My cheeks throbbed hotly, the floor quaking beneath my hands and knees, everything spun momentarily, and a sharp ringing drowned my ears in a way that got my insides churning.
I can’t feel my face.
"Pick the doll up."
Suddenly, I was hurled to my feet like I weighed nothing by two bulky men.
I glared daggers at the man who hit me, even though my entire face felt like it was falling off.
"You’ve got some nerve. Aren’t you with the program? Or are you one of those stubborn bitches who think they still have some worth?"
I tried to move my mouth to speak, but pain exploded throughout my jaw. He grabbed my chin, and I grunted as the ache intensified.
"If I want that cunt you give it to me. That is your fucking job. Do you understand me, doll?"
"Milo."
A voice came beside us, but I couldn’t look because I was pinned where I was.
"What is it?! I’m in the middle of correcting this bitch!" The man holding me, who was called Milo, barked at him.
"Marcus wants to see you ASAP. It’s important."
He shoved my chin away, and I would have fallen over if it hadn’t been for the men holding me.
"Right now?"
"Right now...!" the other one urged with urgency.
Milo ran his hand through his brown hair, eyeing me in a way that made it clear to me that whoever this Marcus was, had just saved me because God knows what could have happened.
"Bring her."
What? No, no, no!
I squirmed as I was hurled away. They forced me upstairs to where I assumed was the VIP section.
The entire place wasn’t as crowded and seemed to be having its own thing going on.
There were strippers on stage, naked, and the rest dressed like they were in the middle of role-playing, as the men were entertained, flashing cash at their faces, drinking, and smoking.
There were all men here. And looking at them closely, I could tell they had deep pockets. Isn’t that the commissioner I saw on the news talking about a development project?
There was a stripper who had her ass to his face and he disgustingly rubbed his face against it. He has a wife!
Milo was hasty with his steps, and in return, I’m practically hauled by his men to keep up, their hands bruising into my skin.
I’m in deep shit, and it only took me now to realize that this Milo might be someone important. I don’t regret giving the asshole what he deserved; my only regret was that I should have done it more wisely.
"Marcus," Milo said to the bearded man sitting on the curved banquette.
Two women with their tits out sat beside him, and he had his tongue down her throat while the other one waited like she already knew her turn would come next.
I grew more apprehensive when I saw the cocaine and guns casually sitting on the table.
Shit! I’ve been dragged into some serious shit!
It was a solid two minutes, and Marcus gave us PG-18 before Milo cleared his throat impatiently.
Clawing the woman’s ass, he spread out his arms on the back of the seat, finally turning his attention to us.
"You do realize how important this opening night is. So, quite fucking around."
"I wasn’t fucking around," Milo defended.
"You just fucked one of the dolls when I specifically told you not to. They should be ready because I got men demanding more on the stage."
"That—"
"Nothing must go wrong tonight."
Milo clenched his teeth. "I’m very much aware, brother."
"Good. Keep it in your pants for at least a few hours and don’t dry up my money when you see the next tits walking around."
The men around chuckled, and Milo huffed.
Marcus’s eyes moved to me, eyeing me from head to toe in a way that made me wanna claw his eyes out.
"Who’s beauty?"
"A doll who slapped me."
"Slapped you?" Marcus sounded shocked. "Are you sure?"
"Look at my fucking face!" He pointed to my nail mark.
Marcus leaned away from the seat. "A doll slapped you. Where the fuck is Mama? She should be keeping her girls in check."
"How the fuck should I know?"
Marcus sighed. "She’s probably swamped. Bring her close, lemme see."
"No... she’s mine. I’m keeping her for later."
Marcus pinned him with an unpleasant look. "Bring her Milo."
Milo murmured under his breath before nudging his chin, I was pulled forward barely able to stand on my own, my head aching.
Marcus whistled, shaking his head. "Man! She’s tight! She’ll do just fine."
"What?" Milo seemed to have caught on to whatever he meant, while I just gaped, frightened and dumbfounded.
"She’ll be a gift for our guest."
Milo was about to object, but Marcus wasn’t having it.
"You do realize our entire livelihood is riding on this. We’ve got more demands, and the money’s streaming in big. But... we must secure the gold by giving our guest something that can’t be resisted to show we mean business."
He rose to his feet, matching the same height as Milo. He kissed his fingers, gazing at me like I was a hidden gem he was looking for.
"And she’ll be perfect. A feisty-looking one, but who doesn’t like some fire?"
I was about to force my mouth to move despite the pain, but he slapped his brother.
"That’s for putting your hands on her. This face can’t be ruined."
"I-I-I’m not a doll," I winced as pain bit through me from speaking, my voice barely a whisper.
"What?" Marcus gave me his ear, hands on my shoulders, and I felt nauseated by his sweaty hands.
"Talk to me, beautiful."
I swallowed a lump down my dry throat. "T-There’s been some kind of mistake. I-I’m not a doll."
He pinned me with soft eyes, and I had hope for a second before it was ripped away.
"No, you’re not. You’re my diamond in the rough."