Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jasmine

That evening, Liam asks me what I want to eat for dinner.

“Pizza?” I ask. I’m still not used to getting to make decisions like what to eat. I’m afraid I’ll choose wrong or ask for something he doesn’t like.

“Sure. What do you like on your pizza?”

“How about a veggie pizza?”

“All right.” He grabs his phone and places the order.

While we’re waiting for the pizza, we watch TV—Supernatural, which I’ve never seen before. About halfway through the first episode, the pizza arrives.

When we’re done eating, and we’ve watched two episodes of the show, I yawn.

Liam laughs. “I think someone’s ready for bed.”

“I think you’re right.” I get up from my chair to head to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

“Hey, Jasmine.”

I pause and turn back to Liam. “Yeah?”

“Tomorrow’s Monday. I was wondering… would you like to come to work with me? You could stay here if you want to, or you can come with me and spend the day at McIntyre Security.”

“You teach martial arts?”

“Yes. And self-defense for employees. I’d love for you to come with me. There’s going to be someone there who I’d love for you to meet.”

“Who?”

“My twin sister is coming tomorrow to help me give a women’s self-defense demonstration to some new hires. I thought you might like to see that.”

“You have a twin sister?”

“Yes, Lia. She works for McIntyre Security as a professional bodyguard.”

Her eyes light up. “I’d love that, but are you sure it’s okay for me to go to your work?”

“Yes, I’m sure. My brother owns the company, remember? We’ll leave at eight-thirty. My first class is at nine.”

* * *

That night, as I’m lying in Liam’s bed, my mind is racing. So much happened today, but the part I can’t get out of my head is the way Liam held me on the sofa after we got back from the bookstore. I was having a legit panic attack. I’d never felt that kind of security before. That kind of compassion. I think he kissed the top of my head, but maybe I dreamed that part. I can’t be sure.

It was a platonic kiss, of course—like from a brother or a friend. Nothing about it was sexual. He’s never made any sexual moves on me, which is a first for me. Every guy I’ve ever been around has tried to get with me. Even Mom’s tricks would sneak into my bedroom at night if Mom passed out. I kept a kitchen knife under my pillow for a reason.

I shared a room with my older sister, Angel, and sometimes she’d get with Mom’s tricks for a little extra cash. But not me. Never me. I’d put earbuds in my ears and crank up the music so I didn’t have to hear them going at it.

I haven’t known Liam long, but I know he’d never force himself on me—or on any girl.

I have a hard time falling asleep. My pulse is racing, and my body feels weird, sort of queasy. My belly is quivering, and I feel warm all over, like I’m having hot flashes. Maybe I’m coming down with something. I sure hope not because I want to go to Liam’s work tomorrow. I can’t wait to meet his twin sister. If she’s anything like her brother, I know I’ll like her.

* * *

I awake to the sound of a knock on my bedroom door.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead,” says a muffled male voice. “I’m about to start on breakfast.”

I jump out of bed and head for the bathroom so I can shower quickly. Once I’m out, I dry off, then apply lotion to my arms and legs. I’m careful not to look at my reflection in the mirror. I hate the reminders of my life that are etched all over my body. It’s ugly. Hideous. So many scars. Knife wounds from when tricks or other girls stabbed me. Marks from beatings Tony gave me with a belt in the early days, before I learned the ropes. I even have a bullet wound from a drive-by shooting.

I pull on a pair of skinny blue jeans and a long-sleeved coral T-shirt. I always wear long sleeves to hide my scars. I never show my skin to anybody if I don’t have to. Tricks don’t seem to care about my scars. I think some of them actually like them.

“Breakfast is ready,” Liam says as he raps on the bathroom door.

“I’m coming.”

Breakfast is waffles and sausage, already made and waiting on the table. Coffee with caramel creamer and orange juice. Toast with butter and strawberry jam. As I take my seat at the table, my stomach growls loudly.

Liam smiles. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

It’s such a treat to have fresh, hot food like this. At Tony’s, we ate stale bagels for breakfast. No cream cheese or anything to put on them. Just dry, hard bagels.

“Slow down,” Liam says with a laugh. “You’re going to make yourself sick if you eat that fast.”

I shrug as I sip my coffee. “I can’t help it. It’s just so good.”

His smile fades, and he looks a bit sad as he watches me eat. He starts to speak, but then he stops himself. “I’ll take care of the dishes. You take your time.” He carries his empty plate and silverware to the sink.

