She was hoping to sneak a snack; she hadn’t eaten much and was starving, and one of the cooks was a chubby guy with bad acne who yearned for her and was happy to make her whatever she asked for.
But when she entered the kitchen it was empty, or at least it appeared that way from the doorway. She was about to leave, but she heard voices in the back, the people they belonged to blocked from view by a large island in the center of the kitchen with racks above holding various dishes. Cherry edged forward, hoping to find Billy, the chubby cook, but instead, as she turned the edge of the island, she saw Nathan, her boss, and two men she didn’t recognize. They were near the back corner of the room, next to a door that led to the alley that ran behind the club.
Nathan was holding a large binder of sorts, flipping through the pages. From where she stood, Cherry could see that each page of the binder was a large photograph of a different woman. Her boss was speaking as he looked at the pictures.
“Who could have thought there was so much money in this?” he said. The other two men laughed, and Nathan went on. “Seriously, these chicks are from Russia? They’re so fucking hot; I might buy one.”
The men laughed again. It slowly dawned on Cherry what they were looking at and what they were talking about. She backed up, hoping to leave without them noticing her. Nathan was a scumbag. She knew that. But she’s never known him to do anything illegal, and now this, sex trafficking—it was horrible. How long had he been doing it? She didn’t have all the answers, of course, just a small sliver of a secret. She bumped into the island. The dishes above the island clanked and clattered. The three men looked to her.
Nathan saw her and his face fell. “Oh damn,” he said. “I like you.” And then, Cherry hardly able to believe it, her boss pulled a gun from the back of his waistband.
She turned and ran.
What was he going to do? Shoot her? There in the kitchen? Surely people would hear. But as she exploded through the kitchen door and into the club proper, she realized that the music was so loud and pounding that surely no one would have heard a gunshot from the kitchen.
She didn’t look back. She tottered quickly on her heels, pushing through the dance floor, heading for the front door. She was halfway across when she cursed in her head. She didn’t have her purse. It was in a locker in the employee room. Her car keys were inside. She would have to turn around, head back toward the kitchen if she wanted to get them. And she needed them if she was to get in her car and speed away from this place.
She couldn’t though. She had no way of knowing if the three men were following her; she was too scared to look back. Cherry didn’t have a plan. She just wanted to get out of Fire House. That was step one. She kept going, one foot in front of the other, trotting on those sky-high heels. She saw the door, the crowd of people parted for her like the Red Sea, and hurried forward. She was ten feet away when she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and tug her to a stop. She yelped in fear and spun.
3
David turned down Layla’s request to dance for the fifth time. Tiffany was young and hot, but David wasn’t in the mood for that. He was going through one of his spells, as he liked to think of them. He was so used to getting what he wanted that when he didn’t get something, he obsessed over it. He knew it wasn’t healthy, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted Cherry since she wouldn’t give herself to him.
And then he saw her, rushing across the dance floor. She looked frightened. David stood up, sliding out of the booth. He looked behind her at the crowd. She was obviously running, so what was she running from? David saw two men in dark suits, and then, a half step behind them, Nathan. Nathan held a gun in his hand, pointed downward, held tight against his body. David couldn’t believe the man could be so stupid.
David didn’t know what the problem was, but he didn’t care. “Go get the car,” he said, turning to the two men who had come to the club with him. They both nodded and forced others to move out of the booth so they could stand up. They went to the door.
David angled across the floor, hoping to cut Cherry off. He just missed her, coming to a stop behind her. He reached for her arm, curling his strong fingers around her wrist. She gave a short yelp that drew a few nearby eyes and turned.
“You,” she said.
“Trouble?” David asked, nodding his head backward. She looked over his shoulder and her eyes went wide. David didn’t wait for her to answer. “Come with me,” he said and led her out the door.
His men were fast, and as he and Cherry stepped out onto the sidewalk, a black sedan was pulling to the curb. The man in the passenger seat opened his door, planning on getting out and opening the door for David and Cherry, but David waved him back inside and opened the door himself. They both climbed into the backseat, Cherry first. David shut the door and glanced out the window just in time to see Nathan and his two stooges burst out onto the sidewalk. David waved as the car pulled away from the curb.