Chapter Ten

R egret fills me as I watch him walk away. I know that I hurt him by not doing what he asks, but I am who I am. There are just some things I won't budge on.

I need to be able to contribute. Now that I know he will let me out, I am going to work on him so that I can get a job again. I need purpose. A reason to get out of bed each morning.

"You know, I'm surprised you understood all of what he was trying to communicate," Miya says.

I turn back to her and shake my head. "Come again?"

She nods toward Kado's retreating back. "Kado. Not many people understand him since he doesn't speak, but you don't seem to have an issue with it. I mean, hell, I've known him for years, and I still struggle with trying to figure out what he's wanting to say sometimes."

"It's not that hard. Besides, we spend a lot of time together now that I live with him." I shrug.

And he does speak, his vocal cords are just messed up, and it causes him pain.

It just reaffirms what I thought. No one knows that he can speak. Only me.

It makes me feel special that he would share that with me. It's a vulnerability of his that he allowed me to see.

"I've spent a lot of time with him too, and I stand by what I said." She laughs.

I narrow my eyes. I know she said she's with a man named Kenji, but did she and Kado have something before she got with him? Does she know what his place looks like? Has she had the pleasure of his touch?

She must see where my mind is going because she holds up her hands in surrender. "Oh, don't go getting any crazy ideas now. Kado is my friend, and that's all he has ever been or ever will be. We just used to spend a lot of time together because he used to be my personal guard when he wasn't on an assignment. We were together every day for hours on end, for what felt like years. Before I met you, I would have told anyone who asked that I was his best friend, but watching you two together for five minutes, I would wager a guess that I don't know him as well as I thought I did."

I can't explain why, but it pleases me that she thinks that I know him better than she does. He let me in, not her.

"I'm glad he has you," I tell her honestly.

"And I'm glad he has you too. Should we start shopping? I don't know how long he will be busy."

"Sure, lead the way."

"Do you want to start with house stuff or clothes?" she asks as we start walking.

"I was only planning on grabbing a few changes of clothes."

"Girl, he basically told you to go wild. If there's something you want for his place, grab it. He won't mind, I promise. Kado just wants to make you happy there."

Chewing on the inside of my lip, I think about what she said. She's not wrong, he does want to make me happy, and the place does need some livening up.

"Let's start with home stuff. We need some dishes, and I would kill for some new bedding."

Miya tilts her head back and laughs. "I never even thought about it. Does the man even own a blanket?"

"I don't think you really want me to answer that," I tease.

Still, I make a mental note that she asked. That means she hasn't been to his place. I freaked out over nothing.

Then I realize that I felt jealous, which opens a whole other load of feelings I'm not ready for. So instead of dwelling on them, I push them back down. I will handle those pesky feelings later.

For now, I follow Miya into a home goods store, and it all goes down from there. Anything that I pick up and set back down, she puts into the cart, insisting I need it. It's driving me insane. Even if Kado has unlimited funds, it doesn't feel right to be spending it. It has my skin crawling as I think about the total adding up. This is going to be like in the grocery store, but twenty times worse. My stomach is already churning at the thought.

Eventually, I stop touching stuff just so she will stop. She must get the hint because she doesn't do it again.

We check out at the home goods store, and Miya insists that they will have the items delivered to the hotel for Kado to pick up.

Next, we move onto clothes. The first boutique is only a few doors down from the home goods store. I pick a few things off the rack that I normally wouldn't wear, just to see what they look like. It's almost fun trying on new clothes with a friend. Each new outfit, I step out to meet Miya in her own new outfit. We laugh and joke about each outfit, deciding together which ones are winners and which ones will be put in the discard pile.

I don't realize how many clothes I actually chose until I pile them into my arms. They are almost too many to carry.

I debate on putting them back, but I really do need my own clothes. I rationalize with myself that once I'm working again, I will pay him back every penny.

In fact, I will pay him rent too. I won't live off of him for free.

While I wait for Miya to finish trying on her clothes, I wander around the store, looking at more items.

I was hesitant to come shopping, but now I almost want to go try on more items. The only thing stopping me is knowing my tab will be increasing if I do.

I resist the urge, but continue to admire the clothes nonetheless.

