.”

“Tell me about it. I didn’t even want to be on his stupid plane. He dragged me on there to get away from some bad guys. Frankly, I would have rather taken my chances in my own home. My cat would have protected me.”

His eyes lit up. “We have a cat, too. Feisty thing. Just yesterday he gave me this,” he said, holding up his hand. It was red and irritated.

“You should get antibiotics. Was that a bite or with his claws?”

“Bite.”

I nodded. “Yep, you need antibiotics. That thing will swell up in no time, and then you’ll get your sister even more sick.”

“Yeah,” the girl snorted. “Keep giving that sicko more advice on how to stay alive.”

I slowly turned around, my lips pursed as I glared at her. “You know, I’m trying to have a conversation with…”

“Dean,” he interjected.

“With Dean. If you don’t have anything nice to say, go sit down.”

The nasty look she shot me irritated me, but I wasn’t about to start an argument with a bitch like her. I rolled my eyes as I turned back around and faced Dean.

“Anyway,” I said in an exaggerated tone. “What were we talking about?”

He winced, rubbing the back of his neck. “You know, you probably should listen to her. I’m not a good guy.”

“Nonsense. You’re just doing this to supplement your income.”

He was about to answer when the door burst open and bright light penetrated the dim room. I smiled at him, shrugging slightly. “That’s my boyfriend.” Gunfire filled the silence as men scrambled to take out this new threat they hadn’t expected. As Dean was distracted, I slipped my hand through the cage and pulled the keys out of his pocket. “Now, promise me you’ll leave this life behind when you find a kidney.”

“I swear.”

“Good, now if you could step back, I’ll let myself out.”

“Huh?”

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