Chapter 2: Comin' to Vegas, Papi?

The sun rays streaming through the blinds had awakened me about thirty minutes ago. I lied there contemplating whether I should get up and leave or wait for her to wake up. I tried to get up again, but just like the previous time, as I lifted myself on my elbows she mumbled something and held me tighter. She would have been choking me if her arms were around my neck.

'Love will kill the strongest of us all.' The phrase came to my mind and I chuckled. She wasn't exactly the image of love, but I did believe she would kill me when she woke up and saw me here.

I still wasn't going to leave.

I sighed and looked down at her. One of her arms was draped over my chest as the other one rested by her side. She lied, half on me, half on her belly. One of her legs intertwined with mine and her knee nudged, from time to time, my crotch.

Fucking great. Was there a moment in my life when I didn't think about sex? I could answer that: no, there wasn't.

I had gone over the most painful and heartbreaking stories of my life to make my hard on subside, but so far it wasn't getting me anywhere.

I sighed again and looked down at the sleeping Aphrodite lying on my chest. I caressed her spine with one arm, memorizing the feel of being separated by her thin sleeping clothes. It had been a long and short night. Long in the sense that I kept waking up every time I heard a noise. I wasn't even sure if my car was still outside. It may be missing the wheels for all I knew. Also the fact that this damn place offered no security whatsoever made me nervous. The room didn't have a lock, for Christ's sake! Granted there was nothing to steal, but just for the sake of tradition at least, couldn't she have a bar to put behind it?

The night, however, wasn't long enough. Every time I woke up I relished in the fact that she was still by my side. Sometimes her back was to me and I turned her way, others she faced me and I looked at her sleeping face until sleep overtook me.

It was now the morning. It was the time all men fled out the window of the damsel, yet I couldn't move, even if I wanted to.

She stirred and her knee rubbed me again. I suppressed a groan and shut my eyes.

She had been rubbing her face on my chest all night long.

"Hey." Her groggy voice greeted me.

"Hey," I replied back and gave her a weak smile, "Feeling better?"

"I was, last night. Now I'm just hung over." She replied shielding the light from her eyes. I saw her getting ready to go back to sleep but I was having none of that. She couldn't stay here alone, and I had things to do this morning.

"Hey," I said again.

"Hmm…" she mumbled but gave no other sign of being awake.

"Susanna?" I shifted her.

"Who?" she asked dazed. Was her hangover so bad that she had no clue where or who she was?

"Susanna, I have to go." I told her as serious as I could, but it still sounded like a worthless plead.

"What time is it?" she asked rubbing her eyes.

I took out my cell phone from my pocket. "Seven thirty," I told her and saw I had two voice messages and a few texts. All of them from the girls. I should have called last night.

She shot up in bed and then groaned clutching her side. "Still sore?" I asked and she nodded. "You should have gone to a doctor yesterday."

She rolled her eyes and finished getting up, went to the washroom and washed up. Then came back and I went in.

The washroom, if you could call it that, resembled those of the infomercials for charity organizations. It was just what it looked like: a corner of the room that had been separated from the rest by a curtain. The toilet was of a dark brown and there was only a small shower with a bucket of water. No sink. On the wall there were three toothbrushes and soap. On the other side there was a towel hanging and was impregnated on her smell.

I fought the urge to press my face to it and inhale. I was acting like an obsessed stalker. Maybe worse.

I went back outside and she was dressed and opening a can of Spam. It had been ages since I had had it.

I checked my voice messages and texts and knew I was in big trouble.

"Are you ready?" I asked her once she had finished eating.

"For what?" she asked worried.

"I have to go. There ware things I have to do today."

"You can go." She said dismissively, but her eyes said something else.

"I am waiting for you."

"I'm not going with you."

"We're not doing this again." I was tired of the same talk.

"Doing what?" she asked but a smirk played on her lips.

"That's it. Let's go."

"I told you I wasn't going with you anywhere."

"I'm not leaving you here."

"Why not?"

What. The. Fuck. Did I need any other reason?

"Look around. That's why not."

"I know this isn't the best place, and it must be far from you Jupiter Island mansion, but it's mine—well ours." She said with a hand on her hip, defensively.

"I don't know what gave you the idea I was putting you down because of where you live. I'm actually surprised you've managed this long with no security whatsoever."