"Oh shit, sorry," a tall, tan man says as he bumps me.

He grabs my arms to steady me, making sure I don't fall. Once I have my balance under control, I step out of his hold, resisting the urge to wipe away his touch.

"It's all good. I wasn't watching where I was going, and I probably backed into you," I say, trying to ease his blame.

"Nah, it was definitely my fault." He tilts his head to the side. "I've never seen you here before, are you new around here?"

"Not really," I lie.

Something about him has me feeling on edge. Maybe it's because this store caters to women, so there's no reason he should be in here.

"My name is Ben," he says, holding out his hand.

Reluctantly, I shake it. "Lucy."

An Asian man steps forward, making me jump as he slides between Ben and me.

I swallow hard at the second man. There definitely shouldn't be two of them in here.

"I need you to back away," the stranger tells Ben.

Ben's eyes narrow. "And who are you?"

"Hey, is everything okay out here?" Miya asks as she peeks out of the dressing room.

She must have heard the men talking and wanted to check on me.

"I don't know," I tell her, crossing my arms over my chest and backing toward her, not willing to give either man my back.

"No problems, Miss Miya. This man was just leaving." The Asian man gives the other a stern look.

Ben looks to me another moment before holding his hands up. "There isn't anything here for my sister anyway."

We watch as Ben walks away, leaving the store. The other man stays on guard, his eyes not leaving the door even after Ben is long gone.

I look over to Miya and raise an eyebrow.

"Oh crap, I forgot to introduce you two! Lucy, Botan is one of my guards," Miya says as she walks toward us.

"You have a guard?" I ask.

She nods. "I do. Honestly, I was having so much fun, I forgot he was with us."

Turning to the man, I realize that I didn't get the same bad vibe from him. Maybe internally, I knew he was one of Haruaki's men.

"Was he bothering you?" Miya asks, indicating the empty spot Ben once was.

"Not at all. He just accidentally ran into me and apologized."

"Are you sure? Sorry, I have to ask, but things are crazy right now here in the city, and it has me a little on edge." She wrings her hands together.

"I'm positive," I tell her, shaking off the bad feeling I got.

Living where I used to, I got that feeling a lot. I guess I learned to heed the warning my body is giving me, but not pay it much mind. The man was likely about to hit on me. That's what most men do. I don't feel the need to tell Miya that, though.

"Now, are you done trying on clothes? A shop across the way caught my eye, and I was hoping we could run in there and look around," I tell her, not actually knowing what is across the street.

I want out of this shop, though.

Miya tosses her head back and laughs. "I like the way you think, girlfriend. Let's get checked out and head over there."

While we grab our clothes, a little dose of paranoia sets in. What about Miya's life is dangerous enough to warrant a guard? Should I be worried about being out with her?

I keep that thought in the back of my mind as I follow her to the register.

I can't let my guard down again.

Most people think that at The Currency, you don't want to piss off Kai or Kenji, but what they don't know is the one you really don't want to piss off is Miya. The quickest way to end up on her bad side is if you hurt one of her girls. If you do something to one of her girls that isn't consensual or on the list of services, you're done.

Which our friend tonight is learning the hard way.

After picking one of the girls, he took her back to a room and had sex. After sex, though, when she tried to leave, he clocked her over the head, knocking her unconscious. It was so quick, the girl didn't even get a chance to press the emergency button we have in each room. He then beat her black and blue before he stuffed her in his suitcase and left with her.

He made it as far as the elevator when one of the guards noticed hair sticking out of the zipper, and they pulled him aside.

On the phone, Miya told me that he let something slip. He told them that the girl he tried to take was the type they needed. Typically, Miya would turn to Kenji to handle the situation, but he's currently out of the office and working on something for Kai.

Now it's my job to figure out who they are. Well, that, and teach him that no one messes with our women.

Men who think working girls are there for them to do whatever they want to them are disgusting. Sure, they offer a service, but that doesn't mean their will goes away. It doesn't mean that consent goes out the window. They are still human beings and deserve to be treated with respect. They each have their own boundaries, and even if they are allowing you to pay to use their body, it doesn't mean those boundaries cease to exist.

Men like this one crawl under my skin until I have no choice but to punish them for their ways.

