Read Online This Is a Dark Ride by Melissa Harlow - Free Book Online

Sam’s attraction to her didn’t have a damn thing to do with Brody though. This was something different, something weird, and he wished it would just go away.
    She was new to this street, young and pretty, and he’d had a feeling then that somebody would end up keeping her. Maybe someone would even take care of her. He hoped someone would take care of her the way he took care of Brody. It was a shame to think of her ending up dead in a Dumpster somewhere, or in some alley shooting up drugs. The girls on this street came and went all the time. No one really seemed to notice, or care, when they disappeared. He didn’t pay much attention to them himself, but he’d never seen one like her. She seemed out of place here. It wasn’t fair to any of those girls, but this one wasn’t some strung-out junkie. Whatever had made her desperate enough to start whoring, it wasn’t drugs.
    A few nights ago he’d pulled up by the curb and stopped. Not because he had the money to pay for sex, but because he wanted to see what she looked like up close and to talk to her. She hadn’t looked high. He knew what high looked like, knew it well. Every time he looked at Brody, he remembered exactly what high looked like.
    Dead of winter and she didn’t wear a coat. She’d kind of wrapped her arms around herself as the wind stirred her dark hair. He’d rolled the window down slow, trying to act like he knew what he was doing. Smudged, black-rimmed eyes, green as a Heineken bottle, stared down at him.
    “ You looking for a date ?” She’d sounded more bored than hopeful.
    He’d cleared his throat and gripped the steering wheel of his car. His hands were shaking. “ What kind of date ?”
    She’d flatly told him that fifty dollars would get him anything he wanted. While he highly doubted that, it would get him laid, something he sure wouldn’t have minded. It had been a stunning revelation. He wanted to fuck a woman. This one. With Brody or without Brody, either way the thought made his dick harder than it had been in months.
    No. It wasn’t right, wanting that. What he wanted, really wanted, was to have Brody back. Brody was such a mess; he’d always been lean and wiry, but alcohol and drugs had decimated his body. His teeth were bothering him now, and coming up with the cash to get him to the dentist seemed nearly impossible.
    Sam had told her no thanks, that he couldn’t afford it.
    The price didn’t come down, but she had stood there for a few minutes looking at him, her hand resting on his window so that he couldn’t roll it back up. Ragged fingernails with chipped red polish had tapped nervously on the glass.
    “ Why you wasting my time ?” she’d finally asked, chewing on her bottom lip.
    “ I don’t know. Guess I just wanted to talk to you .”
    Her half-smile had appeared genuine. “ Yeah ?”
    “ You should have a coat on ,” he’d told her. Hours later he’d still felt stupid for saying that; it was something his mother would have said once.
    “ Somebody stole it. Let’s go on a date and then I can buy me a new one. You’ll have a good time, and I’ll have some money for a coat .” She’d tried to laugh. “ Everybody wins .”
    Right now, even on payday, giving up fifty dollars to pay a prostitute would be out of the question. Rent and food were more important, although Sam had a feeling it might be worth skipping a few meals if it meant he could screw the pretty brunette before the streets used her up. As for Brody, he hardly ever ate anyhow. He was practically wasting away, but he wouldn’t eat a damn thing and when he did, he usually threw it right back up.
    “ Maybe some other time ,” Sam had told her, knowing that wasn’t the truth.
    “ Yeah, sure .” She’d known he was lying too. He could see it in her eyes. Her hand had lingered on his car window just a second longer, and then it was gone. Another vehicle had pulled up behind his, and she’d moved on.
    There had been a moment when