REDEMPTION | MAFIA ROMANCE | SMUT

CHAPTER TWO

I entered the flat and slumped against the closed door, the backpack landing on the floor. Incense sticks burnt in tray-shaped holders on the spalted maple dresser, which effused a random mixture of lavender, rosemary and lemongrass. I sniffed the air. Is that sage? I don't even care.

Kicking off the trainers on my feet, I wandered down the door-lined hallway and beelined the patterned yet comfortable sofa in the poky living room. Face first, I might add. I buried my face in the floral cushion and grumbled at the worthlessness of life.

Blindly, I reached for my phone, extracted it from my pocket and signed into online banking. I had plentiful compensation money left over, but recently, I had dipped into funds. When Kathy lived here, I paid for nothing. Her wages covered the bills and put food in our stomachs. Her only requirement was that I go to college.

I did well in high school. I had to work extra hard to catch up academically, not that I was uneducated. The man who held me captive for all those years made sure I read books. He taught fundamental English and mathematics proficiencies, so I guess I learnt the basics before full-time education commenced. I came away with enough GCSEs for a promising future. I had it all figured out before Kathy disappeared. Now, I had bigger concerns. If I don't land a position at Club 11 soon, I have to job hunt, or the compensation money will be gone quicker than I can blink.

"Hey, Hon." My roommate, Chloe, plonked onto the upholstered armchair. "How did it go?"

I spilt the beans in less than five minutes, from the ruined trainers to the embarrassing encounter with Liam Warren to fainting on the spot for an incognizant time period.

Chloe's green eyes widened with each passing second. "So, let me get this straight. You made the man drop his coffee, drew blood from his bald colleague and broke into a loony bin frenzy." Her big-busted chest deliberately bounced as she followed me to the bathroom. "And you showed all the perverts your knockers."

Noteworthy, Chloe is a characteristically melodramatic individual. She also has the attention span of a fish, so be unsurprised when she strays from important topics. "First of all, they are not perverts, nor did I show them my boobs. You have taken the story way out of context." I plugged the tub and ran hot and cold water. "Must you make me feel worse? You are supposed to comfort me, not mock me. You know, being my friend and all that other bullshit."

"Sorry." Chloe spritzed the bathwater with Radox salt. "I know I can be insensitive. Sometimes, I forget how much this means to you, Alexa."

I sat on the closed toilet while waiting for the tub to fill. "Chloe, I messed up," I whispered dejectedly. "Months and months of hard work for nothing. I ruined everything within minutes. The coffee did the trick. Liam stopped. We even had a bizarre conversation. Well, he as good as asked if I had mental issues, and then I passed out, which basically suggested I had mental fucking issues."

Chloe stifled laughter.

I smiled at the stupidity.

"Liam called me a kid." My shoulders sagged. "Even if I never humiliated myself, I don't think he would hire me. I am not Kathy. I mean, who am I kidding? I could never strip in front of a room full of men like she did. I don't even have boobs."