Hope (5 page)

“He’s … detained.”

Code for he’s fucking one of the women. Damon rolled his
eyes. “I still need to talk to him.”

Matty
nodded his head and
opened the door. “It is a bit risky bringing her out in broad daylight. She’s
not owned, Damon.”

“She’s a family runaway.”

Penny wouldn’t let him pull her into the club. He turned to
her.

She was shaking her head. “I’m not going in there.”

He sighed.
“Why not?”

“Have you seen what is on the sign? I can’t go in there. I’m
not doing that.” She shook her head pulling on his hand.

Damon used his strength and moved her through the door with
force.
Matty
locked the door and left him to it.

He pushed her against the wall, covering her mouth with his
hand.

“Stop your screaming. I’m not leaving you here, even though
I should for all the trouble you’ve caused me.”

She stopped screaming and stayed still under his hand.

“I’m going to remove my hand. If you scream at me I’ll gag
you, do you understand? I don’t have time for dramatics.”

Penny nodded her head.

Slowly, he removed his hand. She stared at him without
speaking.

“This is where I work. Yes, it is a sex bar, and no, I’m not
leaving you here. Don visits here. We sell sex, moonshine, and a good time.”

“I don’t want to be a whore.”

“You’ll be whatever I god-damn tell you to be,” Don said,
marching down the hall. “Is she the bitch doing all the screaming?”

Damon cursed in his head. This was the last thing he needed.
Penny had clearly interrupted Don’s fun.

“She didn’t mean to interrupt you. I need to talk to you,”
he said.

Don glared at Penny. “Put her in the lounge with the
others.”

He went to deny Don, who shot him a glare. “I said ‘put her
in the lounge with the others’, Damon. That was not a fucking request. Do it.”

Damon nodded his head.

Don left them.

“I don’t want you to leave me,” she said.

“Tough luck, baby.
Maybe next
time you’ll keep
your
fucking screaming to yourself.
You’re not in some pissing fairy tale. You need to realise this and fast.” He
moved her to the lounge. A couple of the women were on stage practising a new
routine. “
Stay,
and I’ll be back.”

He pushed her into a seat before walking through to Don’s
office.

Closing the door, Damon took the seat across from him.

“Your bitch interrupted my fuck, Damon. Next time teach her
some manners.”

“I will.”

Don nodded his head, leaning back. Damon watched him light a
pipe.

“Why did you want to see me?” Don asked.

Damon pulled the book out of his jacket. “I sold the moonshine,
and here is the exchange.”

His boss took the book and placed it on the desk.

“Are you going to check and make sure it is what you agreed?”
Damon asked.

“I trust you, Mad Dog. You wouldn’t steal from me.”

Leaning back in his chair, Damon rested his hands behind his
head. “The girl is from Ben Grimes’s area.”

Silence descended on the room.

“Send her the fuck back.”

That was what he was afraid of.

Chapter Four

 
 
Penny watched the women on stage. They all
wore clothes, or at least what could be mistaken for clothes. They were all
beautiful women and different shapes and sizes. She couldn’t tear her gaze
away. Some of the women were stroking themselves and rubbing against each
other. The sexual display going on right in front of her startled her. The way
they talked and moved their bodies to the music was like an art form. She’d
never seen such a sensual display before in her life.
 

“So, you’re the chick who put the bad look on the boss’s
face,” a guy said, taking the seat across from her.

She looked behind her trying to find Damon.

“Don’t be afraid. You’re safe here. We’re not the type of
men to take what isn’t offered. I’m Trevor.” He offered her his hand.

She stared at his offered hand. When she didn’t see a threat
she gave him her own. “I’m Penny.”

“Hello, Penny, lovely to meet you.”

“I didn’t mean to upset your boss.” She tucked some of her
hair behind her ear. The length was finally starting to dry.

“Don’t worry about it. Don is always
pissy
when he doesn’t get his morning fuck.” She felt the blush fill her cheeks.
“I-I-I’m sorry.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. You’re an innocent, aren’t you?” he
asked.

Glancing around her, she saw several heads turn their way.
Some of the women walked toward her.

Biting her lip, she felt her heart begin to pound. “I don’t
know what you mean.”

“What’s going on, Trevor?” a woman wearing a mini skirt and
small bra asked.

“Nothing at all, Shelley.
I think Mad
Dog has gotten himself an innocent.”

Shelley turned to her. Several women approached. Penny rubbed
her hands together underneath the table. Shelley took a seat next to her and
curled her fingers under her chin. Her face was pulled this way and that.

She hated the attention and wished she’d ignored the man.

“I think you’re right, Trevor.”

The blush deepened.

“Are you an innocent, little girl?” Shelley asked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Penny said.

“Have you had a cock in your pussy?” another woman asked.

Penny wanted to get away. This was not what she wanted to be
doing.

“Back away from the woman,” a man said.

The crowd surrounding her table broke away. Penny looked in
the direction of the voice and saw Damon standing behind the man. “Shelley, are
you already trying to recruit another girl?”

Penny heard the fondness in the man’s voice.

“Look at her hair, Don. She’ll pull in plenty, and she’s an
innocent.”

Penny ground her teeth together to stop herself from
snapping at the people around her.

“Move away from the table. I’ve got some talking to do.”

