Love or Money (6 page)

“All right, thanks, Robert. When she gets in, tell her I want to talk to her.” He glanced sideways at Riel. “Come to the back with me, let’s go over some things.”

Riel followed him through to the back. The club was a large, long building with a big stage right in front, two small stages on either side, and there was an octagonal bar in the very center of the room. It smelled like ancient spilled booze and Pine Sol, but she figured it could smell much worse.

They went down a hallway behind one of the small stages. Isaias flipped a light on, illuminating black-painted walls lined with old-fashioned pinup posters. He unlocked a door and led her into a large, neat office.

He shut the door and stretched out in a leather chair behind his glass-topped desk, folding his hands behind his head. Riel stood, twisting her fingers together in front of her.

“Sit down,” he said. “Jesus, Riel, you look like I’m going to bite you.”

She eased herself into an armchair facing him.

“That’s better,” he said. “What kind of bug do you got up your butt? It’s not poisonous, is it? Do I need to take you to the doctor?”

She just rolled her eyes and looked at him expectantly.

He rolled his eyes in response and leaned forward. “Okay. This is what’s going to happen. You’ll work here four days a week. Anyone asks, you’re getting paid minimum wage plus twenty-five percent of your tips, but in reality most of that money is going to come back to me, to pay what you owe. I will give you ten percent of your tips, though, as cash, for you to use.”

Riel gripped the armrests of her chair. She drew a breath, but had to press her lips shut against the words she wanted to hurl at him.
It won’t help to get mad. It will just make things worse.
She let the breath out. “Ten percent?” she said through clenched teeth.

“Hey, it could be good money. Some of the girls here bring in over a thousand a day in tips. You’ll have to get over yourself a bit if you want to make that much, though. Being hot isn’t everything.”

She pounded her fists on her thighs, her anger surging up her throat like vomit. “Isaias, I’m not going to work in this shithole and not even get paid anything!”

All traces of joviality drained from his face, and his smile grew sharp. “You’ll do what I tell you, Rielita. Besides, what do you need money for? I give you everything already. A roof over your head and three hot meals a day, and all you can do is bitch about it.”

Riel hid her face in her hands, her ears ringing. If Isaias really had driven Evan off, she’d need money in order to escape. But it would take her forever to save up if she was only getting ten percent of her tips. And, knowing Isaias, he’d probably figure out some way to take that away from her too.

But there was nothing she could do. Fighting wouldn’t get her anywhere. She made herself relax, forcing the lump out of her throat. Riel’s anger drained away. It was a self-preservation technique she’d perfected in prison, when guards or long-timer bitches would get up in her shit, trying to goad her into a fight.
I’ll figure out something. I’ll get out of here, one way or another, and then I’ll show this dick what’s what.

She didn’t see how, though. Hopelessness bit at her insides. She pulled her hands away from her face, making herself look at her captor. She shrugged. “Okay, Isaias, whatever.”

“That’s more like it.”

There was a knock on the door, which made Riel’s taut nerves tighten.

“Come in,” Isaias called.

The door opened, and a young woman stepped in, black leggings hugging the pert curves of her ass. She was tall and thin, a curtain of silvery blonde hair falling to the middle of her back. “You wanted to see me?”

“Laina!” Isaias said, grinning. “This is my sister-in-law, Riel. She’s starting work here today, and I need you to train her.”

Laina’s expression didn’t change as her ice-blue eyes looked Riel over. She nodded once.

“Cool,” Isaias said, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head again. “You two go off and do that. I want Riel on when we open; give her a chance to get used to it before the place fills up.”

He spun away in his chair with an air of dismissal. Crossing her arms tight over her middle, Riel stood up and followed Laina out the door.

Laina waited in the hallway, her eyes gleaming in the dim light. She had a porcelain-pale, heart-shaped face, beautiful but cold; Riel searched it fruitlessly for some sign of emotion. “Let’s go to the dressing room,” Laina said.

Riel nodded. They went down the hallway and through a black-painted door marked “Private” at the very end. Inside, it was pitch-black and windowless. Laina flipped a switch, and a ceiling lamp clicked on, casting its dirty glow on racks of clothing, where stuff was draped haphazardly and piled in heaps beneath. There were short skirts and little superhero capes, veils and nunchucks. A vanity with a large mirror stood against the far wall, and a faded and stained sofa sat across from it.

Laina closed the door and stood gazing at Riel again.

“You’re Isaias’ sister-in-law,” she said. Her lips were painted bright red, and Riel watched them in fascination as Laina talked. “I don’t know how much he’s already told you about how we do things here.”

