Careful What You Kiss For Read Online Free PDF Page A

now.
    She opened her eyes and looked down to see another fifty dollar bill. Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes.
    “Hey!”
    Tensley turned to see the barrel-chested man bearing down on her. “Whaddya doin’ standing here? Got someplace better to be?”
    She drew her shoulders up and back, swiping at the tears with the back of her hand. Her body shook so hard, it jarred her voice. “As a mat — matter of fact — ”
    “Matter of fact, my ass. You’re done with that customer. Go find another one.”
    Another swipe of tears. “You can’t talk to me like that.”
    “The hell I can’t.” He shook a stubby finger at her. “Think you’re going to get special treatment? As long as you work for me — ”
    She sniffed. “I don’t. Work for you.”
    “Fine.” He shrugged. “Then get your shit and get out.”
    Asshole . “Fine. I will.” Her voice had climbed so high, though, she was pretty sure only a dog could hear it.
    “I’ll take that.” He plucked the fifty from her hand. “See ya.” He turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd.
    And she’d thought things couldn’t get any worse.
    She lifted her head and began retracing her steps through the place. Slowly. Deliberately. One foot in front of the other. As she moved, she made a mental checklist, forming perfect little boxes next to each item. Find my clothes. Find my purse. Get home. Call Kate.
    Murmurs of “hey, baby,” and “lemme buy you a drink, sweetheart,” reached her ears, but she ignored them, keeping her eyes straight ahead, focused only on that first item on her list. Clothes.
    She saw a black curtain behind the stage, partially pulled back to reveal a hallway painted a nauseating color of green. From out of nowhere, the bouncer showed up to block her way. She stopped, her heart pounding.
    “Where you headed, Tensley?” His words carried a warning, more gentle than menacing, that pierced the layer of cotton around her brain.
    He knew her.
    A red-headed woman wearing scraps of black leather held together by silver chain grabbed the man’s arm as she passed by from behind. “Hey Milo, who’s lookin’ good tonight?”
    “Table six. Lots of cash.”
    “Thanks, honey.” She gave his arm a pat and disappeared.
    His features squashed into a good-natured smile until seconds later, his attention was caught by someone approaching from Tensley’s right. He held up a hand and said, “Dancers only.” Tensley felt the person slink away.
    His next words were for Tensley. “Gary’ll be pissed if he sees you tryin’ to take a break this early.”
    Gary had to be the short guy who’d made her skin crawl. “That man is not my boss.”
    “You quit again?”
    Again? “I don’t belong here.”
    “Come on, Tensley.” He shook his head. “You know Gary’s just harder on the ones with a record.”
    She stared up at him. “A record?”
    His brows lifted in the age-old ‘duh’ expression. “At least you were still mostly a kid. You should tell him that instead of letting him give you all this crap. You’re a good enough dancer and besides … ”
    The man’s words faded into the roar of the background until she could only see his lips moving. At least you were still mostly a kid.
    The do-over. Punching Rhonda when she’d had the chance.
    She’d never hit anyone; never even had so much as a parking ticket. Then she looked down to see her hand form a fist. As it slowly rose, she flashed on the feeling of her fingers connecting with the cartilage and small bones of Rhonda’s surgically perfected nose. Nothing in her life had ever hurt so good.
    Oh, no. No, no, no. In her one chance at a do-over, Tensley had picked punching Rhonda.
    Milo grabbed her under the arms before she hit the floor. She struggled to regain her footing, but couldn’t make her legs work.
    From above her, she heard him say something unintelligible. Next thing she knew, he had picked her up and was moving her down the hall, her toes skimming the