“If you wouldn’t mind,” I said softly, “I’d like you to leave.”

“Yeah, I bet you do. But I got one thing more to say.”

I opened my mouth but he walked swiftly to the desk and instead I took a step back, my fingers curling tight on my phone.

He put his hand on the desk and kept talking.

“You can get over that, I’ll give you this. He doesn’t only run pu**y through my club, he runs drugs. You’re in bed with filth, Anya Gage. You don’t pull your shit together, like Knight Sebring was, is and always will be, that’s all you’ll ever be.”

And with that, he turned and walked out of my spa.

I stared at the door and did this a long time, my heart racing, my breath coming short.

Then I turned my head and looked out the windows where I last saw Nick.

He was there, standing looking through the windows, eyes on me.

Smiling.

He set that up. He set me up. He set his brother up.

Douchebag motherfucker.

I jerked my head away and walked as calmly as I could muster into one of the cordoned off nail stations and away from Nick Sebring’s eyes.

Then I deep breathed.

“Hold the f**k on.” I heard Vivica say in my head.

Okay, all right.

“You might hear f**ked up shit about me from a variety of sources. But you talk to me before you react. I will confirm or deny, I will be honest and last, I will explain. If it’s shit I don’t want you to know yet, I’ll explain that too and you’ll wait until I’m ready. You feel you can’t, then, babe, you still f**kin’ talk… to… me before you leave me.”

Okay, all right.

Right.

Right.

I lifted my phone, activated the screen and called Knight.

He answered on ring two.

“Babe.”

“Drake Nair just left and he told me some things about you,” I whispered and I did it quickly, my voice breathy.

Silence. Total. Complete. A whirling void of terrifying nothing.

Then, softly, “I’m at the club. Come to me right now, baby.”

“Okay, Knight.”

“Right now, Anya, babe.”

“Okay,” I agreed quietly.

I disconnected, walked swiftly to the foot of the stairs and shouted loudly but still shakily, “I’m going, guys!”

“Later, Anya!”

“Later!”

I turned and walked quickly to the desk, shoved my phone in my purse, threw it on my shoulder and hustled out.

Then I hustled down the block to Slade. I’d been there during the day on occasion and it never failed to kind of freak me out. It was weird during the day.

I didn’t notice it then.

I just opened the door and walked into the cool, vast interior that seemed eerie not jammed with bodies, flashing with lights or drowned with music.

Almost instantly I saw Knight striding swiftly toward me.

I moved to him.

When we met, he didn’t say a word but grabbed my hand, changed directions and I hurried to keep up with him.

On the stairs up to his office, making my heart leap in my throat, my belly knot and drop, he surprised me by stopping, turning and lifting me up in his arms. I didn’t know if he was impatient with me having trouble keeping up or if he wanted me close.

I didn’t ask.

But I hesitated before my arms slid around his shoulders to hold on.

Knight noticed everything. He noticed my hesitation.

I knew it when, his voice terse, tight, pained, he whispered, “Fuck me.”

We got to the top, his torso dipped and he opened the door. He carried me into the office, the door closed behind us and he gently set me on my feet.

Quickly, I took three steps away.

My heart clenched because he let me.

“Do you sell pu**y?” I whispered.

He closed his eyes slowly and my nose started stinging.

“Knight?” I prompted and his eyes opened.

“Got fifty-seven girls,” he stated immediately.

Oh God. God!

“And drugs?” I was still whispering, but it was around a clogged throat and sounded croaky.

His head jerked and he asked, “What?”

I lost it and my voice pitched high and loud when I snapped, “Do you sell drugs?”

“Fuck no,” he shot back.

I started breathing heavily.

Knight watched me do it.

Then I turned my head and looked to the window.

“Came home bleeding out the ass, from her pu**y. Not sometimes, often.” I heard him say and my startled gaze cut back to him. He kept talking and I knew it was about his mother. “Face busted up, lip torn open, eyes swollen shut. I cleaned that shit up. I was six.”

Oh.

My.

God.

My body locked and Knight kept at me.

“Johns did that shit to her but not only them. Her man did too. Her pimp. He got rough and his rough was ugly. And he availed himself often. Only thing could get him to go limp was a four year old in the room. He forgot and didn’t lock the door or lock me in my room, I walked in and I did it as often as I could. Learned to pick my own lock and hers so I could get to her. See him on her. Get him to stop raping her. Be her shield. Pickin’ locks. At four.”

All my innards had seized and squeezed and the pain was excruciating.

“Knight –” I wheezed.

“I told you my life was shit Anya and it f**kin’ was. Hers was worse. Her man, worst kinda human being there is. Kept his girls in blow, in smack, in crack, anything to keep them hooked to him. That’s all he gave them and that was no f**kin’ gift. No protection. He took his cut and it was a big one, babe. He got off usin’ their bodies. He put them on the street, worked them hard. But they turned a bad trick, he didn’t do shit. Johns learn. They know. They get a bitch they can’t play with like they like ‘cause their man pays them a visit, they move on. So they knew which women to pick up. And my mother was one of them.”

I pressed my lips together and rolled them.

Knight continued.

“I had no control. My first f**kin’ memory in this life is walkin’ into my Mom’s bedroom seein’ her in bed bleeding from every orifice. Her slitted, swollen eyes came to me, she smiled a smile she had to force through pain, stupid and hopin’ she was foolin’ me, unable to move a muscle except her mouth and she whispered, “Sweetie.” Blocked out the rest. Know, after that, not once but a lot of f**kin’ times, I found that, I cleaned her up. She was so jacked, by the time I’m f**kin’ six, she’s lettin’ me.”