March 1899

"Addie, you're not sellin' today," said Ralphie the next week, standing outside the tenement as Adelaide and Spot walked out of it. "You're with me."

Adelaide sighed and looked at Spot.

"I'll see you later," said Spot.

Adelaide nodded and walked over to Ralphie. Ralphie put his arm around Adelaide as she reached his side, and she had to will herself not to flinch away.

Ralphie led her to a small bakery where he bought them each a pastry for breakfast and they sat down on a bench to eat.

"How much do you remember about our panel games before you ran away?" Ralphie asked.

"No," said Adelaide. "Please don't make me do that again."

"Tough. We all gotta pull our weight and make money."

"Why can't I make money sellin' papes? Or working the crowds?"

"Coz you can make more money doin' this."

"Ralphie, please."

Ralphie put his arm around her shoulders and began walking her toward Vinegar Hill.

"I'm out of practice, Ralphie, I'm not going to be any good at it."

They stopped in front of a rundown house.

"You'll be fine," said Ralphie, cupping her chin. "You just use that beautiful face of yours to your advantage." Adelaide frowned and jerked her chin away. "I work out of Miss Connie's house now. Blade and Fire will be in the panels and I'll burst in before he can put the moves on you. Go on in and let her know we're workin' her corner. She'll get you a change of clothes."

Adelaide sighed and resignedly walked into the nondescript house.


"Looking for a little company?" Adelaide said, coyly.

The gentleman passing by gave her a once over before pausing. "Well," he said, holding onto his lapels. "Nothing wrong with an early lunch break, eh?"

Adelaide giggled and sidled up to him. "Nothing wrong at all."

The gentleman held out the crook of his elbow for her. "Such a gentleman," she smiled sweetly.

"Which house is yours, my dear?" he asked, leading her down the street.

"Just this one up here." Adelaide pointed and the gentleman followed her direction. Adelaide led him up the stairs and into the house. They walked up to the second floor to the last room on the left.

Adelaide slowly exhaled, trying to get rid of the butterflies that always crashed around her stomach once the door closed.

"Let me take your jacket," said Adelaide, walking behind the man and taking his lapels. The gentleman shrugged off the jacket and Adelaide laid it over a chair placed near the wall. She ran her hands over it, ensuring his billfold was tucked into the inside pocket.

"Would you like a drink?" Adelaide said, walking over to a small cart with decanters of liquor.

"I'd love one," he said. "And pour one for yourself too."

The gentleman sat on the bed, watching Adelaide, his back to the wall and his jacket. "I don't normally do this," Adelaide gave a light giggle.

That was the signal. Slowly and quietly, a panel of the wall behind the chair silently slid open.

Adelaide turned around and grinned at the gentleman and handed him his drink. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Fire in a small room on the other side of the wall, reaching through the panel and sliding the gentleman's wallet out of his jacket. Adelaide was careful to keep her eyes on the gentleman.

"Really?" the gentleman chuckled. "Because you seem to know exactly what you're doing."

"Well, mama always taught me to offer any gentleman a drink."

"Your mama was a smart lady." The gentleman threw back his drink and set the glass down. "Now come here." He put his hands on her hips and pulled her towards him. Adelaide giggled.

Both jumped when the door banged open. Ralphie filled the door frame.

"Ralphie!" said Adelaide, feigning shock, standing between Ralphie and the gentleman. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be askin' you the same thing!" Ralphie stormed into the room. He looked at the man. "You better get away from my woman!"

"I…I'm so sorry," the gentleman stammered. "She…she invited me up, and I…I just assumed…"

"Well, you assumed wrong," said Ralphie. "Now beat it."

The man quickly got his jacket and ran out of the house.

Once they heard the door downstairs shut, Ralphie turned to Adelaide.

"If you didn't get that watch that was hangin' on him…"

Adelaide held up the gold watch she'd picked from his pocket while Ralphie had distracted him.

"That's my girl." Ralphie grinned, taking the watch. "Didn't take you long to get back into it."

"Can we stop for the day?" asked Adelaide. "We've been doing this for hours."

"And you're doing so well," said Ralphie, running a finger down her cheek. He paused, looking at her for a moment. "Sure, we can stop for the day."

"Thank you," Adelaide exhaled.

Ralphie handed her a few coins. "Get changed and get yourself some lunch," he said, walking out the door. "Meet me by the pawnshop at the end of the street." He closed the door.