"I don't really spend much time here." She said looking around.

"I hope."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped. Whoa. Bitter much?

"What I mean is that I know why you came here. And I hope that doesn't happen often."

She rained one perfect eyebrow. "You 'know'? How sure are you of that?"

"Pretty sure." I hope.

"Ok, amaze me. What is your theory?"

I took a deep breath. Why was I doing this again? It seemed like a lot of work to convince her to get the hell out of here. I should leave her to do as she pleases. I should get the hell away while I still could and avoid all the drama she dragged with her. I should have done a lot of things, none of which involved me sitting back down and talking to her.

"I think you knew he'd go to look for you last night and that's why you didn't go home."

"Wrong. Now that you've let it out you can stop acting like you give a shit and leave."

"Watch your language, Isabella." A voice came from the door and we both jumped. There he was again. Did that guy not give up?

"Look, James—," She started but he took a step forward and she flinched back.

This was going too far.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked him, standing up and walking in front of her.

"I could ask you the same, pretty boy. Now if you step aside, Bellita here and I have some business to finish. When the adults are talking, good boys go play in the yard." He said not even looking at me. The guy apparently had a concussion last night and forgot I beat the crap out of him, I thought a reminder was in order.

"OW!" he yelled stepping back after my fist made contact with his bluish jaw.

"Did that remind you that this boy doesn't do yard games?" I asked him hovering over his figure.

"Look, fucker. I have some business to deal with this whore. You get the fuck out of here before I turn into a green, hairy and red-eyed monster." He shouted at me and got all over my face.

I would like to say that I gave as good as I got in a fight, but it all depended on my level of rage. Right now it was overflowing, so I was pretty confident on myself when I flung another punch at him. He took a step aside evading my punch and I lost balance. I would have fallen on the couch if it wasn't for him grabbing my arm and locking it behind my back. I cursed out loud when I felt a cold, sharp blade on my throat, and he pushed me around until I was face to face with Susanna.

"James, stop." She begged him tears streaming down her face. The fucker almost got a hard on at the sight of her broken expression, judging by the laugh he barked.

"Get out of here, Susanna." I choked out and he laughed harder.

"Is he still paying you Baby?" he asked her. "I didn't know you did whole nights now. How come you haven't paid me back?"

"James, please—please for the love of God, just give me a few more days. You know I always paid you back. Why not this time?"

"Look, Baby. Any other time I would let you, but shit is getting tight down here. The Boss and I are moving up to LA. So, I need to clear your tab before I leave. The faster I get out of here, the faster I can start making real money." His hold on my neck was getting tighter and I was measuring where he was standing behind me so I could swing a kick or something.

"I could go with you. I'll pay you back. Just please give me a few more days."

"Can't do, Bella Babe," why the hell did he keep calling her Bella? "I have it all planned out. We even talked to some girls up there."

"So, you're just gonna leave me hanging? Who's gonna cover the police and the other girls? You can't do this, James."

I knew what she meant. All pimps had their ground. If a girl got caught stepping onto some pimp's ground they'll cut her face. If a girl doesn't have a pimp she has to deal with the police herself and that is dangerous 'cause those fuckers are as sick as the worst bastard they lock down. In general, no pimp meant no business.

"Oh, but I will. Now get my money and get lost." He said pointing with his chin to the door.

"I don't have it."

"Ok, then I'm going to your house and looking through until I get something I can sell." He said walking to the door but didn't let go of me. "I think I might catch a ride with Pretty Boy here." The fuck he was…

"Wait, don't! Give me till this afternoon. I'll get you something—anything. I'll see what I can do. Just don't do anything!" she begged again. Have I said how much I hated women begging? Unless it's for my cock, of course.

"Bella, Bella. You don't get it, do you? Your fare is over, the bus stops here. Fin. Over. Get. Me. My. Money. Now!" he roared and she flinched back again.

In his effort to shout he had forgotten about me and I swung a leg back, making contact with something. I didn't care what.

His hold on me was gone the next second and I turned around ready to kick and punch him again as I heard the knife fall at my feet.

And then Susanna was pulling at my arm and screaming. I turned around scared that he had hurt her somehow, but she was just begging me to stop. Same crap from last night. Maybe she had some forgiving nature but no one got a punch and left untouched. He was going to pay, even if he owed me nothing.

