LUST & MONEY

Epilogue

"Do you meet guys like this often?" he says.

I look him in the eye and smile in what I hope to be a disarming way. Truth is, I'm still feeling a little unnerved and I've moved my patch further south. At least for a few weeks till any drama passes by. I'm pretty sure Ted's father didn't see me, but since school broke up for vacation I haven't seen Ted or my brother. Mom's too janked on prozac and vodka to even notice Cody's absence, and I'm not about to go poking my nose in at the school. Best to just lie low for a while.

We're in a sports bar, which is a little unusual. These old guys usually prefer somewhere quiet and secluded. Somewhere they can show off how I generous they can be with their money. Somewhere away from the prying eyes of other cruise attendees—or their wives. Henry here looks like maybe he won the cruise and made full use of the all-you-can-eat. But he's got a Prada bag so he's been shopping for someone with style. I glance at the bag, but try to hide my interest.

"You like football?" he asks, trying to keep his eyes on me instead of the large screen TV over the bar. I'm a little insulted, I admit, but it takes some pressure off and I sidle round the side of the table. I can watch the TV from there too, and get close enough for my DKNY eau de toilette to tempt Henry into dessert.

"Yes, but I just don't understand it. Can you explain it to me?" I don't know how I come out with this shit, but heck, we all know guys love it when a simple little girl like me needs a big strong man to explain something to her.

"It's real simple," he says. "It's all about persistence. Just keep moving forward inch by inch, and don't fumble the ball. When you fumble, the other guys take charge and you got a fight on your hands."

I nod as if those were the wisest words I ever heard.

"You got any friends who play football?" he asks.

I shake my head and pick at the nacho cheese the waitress has placed in front of us. I'm starving, and suddenly I feel tired again.I need a vacation. Maybe I should take a cruise. I almost laugh at the irony.

"Girl like you must attract a lot of guys. You got a brother or anyone to fight them off?"

I shrug. This guy has been a real asshole from the start and I'm already thinking of an escape route via the restrooms.

"No high school sweetheart story? Nothing like that?"

Okay, enough is enough. I tell him I'm heading to the restroom. Time to ditch this loser. I make as if to leave when he surprises me. My wrist hurts and when I look at it I see his paw-like hand wrapped around it, the grip so tight I can see my skin turning white where he's holding it. I sit back down. It's noisy and a cheer goes up when the Dolphins score a touchdown. Men and women all along the bar are shouting and high-fiving each other. No one notices the drama that's just started to play out at our little booth, and it's then I realize that this guy doesn't want some quiet little table for two. He wants to hide in plain sight.

He pushes the Prada bag towards me.

"Open it."

Curiosity was ever my weakness. I pull a small gift-wrapped box from the bag and look at him for confirmation.

"Go ahead, open it all the way."

I pull open the string that's looped around the box; no bigger than a mobile phone, and pull the tissue paper away.

Bastard!

I look around me and then back to him, before I look back to the police badge in my hand.

"That's right honey, You just ran out of luck." He grins, a big toothy smile that shows the missing teeth at the back of his mouth. "Let me tell you something. Life is like football. You keep on pushing forward, trying not to fumble the ball. Thing is, Laine, you fumbled it. Now you've got a choice. Don't worry, I've made the decision real easy for you to make. It's what they call one of those multiple choice questions."

He has nothing on me. I'm sure of it. He takes his badge from my hand and continues.

"You can either go to jail, for theft, extortion and I'm pretty sure I can make a case for kidnap..."

He pauses to drive the point home. I hate this fucker already.

"Or you can work for me. No one need ever know about your little enterprise here, and in return I don't put you in jail."

I don't say anything. He hasn't told me it'll be taken down and used as evidence against me, but I'm aware that he's not waiting for an answer. It's a foregone conclusion.

"From now on, you're going to tell me all about your brother and his friend Ted's movements. Everything you jack from one of these idiots that think they're getting you into the sack gets split 50/50. Any jewelry involved - you bring it straight to me. Understand?

I nod my head and just like that, my life is about to change.