“We gotta get this over with,” the man behind me said, reaching toward me, and it took actual effort not to flinch or yelp.
But he only reached for my purse, dragging it off my shoulder, and pulling my phone out before tossing the bag to the floor.
It landed next to the pit boss.
“Unlock it,” the man demanded, thrusting my real phone at me.
“What do you think you’re going to find in here?” I asked, typing in my code. “My super-secret plans to take the casino out from under Frank?”
I rolled my eyes at him.
He ignored me as he started swiping around on my phone.
He wouldn’t find anything.
A couple of awkward texts with my mom. Maybe the occasionalHappy Birthday!or congratulatory message to the other models I used to work with. Pictures of my cat. Screenshots of things I wanted to buy but couldn’t afford. A few listings for jobs.
I led an incredibly boring personal life.
If he was looking for the smoking gun, he would only find it shoved in a secret pocket on my side. So I made sure to keep that arm casually down.
“So, what is it, Frank?” I asked while the other guy was distracted. “Gambling? I mean, that would be so cliché, given this place. Ponies? Sports? No,” I said, thinking of his pack-rat office, of the hallways lined with boxes. “No. You’re addicted to shopping. Wow. Men in women’s fields,” I said, getting a huff of laughter out of the other woman.
Frank was tomato-red.
I knew I’d hit the nail on the head.
“What’d you have to do? Borrow money to keep this place afloat?”
“When did you become such a bitch?” Frank asked, tone hollow.
“Gee, I don’t know. When you had me grabbed and dragged into a back room? Maybe then.”
“There’s nothing here,” the man said, tossing the phone. It landed with a cracking sound that would have had my heart plummeting just a week or two ago, knowing I couldn’t afford to replace it. Such a small concern in the grand scheme of things now. “Who the fuck are you working with?”
His hand shot out so quickly that I couldn’t move back or duck. His fingers closed around my throat, grabbing hard, yanking me forward like a damn rag doll.
My hand went up automatically, clawing at his hand as my breath caught in my lungs, as my head felt light, and my lips went tingly.
My mouth opened and closed like a fish.
“How’s she going to answer if you’re choking her, idiot?” the pit boss asked.
The man watched me for a second more, his dark eyes like pits, with no soul behind them at all.
Then he released me, took a step to the side, and backhanded the other woman so hard she flew off the chair.
I gasped for breath, tears stinging my eyes as I furiously tried to blink them back.
On the ground, the other woman dripped blood from her split lip onto the concrete floor.
She made no move to get up.
But her gaze was fiery, furious when it met mine.
Then the guy was back, grabbing me and shoving me down onto the other metal chair. The pain ricocheted up my back, making me think my butt was going to be bruised from the impact.
“Who are you working with?” he roared.
