Chapter 30 Sway #2
“Try not to use your arm for a while if you can. Keep it as relaxed as possible,” I told her. She nodded, her jaw tight as she held her arm in place.
“Thank you,” she murmured with a sniffle. Looking at her now, I sighed in sympathy. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen years old.
I was about to suggest some painkillers when my arm was suddenly wrenched back, forcing my body to stand.
“You did your fucking job, now get the fuck out of here,” Madison snapped, giving me a shove toward the door.
Let it go, Jaden. Just let it fucking go.
Raising my hands in surrender, I backed off. “Fine, I’m gone,” I said, deciding I didn’t need to risk drawing more attention to them than any of us needed.
“What the hell is going on here?” came a sudden screeching feminine voice behind me. “Why aren’t you all out there working?”
All eyes turned to find a very tall woman with monster red heels and thick brown hair standing in front of the exit of the bathroom.
“Lucinda,” Madison answered. “We were just trying to help Bethany. She was accidentally injured by a client.”
Lucinda marched over to where Bethany was still sitting and looked her up and down. “What the hell happened to her?”
“She had a dislocated shoulder. I fixed it for her,” I chimed in, hoping to defuse some of Lucinda’s growing suspicion.
Lucinda’s large brown eyes and bushy brows bounced my way. “And who the hell are—” She stopped mid-sentence as her eyes ran up and down my body before they finally stopped on my hair. “Well, isn’t this a lovely surprise. It’s not every day we’re graced by the presence of royalty.”
Ah, dammit.
All the girls moved around the room to get a better look at me, clearly trying to figure out who the hell I was.
“Who is she?” one of them asked.
Lucinda smirked like some kind of she-devil about to out a secret identity.
“Ladies, allow me to introduce you to the Mrs. Jaden Davis.”
I rolled my eyes at all the audible gasps that followed. The “oh fucks” and “I’m sorrys” pouring out over the girls had me pinching the bridge of my nose to release my blooming tension headache. My reputation really was making its rounds.
“Alright, everyone relax. I’m not here to bust anyone’s balls,” I said over the growing panic.
“Mrs. Davis, I am so, so sorry,” Madison began, her voice rushed with fear. “I meant no disrespect. If I had known who you were, I would have never—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s fine,” I said over her, hoping to dispel the awkward groveling.
“You’re quite the legend out here, Mrs. Davis,” Lucinda commented, taking several steps closer, her leopard print bustier looking like it was ready to burst wide open.
“The wife of our generous benefactor, making a reputation for herself all on her own. I can’t imagine how you’ve managed the things that you have given the kind of man your husband is. ”
I didn’t like the drawl in her voice. It felt like she was taunting me somehow.
“And for someone so…” Her eyes gazed up and down. “Petite.”
Was this bitch trying to insult me?
“Well, when you’ve got a body count like mine, size obviously isn’t an issue, now is it?” I deadpanned. People just loved to remind me that I was short. And I loved to remind them I could still kill them all the same.
Lucinda’s eyes widened with her smile. “Indeed.” She stepped even closer. “Well, if that’s the case, maybe you can help refute some rumors we’ve been hearing over the past few months.”
I cocked a brow. “Rumors?”
“Oh, yes. The one where Mr. Davis purchased you himself at his very own auction?”
I gritted my teeth, my jaw set to grind the back of my molars to dust.
“I didn’t realize that was a rumor,” I replied.
“So it is true,” Lucinda pressed, her red lipstick smile looking like a fucking bullseye.
“Yes,” I stated flatly.
Her eyes lit up. “Ah, see, girls!” she gestured to me. “There is hope for you yet. Play your cards right and you could snag a wealthy powerful man just like she did!”
I nearly threw up in my mouth when I saw the smiles form on some of the girls’ faces.
“Okay, no, no, no,” I argued, turning to address the girls.
“My life is not some rags-to-riches romantic fairy tale. The life I live is incredibly dangerous and brutal,” I said, pointing at the makeup-covered bruises around my neck.
“I have no privacy. No friends, no one I can trust. Zero choices or autonomy.” I then turned my wrists over to show Darren’s name on my wrists.
“I’m property to him,” I emphasized. “And I’ve had to learn how to do some pretty terrible things just so I can survive because people are constantly trying to kill us.
