Chapter 2

The man's eyes immediately landed on me, and he let out a low whistle. "Whoa. I guess an alpha male just can't help himself when it comes to building a harem, huh?"

Heather rushed over and tried to drag him out of the living room. "Why the hell are you here, Hugh?! Get out!"

He jerked his arm free and shoved her hand aside.

"Bitch, please. So you get to live in a huge villa, wear silk, and drink vintage red wine, but I'm too embarrassing to be seen here? I have to stay out on my own?" he sneered. "Did you forget how you got to stay here? If it weren't for my intel, you never would've met your walking ATM mach—"

Heather clamped a hand over his mouth, but she was too late. Every word had already been captured on my recording.

Hugh narrowed his eyes at my camera.

"What the hell do you think you're recording?" he sneered as he looked me up and down. "You're here to get into Henry Windsor's pants, aren't you? You're younger than my dear sister, so I bet you get paid more. What is it... 500 dollars a night? Or do you only collect your reward at the end of the month?"

Sarah chuckled.

Heather let out an exaggerated sigh. "Hey, that's not very nice. Ain't no rest for the wicked, Hugh. We all have to put food on the table."

I glared at them. "Sorry, who exactly were you accusing? 500 dollars a night and all that?"

Hugh assumed I was bluffing.

He leaned toward the camera. "I was talking about you, dumb bitch. We all know why you're here. There's only one reason any woman would ever show up here."

His gaze dropped to my watch, and his eyes lit up. "Whoa. I guess you're making a lot of money as a sugar baby. Look at that. That's a real luxury watch. So you're not new to this line of work, are you? Did your last zaddy die, and now you're shopping for the next one?"

Sarah laughed even harder.

"Miss DeVry, you should keep Mr. Windsor closer to you!" she said. "Young women these days are more ambitious and scheming than ever, aren't they?"

"I'm not worried," Heather said softly. "I trust Mr. Windsor. It's not his fault shameless women exist."

I thrust my camera closer to Hugh's face. "Say all that again. I dare you."

He lunged for my phone, but I dodged him. Instead, he grabbed the small pouch hanging around my neck that held my passport and backup phone.

His fingers tightened around it while I glared at him.

"Take your hands off," I warned.

He caught sight of what was inside, and greed immediately flashed across his face.

"Well, well. The girl's been places! We've got ourselves a high-class hoe over here!" he crowed. "Let's keep this, sis. If she starts yapping bullshit about us, we can shut her up with these."

Heather hesitated. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Oddly enough, she made no move to stop him when he yanked harder.

I kicked him in the shin to defend myself.

He yelped, cursed at me, and retaliated by shoving me backward with all his strength.

I slammed into the shoe cabinet by the front door. The impact sent a jolt of numbness through my elbow, and my grip gave out.

My work phone hit the floor.

Sarah seized the opportunity. She stepped on it before I could reach it. "Not so fast!"

She picked it up and dropped it into a glass of water.

I watched the screen flicker once before it went black.

Heather let out a dramatic sigh, but my eyes remained fixed on my phone.

"For your own sake, you should fish my phone out right now." She snickered. "Oh no! Scawwy! Please. For your own sake, get your ass out of this house before Mr. Windsor comes back."

Hugh pulled out my backup phone and scoffed. "Fucking hell, you're actually rich. I don't think she's just some hoe, Heather. She might be something more. We should tie her up and interrogate her ourselves!"

I turned to Heather and met her eyes. "Think very carefully about what you're about to say to him."

She looked unsettled for a split second, but jealousy quickly smothered whatever reason she had left. "I don't care. All I care about is getting rid of you. You're nothing but an eyesore. I'm sure Mr. Windsor will think you're a goddamn pain in the neck if he sees you."

She turned to Sarah. "Search her things. See if she's stolen anything else that belongs to us!"

Sarah immediately started prying at the lock on my suitcase.

I threw a hand over it to stop her.

The next instant, she swung her broom and smacked me across the face.

The blow stung like a lash.

While I was distracted, Hugh grabbed both my shoulders and pinned me in place. "Stop being such a pain! You sell your body for money, bitch! Stop acting so high and mighty!"

I lifted my head and locked eyes with him. "You're going to regret every word you just said. I'll make sure you crawl out of this house on your fucking knees."

Hugh laughed in my face. "Oh no! I'm terrified! My knees are already getting weak... Maybe that's how you'll make me crawl out of here!"

Footsteps sounded outside the front door.

A moment later, two young men, both looking like complete deadbeats, poked their heads inside.

"Got the money, bro?" one of them called.

Hugh waved them over. "In a minute, guys. But check out the prize I caught. I'm feeling generous enough to share."