She spat the words out like an accusation, and Riel’s eyebrows drew together. She shook her head. “Nothing. He hasn’t told me anything at all.”

Laina’s expression didn’t change, but Riel saw something kindle in her eyes—curiosity, it looked like, and disbelief. “Well, the rules are pretty simple,” Laina said. “Make the customers horny. Get them to request lap dances…or whatever else.” Her red lips quirked slightly, the curiosity in her gaze burning brighter, to the point where an unspoken question hovered between them.

“What do you mean,
whatever else
? What else is there?”

Laina raised a thin, penciled eyebrow, her eyes icing over again. “I don’t get it,” she said.

“Well, that makes two of us,” Riel said, crossing her arms.

“Did Isaias send you to play dumb and spy on us? Because that’s not going to work.”

Riel opened her mouth, but her planned retort died in her throat. She didn’t know what she’d expected Laina to say, but it hadn’t been that. “
Spy
on you?” She saw a flicker of fear in the other woman’s eyes, which darted toward the door nervously, as if to make sure it was still closed. Riel realized she’d yelled, and lowered her voice to a murmur, even though her temper was threatening to blow the top of her head off. “Listen. I wouldn’t spy for Isaias even if he paid me. But he’s not paying me shit, he’s only giving me ten percent of my tips. That’s not enough to put up with you acting like some sort of ice queen toward me and accusing me of
spying
, and it’s sure as hell not enough to pay for
whatever else
horny drunk men might want from me. I don’t know what’s going on with that, or what I did to make you personally hate me, but all this is
bullshit.
”

Riel realized she had tears in her eyes, and blinked them away furiously. It wasn’t even noon yet, and she was already exhausted.

Laina stood looking startled. “I didn’t…Riel, don’t cry, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not crying,” she insisted angrily, her voice thick. Tears streamed down her face, and she wiped them on the sleeves of her sweater.

Then she looked at Laina, whose red lips were screwed up as she tried to hold back a laugh. Something in Riel loosened at that look, and a giggle broke through her tears. “Okay, I am crying, actually,” she said.

“I didn’t mean to be an ice queen,” Laina said. “I just thought…”

“You just thought I was stupid enough or a big enough vag to spy for that asshole.” She fought back the ache in her chest. She was so
done
with Isaias, and all of this.

Laina’s expression seemed to melt. “Come here,” she said as she held out her arms, and before Riel knew quite what was happening she was sobbing with her cheek on the other woman’s soft breasts. Laina smelled like spicy musk, and her hands were soft as she traced gentle lines down Riel’s spine.

“Are you serious, that he’s only paying you ten percent of your tips?” Laina asked.

Riel nodded. She didn’t care who knew about her situation. She didn’t care about anything right now. “He’s such a dick,” she said.

“Hmph,” Laina said dryly. “That’s the truth. But why are you working here then? I mean…I know it’s none of my business…”

Riel sniffed. “He says if I don’t do everything he says, he’s going to kick me out. And right now, I don’t have anywhere else to go.” She fought back a fresh wave of sobs.
Evan, please don’t listen to Isaias’ bullshit…please come back tonight.

Laina was silent for a moment, her fingers playing with Riel’s hair. “Yeah, that sounds like Isaias, all right,” she murmured.

Riel looked up at her. She was staring off at nothing, a crease in her pale brow, but when she caught Riel looking, the perturbed expression vanished and she smiled. It wasn’t a very convincing smile, but it was the first one Riel had seen from her, and it made her pretty in a very different way. Riel’s heart beat a little faster, suddenly aware that their bodies were pressed close together.

Laina tucked a lock of Riel’s hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry I accused you of being a spy.”

“It’s okay,” Riel said, a little breathlessly. “I am his sister-in-law, I can see why you wouldn’t trust me.”

Laina gazed at her distantly. Riel wondered what she was like under the shell, if there was some hot emotion beneath it. Laina held Riel’s gaze long enough to make her obsess over the closeness of those red lips, then Laina blinked and looked away, trying to smile again, a tinge of color rising to her cheeks.

“Well, you may not want to be here, but you are, so I guess I should show you the ropes.”

She pulled away gently, leaving Riel feeling cold and alone again. Riel wrapped her arms around herself. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Their eyes met again, and Laina gave her a dark look. “We won’t talk about the
whatever else
right now. If Isaias didn’t tell you, then I’m not going to.”

