I knew that seeing her for the first time was going to be hard, I knew it was going to take every inch of control to stop myself from running for her, to show her I was still here and I was coming for her but I had no idea how much it was going to tear me up inside. She was beautiful, just as beautiful as I remember her but seeing her in that tight red dress made it so much harder for me to keep myself under control. The moment I laid eyes on her soft pale skin, long red hair and that tight dress it was like something that was dead inside of me had just come back to life, desire.
She was so oblivious to me being there, I could see as her eyes scanned the crowd but she had no idea that I was here, that I was so close. She looked tense, the way she used to look when I would take her on the road with me, her body was uptight and ready for anything. I never forgot what she looked like, her face was imprinted in my brain but to see her in the flesh again just made all those little things come pouring back to me. I remember the freckle just below her left eye and the birthmark on her lower stomach. I remember how she felt beneath me, the way her body moved.
I shook the erotic thoughts that had entered my mind and snapped my gaze back on her. I watched as a man at the bar began to eye her, his eyes burning a hole in her behind. My automatic reaction was to go and pummel his ass, to rip his eyes from his head for looking at her in that way but I knew I had to keep my cool, the place was filled with what looked to be Roman's men. The man got up from his seat and walked over to her, a slight unsteadiness in his step. I watched as she blew him off, her pierce blue eyes not even giving him the satisfaction of looking at him, it made me twitch with desire.
"So what's the plan then?" Georg asked from beside me, snapping me out of my trance.
I shuffled in my seat, trying to stop myself from getting too worked up just from the sight of her, I cleared my throat and motioned for him to follow me back outside the club, I took one last glance back at her, my heart aching as I had to leave her behind, I had to leave her in the pit of fucking predators without me but I knew I only had a short window to go into the club and suss it out, I couldn't push my luck and risk getting caught, it would jeprodise everything.
We made our way down the dark alleyway, a few drunk civilians chucking their guts up and stumbling over the stone path. We approached a dark black car and got inside. I looked to Bill as he sat in the drivers seat, an angry look on his face as he waited for us to close the doors.
I sighed "Don't be like that Bill."
He huffed and took off down the road "That was stupid! What if someone recognized you?" He snapped at me now "You would've been killed!"
"But I wasn't, besides no one would recognize me now with this beard." I joked but was hit hard by reality when I realized I wouldn't have a clue when I would see her again, if I would see her again, who knew what could happen between now and when we finally have a chance to swoop in and take her. Now all I could do was pray that she was smart enough to keep herself alive, and I had strong faith in her.
***
Tonight was the night, for the first time Roman had me working in the club as a prostitute. It made me sick to the stomach at the thought of what was to come, the thought of a strange man touching me made my skin crawl and I already pictured myself afterwards, scrubbing away at my skin until it bled just to try and get his smell off me. I held back the tears that were screaming to come out, Roman would be mad at me if I cried, if I ruined the makeup on my face and I didn't want to make him mad, I didn't want him to punish me again. I have been doing so well, recruiting women in the club and on the streets with Angel, I had pleased him and for a second I thought maybe I could actually stay here, maybe I could get by but that all changed when I was told by Angel this evening what Roman had in store for me tonight.
I reached down for the dark red lipstick that sat sprawled amongst all the makeup on the vanity and popped off the cap to twist open the lipstick and begin applying it to my lips. I finished the application and took a moment to stare back at the girl in the mirror, this girl was not who I was used to seeing, something in her had changed, nobody else could see it, but I could. I was startled by a knock on my door, I knew who it was. I grabbed the small bag that laid on my bed, inside a phone supplied to me by Roman, a mirror and another tube of lipstick. He wanted to make sure I was looking flawless at all times, gone were my days of loose tanks and ripped jeans, now it was all tightly fitted revealing clothing that left nothing to the imagination.
Myself, Roman and Angel made our way silently to the club downtown, the drive feeling twice as long as usual tonight. Angel gave me some reassuring looks from beside Roman as we made the drive and it wasn't until we pulled up outside the club that Roman finally took a glance at me, he placed his hand on my knee and watched as I twitched uncomfortably at his touch "Loosen up a bit Red, I'm sure you will have a great night tonight." He chuckled before opening his door and getting out.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and got out behind him, Angel close behind. We made our way out the back and as we made our way down the dark hallway Roman motioned for us to stop. We stood in silence before the sound of muffled moans began to fill the air behind all the doors around us, Roman smiled at me "See, doesn't sound that bad of a job does it?" He teased, before heading to one of the top girls there who dealt with the clientele.
"It's her first night, I've already got a few clients who are interested in her, top buyer gets the prize." He said to her before leaning down to give her a kiss on each cheek, her face lit up with a big grin.
He gave me a cheeky smile before heading back out to the club.
"Get to work Angel." The girl said and Angel nodded before heading out onto the floor to serve drinks and find a buyer.