"Stand back," I snarled at her and she staggered back.

"Please, please. I have to make him give me some time or he won't leave me alone. Just let me talk to him. Please stop." She said again but didn't touch me. It wasn't working. I kept beating the living shit out of the sack of human flesh half laying on the same bed I had woken up in.

Then her arms were around my waist. Her face pressed against my back, "please stop" she whispered and I sighed. I hated this shit she did to me. I could stand my own when we fought, but when she softened her tone and touched me I stood on one leg and did backwards flips if she asked me to.

I sighed. The fucker smirked.

"This is what I like about you Bella, you cooperate sometimes. But others…" he trailed off shaking his head from one side to the other. The smirk still on.

Why the fuck was he calling her Bella? I mean, this guy wasn't Italian or Latin. So, what was going on?

"I don't get it pretty boy." He continued, taunting me. "Is she givin' ya a discount for all the macho parade? The 'knight in shinin' armour' thing is getting old."

Her arms pulled me towards the door, and I didn't dare let myself think about his words, because I didn't need another prick's name on my list. Two murders on my record have me waist deep in shit and lies already. I wasn't going any deeper. Lucky little cunt. Perhaps somebody with a smaller count could do me the favour and finish the fucker. I was telling him all this and more with my eyes as we backed towards the door.

"Look, I'll be back this afternoon. I'll get you something. I know that you're in a rush, but you know how this thing goes. Please, just give me a few hours." Susanna begged still pulling me away. I almost fell down the stairs walking backwards. I didn't take my eyes off of him until my head disappeared under the floor. Then I hurried the last steps and caught up with Susanna, who was halfway to the street.

Then I saw my car.

Fuck.

Rosalie will have a ball with this. My car, that I loved more than my own life, had graffiti all over. I looked around in case the fucker that did it was still near by, but there was nothing.

"Shit!" I cursed out loud and I heard her laugh. "This isn't funny, don't laugh." She stopped. Good girl, the pimp complimented. Great, not again. I thought we were past that shit.

"You're right. I shouldn't be laughing."

"Damn right." I said opening my door and taking the lock off. I walked around and opened her door. "Let's go."

She glared. "What makes you think I'm going with you anywhere?"

"I don't know. Maybe the fact that the thug up there is about to get down here any minute now and you don't have a cent with you?"

"That's pretty low…" she muttered getting in.

"You're the one that shouldn't be picky about help if you need it." I said once I was seated.

"You know? You don't need to remind me of my problems, I think I have a clear view of them without your help."

"I was just trying to help. What are you going to do to get that money?"

"I don't know." She sighed.

"I think you should start figuring it out. You have about six hours until he comes back looking for you." I was trying to get her to think of a plan. Anything would do as long as I didn't offer her to work for me.

"I don't fucking know! You think if I had this planned out, I would have waited this long to pay him back?" she yelled at me.

"I was just trying to help. Sheesh, woman!"

"Well, you don't need to worry. Turn left on the next stop."

"Why would I do that?" I teased her, but it might have been in the wrong moment.

"Because I want to get the fuck off and there is a bus that goes my way."

With her tone a memory came back.

"Why was he calling you Bella? Or Isabella?" I asked.

"That's my real name." she said like it was the most normal thing to have lied. In a way it was.

"Why didn't you tell me that one?"

"Is Edward your real name?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Oh, well. Sorry." She said looking ashamed. "I was hoping things would end differently when I told you that name. I didn't expect to get you mauled by my… friend."

"I did not get mauled by your 'Friend'." I sneered and she turned her head away.

"You have no idea who I am or what my life is like. I would appreciate it if you didn't make any comments on it. For some reason you didn't run away last night, despite how disgusting my life might seem to you."

"I don't find it disgusting, and I didn't leave last night because you needed me. Just like you needed me this morning, just like you still need me now, but are too proud to accept it."

"Do you have ten grand to lend me?" she asked rhetorically.

"No," I lied, "but I could help you with any ideas that you might come up with."

"Do you have a lab? Because so far the only thing I can come up with is to clone myself 100 times, then go to Vegas, rob a bank and get working in a casino with the copies of myself."

