Read Online Slave to the Rhythm by Jane Harvey-Berrick - Free Book Online Page B

to it, no?”
    If I was going to say anything, now was the time, but my tongue felt paralyzed.
    “Sergei says you owe him money?”
    Volkov’s voice was even, pleasant, the odor of violence hidden behind expensive cologne.
    “I . . . my clothes were damaged.”
    “Maybe you’d like to repay him personally?” Volkov asked.
    I knew what he was suggesting, and for a moment I thought that I was going to puke, so I said nothing.
    “Or perhaps I’ll pay him what you owe, and you can pay me. It’s possible to get good tips working in my nightclub.”
    I frowned, confused.
    “Tips . . . for dancing?”
    Volkov smiled. “Go have a few drinks in the bar after the show. Let the ladies from the audience buy them for you. Entertain them, make them happy, you know?”
    He paused, his yellow eyes cutting into me.
    “You don’t want to be in Sergei’s debt any longer than you have to be. Or mine. But it’s your choice.”
    Now I understood.
    I was in Hell.

Thirty-six days later . . .
    Laney
    “IT’S RIDICULOUS! YOU’RE not in a fit state to go anywhere!”
    Collin was furious, the tendons standing out on his thick neck, a vein throbbing in his forehead as he stood puffing like an angry bull.
    “For God’s sake, Laney! Just phone them and cancel. It’s only Vegas—it’s not like it’s anything important.”
    I stared at him, fury making my lips tremble. I hated looking weak when I was so damn angry.
    “No, it’s not important! I know that! It’s just my life. Ordinary life.”
    Collin jeered. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
    “I’m not. I’m really not, but what difference would it make if I stay here? I’ll be the same wherever I go. I may as well enjoy myself. And I’ve been planning this with Vanessa and Jo for eight months. I want to go.”
    “It’s ridiculous,” Collin said again, aggravated that I wouldn’t agree with him. “I can’t just take off and go to Vegas with you. I have work. I have responsibilities. It’s selfish of you to take risks with your health.”
    My mouth dropped open. “Selfish? You think I’m being selfish?”
    I was hurt he could think that. Didn’t he know me at all?
    “Yes, I think you’re being selfish. I can’t look after you if you go there and . . .”
    “I’m not asking you to look after me and I don’t need you to look after me.”
    “Of course you do!” he snapped.
    We glared at each other across the kitchen table.
    That damn wheelchair. It too often defined me.
    I took a deep breath. Keeping calm would reassure him, or at least strengthen my argument.
    I hated talking about my health. It was all so boring.
    “I’m not a child. I can manage perfectly well.”
    Collin dismissed my words with a wave of his hand.
    “How? How will you manage getting your wheelchair to the airport? How will you manage your luggage? Have you thought about any of this?”
    I stared at him, insulted that he thought so little of me, assuming I couldn’t organize anything without him. Collin shook his head.
    “I’m just thinking of you,” he said in a milder tone.
    “Stop trying to control me and let me get on with my life,” I said quietly.
    Collin’s knuckles turned white, gripping the coffee cup as if it was a life-preserver.
    “Is that what you think? That I’m trying to control you?”
    I sighed. “Sometimes, yes. I know you don’t mean to be like that . . . but I’m going to Vegas.”
    “Fine,” he snapped, slamming the cup onto the table so that coffee slopped over his hand. “You don’t want me ‘controlling’ you?”
    He made air quotes with his fingers.
    “You know what? No problem. I’m done, Laney. I’m so done. All I’ve ever tried to do is help you and I get shot down every time.”
    He stood up, his bulky frame towering over me.
    “I’m done trying to look after you.”
    Then he scooped up his jacket and stormed out of the room.
    I heard the door to my apartment slam and the silence washed over me.
    “I don’t want you to look after me,” I