"Or you don't want to tell me."
"I'm not as in as you think. I'm just a dancer."
Logan held her hips as she leaned backward, giving him a nice extended view of her body. He tried his hardest not to stare, but it didn't work, so he pulled her back up, their foreheads touching.
"One of his best dancers. You're practically in charge of these other girls. You're the one he sleeps next to every night."
"You say it like it's love. Like it's a relationship. Like he's the King, and I'm his Queen."
"If it's not like that, then what is it?"
As she pulled away a bit, Logan pushes some of her hair out of her face, the look in her eyes suddenly changing.
"More like a master and his slave."
A cry for help.
That's what he saw when he looked into her eyes, a cry for help. She might have been numb over the years. But there was still that part of her who wanted to be free.
A part of her that wanted to get out of this world. That little girl in her was still hoping for a miracle.
Iris got off of Logan. As soon as she turned her back, he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap. She closed her eyes, listening to him breathe in her scent as their fingers intertwined.
He might have been a stranger, but she definitely felt safe in his arms. Safer than she's ever felt in anyone's arms.
"I could get you out of this," he told her. "Get you away from him, from this. I just need your help."
Iris looked up at him, caressing the side of his face with her hand. "You think it'll be that easy, Mr. McKinely?"
"I didn't say it was going to be easy," he shook his head.
"Well, hard isn't even the word to use," she told him.
"You're talking to someone who's tried to escape more times than I admit to counting. I've tried every trick in the book, even death. You know what's like to one minute see the light, and the next you're looking in the eyes of the devil himself?"
"You know I use to think the devil was this small, angry red man with a tail and devil horns," Logan tells her as he grasped her hand that was on his cheek.
"You and me both," she could relate all too well.
There was a long silence, the two just gazing into each other's eyes.
Both had been numb for quite some time now, but it seemed in this moment, something actually sparked. It was like a small light had been lit in their dark lives. A light they thought was long gone.
"I'm sorry about your family," Iris apologized. "I've seen things in this lifestyle, but still, I can't imagine . . . Hell, I never imagined any of this." Her eyes watered.
Iris gulped, keeping in her emotions.
"I'm going to kill him," Logan said bluntly. "I'm going to avenge all the people he's ever hurt, including my family."
"Is that a threat?"
"That's a promise," his voice was full of conviction. "Help me or not, it's going to happen. It would just be easier if you helped me out. I promise I can keep you safe."
"You'll die trying."
"At least I would die for something."
Iris's heart fluttered a bit as she found her tongue running across her bottom lip.
Eighteen||Part Two
Start from the beginning