Slipping into the dark room, I lean against the wall and observe my target. He's currently sitting in a chair with his arms tied behind his back, his shirt unbuttoned and hanging. His head is lolled forward. The idiot hasn't even realized I've slipped into the room and that he's no longer alone.

"This is bullshit," the man mumbles. "I was told this would be easy. Easy, my ass."

Interesting, I think as I cross my arms over my chest.

"No pussy is worth this bullshit."

I push off the wall and make myself known. When he sees me, his eyes widen for a split second before he remembers to mask himself.

"You're making a mistake. You need to let me go," he demands.

I ignore him and walk over to the radio.

"Do you know who I am? I'll have your head for this!" he hisses as I pick up the CD case.

Which do I want…

Do I go for the "I Love You" song from the purple dinosaur show? I could go for the constant air horn sound. "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem is always an option. There is also a recording of someone dragging a nail down a chalkboard.

So many options.

Finally, I settle on the chalkboard sound and set it up to play through the speakers. I grab the earplugs and stuff them into my ears before turning to face my prey.

"You're going to regret this. My boss is more powerful than yours," he spews.

I can tell when the sound hits his ears because he flinches, and I bite back a smile. He's already reacting, and it's on the quietest setting I use. I give him twenty minutes tops before he's crying. Turning back to the work table, I grab my handheld whiteboard and write down my question before turning it toward him.

Who do you work for?

"I'm not telling you shit."

Sighing, I shake my head. Why can't they ever break easily?

I walk over to him and tip over the chair. The man cries out as his bound wrists meet the concrete floor, crushed between him and the unforgiving ground. I double-check that his ankles are tied down and tight as they can be and remove his shoes.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asks as he tries to jerk himself away from me.

I move back to the wall and start searching through the drawers for what I want. I smile when I pull it out of the drawer and drag my fingers along it slowly.

Perfect.

The man's eyebrows furrow as he sees what's in my hand. "What the hell are you going to do with that?"

Gently, I run the feather from his heel to his toes, making him jerk and hiss. The music kicks up volume-wise, and he grunts.

One would think that torture is the favorite part of my job, but it's not. I like going in and ending threats as swiftly as possible. I don't like playing with the lives I take, but sometimes, like today, I take my time. When I do, I always try something new. One wouldn't think that being tickled is a form of torture, but it can be. Especially when you add in a sound that sets your teeth on edge when you hear it once, playing on loop.

I pause the tickling and hold up the whiteboard. The man's eyes are screwed tightly shut, so I kick his side to get his attention.

I tap the previous question.

Who are you working for?

"He will kill me."

I grab the marker out of my pocket and scribble.

I will kill you. Now tell me.

"I will, but please, make it stop," he pleads as tears leak out of his eyes.

Walking over to the radio, I hit pause before turning back to the man and shoving my board in front of him, silently telling him to start talking.

He licks his lips. "My job is to go city to city looking for product. I have a list of things to look for."

Women. I scribble on the board.

He nods. "Yes, women. When I find my target, I take her and then turn her over. I don't know what happens after."

I wipe the board clean with my sleeve and then write. Who do you work for?

"The Ukrainian mob."

My eyes narrow as my heart races. This is it. This is what we've been waiting for.

Tell me what you know, and don't leave anything out.

He reads my message and nods. "Promise you'll kill me swiftly."

I promise.

His confession spills from his mouth. He was told to avoid the working girls, but that if he happened to catch one, to check her entire body for a tracker. Miya mentioned he had removed the girls tracker, so that's going to be an issue we need to resolve. We need a better way to protect these women.

The more he talks, the more I'm sure that he doesn't know much. He isn't far up the totem pole, but it's better than what we have. My eyes shift up to the camera in the corner of the room. I just hope the audio is picking up everything he's saying, because there's no way I'll be able to repeat all of this to the others.

Finally, finally, we have something.

Cracking my knuckles, I get ready to end his life.

As promised, it's swift.

For the first time, after a kill, I shower at the hotel. No way I can have my girl seeing me all bloodied.

Then I head out to find Lucy.

Even a couple hours away has my nerves on edge. I need to see her and confirm she is safe with my own eyes.

I'm a sucker for her, and I don't care who knows.