Hot Pink Heels (The Street Series) (2 page)

She caught a glimpse of Whitney in the background, a stunned look on her face as she switched her glance back and forth between Amanda and
Grey Eyes. Sensing things were somehow under control, Whitney disappeared into the darkness to resume her post a bit farther down the sidewalk.

When Amanda felt the straps releasing her
arms and legs, she tried to sit up, but gentle hands pushed her back down. “Hold on, miss,” said the attendant at her shoulder.

Amanda saw Grey
Eyes signing some paperwork and shaking hands with the female attendant before turning toward her. “Ready to go, honey?” He reached for her hand and the attendant helped her to a sitting position.

“Just take it slow, miss,” the man said.
“Are you sure this is ok?” He looked at his partner uncertainly. The woman shrugged. She could care less about the situation.

“I promise to bring her right in if there are any problems,” said
Grey Eyes. His hands came to her waist and he gently lifted her down from the stretcher. “Thanks for everything. I am sure we won’t forget our
fourth
anniversary anytime soon,” he said, winking at Amanda.

Amanda smiled
again, wisely keeping silent at this point. Grey Eyes guided her to his car, helping her into the plush seats and fastening the seat belt around her, playing perfectly the part of the doting husband.

The nerves set in as Grey
Eyes shut her door and rounded the car.
What am I doing? Fourth anniversary my ass! Who is this guy? Billy’s going to kill me.
Thoughts swirled in her pounding head and she held her breath as the he slid in beside her.

“We still have an audience,” said Grey
Eyes. “So, let me finish playing my part.” He pulled her close in an embrace designed to convince the EMS attendants of his concern. Amanda shrank back into her seat, and then realized he was just picking up where they’d left off before her spill. Remembering her place, she forced herself to melt against him, ready to spout off her services and the appropriate fees.

Slipping
back into her “Mandy” persona, Amanda attempted to ward off her sudden dislike for this married man who was now her unwanted hero.
Why did he have to be married?
For some reason, she wanted this one to be different. She sighed inwardly as she ignored her pounding head and slid her hand between their bodies.

“Jackson,” he whispered into her ear.

“What?”
Amanda started to pull back, but he held her close.

“My name
,” he said. “My name is Jackson.” He chuckled as he pulled back. “I think we’re past shaking hands, so I don’t know where your hand was headed, but I thought an introduction was in order, since we
are
celebrating our anniversary.”

“Oh, uh
, yeah, my name is Mandy—Amanda,” she corrected, laughing nervously. She sensed her relationship with him would not be the typical one, so she gave him her real name. Her street name was just that—the one she used on the streets. Her parents were the only other people who had ever called her Mandy.

The ambulance pulled away and Amanda breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thanks a lot, mister, um, Jackson. You really saved my ass back there,” Amanda’s words started tumbling from her mouth and with the stress of the fall, the EMS attention and the fight with Billy earlier in the week, she was mortified to feel tears threatening to spill over.
Damn female hormones.
She reached for the door handle as the ambulance drove over the hill and out of sight, intending to get back to her spot on the sidewalk before Billy knew anything had happened.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Jackson said, reaching for her arm as she attempted to escape.

“Oh, ok, I get it,” Amanda turned back to face him. “Listen, I’m a step up from favors in a car, but if you take me to that hotel down the street, I’ll give you a freebie. One freebie. I mean you probably did save me a…” she trailed off.

Jackson was looking at her, a stunned expression on her face. Now it was his turn to blush, and though she found it endearing,
she squashed the feeling and pasted a flippant expression on her face. His grey eyes were flecked with gold, but suddenly she realized they were laughing eyes.

“Are you laughing at me?” Incredulous, she turned to get out of the car, nimbly avoiding his grasp a second time. She nearly slammed the door on his gorgeous face when she saw the grin he was wearing.

“Frickin’ unbelievable!” Amanda huffed as she closed the door, careful not to break his nose, but not so careful it wouldn’t jar his teeth.
“You
stopped to talk to
me
, remember?”

“Yes
, ah, sorry, but this is going all wrong,” he sighed, running his hand through his sandy blonde hair.

“You better believe it, mister!” Amanda stuck her head back in the window of the car to give him a piece of her mind.

Jackson held his hands up in mock surrender. “I’m a pastor, and I was just—“

“So?” Amanda cut him off. “
You’re not the first and I’m sure you won’t be the last man of
God
to get on my list,” said Amanda, practically spitting the words at him now. “Listen—you get
one
freebie because you kept me from a world of pain, but you better decide quick, because I’m losing money here!”

“Damn
right you are, Mandy!” Amanda froze, her gaze locked on Jackson’s face. She felt the color draining from her cheeks and once again, she was helpless, with only a stranger to lean on as she turned to face an angry Billy.

She prayed to the gods he hadn’t heard the part about the freebie or she was toast. Billy did
not
tolerate giving out “freebies.” The last girl who’d been caught giving one out had ended up in the hospital with a mysterious case of internal bleeding and was off the streets for over a month. Angry Billy was not a force to be messed with on any day and he
would
mess you up if you crossed him like that.

Of course, this was not the angry Billy she’d seen in the alley the other day. No, he reserved his true evil for when there were no onlookers, but he was menacing nonetheless as he grasped her by the elbow. He squeezed just hard enough to make her gasp in pain, but not so hard as to leave a bruise
as he yanked her from the window. He was careful with his girls. That’s why he’d never been busted on anything other than a few minor charges.

“Mandy-y-y,” he said, drawing out her name as though it had extra syllables in it. “
Whatcha doin’, Mandy? I haven’t seen you take a single job tonight, and now I see you getting out of a car with no money? I taught you better than that, didn’t I now, honey?”

