THE JOB

Never sell yourself for less than you're worth, love.

***

CHAPTER XLVI

*****

He let out a loud, obnoxious laugh as I turned around to the bar. The young bartender went back to work, probably assuming that I wasn't interested in him.

He was right. I wasn't. But I wasn't interested in the man beside me with his hand on my exposed thigh either, yet there we were.

“How about I take you back to my room? And then we can get to know each other, if you know what I'm getting at,” he said, squeezing my thigh.

My stomach lurched at the action, but I swallowed down the bile and looked at him with a small smile. “It's not going to be that easy, sir.”

This was exactly what Pablo and Daniel wanted to happen and I was putting it off because of my own fear. Oh well, at least I didn't flat out reject him. The night was still young.

“Of course it's not,” he chuckled, rubbing his hand up and down my leg.

We sat in silence after that, where I sipped my drink until it finished and let my mind wonder off to Daniel. Everything was beginning to get complicated. Before we started whatever it was that we had now, I never thought of him as much as I was starting to. These days, he was always on my mind. His health, the way he looked, the way he spoke... The sex.

I was completely enraptured by him.

“How about we go up to my room and continue this conversation?” the man asked, gaining my attention again as I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I always do better in my solitude.”

“Is that so?” He nodded and a smirk lifted onto my lips. “Well then let's go.”

He got up and took my hand gently, taking me by surprise. He led me out of the bar and into the elavator where he continued talking to me.

Once the elevator door pinged open, he placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me down the hall until he reached his hotel room. It was left unlocked, so all he had to do was open the handle and walk in. He gestured for me to go in first before coming in after me.

I didn't miss how he locked the door behind him, but I pretended that I did as I walked further into the room and took a seat in the living area.

He was in the top suite, so he had a kitchen and living room on the bottom floor and then probably multiple rooms on the top floor.

“Can I get you something?” he asked, making me snap my head over to where he was.

He was at the bar, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. Even though he asked the question and I hadn't answered, he still poured some white wine into a wine glass and brought it over to me.

“Thank you,” I said politely, taking the drink from him as he sat beside me.

He watched me expectantly and I rolled my eyes and pretended to take a small sip of the drink before placing it on the coffee table in front of us. I let my eyes scan over my surroundings, but jumped when I felt his hand on my thigh.

I turned to him with wide eyes, but he had taken that opportunity to lean in and kiss my jaw. My heart almost beat out of my chest.

Where was Daniel? Wasn't this the point where he was going to go out and do something? Why was he still here?

“What are you doing?” I asked, getting up from the sofa and walking around to stand behind it. He turned to look at me with a smirk on his face.

“You know that's a foolish question, Araceli.”

My heart dropped to my ass as I took another step back. “I never told you my name.”

“Who doesn't know you, Araceli?” he asked, a lazy smirk on his face as I took another step back. “The most sought after woman in the underworld. Daniel's woman.”

I shot him a sharp glare before storming over to the front door, wanting nothing to do with what was happening anymore. I latched onto the door handle, but let out a groan once I remembered it was locked.

Storming back into the living area, I walked around to face him and placed my hand on my hips.

“Where's the key?” My voice came out so icy, I had to physically stop myself from shivering.

“Do you know how many men are after you, sweetheart?” he asked, standing up and taking a step towards me. “Do you know how much that little boyfriend of yours does just to make sure none of them lay eyes on you?”

He chucked as I gulped, relishing in my obvious fear. “The woman that had captured Vincent's heart and then killed him. Venom. That's what they call you.”

“Where's the fucking key?” I hissed again, but he showed no fear towards my warning.

“So hard to get to, yet here you are right in front of me.” He stepped up right up to me and ran his finger along my chin as I willed myself to stay put. “And I can't even have you.”

What did that mean? Not that I wanted him to have me, but I doubted men like him gave a rat's ass about what I wanted.

“My boss has been looking for you for a while,” he said, taking a step away from me as I let out a sigh of relief. “Unfortunately for me, he's asked to leave you untouched.”

I scanned my eyes around the room, looking for a way to escape other than the door but came up short. Jumping out the window meant flying down seven storeys and most likely instant death and I couldn't even locate the keys.

“Tell me, princess,” he chuckled, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. “When was the last time you spoke to your mother?”

“Shut up.”

An anger unlike any I had ever experienced surged through me in that moment. Before I could calm myself down, I had already sent my palm across his face, leaving a red print of my hand on his cheek

The sound of the slap reverberated around the room and as he pressed his hand to his cheek, I couldn't find it in me to feel sorry.

