Their Kitten: Chapter 19

“

hat do you mean, it didn’t go through?” I all but squeak. After checking my account for days, Lucian finally called me to inform me that the transfer was sent back due to the account not existing. This has to be some kind of trick, some kind of scam for him and his stupid club to potentially exploit desperate girls looking to make quick money.

“There was a problem with the transfer, but it’s a simple fix,” Lucian says, his voice calm and steady despite my growing panic. “It may be as simple as the wrong number on either the account or routing number when you filled out your form.”

We take a few moments to confirm the numbers and find that I’d screwed up the order of two numbers when I wrote it down. I almost want to slap myself. Here I am thinking this man, and the guys, are trying to cheat me out of my money, but I’m the one who wrote down the wrong information to begin with.

“So how much longer do I have to wait to get paid now?” I ask. Even though I enjoy being at the hotel, I’m ready to be in something more permanent. The longer I have to depend on other people to provide, even just the basic needs I have, is giving me massive anxiety—especially when it’s coming from Tristan and Talon.

“Actually, if you can come to the club today, I can get you your money in cash if you’d like,” he says, and the words are like music to my ears. A smile settles on my lips before I can stop it, my mind already conjuring up all the things I plan to do the minute I receive it.

“Um, yeah, sure,” I stammer. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, great. I’ll see you then,” he says and hangs up.

I stand here in the silence of the hotel room before I release a loud squeal and jump onto the bed. I’m about to have four hundred thousand dollars. Sure, I had to go through hell and high water to get it, but I earned it, and it’s mine.

I sit up and force myself to calm down. There’s so much to do! Car shopping, apartment shopping, clothes shopping…I release an excited squeal once again before I rush around the room to get dressed. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited or happy, as well as relieved to know that all of my troubles are now over. I can move on with my life, the guys can go back to theirs, and things can go back to the way they were before everything went to hell in a handbasket.

Finally.

I take the bus to Purgatory and the bouncer lets me in this time without much sass or pushback. I make a beeline for Lucian’s office, anxious to get paid and be on my way. His office door is open this time, and he’s standing in the center of the room as if he’s just entered it. I knock lightly on the door and give him a small wave when he turns around.

“That was fairly quick,” he muses with a small grin. “Please, have a seat.”

I stroll across the room and take a seat in the chair across from his desk. I can barely sit still as Lucian walks across the room and stops in front of a large painting. He presses against the frame of it to reveal the door to a large safe hiding behind it. It’s like something out of a movie almost, as if he’s a super villain with many hiding spots and safe rooms.

My leg bounces as he puts in the combination to the safe before pulling open the heavy door and disappearing behind the painting. When he reappears, he’s holding a duffle bag—my ticket to my newfound freedom.

It almost doesn’t feel real. I discreetly pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. Maybe I’ve slipped and fell in the shower at the hotel, and I’m bleeding out on the floor, and this is all a dream. But it’s definitely no dream.

Lucian walks around his desk and puts the bag at my feet. “I believe this belongs to you.” He gestures to it. “Feel free to check it.”

I’m nervous to touch it, scared that it’ll disintegrate before my eyes if I move. But I reach forward and unzip the bag with shaky hands, my breath catching in my throat when I open it to find stacks of cash. The money is cool and crisp to the touch. It almost seems wrong to have access to this much money so quickly, but it’s a sacrifice that was worth making.

“Thank you,” I say, my voice thick with emotions.

It’s one thing to know that I’m getting money and having to wait on it, but it’s a different experience when you’re face to face with it.

“There’s nothing to thank me for. You earned it.” He walks back around his desk and takes a seat. “Just make sure you keep it safe until you can get it to a bank or at home.”

His words snap me back to reality. There’s no way I could take the bus back to the hotel with all of this money. Even though the bag looks like a regular gym bag, criminals snatch bags from women that they perceive to be weak all the time. I definitely can’t afford to lose this money, as I’d have a hard time trying to explain to the cops how I got the money in the first place.

“I have a ride,” I say with a small smile.

Lucian nods approvingly. “Good. If that’s all you need, you’re free to go. Enjoy your new life.”

I smile and nod before grabbing my bag and turning to leave his office. As I walk down the quiet hallway, I dig my phone out of my pocket and find Talon’s name in my contacts. After the last interaction I had with Tristan, I’m not sure I’m ready to face him again now that he knows the truth about who I really am.

“Hey, Cleo,” Talon says upon answering.

Even though it’s accurate, it’s strange to hear him address me by my name. I clear my throat and shift the weight of the bag to my other shoulder.

“Are you busy? I wanted to ask if you could give me a ride back to the hotel?”

“Where are you?”

“I came to Purgatory to pick up my money, and I don’t feel comfortable taking this much money on the bus.” I tighten my hand on the strap of the bag and clutch it even closer to me, even though I’m standing alone in the hallway.

He says something to someone in his background before he responds to me. “I’m actually about to go into a meeting with a client right now.” Then he says the words that I had been dreading. “But I can send Tristan. He’s free, I think.”

I fight the urge to groan out loud and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I say, my voice flat. Aside from the last conversation I had with him, I’m not looking forward to being in a car alone with him after the last ride he gave me.

“I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think it is now that he knows who you are,” Talon says.

I pause. “He told you? What did he say?”

“Not much.” Shuffling sounds fill the line before he sighs. “But really. You should let him take you back. I don’t know how long this meeting will take, and it’s probably not a good idea for you to be sitting around the club with that much money either.”

As much as I hate it, he’s right. There’s too much traffic in the club to feel comfortable sitting with this much money. I’m pretty sure some people may be able to put two and two together when they see me leaving Lucian’s office with a bag that I’m guarding with my life in a club in which women can sell their virginity. The last thing I want to do is make myself a target.

“Okay, fine,” I agree reluctantly. I can only hope that what he said about Tristan is true, and maybe this ride can come without the disgusting strings his last one did.

I go out onto the main floor of Purgatory and find a dark, secluded corner to hide away in, making sure to keep my bag out of sight as much as possible. My senses are on high alert, my eyes constantly scanning my surroundings and checking on the bag between my feet what feels like every three minutes. I constantly check my phone, making sure I haven’t missed a call or text from Tristan. The longer it takes him to get here, the more anxious I become. The sooner I get this money into the bank or somewhere safe, the better I’ll feel.

My phone buzzes in my hand after what feels like an eternity, an unknown number displayed on my screen.

“Hello?” I answer cautiously.

“It’s Tristan. I’m outside,” he says and hangs up. I frown at my phone screen, which now displays the Home Screen.

Stuffing my phone into my pocket, I secure my bag and hurry out the door, ready to put this club and everything I’ve been through inside of it behind me for good.