"My name is Lucy, I run this end of things, I know its your first time but you really need to make a good impression because Roman is counting on you to bring in some good cash." She had a latina look about her and her accent also gave away her background.
"I don't think I can do this." I mumbled, my eyes looking back and fourth to her eyes and my feet.
"I don't want to hear it, you are here to get a job done so get it done." She was blunt.
I stared at her angrily now, my ability to keep my mouth shut was improving but I did still have my struggled with it "You cold bitch." I stared at her now and this caused her to giggle a little.
"Sweety, remember why you're here, if you make things hard for me, I will tell Roman how bad you were, maybe steal some of your profit, make him think you are cheap, then see what he will do to you. Now, you already have a first client lined up for tonight, lucky you he is a big spender and booked out the whole night with you." She began to make her way down the hallway with all the separate numbered doors "You better make him happy, or Roman will be hearing about it." She said as she stopped at a door numbered 14. She knocked lightly on the door before opening it, the room was large, it was basically a hotel room, with a large bed, en-suite etc. The room was dark and I could not see who was inside.
"Go on" Lucy urged me to go inside.
I stepped inside the dark room, my arms crossed tightly around my body in a defense mechanism.
"Here you are sir, Crimson." She said before closing the door, submerging myself in darkness.
For a second I thought this was all a joke, I thought there really wasn't anyone else in here and maybe they were just testing me to see how I would react but when I heard a voice come from the corner of the room I instantly stiffened in place.
"Hello? I-I can't see you, I'm sorry, where are you?" I asked as I inched a little forward.
Suddenly a dim light flicked on and I could make out the silhouette of a man, I stopped inching forward and looked to his direction.
"I...I'm new at this, I don't really know what I am doing." I stuttered awkwardly as I studied the shadow of the man.
"That is okay." The man said, and his German accent made me suddenly fill with adrenaline as I was remembered of the boys I once knew back in Tokio.
"Do...I know you?" I asked as I began to inch forward again, towards the light.
The man stood up from his seat and began to walk towards me, I watched as he came closer and it wasn't until he was in arms reach that I could see the details of his face and I felt as my voice caught in my throat and my stomach dropped, was it really him?
"Georg?" I asked as I stared into his brown eyes.
"Yes Taylor, it is me, Georg." He said as he placed his hands on my shoulders and held them there. He was almost unrecognizable, his once long brown hair was now cut short and messy, making his jaw line appear sharper and his overall appearance more manlier.
"Oh my god, what are you doing here?" I asked as I shook my head side to side, confused about what was going on. It took a minute for me to process and the only thing that made sense was that he was here to kill me, he was here to get rid of the roach that had caused so many issues.
I took a deep breath, staring him right in the eye "You're here to kill me aren't you?"
His expression changed, he looked at me confused all of a sudden "What? Kill you, no. I am here to talk to you about getting you out of here."
"Wh-what? Why?" I was still so confused, this whole situation felt so surreal.
"You don't belong here, you belong back in Tokio...with us." He said, complete compassion in his voice, like he really meant it.
"Us?" I questioned.
"Yes, Bill and Gustav are here also, we are here to bring you back."
"So it's true." I felt my heart sink "He's really dead."
Georg's hands dropped from my shoulders and before he had a chance to speak I began to burst into tears. I pulled away from him and made my way over to the side of the bed, dropping to the floor and cradling my legs to my chest. Georg followed me down and knelt down in front of me "Shh, they might here. I don't want them to think I'm that bad." He joked, my expression making his smile quickly fade.
"Why doesn't Bill hate me?" I sobbed "He must blame me for all of this."
"No, no, no. Bill doesn't hate you, Tom would want you back home, that's why we are doing this. Come here." Georg lent towards me, wrapping his arms around my trembling body and I lent in to him, pressing my face against his chest in an attempt to feel comforted.
I felt as his hand ran down the length of my hair and I couldn't help but to imagine I was with Tom right now, it was his chest I was crying on and his hand running down my hair and when I pulled away to look at him it really was Tom I could see looking back at me. I pushed myself towards him, my neck out reached as I plant my lips to his. My eyes shut close and for a moment I feel like I am back where I belong. I feel as hands begin to push me away and I snap my eyes open to see Georg looking back at me shocked.
"I-I'm so sorry." I said embarrassed as I stood up from him on the floor and walked across the room.
"It's okay...I get it." He said as he looked up at me from the floor.
"This is just a lot for me to take in, I mean, I was told Tom was dead but I didn't really believe it...I thought there was a chance, that maybe, I was being lied too."
"Listen to me, Roman has this place really well set up, the only reason I could get this far in is because I am not as well known as Tom and Bill, that's why I am here to tell you that we are coming for you, we are still working on something, waiting for a chance but for now, you have to keep yourself alive." He said to me, avoiding the subject of Tom.
"Ok, whatever I have to do." I nodded.