Chapter 5: Nikki

I folded my arms across my chest and waited. He held what he believed to be the position of power in front of me, forcing me to tilt my head to see him. But I was as naively arrogant as he was confidently cocky.

"You're a beautiful girl, Nikki. There's a reason I gave you the stage name Diamond."

I kept a straight face. "It wasn't because my nipples could cut glass?"

"Cute, but no. You're a precious gem. We both know you have no business being in Swank, much less on the stage. Unfortunately, you were born to trash who doesn't mind letting you pay her tab. I just want to give you the opportunity to do that as quickly as possible."

"By allowing me to suck your dick? How thoughtful."

"Don't be so quick to dismiss the offer. There are perks to being in the service of a Silvano."

The guy was old enough to be my grandfather, literally. He was a grandfather. I wouldn't have considered the offer if he were twenty-five, but I sure as hell wouldn't entertain saggy, old man balls. "I appreciate it, but I'm going to pass. I have no interest in being anyone's whore."

I reached for my bag, and he stood quickly. I wondered if he thought I packed a weapon in my clutch. Even if I had, the biggest thing I could have had in there would have been a .22 or a knife. A .22 would bounce off him like a BB gun and do nothing more than piss him off. I'd never get in a swipe with a knife, much less do any damage. He had at least a hundred pounds on me and probably six inches. I wasn't any sort of physical threat.

I produced the wad of cash I'd gotten dancing tonight. It was only a few hundred dollars, but I'd thought for my first time on stage and only having one song, I'd done pretty well. "Payment number one."

"You can triple what's in your hand. All you have to do is wrap those gorgeous lips around my cock and let me fuck that pretty mouth." He wagged his brows, although I wasn't sure if he meant it to be seductive or merely suggestive. Either way, it repulsed me.

With the bills in a vise grip between my fingers, I shoved my hand his direction. "Here."

He grabbed my wrist with one hand and took the money with the other. He leveraged his grasp to pull me up and flush to his swollen stomach. His breath smelled of onions and garlic, and there was the slightest bead of spittle on the corner of his mouth. Even if I had been willing to consider his offer, that alone would have been enough to change my mind. Jesse set the money on the desk and then grabbed my ass. He pushed his hips against mine, and when I jerked away, he let me go with a sinister chuckle.

I shouldn't have done it, but spit flew from my mouth to his feet. "I agreed to dance at your club. I agreed to pay you what I made the three nights I performed. That is where my obligation stops. I didn't steal your drugs. I didn't do your drugs. I'm not one of your minions. I'll uphold my end of the agreement for my mom's sake. Nothing more. Nothing less."

He held up his hands, and surprisingly, he didn't press. "Fair enough." He raked his eyes down the length of my body, and I'd never been so grateful for the leather that hid my shape. When he met my stare again, he licked his lips, leaving behind a glistening sheen that made my stomach turn. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me." Then he stood, walked to the door, opened it, and waited for me to pass through.

Which I did. Although, not quickly. I didn't trust Jesse Silvano any farther than I could throw him. And since I doubted I could even pick him up, I kept a close eye on him until I was on the opposite side of the glass. My mother stood a few feet away with Sam, who looked like a big teddy bear without the jacket he'd had on earlier. She bounced from foot to foot, and I couldn't tell if she needed to pee or if she was geeked out. I realized it was neither when she began to pester me for information on the offer Jesse had made.

No one else in the place needed to hear about his proposition. "Jesus, Ma. Chill out. I told him no," I muttered under my breath.

Her hold on my arm was so tight the leather pinched at my bicep, and her nails dug in. They would have pierced the skin had I not had on the jacket. "You told Jesse Silvano no? What's wrong with you?" My mother had zero decorum. Everyone within a ten-block radius had just heard her declaration.

We had stopped outside the elevator where Sam clearly overheard every word between us and seemed amused when he pressed the down button. Thankfully, he kept his opinion to himself.

"It's bad enough I have to work at Club Swank to fix your mistakes. I'm not sucking some guy's dick or spreading my legs, regardless of how much money you owe him."

With her fingers still firmly wrapped around my upper arm, she turned back toward Jesse's office and attempted to take me with her. "You'll do what you need to do."

I ripped my arm free. "The hell I will. If you want to fuck for money, be my guest. I'm at the max of my give-a-shit right now."

The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and I proceeded to get in. She could walk home for all I cared. Unfortunately, Sam held the car and waited for her to join us. I loved her; I really did, but she tried my patience these days. Never in a million years would I have imagined my mom turning out this way, much less letting me pay her debt with my body. I hated what drugs had done to her, and even worse, I hated that she had yet to see it. She was still beautiful and young at thirty-six. There was still a chance for her to pull out, but I'd seen this neighborhood steal countless young lives and marry them with drugs, sex, and gangs.