Three

<JACK>

Skylark tried to slap Ariana again. I caught her wrist before it landed.

"Don't push your luck, Skylark."

She twisted in my grip. I tightened it — just enough to make the point.

"I don't give a damn what issue you have with her. For tonight, stay out of my way."

She snatched her hand back. Her eyes went bright and furious, the way they always do when she doesn't get what she wants, and then she lunged for Ariana.

Ariana shifted backward. She was clutching a toothbrush like it might do something. Her eyes moved between us — quick, calculating, the way they'd been in the car.

"I don't care what the two of you have going on," she said. Her voice was unsteady, but she held it together. "I only came here for business. So let's keep it strictly business."

She rubbed her cheek and started toward the bed.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?" Skylark's voice cracked through the room.

She tried to push past me. I caught her by the arm and moved her aside — not hard, just enough.

"Didn't you hear me?" My voice dropped. "I said stop fooling around and get out. Go home, Skylark."

Something shifted in her face. The anger drained out of it, and what was left underneath was worse. Wounded. Almost real.

She didn't say anything. She just grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone. Her fingers moved fast.

I snatched it out of her hand before she finished dialing.

"Don't you dare say a word to him."

I pressed the phone back into her palm and stepped into the room, shutting the door in her face.

She screamed something I didn't bother to hear. A second later, something metallic hit the wall outside. Her phone, probably. I didn't care.

I turned around.

Ariana was still standing there in her lingerie, trembling. Not crying — just shaking, the way people do when the adrenaline hasn't worn off yet. She was staring at me like she couldn't decide if I was the threat or the exit.

"Are you done?" I asked.

She blinked. My voice pulled her out of wherever she'd gone. Then she turned and rushed into the bathroom.

"Don't waste my time," I said, shrugging off my jacket.

The water ran. I lit a cigarette and let the smoke curl through the room, blurring the edges of everything. It didn't help. It never does.

Why does she have to be everywhere?

Ariana stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later.

Without the heavy makeup, without the glitter and the stage lights and the outfit that was designed to make men stupid, she looked nothing like the woman I'd watched at the club. Softer. Younger. Almost like someone who'd never set foot in a place like Prestige.

I pushed the thought away.

It doesn't matter. Taking off the makeup doesn't change what she does for a living.

I watched her for a moment, then tapped the bed.

"Come here. It's not like this is your first time."

She walked over slowly and sat on the edge of the mattress. Her hands were folded in her lap. She wasn't looking at me. The whole night had clearly made her uncomfortable — and that, for some reason, irritated me more than it should have.

I leaned toward her and reached for the tie of her robe.

She caught my hands.

"Wait."

I stopped. My expression hardened.

"What?"

"You should at least wear protection."

I steadied myself against the bed and stared at her.

"What the hell do you mean?"

Her fingers tightened around the robe.

"What are you so scared of?"

She clenched her teeth.

"You're not exactly new to this. Or don't women like you take whatever they're given?"

She bit her lip and looked away. Then she closed her eyes — not like she was shutting me out, but like she was bracing, the way you brace for something you've felt before and don't want to feel again.

The sight of it irritated me more than the words.

"Open your eyes," I ordered.

She didn't move.

I reached for her chin and turned her face toward me. The mark on her cheek was still visible beneath the fading redness — Skylark's handiwork, already blooming into something darker.

For the first time that night, I noticed how small she looked sitting there.

Not weak.

Just tired.

My jaw tightened.

"Did Skylark frighten you?"

Ariana opened her eyes slowly.

"No."

"Then what is it?"

She stared at me. Guarded. Measuring. Like she was deciding how much of the truth I could handle.

"I'm not afraid of you."

A humorless smile pulled at my mouth.

"You should be."

"Maybe," she whispered. "But I'm still not sleeping with you without protection."

The firmness in her voice caught me off guard. Not the words — the way she said them. Flat. Final. Like she'd already decided and nothing I did was going to move her.

I released her chin and stood upright, looking down at her.

"You're in no position to make demands."

"Then don't touch me."

The room went still.

Her words were quiet, but they landed like a challenge.

"Look, miss. Today has already been bad enough. Don't make it worse."

"Like I said." Her voice snapped this time. "No protection, no sex."

My patience broke.

"Don't fucking test me."

I slammed my hand against the table. Ariana jumped at the sound and stood abruptly, shifting backward.

I moved toward her slowly.

She kept retreating until her back hit the wall.

"You do what I say, when I say it, and when I want it," I growled.

"No."

Her voice shook, but she didn't look away.

"You follow my terms if you want this to be a business arrangement."

"Stop the fucking charade."

I caught her wrists and pinned them against the wall. Her eyes filled immediately — not tears of fear, but angry ones. The kind that come when someone's been pushed too far and refuses to break.

Her breathing quickened under my hold. She still didn't surrender.

Before I could move, my phone rang.

I hissed and grabbed it off the table.

"Who the fuck is calling me at this hour?"

"Boss." Vince's voice cut through the line. "We have a problem."

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Tell me tomorrow."

"It's your mother."

Everything stopped.

"She's missing again."

The words hit me somewhere I don't let people touch. I released Ariana at once and reached for my jacket.

"I'm on my way."

I ended the call and headed for the door.

Where the hell are you this time, Momma?