"How much do you want?"
Harper stared. Her expression shifted from terror to confusion.
"I don't want money!" She shook her head violently, hands waving. "I saved Madam Olga because she's my patient. Because she's been good to me. This isn't about money! Please don't—"
I studied her.
Doesn't want money?
Everyone wants money. Especially someone like her, scraping by on an aide's salary. This was negotiating. Playing hard to get.
I wrote a number. Tore off the check. Held it out.
"Take it. Two years' salary."
"No, really, I can't..." She backed away, hands behind her back.
Not enough?
My patience was wearing thin. Everyone had a price. "No" just meant the offer wasn't high enough.
I wrote another check. Shoved both into her hands. Didn't give her a choice.
"Don't be greedy, Miss Evans."
She stopped. Looked down at the slips of paper in her hands. Saw the numbers. Her eyes went wide.
Finally, slowly, her fingers closed around them.
"Thank you." She bit her lip. Barely whispered it.
I felt... nothing. Disappointment, maybe. If she'd held out just a little longer, she might've been interesting. I might've given her something worth more than money—my protection. My respect.
But no. She was like all the others. Just another person who'd bend for cash.
"Good. We're square."
I turned away from her and spoke to Boris. "Get Miss Evans out of here. Back exit. Keep it quiet."
Harper clutched the checks, opened her mouth like she wanted to say something. A small sound caught in her throat. But in the end, she said nothing.
"Yes. I'll go now."
She spun around too fast. Something pink slipped from her pocket and fluttered to the floor.
An envelope. Covered in crude hand-drawn hearts.
I frowned. Before I could speak, Olga's cane shot out and pinned it down.
"What's this?"
Olga bent down and picked it up. She examined it, then looked at Harper's flushed face with an expression I couldn't quite read. Amused. Knowing.
She waved the envelope. "Looks like some lucky boy's getting a surprise."
"I'm sorry! That's private!"
Harper practically lunged for it, snatched it back, and pressed it againsther chest.