Trust me, 10 out of 10 would not recommend. ”
They were silent for a moment, their eyes bouncing all over me, from my tattoos to my collar, wrist and ankle cuffs, to the diamond ring on my finger.
“But you’re taken care of, right? He still keeps you safe? Comfortable?” one of the girls asked.
The idea was so fucking laughable I actually snorted at the question.
Define comfortable.
Considering what my own “husband” had put me through just days ago, comfortable was a spectrum that shifted almost daily. And safety? There was no such thing.
I’d literally been shot on his own property by his own guard. By accident. He was the very reason I would never be safe so long as I was tied to him.
“Sure, if you consider being kept under constant lock and key, beaten when you step out of line, and getting shot at on multiple occasions comfortable and safe.”
Madison scoffed. “So not much of a difference then.”
“At least you only have to fuck one man a night,” someone else muttered.
“And you’re basically a queen now,” another added.
Fuck. How was I losing this argument?
Was I truly in a better position than they were? I guess, if I was really comparing, they were probably just as free as I was, but their obligations were to more than one man a night. And in truth, their cages were probably a lot smaller and not nearly as luxurious as mine was.
But did their customers torture them physically, emotionally, and psychologically on a daily basis because they enjoyed it?
Did all of them take pleasure in their tears?
Their screams? Did they make it last for days at a time?
Did they threaten their families? Rewire their brains so they became literal robots?
I seriously fucking doubted it. Right?
Testing the already hot water, I voiced the question I was afraid to ask.
“Are you all here willingly?” I asked. “Can you leave this job if you want to?”
Most of them seemed to hunch in on themselves, their silence and deflection a deafening answer.
“Of course they can, but they have debts to pay off,” Lucinda offered in response. “They are free to pay off those debts however they like, but if they want to beat the interest rate, this is the fastest and most efficient way to do it.”
Sure, it was.
I nodded in disappointment. It was just another scheme these poor girls had fallen into and would likely never get out of.
“Besides, we provide them with housing, food, security, healthcare. What kind of creditors provide that for their debtors?”
The kind that seek to trap their debtors into permanent detrimental reliance?
“I’m sure that kind of generosity is just invaluable,” I replied sourly.
“They are very well taken care of,” Lucinda affirmed.
Until one of their clients completely lays them out.
I snickered. “Well, that’s excellent news then,” I countered quickly.
“Because Bethany here is in need of medical treatment for a dislocated shoulder thanks to an abusive client. Since the safety of the girls is so important to you, I’m sure that client will be penalized for disrupting the flow of business when they negligently damaged one of our own, costing us the rest of her earnings for the night. ”
I steeled my gaze at Lucinda, daring her to challenge me.
A nervous laughter left her lips. “Of course. I’ll see to it personally.”
“Right now,” I demanded. “I’d like to be able to tell my husband that management is taking care of the staff that provides such important revenue for his business. We don’t like revolving doors when it comes to our employees.”
I could see the twitch in her eye before she smiled again and pulled out her phone.
“Of course.” Dialing the phone, she placed it to her ear.
“Speakerphone, please,” I added snidely.
Lucinda smiled again, removing the phone from her ear and placing it on speakerphone. Someone picked up after just two rings.
“Yes, Lucinda?” a woman’s voice answered.
“Bethany’s last client of the night,” Lucinda began. “Dock him a grievance fee and have his membership suspended for the rest of the month. Alert security to have him removed from the premises immediately.”
“Yes ma’am,” the woman’s voice said and the two hung up.
“Very good,” I said, my hard gaze locking with hers. “I’m glad we got that cleared up.”
Lucinda’s smile was so forced it was amusing to watch.
The door to the restroom suddenly slammed open, and Clive’s agitated face appeared.
“Jaden! You’ve been in there for like an hour. Let’s go!”
Ignoring him, I turned my gaze back to Lucinda. “Sorry, gotta run. Really nice meeting you.” I turned back to the girls, wishing I could do something more to help them, but I knew they were just as stuck as I was. “Good luck to you all. Stick together. You need each other more than you know.”
With that, I strode passed Lucinda and made my way back out into the VIP area.
“Jesus Christ, what the hell were you doing in there?” Owen asked me.
I shrugged. “Just taking care of business.”
As we neared the booth, I could see a heavyset man arguing in the crowd as he was escorted by two guards toward the exit of the club. I smiled at my little power move, glad that I had some sway in this industry, however little it might be.