Page 8 of Only In the Dark

“No. No. I insist.”

“Hardly seems worth one dance, and I didn’t even strip out of my outfit.”

He chuckles. “I’m not hurting for money. Keep it. Use it for whatever you need it for.”

I don’t argue with him and put it on the counter top.

“Let me show you around,” I say. “It’s no penthouse, but it’s enough space for me and my roommate.”

He follows as I show him. “As you see, the kitchen is there.” The kitchen and the living space are visible if in either room. We walk a few feet. “This is the roommates bathroom.” We then walk the opposite direction. “This is my room and private bath.”

“It’s a nice place.”

“Thanks. Now you know why I work two jobs to pay for it.” I don’t know why I need him to understand that.

We walk back to the living room. “But why are you stripping?”

“The money is good. It helped put me through nursing school. I even waitressed there when I didn’t have any other shifts scheduled. Nursing doesn’t exactly pay enough to support myself. But I enjoy it.”

“Surely you could find a nursing job that pays better,” he says.

“Not when you are a first-year graduate. It’s hard to find good work here in the city.”

“I can understand that.”

We walk back to the living room, and I’m about to pour myself another drink.

He says, “Well, I should probably go.” He sets his empty glass on the counter. “Thanks for the drink.”

“You’re welcome.”

He smiles and heads to walk out the door.

When he is completely gone, I feel like I can breathe, I plop down on my couch and blow out a puff of air. I’m quite certain I have never met a more mysterious man like that before. And I’m quite certain I will never see him again after tomorrow.

Chapter Five

GENEVA

Nervousness swirls in my belly as I start my day job. I don’t know if I can knowingly allow someone to get killed on my watch. Dominick never mentioned what the consequences would be if I didn’t allow it to happen. My job is to help people, not the opposite. But I am not a fool, I know exactly who Dominick LaRocca is. Or at least I have a good idea. And I’m sure he wouldn’t think twice about killing me if I don’t go through with it.

“I need to see Theo Bennet and then Jason Coranto for their checkups,” I tell the guard that usually stands outside my all-glass office. The office is like a fish bowl where anybody walking by can see in. I am nervous. But I came up with a plan.

When Theo Bennett is delivered, the guard walks away to grab Jason. “We don’t have a lot of time, but I need you to punch me in the face right before you take him out. Just enough to give me a black eye, don’t fuck up anything else on my face.”

“I have never hit a woman, and I never plan on it.”

“If you want to kill him, you have to do it. It’s the only way I know to make this look legit.”

Throwing his hands up, he rolls his eyes. “Fine. Damn.”

Jason arrives and is sitting while it looks like I’m just finishing up with Theo. I don’t expect it when it happens. But he throws a hard punch to my left eye and immediately starts attacking Jason with a shiv. Blood is all over my office. And just like Dominick says, the guard waits a good three minutes before coming in to break it up. Jason slumps over in the chair and falls dead on the ground.

Fuck! That hurt like a son of a bitch, and my eye starts to throb.

I can’t believe I let this happen. I’m just as much of a criminal as the ones being held in the jail cells. I can’t breathe.

More guards come rushing over. One grabs me and tells me to go the fuck home and to ice my eye. Grabbing my things, I rush out as fast as I can.

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