Riel’s stomach curdled. “I take it there’s more going on in this place than just dancing.”

Laina nodded, her eyes drifting to the corners of the room. “Maybe Isaias has enough class not to get his sister-in-law involved in stuff like that.”

Riel snorted. “If he has any class at all, I don’t know what dark orifice he’s been hiding it in.” She felt suddenly ill, and Laina seemed to notice. She laid a delicate hand on Riel’s shoulder, and her skin tingled.

“Don’t worry about it, forget I said anything.” Laina’s blue eyes scanned her face. “How old are you, anyway?”

“Nineteen.”

She smiled faintly. “Sorry, but you don’t look it.” Her eyes crept down a bit before snapping back up. “Not in your face, anyway. Let’s put some makeup on you to make you look older. I’ll be damned if we’ll throw you to the bad creepers on your first day.”

Riel sat down at the vanity, which was spread out with makeup, but Laina went over to a locker in the corner and got out a purse. “Don’t use that stuff,” she said, wrinkling her nose at the stuff on the vanity as she dug around in her bag. “I have some. You’re not supposed to share makeup, but I don’t mind sharing with you, if you don’t.”

Riel’s gaze lingered over the perfect skin of Laina’s face, wondering if the rest of her body was just as smooth. “Not at all.”

She closed her eyes while Laina painted them, enjoying the feeling of her delicate hands brushing against her skin.

“The customers don’t get to touch you while you’re onstage, or even when you give them lap dances,” Laina said. “That’s the most important thing. There will be bouncers watching, and they’ll help you out if you need it.”

“How often do you need it?” Riel asked.

“Not as often as you’d think. The guys forget themselves sometimes, and you have to remind them. But most of the guys learn quick that they’ll get kicked out for good if they break the rules. Besides, they know if they pay a bit more…”

“…they get
whatever else
,” Riel muttered.

Riel still had her eyes closed and couldn’t see the answer on Laina’s face, but she heard it well enough in her silence. Her hands balled into fists, wishing she could tear Isaias’ head clean off, praying again that Evan would come to get her or that she could figure another way out of this mess before she ended up having to prostitute herself.

Chapter Five

Music thumped through the club loud enough to make the stage lights vibrate. Riel danced, or tried to; she had never done much dancing, especially in heels. But, like Isaias and Laina had said, the dancing wasn’t really what mattered, especially on the side stages. Riel quickly discovered it was more how you interacted with the customers.

There were four men clustered up against her stage now, and Riel leaned forward a bit, shaking her bare tits in front of one of them. Being naked in public was actually a little bit fun. It felt liberating. And it was interesting to watch men’s reactions to her, as long as they followed the rules and kept their hands off. Which they had, so far.

She smiled at the guy in front of her, who had a bad haircut and even worse mustache. He held a drink in one hand and clutched a dollar bill in his other, watching her jiggle with glazed-over eyes. “You’re new here, aren’t ya, sweetie?” His eyes never left her boobs.

“Yeah,” Riel said. “Just started today.”

He reached out and slid the dollar bill between her spike-heeled feet, then took a fifty out of his pocket. “How about a lap dance for old Uncle Bob?”

She smiled and spun carefully on her heels, waving her ass in his face. She tried to feel sexy doing it, but mostly it gave her the urge to giggle. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m not doing lap dances yet. I need safety training.”

“Safety training? Shit.” He laughed. “I’m not dangerous, honey, you can come sit on my lap.”

She turned around, knelt down, and wiggled her pussy inches from his nose. “If you come back tomorrow, I should be able to.”

He licked his lips, and his feverish eyes finally wandered up to her face. Then he chuckled and shook his head slightly, wandering off to the other side stage, where a girl the DJ had introduced as Desiree was dancing. Riel got back on her feet and heaved a sigh of relief, wondering how long she could use that excuse.

The departed man was replaced by a pair of drunken younger guys, but she was distracted from her customers by Laina taking the main stage.

Laina didn’t have a fancy costume on like some of the other girls. She just walked gracefully onto the platform wearing nothing but red heels. Riel could see her lean muscles moving under her pale, perfect skin. Her breasts were large and ripe-looking, her ass like a round peach, her belly perfectly flat. She didn’t have any tattoos or piercings to mar that expanse of translucent flesh, but Riel noticed the shiny slash of a scar below her ribs, and wondered about it.