I could hear a hint of truth behind her sarcasm. The only way she had to make money was to whore herself out. Rage cursed through my veins and I stomped on the brakes.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" she yelled after letting out a whoosh of air.

"You're not whoring yourself out for that prick." I told her.

"I've been doing it for quite some time now. I don't think you hadn't thought about it until now. We were both clear last night of what we wanted. I wanted your money, you wanted company, and if I remember correctly we both got something in return, even if it wasn't we I had initially planned."

"What I meant is that they'll take advantage of you, now that you need it."

"I've always needed it," she said between clenched teeth. "It's good to know I have a flashing sign of 'DESPERATE' on my forehead. Nothing's better than a pity fuck."

"Damn it! Can't you just… can't you…?" I could finish.

"Can't I what?" she snapped back.

"Look, I don't know how to help you, but if you're determined to think that every comment I make is designed to hurt you, then we'll get nowhere."

She looked out the window and I saw her sigh.

"I think I should go home. My dad must be at work by now," she said in a small voice.

"Which way?" I asked.

"Do you know which way to Allapattah?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes…" I said cautious. I didn't think I'd get my car back if I parked it there despite all the fucking graffiti on it. The girl had not only a trunk of drama following her; apparently she lived in the core of it.

She didn't strike me as the usual Latin whore. She had this skin and posture that was 100% American. She was tough and willing, but she seemed so breakable. Then again, that might be the angle she worked. The whole 'girl next door' was an all American dream. The mentality of the pimp was back in place. Perhaps because I still had to find two girls to replace the backstabbing bitches that had left.

She must've seen my internal turmoil because she added then, "don't worry, I don't live there. I live a little bit North of it, but I'd rather you drop me off there."

"I can park my car somewhere and walk you there." I offered.

"No. That's fine."

"It's not fine. You can't walk home from there. Do you get a thrill from putting yourself in danger?" I seethed. Can't she make a conscious effort to be safe?

"I don't get a 'thrill'," she said through clenched teeth. "I'd just rather not have you know where I live."

I didn't know what to say, so I opened my mouth and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "what would you have done if I followed you?"

Apparently it was her turn to be surprised, "why would you do that?"

"I find you interesting. You're not like any other… girl… I've met."

"I'm not normal?" she asked not sounding surprised. "I could have told you that myself. What normal girl loses her virginity at the age of thirteen? What else could happen to me while I walk in plain daylight." she laughed a humourless laugh, and I could see the pain of the memory in her eyes.

That was the reason she wasn't afraid, or cared what could happen to her. She thought that all the bad things that could happen to a person in her life, had happened to her already. What else she had to fear? I could tell her what.

"Just because you've had a rough time doesn't mean you have to turn suicidal. If I haven't hurt you so far, why would it bother you that I took you home?"

"I'm not afraid you'd hurt me. I just want to keep my privacy." She explained.

"Look, I don't know if the sick fucker that I left half dead is going to be waiting for you around the next corner." I tried making her understand my reasons. "I've already expended a great deal of personal effort at this point to keep you alive. I'm not about to let you walk home and send it all flying."

"Oh, am I some kind of charity investment from your side? Is this another story that you'll tell your Sunday brunch friends when you speak about the lower lives that you helped this week?"

I stomped on the brakes so hard that she went flying against her seatbelt and the air left her lungs.

"What the fuck is wrong with you and the brakes?" she yelled mad. She had a point…

We were already in Allapattah and the action scared a few of the young guys with baggy clothing that lounged around. I was sure that if you gave them a good shaking their clothes would send flying clouds of the white dust they sold, and were probably high on.

You had to love this town…

"Listen to me, Susanna, Isabella, Bella... Whatever the hell name you want. I might seem to you just like any other guy you fuck on a Saturday night, but I've behaved like none of them." The words were spilling out of my mind, my rage consuming sanity and even when I knew what I was saying was hurtful, I couldn't make myself stop. "For that, I hope that you're not as judgemental as to believe that I will."

Her eyes fell downcast. My chest was heaving and then it dawned on me what I had said. Slowly her hand fell to the clasp of the seatbelt and I closed my eyes. I heard the clasp open and the sound of the strap as it rolled itself in. then the door opened and she got out.

