Page 175 of Embriagado

He sighed, rolling his eyes. “And here I thought I made myself clear⁠—”

“Just answer me.”

He pursed his lips, cold eyes locking with mine. “No. I wouldn’t.”

I bowed my head down with a snort. “You’re so full of shit.”

“What did you say?”

I looked up, jaw set tight. “Fuck you, Ari.”

His brows rose in shock. “Excuse me?”

“I said, fuck you, asshole.”

Pushing away from the wall, I bumped him with my shoulder and walked back to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he snarled from behind me.

“Back to your stupid party to get hammered.”

I reached for the door, but before I could open it, he placed his hand on the glass, stopping me.

“Take another step, and I’ll call security on you.”

I glanced down at him, unbothered by the danger in his eyes.

“Be my fucking guest.” I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to hold back the need to hurt him. “But I wonder what your fancy guests will think when shit hits the fan, ’cause I promise you, I’ll fucking kill whoever you send my way.”

His brows pulled tight, forming a sharp crease above his nose and making him seem pissed. Not caring to please him for once, I pulled the door open and left. Who knew? Maybe if I drank enough, my mind would finally have a break from him, and for a change, I’d stop giving a shit about him, just like he constantly did.

ARIYAN

After paying a short visit to the fourteenth floor to ensure nothing was out of order, I went back to supervise the party downstairs. Standing on the restaurant’s porch, where I could overlook the pool area without being interrupted, I carefully scanned the scene. The vibe was good, our guests were having fun, and as things began heating up, it was time to get to work.

“Number twenty-six,” I said into my earpiece, watching one of my men approach the bleached-hair girl wearing the badge with the number twenty-six on it. “And thirty-five,” I added, eyes locked on the brunette girl in the bright blue skirt. “And after her, collect number twelve and escort her out of here.”

The one who’d come up with this relatively simple method was Eduardo. You hosted an exclusive party, invited the right type of men and women who had shown interest in us before, and had them each wear a numbered badge. And while they were having fun down here, our clients were up there, on the fourteenth floor, watching them through a closed-circuit television. If someone caught their eye, they’d go through a sweeping background check, be offered a deal, and only if found fit, they’d be invited to yet another party—a much more intimate one.

This was where I came into the picture, as the one executing these sick, twisted predators’ plans. Eduardo said that no one was a better fit for the job than a hooker like myself and that I should be grateful for the promotion, as they so rarely came in this line of work.

Be grateful, he’d said, a rotten smile on his chapped lips. Be grateful you’re not ending up in a ditch like your kind typically does.

Knowing I was contributing to this cycle made me sick with self-loathing, but somehow, I’d managed to fool myself into believing that after I was free of this hell, it would get better and that I’d do something good with my pathetic life.

You’ll die an ugly, lonely death, just like the rest of us.

“Aren’t you tired of doing all the dirty work?”

I glanced aside to see who spoke to me, unimpressed upon finding out, then looked back at the party.

“I wondered how long it would take you to come and bother me.”

Dion chuckled, like he often did, as he moved to stand at my side.

“And there I thought you’d be happy to see me, mon poussin.” He flashed me a big, toothy grin, another one of his many attributes.

Unlike me, this lunatic seemed to enjoy smiling, but I guess that was the outcome of losing your sanity after years in this business. Although, in his particular case, I doubted there was one to begin with. If you asked me, the man was born insane.