Why did a complete stranger know about my private life? Who the fuck did he think he was to bring that up? Even if he knew, he shouldn't have said anything.

He let out a loud laugh and shook his head, surprising me. “See what I mean?” he pointed to his cheek briefly. “Venom.”

I wanted to scream at him. I wanted him to take my anger at him seriously. I wanted to make him cry.

“And yet I can't seem to get enough.” He grabbed my wrist and yanked me closer to him. I struggled in his grip but he was stronger than me by far and I felt myself worry more and more.

“Let go of me.”

“Isn't it funny how I know more about you than you do?” he asked before taking a gun out of the waistband of his pants and pointing it to my head.

I squeezed my eyes shut, asking myself why I was always getting myself into dangerous situations.

“Daniel will kill you,” I whispered out.

I didn't know if it was true. I didn't know if Daniel cared enough, but I had to try something. Where even was he? Couldn't he and Pablo hear what was going on? What were they doing?

“Daniel was the one who sent you right into my lair,” he chuckled, making a pitiful whimper escape my lips. “Now I'd recommend you cooperate with me from here on out. This might be more beneficial to you than you think.”

He led me towards the sofa, and for some reason, I found myself cooperating even though I didn't want to. Instead of sitting me on the sofa, he pushed me down onto the floor, sending a humoured grin my way.

“You know I like when my women are beneath me,” he smirked before turning away.

“Shows how insecure you are to have to have someone physically on the floor to feel like you're on top.”

He didn't turn around to look at me even though I knew my words hit a nerve in him. He rummaged through one of the cabinets before pulling out a plastic bag filled with zip ties.

My eyes widened when I realised what he was going to do. With as much power as I could, I pushed myself up off the floor, finding it uncharacteristically difficult. I usually had trouble standing up after being on the ground because of blood pressure and stuff, but it was unlike me to experience the effects of the blood pooling at my feet before I stood up.

He laughed and grabbed a hold of my shoulder, stopping me from going anywhere as I threw weak punches at him.

“Do you really think you stand a chance against me, princess?” he asked, laughing loudly as I glared at him. “Maybe you did in the beginning, but after drinking that Marguerita from the bar, you might want to sit down before the sedatives make you fall.”

I gave one last attempt, maybe just to prove to him that he was wrong, but only ended up slumping into his arms. He carefully placed me onto the floor, a stupid smirk on his face as he went to work on zip tying my hands and legs.

“I didn't expect you to drink the whole thing so I asked my friend to put quite a few pills in there.” He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of the empty glass I assumed I drank from the bar. Or what had sunk to the bottom of it. “See that's some residue that didn't properly dissolve.”

I choked out a sob, hating the way that he had one upped me with his bartender friend. “Daniel,” I whined, only making Antonio chuckle.

“He can't hear you, princess.”

But he could. I knew he could. Where was he? What happened? Couldn't he hear everything that was happening right now?

“Daniel, please,” I begged, my voice coming out slurred as I rested my head on the arm of the sofa. “I don't want to do this anymore. Please just come get me.”

Antonio whistled as he cleared up the place, ignoring my senseless pleading and treating me like scum. I could feel my heart beat fade slightly in my chest, my breathing becoming shallow as my eyelids drooped.

It was more than just sleeping. I had an issue with my blood and I knew if I fell asleep, I wouldn't be waking up for a long time.

“Pablo...” I whimpered out, my voice being no louder than a whisper as I decided on an alternative. Pablo promised that he would always be there. “I need you, Pablo. Hermano Major. Just come get me.”

My consciousness faded away, but I was rudely awakened by Antonio grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. His eyes dilated as he took in my weakened state and he smirked.

“Boss is a real idiot if he thinks I'm going to let someone so beautiful go to waste.” I could hear his deep voice echo around in my head, but I felt like I was in the ocean. My head constantly bobbed under the surface of the water, that being sleep, before violently coming back up into the air and taking in my surroundings.

“How about we make the most of the small amount of time we have left together, Venom?” he asked, although it didn't sound much like he wanted me to answer. “You don't have to worry. I'll put you to good use.”

The last thing I saw was the sight of him getting onto his feet and towering over me like he claimed he liked. I heard his belt buckle in the background of the loud silence of my unconsciousness and my mind transported me back to Vincent.

And then everything went blank.

*****

Just wanted say that things will get better. I know shit can look bleak rn, and what I'm saying might be bullshit but honestly there will be something to smile about in the future. Just continue to keep your head out of the water and breathe.

This is for my future self and anyone else who might need it.