CHAPTER 7

My head snapped up to see Dominic standing at the doorway with his head tilted as he watched us with narrowed eyes.

I took a deep breath and tried to suppress the panic that was growing within me by steadying my expression.

“It’s just something that has to do with my amnesia,” I tried my best to make my voice sound as small and innocent as possible.

He hummed, and took slow steps towards us. The doctor instantly scooted away from my side and put a considerable distance between us. I blinked in surprise at how quickly his demeanor changed.

It was almost as though he wasn’t the same confident person that was giving me instructions a few minutes ago because his expression returned back to the harmless state he sported before.

His acting was good…almost too good, and it began to make me wonder if he had been completely honest with me or there was something else he held back.

Could I really trust this doctor?

“And why shouldn’t I find out about it?” Dominic’s question cut through my thoughts.

My pulse quickened as I realized that he was now standing right in front of me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

My mind raced as I scrambled to come up with a believable excuse. And I decided to play the only card I could—the victim card.

“I just…” my voice faltered as I intentionally lowered my gaze. “I just didn’t want you to overreact. I don’t really know you, and I don’t know if I should trust you.”

Dominic’s expression was unreadable as he placed a finger under my jaw and tilted it up, forcing me to look at him.

“Let me make this clear now,” he began, his tone sending shivers down my spine. “I don’t give a shit if you’ve lost your memory. You still owe me for what you did.”

He leaned down towards my face level and his gray eyes pierced through me as his grip on my jaw tightened slightly. “If I find out that you’re lying to me about this memory loss, you’ll wish you never did.”

I swallowed the fear that crept up my throat as he released my jaw. When he turned to address the doctor, my shoulders slumped as I exhaled the breath I had been holding.

My heart pounded against my chest as his warning replayed in my mind, and an involuntary shudder ran through me as I imagined what he’d do to me if he actually found out the truth.

Keeping up with this amnesia act might be more difficult than I thought it would.

“Get her discharge papers ready,” Dominic ordered the doctor in a tone that left no room for argument. “She’ll be leaving with me right now.”

The doctor bowed his head obediently and spared me a fleeting, yet silent warning glance before heading out the door.

As soon as the doctor left, Dominic turned back to me, his gaze as intense as ever.

“You’ll be given a few days to recover, after which you’ll start working at one of my clubs as a…waitress,” he announced, his lips curling into a smirk at my widened eyes.

“And if you act out of line or try to escape,” he added, his voice dropping to a threatening octave. “I’ll give you a job that’ll break you for life. Is that clear?”

I gulped before nodding, “Yes,” as I tried to hide the tremor in my voice.

But it seemed it didn’t go undetected by him as his eyes darkened and he smirked satisfactorily, “Good.”

****

I spent the next few days recovering from my head injury under the close supervision of Dominic’s right hand man, Marco.

I hadn’t seen Dominic since the day he brought me back from the hospital because he was always off on one shady business trip or another.

Keeping up my facade should have been easy due to Dominic’s abscence, but it wasn’t. If anything, it was harder, because Marco watched my every move like a hawk.

I didn’t know what his problem with me was, but he seemed more suspicious towards me than Dominic was, and that intensified my unease.

There was just something…much more darker about him.

Finally, the day I was to start working at one of Dominic’s clubs came, and to my dismay, Marco was the one to take me there.

The club name; ILLICIT stared back at me in red neon cursive letters, and the bouncer who stood at he entrance moved aside to allow us entry the moment he saw Marco.

The nervousness that simmered in my gut grew stronger as we stepped inside the club, and my eyes widened as I took in its scenery.

The air was thick with the scent of alcohol and sweat, and it made me want to hurl my insides out.

There was also a faint smell of marijuana which I recognized because my-ex boyfriend, Dane was an avid smoker of it.

The red lighting of the club added to the sensuality of the half-naked women, who slithered seductively around poles as they entertained the male guests to the rhythm of the music in the background.

Some of the strippers performed lap dances while some others did things that would send a nun running for the hills in horror.

Marco didn’t seem fazed by any of the lewd activities as he led me through the club, and I kept my head down, desperate not to meet anyone’s eyes.

As we walked down a narrow hallway lined with erotic paintings of different kinds, we passed a door that was slightly ajar.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a girl on her knees, her head rhythmically bobbing up and down.

The slurping sounds and groans that echoed from the room made my breath hitch as it finally dawned on me that this was no ordinary club, but an erotic one.

And it became clear that Dominic had sent me to work here on purpose.

This was his way of punishing me, because a waitress at this club was no different from a hooker, or worse…a sex slave.

We finally stopped in front of a white door and I fidgeted with my hands as Marco opened it and gestured inside.

“Go in,” he ordered, his expression stoic and icy. “Patricia will brief you on everything you need to know.”

I gave him a stiff nod and moved to enter, but just as I walked past him, he grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear.

“I’ll always be watching, so don’t try anything funny.”

Marco’s warning made the hairs on the back of my neck stand as he released me and shoved me into the room through the small of my back.

The door shut behind me, and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before looking up to see the same woman that had gotten me ready for Dominic after the auction a few days ago—Patricia.

Her gaze was less colder than it was that day. “We meet again,” she gave me a tight lipped smile as her eyes raked over my appearance. “Welcome to Illicit. Let’s see how long you’ll be able to last here.”