The action could not have taken more than thirty seconds, but the adrenaline in my veins made everything seem longer and I paid attention to inconsequential details. My mind didn't register the bigger picture until I heard the rushed steps of someone running towards the car. Her door was left open and her figure was visible through the rear-view mirror. She walked with her head high but her arms wrapped around herself. She was the image of desolation and still managed to look strong and decided. And I was afraid of what decision could that be.

I sighed and leaned my forehead on the wheel. Something inside reminded me of Esme's lessons and I knew I should follow her and apologize, but she was too stubborn, and I was getting to attached to someone that I knew how could end.

A tap on my window alerted me and I looked up.

"Ey," the guy said with a very strong Spanish accent, "You lost?"

I looked at her retreating figure once again and sighed. "Seems like I just did."

"Hey, Hermano. You might wanna close that door. The boys and I need to split and the barrio is wakin' up."

Was he a badge?

"Gotcha'. Thanks man." I gave him a curt not and closed the door she had left open. I waited until he was back on the sidewalk and made a quick U-turn. I sped down the road but she was nowhere in sight. I started checking the streets across and looking for her.

The third street I checked was a bit emptier than the others, and there they were. Her legs under her short skirt. The fabric barely grazing her upper thighs. Dressed like that she expected me to just stand on the sidelines while she walked semi-naked by sidelines of sexually repressed sex addicts.

I shook my head and caught up with her.

"Get in," I told her loud enough for her to hear me. I was whipping my head from her to the front of the car so I could keep moving since she made no sign of hearing me, or stopping.

"Do we have to do this?" she then tripped, "Can't you see where you're walking?" I asked her still driving and stopping. She made her walk slower and that made it harder yet to drive.

"Bella,—it is Bella, right? Please, get in." I almost begged.

She stopped and looked at me; that was an improvement, right?

Wrong.

The look in her face said that I was in for a good one.

"Would you like the breakfast menu?" She asked me with a sickening sweet voice.

I knew exactly what she was talking about. She was still pissed about the whole comment I made about fucking guys.

"Look, I won't deny I am a fucking whore. I can't deny it. But I don't need you telling me your opinions on the topic." She said leaning down on the passenger window. I had to fixate my eyes on her face so that they wouldn't trail down to her tits automatically. "Despite what you men think, we don't get into this because there is something in a certain type of women that makes 'em love to be treated worse than a dog and be an outcast for the rest of her life."

I sighed. I knew that, I knew it better than she thought I ever could. If only I could tell her.

She straightened up and continued walking.

In some way it wouldn't be wrong. She'd do something better than what she is doing right now; and she would be earning much more than what she made in a week.

If it had been anybody else I would have said the word the moment I sat beside her in the bar. Hell, I had brought many others into this and I didn't feel guilty at all. But she was a good person. She could do so much better with her life. I didn't want to be the one that offered a way out that could only make her sink deeper in this world of sin, and sex, and curses.

But if I didn't, somebody else would. Somebody else would offer her something worse and she'd accept. I was sure she would accept.

"I don't think of you that way. I only want to help you. Just get in. I'll drive you home."

"Why?" she asked turning back to the window.

"Because, I don't want you walking alone in these streets. Not when you're dressed like that."

"Like a whore? Newsflash, baby, most whores die at night. I would know." she laughed an acid-like laugh.

"I have no interest in the demographics of whores in the city. I do, however, have interest in you getting home safe."

"It's almost nine in the morning, Edward," she spit my name. "What's the worst that could happen?" She shouted throwing her arms in the air.

"Well, I am going to follow you home anyways—." She cut me off.

"I thought I told you I didn't want you knowing where I live."

"I've spent the night with you. I beat up somebody, twice, for you. If something happens to you, is my ass that's going to get the heat."

"So, that's the real interest… don't worry. Nobody will come after you. I bet you could get one of your men to set your record straight."

"I'm not with the cocaine cowboys." I said sternly.

"Could've fooled me…" she gave me a side-glance swinging her purse, "but you are with 'someone' though." She wasn't asking. And she wasn't talking about a girlfriend either.

The kind of men she thought me, had no girlfriend.

"Who's making assumptions now?" I smirked.

She huffed and kept her pace. I was getting tired of this shit. My car was low in gas, I wanted food, I still had to come up with an explanation about last night to the girls, and she was making me cranky.

Then the unpredictable happened. I heard the common sirens and skidding wheels of a police car.