His Property(7)

A cocktail waitress walked by, holding a tray filled with drinks. She was beautiful, the kind of girl that Maddie and I would have hated on if we’d met her out in the real world, making snide remarks about her, mostly out of jealousy. Maddie was gorgeous, of course, but this girl … this girl was a different level. She looked as if she’d been airbrushed to life. She was probably in Vegas auditioning for shows, trying to become a dancer or a model or an actress.

Everything about her was flawless. Her porcelain skin, her long blonde hair, the shape and color of her teeth, the way her legs were toned without being too muscular as they peeked out of the short flared skirt of her uniform.

She reminded me of London Banks.

Just Liam’s type, I thought, irritated.

I became even more irritated when she stopped in front of him, her eyes giving him a quick onceover. I could almost see her taking stock of him in her mind. Rich. Check. Sexy. Check. Her eyes flicked so quickly it was almost imperceptible when he gaze slid down to Liam’s left hand and the back up. No Ring. Check.

She glanced at me, immediately dismissing me as any kind of threat.

“Would you like a beverage, sir?” she asked, holding the tray of drinks out to Liam.

“No,” Liam growled, obviously annoyed at the intrusion. But this girl wasn’t used to hearing no. Her eyebrows knit in confusion for a moment, and then she pasted a smile on her face.

“Enjoy a free play on us,” she said, her voice warm and seductive. And then she reached into her ample cleavage and pulled out a card identical to the ones I’d seen people sliding into the slot machines. It was like a debit card, only for gambling money.

Before Liam could respond, I grabbed it out of her hand. “Thanks!” I said. “I’d love to play.”

I stomped off to a slot machine and sat down, slamming the card into the slot. A rectangular box on the screen lit up in neon green, showing me I had ten dollars. Ten dollars? That was all the casino could spring for? Cheap.

I pushed the button for a spin, watching as the reels spun around. This machine had a wolf pack theme, and graphics of wolves howled at the moon while the reels spun, the sound hypnotic.

They finally stopped.

Nothing happened.

I’d won nothing, and now the display that showed how much money I had left said nine dollars. A dollar a spin? What a rip-off.

I went to push the button again, but Liam was next to me now, and he ripped the card out of the machine.

“You’re acting like a child,” he said.

“You’re treating me like a child,” I said. I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. “You couldn’t have told me why you’d brought me here?”

I was talking loud, and I knew he was right -- I was acting like a child, but I couldn’t help it. This was how I felt when I was with him, like he was an ocean current and I was expected to just go along with wherever he pulled me, accepting that I couldn’t control the current.

I took a step toward him. “Why?” I asked, and now I could feel the familiar sting of tears behind my eyes, and I hated him for that, too, hated that he could affect me like this, hated that I cared. “You could have at least warned me.”

“We will talk about this later,” he said. “After we get the money and get out of here.”

“No.” I shook my head.

“Emery – ” he started in that same bossy voice of his, the same voice he used when he was getting ready to dominate me, when he was getting ready to make me do his bidding, to do everything he wanted and more.

“No,” I repeated again, louder this time. Because the truth was, I was acting like a child. He may have had power over me, but it wouldn’t be for long. Because as soon as my father got the money, as soon as he paid off whomever it was that was blackmailing him, I would be free. Free to make my own decisions. “As soon as my father gets that money,” I said. “I never want to see you again.”



* * *

I walked back to the place where we’d left my father. I stood in front of the door he’d disappeared through, my body wired with nervous energy.

Liam stood a few feet away, watching me, his gaze making my skin prickle.

Please, hurry, I whispered in my head. Please, just hurry so I can get out of here. Not that I knew what I was going to do after this. I guess I would have to figure out how to get a flight home. Maybe I could call Maddie. I would tell her she was right, I would thank her for calling the goddamn police, I would tell her that I was sorry, that I missed her, that I just wanted to get back to my old life.

A woman came out of the door I was standing in front of. She was dressed in the casino uniform I’d seen some of the dealers wearing, a maroon suit with gold trim. She had salt and pepper hair done up in tight curls, and she was carrying one of those navy blue insulated lunch sacks.