3. Cheap kindness

“Come inside” I heard a hoarse voice as someone asked me to follow him. I have never been to places as huge as this. A long hallway with countless security guards standing on sentinel.

It didn’t look like a house of loan sharks, but you never know what one’s hiding under their sleeves.

“Grace…” My brother’s voice gushed to my ear from a corner and he came into appearance and hugged me abruptly.

I embraced him tightly shedding tears, I kept on kissing his face feeling a sense of relief. “I’m sorry, p---please forgive your sister…” I sniveled while sniffing his scent, and scanned his body to find any marks of hurt.

“I’m okay… you don’t have to cry; Grey will cry too…” He wiped my tears and I smiled hugging him again.

“Grace?” I got startled upon hearing a sudden voice, I felt chills running down my spine as I caught my name in a hoarse voice, it never​​​ felt so... intimidating before… “What a pretty name… pretty…just like you.”

I hid my brother behind me and turned to look at him, my eyes widening as I saw a familiar structure. It was broad daylight and now, I could see his features. The same tall guy, I met last night. His jade green eyes, even prettier because of the sunlight, his full lips telling me he’ll be so good at kissing,

My eyes landed on his perfectly shaped jawline, God’s work I must say. His broad shoulders, broad enough to squeeze the life out of me if he--- fuck, snap out of it!!...

I shouldn’t have been surprised considering how pathetic my life is.

It wasn’t loan sharks, it was him. Of course, a mafia is worse than those fucking money-lending bastards.

“Why did you drag him into this mess?” I wiped my tears brutally getting angry at him, I have wanted to kill before but at the moment he crossed the usual radar.

I grabbed his collar, I was scared of him, more than anything but I’m more scared of seeing my brother get hurt.

All the guards pointed their guns at me and he rose his hand up to stop them. This is his mafia, one click, and I’ll be dead… in front of my brother--- fuck.  

I quickly wrapped my brother’s eyes with my hands.

“Don’t you know there’s a kid here…” He yelled at his subordinates. They all left as I was caressing my brother’s back. “I need to see the fountain…” Grey gripped my sleeves and I looked at the mafia standing before me.

“Jamie.” He called someone and a lady entered, a slim figure perfectly tailored for the job named secretary. Grey voluntarily held her hand and the next moment, I saw them leaving.

“Where are you taking him?” I bellowed in frustration but got interrupted.

“Let him be, I didn’t harm him nor do I have any intentions of doing so, let’s talk.” His hands in his pockets.

Indifferent. Disgusting. Lethal.

I followed him and we stood on the balcony watching my brother play.

“If you ever try to involve him in this mess, I won’t think twice before going cad.” I smiled at my brother as he was shrieking with joy watching the water, and tried to threaten the guy who can even kill me if he wants to.

“I asked my men to bring you to me, yet they came with this innocent child. Saying, they saw some men standing at your door.” They must’ve been the loan sharks; my brother could’ve been hurt but---. “I’m not trying to force you but, I can get rid of those men forever.”

Of course, he can, but why?

He stood close to me; I shifted my gaze toward him, my eyes shivering from fear as all I could see was stupor and… hostility.

“Kindness is not cheap, you want something in return, I can’t give it. Leave us be…” I snapped back to my senses and turned around to stalk out not wanting to be near a man who lives in a dark world.

My world is already quite twisted to add more insane people to it, the sooner I escape, I safer I become.

“You just have to accept my offer… it’s not that hard, don’t you want him to live a good life?” He muttered but I continued walking.

The sooner… the safer.

Money it is… it is always the problem, but I can’t do this. This man is dangerous, a lot more than he seems. Being around him would only increase the danger for me and my brother, especially my brother. I grabbed my brother’s hand taking him away.

“Did you eat something?” We sat down in the taxi and left without looking back.

“Yes, your boyfriend gave me a lot of food to eat.” My eyes went wide at his words. Boyfriend, how many years since I haven’t heard of this term… I don’t know what happened between them but this is wrong.

“Who told you that?” I gasped in disbelief.

“He did… can you take me to paradise too?” His eyes shone with hope but I couldn’t understand a thing he was speaking.

“What paradise?” I asked in doubt.

“He said you were with him yesterday in paradise.” Why am I dealing with this? That brothel is a paradise? Except for its name, nothing is paradisical in it.  I sighed and we marched inside our house. “Grey… do you want to move to a bigger place than this?” I sat him down on the chair.

At least this incident made me realize that I’m still lacking behind, we should live in a proper place and not some random slum.

“Are we going to live in your boyfriend’s house? Grey liked it there…” He smiled cheekily, what did that man do to him?

“No, but a better place than that…” I’m lying, his house was not even a house, it was a grand mansion. Like the one you’d see in movies. Yes, you’d because I never have seen one.

So more like you’ve heard in fairy tales, you’ve because I haven’t heard one.  

I got busy while packing our stuff as he played games on my phone. I need to move before he finds me quickly but, for a man like him, it’s easy to find me even if I hide above the clouds.

More prominently, I want to give my brother the best kind of environment possible. We ate dinner and I left for my work locking the door from outside. I was scared because the manager would now yell at me.

I messed up big time. The client he wanted, wanted me. And the deal is closed now.

“I’m sorry…” I muttered apologetically before giving him a chance to give me an earful. I lost the biggest client he was so excited about, it felt bad.

“What are you sorry for? I knew you’d tangle him in your web; he was so happy that he even gave you a bonus.” The manager pinched my cheeks tightly and kissed them with happiness.

I nodded off last night, we didn’t do anything and yet he agreed to be our exclusive customer? It was surprising how kind Ford is pretending to be, but that’s how a bad story is written, with kindness, loads of it and when someone gets used to it, it vanishes like it never existed.

I'm glad I'm not someone.

“Now, hurry, someone’s waiting for you.” I changed my clothes, got back to my job and entered the room.

“I heard you’re the star of this club, what’s your name?” A man stood with a glass of wine in his hands, his steps decreasing the distance between us.

“Blush” I replied in a low voice.

He removed my robe and walked around to check me out. He groped my ass slapping it a few times and all I could sense was aggression in it.

“You’re so beautiful…” He whispered in my ear; I’ve dealt with things uglier than this. It’s nothing, Grace, I calmed myself.

It’s just sex.

“Do you like it dirty?” He dug his fangs inside my skin.

“I like whatever you like…” My voice shivered from the pain and he poured his wine all over my body. He started sucking it leaving marks all over. Sometimes he was gentle, sometimes brutal.

He pulled my hair forcing him inside my mouth and ripped my clothes apart. “You’re so beautiful…” He squeezed my body in his hands and all I did was smile because that’s what I get paid for, faking it, faking the pleasure that was just a torment for me.

I ripped his clothes too, and as soon as I touched him, he shivered, I pinned him down on the bed.

“Let me come, Blush… please." He begged as I grabbed his length stopping him for the climax, and after what minutes seemed like seconds… he unloaded himself, quicker than an ant.

“When are we going to meet again?” He asked as I put my robe on.

“Soon…” I replied.