Whatever she had thought about Jackson up to this point, nothing could prepare her for what he said next.

“I was trying to convince her I’d double her normal rate if she’d spend the whole night with me,” said Jackson.

Amanda’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Jackson,
and Billy’s head came up like a wolf catching the scent of his prey. His eyes narrowed and he released her for the moment to consider Jackson’s offer.

“Really?” Billy’s hand twisted his greasy
goatee thoughtfully as Amanda rubbed her elbow. Jackson didn’t miss her movement, his own eyes narrowing to slits when he saw the red marks she tried to rub away.

“Okay, she’ll do it—my girls usually aren’t allowed to stay
all night, they’re paid by the hour, you see, but we could make a special exception this one time, provided you have her back here at 8 a.m. sharp,” Billy said. Excitement and greedy anticipation had him practically slobbering at the thought of his sudden windfall.

Amanda could sense the situation was quickly getting out of her control, as if it had ever been under her control in the first place. “The hotel will let me know if you haven’t kicked her out in time,” Billy said, nodding toward the dilapidated
Travelodge down the street.

“Oh, I was planning to take her someplace a little nicer, maybe a little bit more private,” Jackson said. “Somewhere where others can’t—“

“Hear the screams?” Billy finished wickedly. “I get what you’re saying, but you know that kind of stuff costs extra, right? My girls are usually out of commission for a night or two after such a
passionate
exchange.”

Revulsion rolled through Amanda at Billy’s enthusiastic agreement to sell her body for the type of
stuff she normally turned down. But, Billy wasn’t usually there, looking over her shoulder as she made her deals with customers. She remembered the way he’d knocked her head against the brick three days earlier, but looking back at the handsome man in the car, it was hard to keep the bile from rising in her throat as she thought of what lie ahead.

Boy, did I screw up
.
Should’ve just let Whitney have this one, then I wouldn’t be in this mess
. She closed her eyes when she realized the two men were practically shaking hands on the deal, assigning her to a night of physical abuse with a simple conversation.

Billy stepped back and opened the car door for Amanda, shoving her none too gently into the plush seat once again. “Now Mandy, you do
whatever
this man wants, do you hear?” Amanda nodded wearily. “Just make sure he pays you ahead of time for whatever that might be,” Billy laughed, winking at Jackson, who grinned back.

Amanda’s face reddened again, surprising her as she didn’t think there was anything left she could be embarrassed about at this point in her life. “That’s my girl,” Billy said, chucking her under the chin as if he were a proud father. “
All right, now you take good care of Mandy, she’s my favorite girl.”

Billy shut the car door and waved like he was sending his daughter off with her prom date while Amanda slumped down in
her seat.

“Now what?” Amanda demanded after they rounded the corner. She turned to face her newest client with less than the required enthusiasm, her dislike for the man rising back to the surface now that she was safe from Billy’s clutches.

“Well
, I don’t know,” Jackson said, clearing his throat. He looked over at her, his eyes roaming down to her pink clad feet before darting away.

“Seriously? Don’t tell me you’ve never done this before,” Amanda questioned, her curiosity peaked.
He shook his head as his cheeks bloomed in the cutest blush, but she tamped down her “lost kitten” reaction to him and focused on the job. “Great, a newbie,” she huffed. “This is going to be just great. Your first time and you say you’re into the hard stuff?”

Jackson said nothing as he pulled the car to the curb. They were several streets away from her usual spot and she wasn’t afraid they were going to run into Billy, but she also didn’t see anything that would pass for a hotel in their vicinity.

“Like I told you before, I draw the line at doing my job in cars,” Amanda said, holding up one red-tipped finger to stop any sudden advances. “I’m classier than that,” she snorted, cracking herself up with that last comment.

He killed the engine and turned to face Amanda. “Ok, let’s start over,” Jackson said. “Hi, I’m Jackson.” He held out his hand.

Amanda stared at him in disbelief but, willing to play whatever game this was, she put her hand in his. And that’s when it happened. Her guard was down and she was weak, or at least that’s what she told herself was the reason for the sudden charge in the air.

“Amanda?” Jackson snapped his fingers in front of her face, popping her out of her reverie. “Are you okay,” he asked, still holding her hand.

His hand was warm, not slick and sweaty like Billy’s, and not even cultured and well manicured like most of her clients. Just warm. And solid. And safe.
Safe? Where did that come from? He’s not safe. He’s a man. Snap out of it, Amanda!

Pulling her hand from his grasp, she finally responded. “I’m Amanda,” she said,
playing her part in this foolish scenario. “How do you do?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Amanda, come on, just be yourself with me for a second,” Jackson pleaded. “Call me Jack.” His compelling grey eyes seemed to pull her in, and finally she relaxed against the seat.

“Okay, what’s the deal? Are you a cop?” Amanda sat still, all 108 pounds ready to bolt as she waited for his answer. She had narrowly avoided a run in with the cops just last month. She didn’t need this now, not when she was so close to saving enough money to really make a break for it.

Jack
son laughed, tugging at his suddenly too-tight collar. Amanda took another look at him, noticing he was well dressed, but not wearing expensive clothing like most of her clients wore.
Maybe he doesn’t even have the money, and he’s just going to try and get a free one like a lot of the other guys.

As quickly as the thought crossed her mind, it flew right back out when he took her hand again. “Amanda, I’m not a cop, but I’m not
out tonight looking for a ‘good time’ with you,” Jackson said, looking straight into her blue eyes. “You are safe with me. I’m not going to hurt you, I’m not going to use you and I’m certainly not going to abuse you.”