I watch him rinse off his plate and fork and put them in the dishwasher. I’ve never seen a man do housework before. At the house, the girls do all the chores, and the men assigned to guard us just sit and watch. They know better than to touch us, though. Tony would kill them for touching. Still, it’s creepy how they’d watch us. They’d sometimes touch themselves openly, grabbing their dicks and squeezing or rubbing.

“Jasmine? You okay?”

I shake myself mentally. “Yes, fine. I’ll go brush my teeth. Then I’m ready to go.”

“Why don’t you bring the GED study guide with you? You can sit in my office and take more of the practice tests.”

I nod. “Sure. I’ll grab it.”

“And bring the Kindle, too,” he calls after me when I’m in the living room. “So you can read when there’s nothing exciting going on.”

Once I’m ready, he says, “One more thing. It’s just a precaution, and if you don’t want to do it, I totally understand.”

“Do what?”

He pulls a small device out of his front pocket—a silver disc smaller than a dime. “This is a GPS tracker,” he says. “I can track you anywhere with this.”

“Track me?” And then it dawns on me. He means if I go missing. If Tony or his men manage to capture me. “How does it work?”

He holds up his phone. “I have an app that will track this device. I can put it in your shoe.” He shrugs. “If something happens, I’ll be able to find you.”

“You’ll be able to find my shoe, you mean.”

He nods. “True. Try not to lose your shoe.”

I smile in spite of myself. “Okay. I’ll try not to.” I take off my sneaker and hand it to Liam. He works for a moment on the inside of my shoe, then hands it back to me. “It’s under the sole. Put it on.”

I slip my foot into the shoe. He checks the app and nods. “It’s working.”

“Thank you,” I tell him. The idea that he can find me no matter where I am is reassuring. If something does go wrong, there’s a hope that Liam can save me.

We head down to the parking garage. Liam opens the front passenger door for me, and I climb up onto the seat. I’m buckled up by the time he slides behind the wheel.

It’s a short drive to his work. We pull into the lot of a tall office building on the main road. Liam drives into an underground garage and parks the Jeep.

Other people are pulling in, too, and as we get out and walk to the bank of elevators, people wave at Liam and say hello. He smiles at them, waves back. I’m careful to keep my gaze forward and try not to make eye contact with anyone. It’s not likely I’d recognize anyone here, but I don’t want to take the chance.

We take an elevator up to Liam’s floor and get out. He walks me down the hall until we reach a pair of double glass doors marked MARTIAL ARTS STUDIO. He opens the door for me, and I step inside a brightly-lit, spacious room. The entire outside wall is floor-to-ceiling windows.

Liam flips on the overhead lights. “This is the martial arts studio. Over there is my office. You can set your stuff down there. That’s the equipment room there, and those are the locker rooms, men’s and women’s.”

I glance around the wide-open space. There are huge black mats on the floor, arranged around the room. On one wall is a set of bleachers, like you’d see in a school gymnasium. It even reminds me of a school.

He points to the big clock on the wall. “My sister and I are doing a demonstration at nine. People will start arriving soon. Come, I’ll show you my office.”

His office is neat and clean, like his apartment. There’s a big desk with a computer monitor on it. A gray sofa is positioned against the wall with a coffee table in front of it. A freestanding rack beside the sofa holds an assortment of fitness and martial arts magazines.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he says. “There’s coffee, water, and snacks. Help yourself to anything you want. Bathrooms are located in the locker rooms. If you need anything, just let me know.”

Liam sits at his desk and turns on his computer. It looks like he’s checking his e-mail. I sit on the sofa and glance around the room, taking in all the framed certificates and brightly-colored ribbons hanging on the wall. I assume these are from all the martial arts events he has won. There’s a bookcase on the back wall that holds several rows of shiny trophies.

“Is there anything I can do?” I ask, feeling useless just sitting there.

“No. Just relax. The demonstration will start soon.”

I crack open the study guide and start to do another practice test—science this time—when I hear voices outside Liam’s office.

A few minutes before nine, a petite, pretty blonde appears in the open doorway, dressed in black workout gear. She’s got a trim, muscular build. The girl plants her hands on her hips and says, “Hey, bro.”

Liam looks up from his computer and smiles at the blonde. “Come in, Lia.” He pushes his desk chair back and stands. “I’d like you to meet someone.”

The blonde studies me curiously. “Ooh, Liam has a lady friend. It’s about time.” Then she frowns when she gets a good look at the fading bruises on my face. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Uh, Lia—” Liam says.

“I hope the other guy looks worse,” the girl says.