Then she began to dance. It wasn’t exactly provocative; she didn’t jiggle or gyrate. She arched and twisted, twined her limber body around the pole like a vine. She exuded the ice-queen aura that she had when Riel first laid eyes on her, but as she contorted that fabulous body, she seemed to ache with need. Riel could see all the places on that body where she wanted to put her fingers and lips and tongue, and got the impression that, with just one touch, she could cause Laina’s cold exterior to melt into fire.

Riel suspected she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Men crowded around Laina’s stage like hungry zombies.

Then a voice called her attention back to her own stage, and she realized she’d quit even trying to dance. One of the young guys was talking to her. “Hey, can I get a lap dance?” he asked, his unsteady eyes on her.

He smiled, his nervous, drunken cockiness lending him a sort of charm. For a moment, Riel considered taking him up on it. She wondered if she could make herself come, rubbing against him while watching Laina dance.

But then the song ended, and Laina left the stage. Riel wilted a bit. She smiled at the young guy. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s my first day and I need safety training. Come back tomorrow.”

***

At five o’clock another girl came to take her place, and Riel heaved a sigh of relief.
Maybe I’ll get back in time for Evan,
she thought, a spark of hope trying to kindle in her breast
.
She wrapped herself in a robe and went back into the dressing room.

Laina was at the vanity when Riel flopped onto the couch and unstrapped her heels, rubbing her sore feet.

“How are you feeling?” Laina asked, running red lipstick over her lips. Her silken dressing gown was draped across her creamy thighs. Riel’s eyes skimmed the length of her long, white legs, which were bent over the side of the chair, her bare feet curled together.

“Every part of me hurts,” Riel said, forcing her gaze to the walls and arching her back to stretch it out. She pulled on her jeans.

“It gets easier,” Laina said.

“I hope so,” Riel muttered. She caught Laina’s reflection watching her from the mirror with eyes full of pity.

“All of it gets easier,” Laina said.

Riel tried to smile as she hooked her bra and pulled her sweater back on. “You’re a really good dancer, by the way,” she said, heat rising to her cheeks. She saw Laina’s lips twitch in the mirror.

“Thanks.”

“Why…why are you here, anyway? I mean, no offense, but you’re too good for this place.”

Laina went still. Her eyes darted to Riel’s, then away again. “It’s not a bad job. The money’s good, and dancing is really fun.”

“You know what I mean,” Riel said. “You’re too good to be working for someone like Isaias.”

Laina winced slightly, and stared at her lap. “I…Isaias did me a favor in a low point in my life. It’s taking me a while to pay it back.”

Riel’s cheeks heated up again, with anger this time. She knew all about Isaias’ “favors.” She was about to risk asking her what it was when the door to the dressing room burst open.

Both of them turned, startled. Isaias stood in the doorway, looking at Riel with a strange smile.

“
Safety training?
” he said. Riel’s heart clenched. “You’ve been telling guys you couldn’t give them lap dances because you needed
safety training
?”

She and Laina exchanged a quick look, and Riel thought she saw amusement and some pride in the other woman’s eyes. It gave her courage, and she sat up straight, staring him down.

“You can’t make me do that, Isaias. You can make me dance, but you can’t make me touch anybody.”

His strange smile grew a bit wider, and Riel began to wish she’d chosen different words. Maybe she should have been a bit less defiant.

“We’ll see what I can make you do, Rielita.”

“I’ll go over it with her tomorrow,” Laina said quickly. “I’ll make her comfortable. You’ve got to give her time, Isaias, this stuff isn’t as easy as you’d think.”

There was a moment when Isaias didn’t say anything, and Riel’s heart pounded in her throat. He let out a breath. “Okay, whatever, just…I don’t want to hear any more stories about you, Riel. You’ve caused me enough problems as it is. Now come on, let’s go home.”

He turned and walked out. Riel and Laina exchanged a long look. “Thank you,” Riel murmured, and she saw a flash of Laina’s beautiful but perturbed smile before getting up and following Isaias out the door.

It was raining hard outside, the parking lot a mess of oily puddles and sopping trash, gloomy in the grey twilight. Riel shivered as she climbed into the passenger seat of Isaias’ truck, shivering harder when he cranked the engine and the vents blasted chilly air. She pulled her arms inside her damp sweater, wrapping them around her bare torso, but it didn’t help.

Isaias sat with the engine idling, not making any move to pull out of the parking lot. With creeping dread, Riel could feel him watching her, and finally forced herself to meet his gaze. His eyes were hard and mean, and she instinctively cringed away against the passenger door.

“You’re so full of shit, Riel,” he said.

