Calamity Gardel lifts one heavy brow at me, and the corners of that full mouth tilt up in a smirk. He's amused by me. The irritation that provokes allows me to shake off the inappropriate desire to ask him to say my name again, this time in a slow, pillow-talk drawl.
"You have two of our working girls," I tell him, gratified when my voice comes out sounding sure and confident, instead of the squeak I expect it to be.
I nod toward the corner of the room, where Dominique and Lily are shivering on the laps of two King men. They look petrified, and their fear allows me to stand up a little straighter and look Gardel right in his stupidly handsome face for longer than a few seconds. Someone will have to have the balls to talk to him, and it looks like it will be me.
"They're mine to protect. You're going to let them go."
A dark chuckle rolls from him, and my knees tremble. It's a rich, almost dirty sound, as though I've just told a filthy joke. My body is such a fucking traitor because I'm not even angry that he's laughing in my face.
"You're sure you're a woman, Penelope? Because it took serious balls to just say that to my face." He leans forward, the amusement dropping away from his face quickly. "Want to try that again, with more respect, little girl?"
I almost reach my hand into my pocket to stroke the worry stone again, then realize that might be a bad idea. The tall black man who accompanied him in is holding a gun. If he thinks I'm reaching for a weapon, he'll probably plug me before I can explain myself. I have to get Dominique and Lily out of here before something worse happens.
"I'll pay you," I say seriously. "I've got a couple grand in my pocket right now."
It's most of my savings, but it's a small price to pay for two lives.
Calamity cuts his head to the side, gaze cold. "I'm not in the business of making deals with Spades. The few times I have, it always comes back to bite me in the ass."
I can see my only chance to salvage the situation slipping like sand between my fingers. If I don't do something quickly, things will end fucking badly. Calamity will still have the girls, he'll probably shoot me and shove my body over the line for Cruz, and then end the rest of my family when my brothers come over the line to avenge me. I open my mouth...
And shock even myself with my words.
"I'll take their place."
Dead silence. No one in the room moves, including my girls. Dominique's mouth is hanging open in shock, as though I've just shouted something vulgar at the top of my lungs.
"Penny, don't—" Lilly begins, shaking like a leaf in the arms of her captor. She looks like a porcelain doll between her pale skin and a cap of dark hair. Her eyes are huge in her face. She falls silent when Calamity shoots her a poisonous glare.
His gaze returns quickly to me, another smirk curling his lips. He leans back in his chair, and I can tell the bastard is getting a real kick out of this. I force myself to stay stationary, instead of stalking toward him so I can lodge my fist in that smug, infuriatingly handsome face.
"So you'd fuck every man in this room?" he asks, gesturing at the thirty men staring at me with eager anticipation.
My stomach rolls thinking about so many unfamiliar male hands on me. Would he order that if I said yes? Strip me down and have the men form a line to fuck me like some horrible real-life porno?
But if I say no, Dominique and Lily are fucked in every sense. I didn't cross the line to come away empty-handed. So I draw in a deep breath and look him dead in the eye, mustering as much raw sex appeal as I can at a moment's notice.
"I would. But you and I both know there's only one man in this room that's worth fucking."
Seconds trickle by, and the look on his face only grows more amused. Just by looking at him and talking to him for a few minutes, I've already learned he's a hell of a lot smarter than I ever imagined him to be. I knew that he was a thuggish warlord, ruling over the Kings with an iron fist. What I didn't know is that he is cunning. He's weighing my fate in his hands, trying to decide if it's worth it.
And just when I decide he's about to order me to be shot, he leans back; the smirk graduating to a full-on grin. It's not a pleasant expression, but it's no less attractive than the smirk.
"You want me to fuck you, Spade?"
"If you think you're capable," I shoot back, raising my chin in defiant challenge.
As if a man could ever turn down a challenge like that.
"Fine. It's a deal."
Calamity inclines his head to the men holding Dominique and Lily. They don't move at first, staring at me in abject horror.
"Penny-"
"Go," I urge them.
They don't. Lily has to be carried out by some of Calamity's guards. She's crying hard like she's leaving me to face the noose. I watch until they're both out of sight, jumping when a strong, warm hand clamps down on my wrist. I follow the line of that muscled arm up to the shoulder and finally the face of the enemy I've just agreed to climb into bed with.