Trevor and Shelley moved away from the table. She saw Don
reach out and stroke Shelley’s palm. The other woman turned to look at the man
in charge and then went back on stage.

Had no one else seen what just happened?

Damon turned a chair and straddled it while Don sat opposite
her.

“I hear you’re from Ben Grimes’s area,” he said.

She looked at Damon.

“Don’t look at him. You talk to me, or you can go on back to
fucking Grimes’s place without a by your leave.”

“Yes.”

“Does he know you’re gone?” Don asked.

“No. It doesn’t matter. I was a no-one. I doubt anyone would
care where I was.”

She looked down at her hands now resting on the table. Don
caught her chin in his hand.

“Don’t underestimate your ability, Penny. You’re a woman
from the families, and that makes you valuable.”

Penny shook her head in denial. “I don’t see any value.”

“You’re innocent, am I correct? You’ve never had a man.”

“No, I haven’t,” she said after some time passed. Was it
that obvious? Had Damon seen it as well? Did she wear a big sign that read “no
cocks have entered”?

Don leaned back in his chair staring at her. “For some
reason, men think being the first inside a woman’s pussy is the best experience
of their life. I’ve known of men who’d willingly give their life to be between
a woman’s thighs. Being the first guy to pop the woman’s cherry. Personally, I
like a woman of experience. I can’t stand a nervous little virgin in my bed,
and I don’t see the appeal, but I cater to everyone as do the other three
leaders.”

She didn’t say a word.

“Do you know what happens to women of your station?” he
asked.

“No.”

“You’re married off to the highest bidder where you serve
that man. Most of the men who claim a woman like you, keep you to themselves.
No sharing and no whoring, and that
is
what makes you
valuable. Your innocence has a high value. Your attitude has a high value. You
haven’t been raised within the main city but on the outskirts with the farms.
You’re from the farms, and that gives you value. You’re not polluted with the
shit that goes on here. Innocence in a time like this is … refreshing.”

 
“I don’t want that
life.”

“If you think you can marry for love, Penny, get that notion
out of your head. The world is not full of fairy tales or roses anymore. It is
a hard place, and love is not part of it.” Don leaned on the table staring at
her.

She looked past his shoulder to see Shelley helping a woman
show her pussy to the crowd.

“Are you listening to me?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m listening.” She turned her attention back to him.

“I can let you go. You can live your life on the streets,
and I’ll demand that Damon no longer help you.”

She looked at Damon to see if it was true. He stared at her
as if she was nothing. His stare reminded her of the family she had left
behind.

“I don’t want to be let go,” she said.

The streets were not a place for her. Look what happened
last night, and she hadn’t been on the streets.

“Are you anyone of importance?” Don asked.

“No.”

“Then you can work here. Women fuck and dance and do
everything I tell them. In return they get my protection, and they don’t have
to worry about the outside world. My protection is guaranteed. Men still like
to watch a woman dance, but if a guy wants you then we arrange for something,
do you understand?”

Penny glanced at the women on stage. One of them was humping
a metal pole. “I don’t think I can do that.”

“You won’t be. I’m telling you how this goes. There is no
way I’d put an innocent straight to the grind. I’m a bastard but not a fucking
bastard. The girls on stage get the biggest tips. You’re not in their league.
The men that come here want a good time. I provide a good time that gets them
away from the shit. Be here at seven sharp, and wear something revealing.” Don
and Damon stood.

She looked at Damon, who put a finger to his lips. Penny
remained seated.

“Shelley, look after the newbie. I’ve got business to attend
to.”

The woman in question walked over to her. Her hips swayed
with each step she took. The woman was tantalising and had an aura of
seduction. Her hair was the colour of fire, and her eyes reminded Penny of ice.
Shelley sat at the table and kept her gaze fixed firmly on the stage.

“You don’t have to be afraid here,” Shelley said.

“Excuse me?”

“Don is a good man. He’s good but firm. Don’t try to take
the piss out of him, and you’ll be okay.”

Penny nodded. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”

“You’re from Grimes’s area?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re nothing but trouble. That man is evil with a capital
at the beginning. I wouldn’t wish any woman his attention.”

Penny had heard of plenty of trouble in her area. Grimes’s
reputation was deadly. The people who disobeyed him ended up tortured and dead
or living and wishing they were dead.

“I’ll try to keep to myself.”

Shelley turned her gaze to her. “I don’t judge people. The
world we live in is crap. I know that, and I still try to find a shred of
happiness.”

Trevor walked back to the table and placed a drink in front
of him before taking a seat.

“Damon will look after you. I wouldn’t test that man if I
was you. He’s deadly.”

Penny took their advice and waited for Damon to get back.
Her gaze wandered over to the women on stage. Even without a real audience,
they captured her attention. There was so much power in the way they moved.
Each dance made them look more enticing.

“I can show you a few moves if you want? The moves are what
control the men. We can have them eating out of the palm of our hands in no
time,” Shelley said, shooting back the glass of liquid in front of her.

“That’s okay. I’d rather watch. I’m a little clumsy.”

The woman shrugged her shoulders. “We’ve all got to start
somewhere.”

Penny knew the woman was making sense. Staring at the women
on stage made her realise how incapable she was. She’d run away from her family,
and within her first week she’d almost been raped.