Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81175 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81175 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“Ouch,” I said. “Looks like you just dumped.”
He turned on me, the fury in his eyes.
I smiled because I loved that look. “What are you going to do, Jacob?”
He gripped the edge of the counter. His shoulders tensed with rage. The bloodlust was in his eyes. He hated me for coming back into his life and ruining his relationship with the boobaclicous blonde.
“Do your worse.” I learned a lot over the past year of my life. I was ruthless and resilient. Even though Jacob was bigger and stronger than I was, I could still kick his ass. And I would do more than that.
Jacob seemed to realize it was a fight he couldn’t win. His hold on the counter loosened and his shoulders relaxed. “What do you want?”
He wasn’t going to apologize or make excuses for what he did. He was just as cold as I made him out to be. That made the conversation easier—because there wasn’t any bullshit. “I want a hundred thousand dollars by noon tomorrow.”
His expression didn’t change for the first heartbeat. Then his eyes narrowed to slits. “What?”
I spoke slower, being as much of a smartass as possible. “A. Hundred. Thousand. Dollars. Do you need me to write it out for you?”
“What the fuck? You think I have that kind of money laying around?”
“I don’t care if you do or don’t. That’s what you owe me.”
“Owe you?” Now that he wasn’t lying anymore I saw exactly who he really was. He was an emotionless fiend of the underworld. I’d seen a lot of different shades of evil, and he was by far the blackest. The villains who didn’t consider themselves to be the villains were the most dangerous kind.
“You were paid a hundred thousand dollars for me to be a slave. I’m the one who did the time so that money is mine. Give it to me by noon tomorrow or I’m going to the police and telling them exactly what you did.”
“Pearl—”
“Don’t say my name ever again.” I didn’t like hearing it—especially from his lips. It was a name I hadn’t heard in a lifetime. The only one I was familiar with was one I’d never hear again. “You have twelve hours to figure it out.”
“Look, I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Not my problem, Jacob.”
He threw his arms down. “I used that money to pay off my debts. You know that.”
“Again, I don’t care. That money is mine. Give it to me or you’ll spend the rest of your life in jail. Choice is yours. I’m cool with either one.”
He clenched his jaw tightly and his hands formed tight fists. He wanted to punch me in the face but that wouldn’t fix the mess he made.
“And I’m staying here tonight. Leave your keys before you go.”
“You’re taking my apartment too?” he asked incredulously.
“Yep. I think it’s the least you can do after making me into a sex slave. Would you like to hear about it?”
He looked away, finally ashamed. “I need to ask around for the money, alright?”
“I don’t give a shit what you need to do. Just do it.” I grabbed his wallet and keys off the counter and pulled out two twenties from his wallet. “You can knock this off of the total—and the pizza if you’re really a dick.”
He stepped away, his shoulders tensed. “How did you get away?”
“Like you care. Get your shit and go.”
He walked into the bedroom and grabbed a bag full of clothes. He came back out and grabbed his wallet and shoved it into his pocket.
“I need the spare key.”
“You already have one.”
“And I need the other.” I snapped my fingers for him to hurry up. I wasn’t sleeping there when he could walk in at any moment without me knowing about it.
He glared at me before he opened the drawer and fished it out. He tossed it on the counter with a loud clank.
“You can go now. If that money isn’t here by noon I’m going straight to the police.”
He shouldered his bag and walked out. When he opened the front door I hit the last nail into the coffin.
“Just don’t sell your girlfriend into trafficking. You know how that worked out last time…”
***
When I was face to face with Jacob I utilized all my strength and didn’t show an ounce of fear. I never told him how much his betrayal hurt me. I never confessed all the gruesome things that happened to me while I was in captivity. I kept up the fight the entire way until I got what I needed.
But now that he was gone I broke down.
When I returned to the city I had nowhere to go. My friend Stacy didn’t live at her old apartment, and McKenzie had moved back to California. I didn’t know their cell phone numbers by heart and I had no idea what happened to my old phone.