Adelaide sighed and changed back into her other clothes. She opened the door once more and started, seeing Spot on the other side.

"Geez, Spot," Adelaide said, her hand over her heart. "What are you doing here?"

"You really think Ralphie would let you do anything alone?" he asked.

Adelaide rolled her eyes. "I should've known."

"Come on. Let's get you something to eat."


"How was your first day?" Spot asked as he and Adelaide sat on a bench outside the pawnshop. They each had a pretzel and were watching the people hustle and bustle through the streets.

"I hated it back then and I hate it now."

"Well," Spot shrugged.

Adelaide frowned. "That's it? That's all you have to say about it?"

Spot shrugged again. "You want me to say these are men who don't deserve to be stolen from?"

"No one deserves to be stolen from." Adelaide rolled her eyes as Ralphie walked over to them.

"We made more money today than you probably made all last year," said Ralphie, taking the pretzel from her and ripping off a big piece for himself.

"Should I even bother asking for my cut?" asked Adelaide.

Ralphie chuckled at her. "That's cute."

"But I did half the work!" said Adelaide. "More than that - I did almost all the work!"

"Let it go," muttered Spot.

"Let me ask you this," said Ralphie. "How much do you have to pay to stay in our warehouse?"

Adelaide sighed. "Nothing."

"Okay." He nodded. "How much do you have to pay for food every day?"

"Nothing."

"Then you don't need a cut. You know how this works. You need anything, you come to me."

Adelaide rolled her eyes. Ralphie watched Adelaide for a few beats.

"Spot," said Ralphie, standing up. "Take Addie here on a little walk. Maybe she'll be a little more grateful for the opportunity I'm giving her." With that, Ralphie walked away.

Spot stood up. "Let's go."

Adelaide sighed and stood up, following him.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they walked down the street.

"Look, you know how things work around here," said Spot. "You don't do what Ralphie says, he will make life hell for you. More so than he already has. If any of the boys go against him, he turns them out. No one lasts long on the street without some sort of protection."

"Good. Let him turn me out so I can go home."

Spot shook his head. "He won't turn you out," said Spot, turning a corner. As they walked down the street, the cross streets got dirtier and shadier.

"Where are we going?"

Spot didn't say anything. He turned a quick corner and Adelaide had to jog to keep up with him.

"Slow down!"

"I want to get this over with," said Spot. He slowed as he neared an alley. "Stay close to me."

Adelaide nodded and stepped closer to him, so their shoulders were always touching.

Spot walked down an alley until he reached a door. He yanked it open. He gestured for Adelaide to walk in.

Adelaide looked from the door to him and shook her head.

"I'll be right behind you, don't worry," said Spot.

Adelaide stepped through the door and Spot was right behind her.

The room was dark, lit only by a few oil lamps. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Adelaide could make out several beds and sheets hanging down from the ceiling.

"What is this place?" she whispered.

"An opium joint," whispered Spot. Spot pointed to a scantily clad girl, unhealthily skinny, not much older than Adelaide, sitting on the lap of a man who was high on the drug. "See her?" Adelaide nodded. "She used to be Ralphie's favorite girl. She was his go-to girl whenever he wanted to pull a panel game on a fella. They would go to Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights and wipe out entire neighborhoods of their billfolds and cash. Pretty soon, she'd be pullin' jobs on her own while Ralphie trained other girls."

"What happened to her?"

"She got greedy. She skimmed off the top what she stole before handing it over to Ralphie."

Adelaide watched the girl take the opium pipe to her lips and inhale before offering it to the man.

"Brooklyn's full of these kinda of places - nightclubs, brothels, casinos - all with girls for rent."

"Can we go now, please?"

Spot nodded.

Adelaide turned around and nearly ran into a man standing right there. She gasped and jumped back toward Spot.

"Hello, there," the man grinned, showing several teeth missing. He looked at Spot. "Another delivery from Mr. Valentini?"

"No," said Spot, putting his arm around her. "We were just leaving."

The man stepped aside. "Come by anytime. The first half an ounce is on the house."

Spot stepped past the man, careful to stay between the man and Adelaide. He pulled the door open and Adelaide quickly walked out with Spot close behind her. They walked quickly through the neighborhood, neither of them speaking until they were in a safer neighborhood.

