Selling Out Read Online Free PDF

eyes, her flared nostrils. She looked
like a pixie—a pissed-off, belligerent, terrified pixie. Selling her body for
possibly the first time was a big drop, but she couldn’t get off the ride at
the top of the hill.
    “You’ve at least had sex before, right?” I asked.
    “Of course I have!” she squeaked.
    Ah shit. There was definite glistening happening in her
ocular area. And that annoying snuffling sound. Apparently it was contagious,
because now my insides had gone all quivery as well. This was exactly why I
didn’t do people, why I didn’t do touching, at least not without the cold
accompaniment of currency.
    I forced down my emotions, pushed back my own revulsion and
anger and fear, and patted her shoulder, proud of myself for managing it.
There.
    She swung around, and before I could blink, her fist
connected with my face. Surprise and pain forced me back, and I fell against
the wall.
    Goddamn, that skinny little body packed a punch.
    By the time my vision had cleared, she was gone, with only
her footsteps giving away her run down the hall. I grabbed my purse from the
table where I’d dropped it and ran after her the best I could in my heels and slinky
dress.
    The men in the sitting room hadn’t noticed her passing by,
but they sure saw me.
    “Hey,” the handsome one called. “Where do you think you’re
going?”
    “Change of plans,” I called out, but he’d already caught me by
the elbow. I winced, unable to smother the reaction when the right side of my
face ached, but he didn’t hit me. Instead, he towed me back to the group like a
recalcitrant child, and I stammered just like one. “It’s…her. She has a little
problem.”
    The silver-ringed eyebrow of the other guy lifted. “What
kind of problem?”
    Think, damn it . I
could have come up with some sort of “show” on the fly, maybe a little
girl-on-girl action with Jenny. This wouldn’t have been a problem. But if I was
the fairy godmother, then my Cinderella had just fled the ball. The only thing
she would get up to with a torn, skimpy outfit and a bad attitude was trouble.
    From the lap of a man old enough to be her father, Jenny
stared at me uncomprehendingly. Her pose was relaxed, her eyes glassy. Flying
high, probably.
    “Drugs,” I said. “The girl, um…Ella—she’s having a bad
reaction.”
    A round of curses filled the air.
    “We don’t have any drugs,” said Prince Charming, sounding
disappointed.
    “Right, well. Perk of the job, I guess.” I waved my hand,
ergo… “But the last thing we need is her passing out in the hotel, cops asking
questions. Then the reporters… They’re like vultures over sex stories. But hey,
I can round her up. Take care of it for you. Fair enough?”
    They agreed and thanked me profusely. By the time I was
unceremoniously shoved out the door, they had already cranked the music back
up. Briefly I felt regret for leaving Jenny behind. But I couldn’t save all of
us. In fact, odds were high I couldn’t save any of us.
    I leaned against the wall. What the hell had I done? There
hadn’t been any ambiguity or wiggle room in Henri’s instructions. Work the
party so I didn’t end up facedown in an alley. I had done this before, so how
had this gone wrong so quickly?
    Ella, I’d named her. Oh, fabulous. Because of course all she
needed was a pet name and a muzzle for that right hook and I could bring her
home with me. I allowed myself a small smile and started down the hallway.
    * * * *
    It was too much to hope that she’d caught a cab and been
halfway across Chicago by now. Instead, the whispers between the front desk
staff pointed me to the back offices, and then the ruckus in the back kitchens
drew me like a homing beacon.
    I found Ella in the back room, wrestling with a member of
security. He was armed only with a walkie-talkie, it appeared, but he used it
furiously, shouting into it as he gripped Ella’s arm with his other hand.
    “There you are,” I accused.
    She subsided in his