“Isaias, I—”

He pounded the steering wheel. “How hard is it to rub up on some guy? It’s not like you’re virginal. Why you gotta fuck with me like this after all I’ve done for you?”

Riel’s fear battled with her anger, and she worked at suppressing both of them, her heart hammering. Instinctively, she put her arms back through her sleeves, so she’d have the use of them. “It’s not as easy as you think, like Laina said. Just give me a little while to get used to the idea.”

He smiled in a way that made Riel feel like she was falling into a dark abyss. “I could get you used to the idea,” he said. “You need a lesson? I’ll give you a crash course.”

The heater vents were starting to warm up, but she suddenly felt much colder. He reached out and caught her wrist.

“Isaias—”

He pulled her toward him, and she tried to jerk away. He grasped her wrist tighter, pulling harder. “Come over here, Riel, I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Riel’s ears rang. Her gaze darted out the windshield, looking for a means of escape, someone to cry out to, but all she saw were dumpsters and soggy blackberry vines in the vacant lot next door. “Isaias, please…”

“The hard-to-get act is interesting, but it’s time to let it go.” He caught her other wrist, his fingers crawling up to her elbows, pulling her halfway out of her seat. Riel felt sick, not knowing what to do. If she fought him, he’d probably hurt her. He had before when she hadn’t done what he wanted. Possibilities flashed through her mind in a panicked montage. If he left bruises on her, would it get her out of working at this place for a while?

“Come on, Riel.”

He tugged hard, and she slid awkwardly into the space between the seats, on one knee. “Isaias…”

A loud buzzing broke into their struggle. They both froze, and it took Riel a moment to realize that it was Isaias’ phone on the center console. The screen showed it was Mama Maria calling.

He cursed and released his grip on her, picking up the phone and jabbing the answer button. “
Que hay
, Mama?” he barked. Riel scrambled back into her seat as Isaias launched into an argument with his mother in Spanish, something about some money someone wasn’t giving them on time. For a moment she considered diving out the door and running off into the rainy twilight. But where would she go? She had no money, nobody to take her in. A dull ache filled her, and she strapped herself into the seat with her seatbelt, as if that would keep him from grabbing hold of her again if he wanted to.

Isaias finished the argument and slammed the phone back on the console, sighing and raking his fingers through his hair. Then, to Riel’s immense relief, he put the truck in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot. “That fucking bitch,” he muttered, but Riel had nothing but words of praise for Mama Maria right then.

He didn’t try to speak to her further as they drove home, seeming lost in his thoughts. When they pulled into the driveway, she unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out before he had even come to a full stop. She ran inside and found Lizette in the kitchen, stirring a kettle on the stove.

Her sister looked up wide-eyed when she came in. “Riel, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she lied. “Hey, has Evan stopped by?”

Lizette’s brow furrowed, and she shook her head. “No. Why?”

Riel’s heart sank, but it was still early. He could still come. “If he shows up, I’ll be in my room.”

“Okay, Riel, but—”

Riel didn’t stick around to hear what else her sister had to say. She heard the front door open as Isaias came in. “I’m going to go practice my guitar now,” she said. Riel left her sister to look after her worriedly as she dodged out the kitchen door and down the hallway, locking herself in her room.

She heaved a sigh of relief. As long as she stayed in here, she should be safe.
Until Evan comes.

She sat on her bed, picked up her guitar, and hugged it like a huge, wooden teddy bear.
Evan, please come,
she prayed. She fought back tears and started to play. The music drove everything else out of her head: Isaias, the leering men at the club, even Evan—almost.

She didn’t know how long she’d been playing when there was a light knock on the door, and she looked up, her heart accelerating.

“Riel,” Lizette’s voice called, “
está la cena
.”

Riel’s heart stumbled and fell. She looked at the clock; it was almost seven. If he hadn’t come by now, he wasn’t coming. “I’m not hungry,” she called back, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

There was a pause. “Everything okay?”

Riel wiped her eyes. She should be able to confide in her sister, but she just couldn’t. Not about this. Lizette had enough to deal with without knowing the full extent of her husband’s assholery, and she couldn’t even bring herself to say Evan’s name aloud right now. “I’m fine,” she said. “Just tired.”

After a moment, Lisette said, “Okay, but I’ll save some for you in the fridge. It’s
sopas
.”

The floor creaked as she walked off, and Riel resumed playing. Tears spilled over, falling onto her guitar.
I don’t have anyone.
Her throat grew tight as she thought of Marissa, back in prison. Had she found another girlfriend yet? She’d probably never know.
And Evan…