Once in familiar surroundings, Adelaide walked over to a bench and sat down, staring ahead, catching her breath.

Spot walked over and sat next to her.

"You okay?"

Adelaide nodded shakily. She swallowed. "If she used to be his favorite…" Adelaide looked over at Spot, "what happened to the others?"

"Most are in brothels," said Spot. "Some of them, Ralphie just turned away when he was done with them. They're under the protection of another gang now, or they're roaming the streets sellin' whatever they've got left. One of them jumped off the bridge."

"He's a monster." Adelaide always knew Ralphie was ruthless, but she had no idea to what degree.

"I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Just do whatever Ralphie wants you to do, and once he turns you out, I'll make sure you get back home."

Adelaide sighed and put her head in her hands. "I can't do this."

"Yes you can," said Spot. "Do what you have to do to survive, and you can make it home. Do it for Skittery. Do it for your brother."

Adelaide looked over at him. "Why are you bein' so nice to me? Did you help out all of Ralphie's other girls?"

Spot shook his head. "No." He was quiet for a few moments. "Don't make me overthink it."


That night, Adelaide and Ralphie lay together in bed. Despite Ralphie scooting almost to the middle of the bed, Adelaide situated herself on the very edge of herself so as to not have to touch him.

"When do I get to go home?" Adelaide asked as she stared up at the ceiling.

"You're not," said Ralphie.

Adelaide looked over at him in the dim light. "What do you mean?" she frowned.

"This is your home now. You're mine now."

Adelaide sat up, turning toward him. "I'm not staying here for the rest of my life."

Ralphie looked over at her. "Yes you are. You're mine now."

Adelaide frowned. "You don't own me. You can't own a person."

"Why not? People used to own other people."

Adelaide rolled her eyes. "That was different. And illegal now."

"Maybe." Ralphie shrugged. "But you still ain't leaving."

"Why did you take me in to begin with?" Adelaide asked after a few moments of silence.

"I wanted you," said Ralphie.

"Yeah, but you could've had dozens of other girls on the street."

"I know," said Ralphie. "It's like when you're buying from a street vendor. There are dozens of apples in the cart and you choose the one you want."

Adelaide blinked at him. "So that's it, then? My whole life has been ruined and interrupted just because you decided you wanted me instead of the girl you'd seen before me."

Ralphie shrugged and nodded.

Adelaide sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "What made you think that you could just pick someone off the street to have?"

Ralphie looked over at her. "Nothing made me think I couldn't. You went with me, didn't you?"

Adelaide blinked and laid back down, thinking back to her previous time with Ralphie.

"You were poor, hungry, cold." Ralphie rolled to face her and propped himself up with his elbow. "Little Mikey hadn't eaten in two days, and you hadn't eaten in four. You were going to get kicked out of your place to make your living on the street. Your options were to go with me or starve. And I took you and your brother in. Fed you, got you warm coats, gave you a place to sleep, and more importantly, gave you protection. No one hassled you when you were with me."

"Except you."

Ralphie raised an eyebrow. "Did I?"

Adelaide bit her lip. Ralphie had not touched her back then. The worst he would do would crawl into bed behind her and hold her tight. When confronted about it, he would simply say, "It was cold - I didn't want you freezing."

"I guess not," Adelaide whispered.

Ralphie laid back down. "There ya go."

"But it's different now. I have a fella and I have a job, and I have a life over in Manhattan. Am I supposed to just throw that away because you decided you wanted me back?"

"That life wasn't yours to have in the first place. And do you know anyone who's going to stop me?" asked Ralphie.

"No one who would succeed," she said softly. She stared up at the ceiling for a few silent moments. "So there's nothing I can do to convince you to let me go?"

"I know you want me to let you go," Ralphie smirked, moving closer to her so she had no choice. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. "That's why I won't ever let you go."

Adelaide winced and leaned her head away as much as possible.

"What about all the other girls you've had since me?"

"Oh, they all left." Ralphie nuzzled her hair. "Spot showed you what happened to Lula, right?"

Adelaide swallowed and nodded.

"What about my brother?"

"He can come live here."

"And Skittery?"

"He can live here too."

Adelaide dared not feel the glimmer of hope wanting to rise in her chest.

"But know that if he touches you, I'd kill him."

"I hate you," she whispered.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep despite his breath on the back of her neck and his hands rubbing her stomach.