She looked at me with ashamed eyes before looking at the floor.

"My father lost his job when he became an alcoholic," she said in a trembling voice. "I don't want to be here, but we need money."

We sat there in a very awkward silence for some time. This was a whole new level of shocking I didn't even know existed.

"I knew he was harsh with you, but I had no idea-"

"Don't apologize; you didn't put me here," she said glumly. I could tell she was about the start crying.

Silently I removed my oversized jacked and placed it around her shoulders. She pulled it tighter around her body as though it could protect her from her evil father. I never would've imagined he made her do something this low. I sat down next to her on the filthy mattress.

"Why are you here?" she asked softly.

"I told you, I'm trying to find my girlfriend."

"No, why are you back here? In the brothel?"

"Oh; my brother got drunk and made me."

She let out something like a laugh. There were tears leaking from the corners of her eyes now.

"How long have you been forced to do this?" I asked softly.

"Nearly two years," she sniffled.

"Does he make you do this every night?" I probably shouldn't have been asking, but I was so curious.

"Depends when his 'customers' give him a call," she explained. "Sometimes they want drugs, sometimes they want booze, and sometimes they just want a pretty girl for their pleasure. He usually escorts me to their house for 'deliveries', but when his 'business' is slow he makes me come here."

"And the owners let him throw a random girl in their business?"

"One of his friends owns the restaurant and the brothel."

Silence settled over us once again. We could hear other customers 'getting served' through the thin walls. I could sense that some of the other girls didn't want to be here either.

"Does your father control any other girls here?"

"No, just me. It is dangerous to own more than one girl in this place."

"What do you mean?"

"Prostitution and brothels are illegal here."

"Well I can go to the police and shut them down. There's a whole bunch of-"

"No!" she cried.

I stared at her in disbelief.

"My father would just move his operation somewhere else if he heard they were looking for him."

"What if he-"

"No. He would find out. And then he would kill me."

"How would he know you were involved?"

"I don't know, but he always has a way of finding out everything. He has spies all over the city."

She was sobbing lightly now. Her face was red and had years of abuse and torture written all over it.

"Why do you put up with your father?" I asked. She looked at me in a shocked way. "Why can't you just leave him and start the life you've always wanted?"

"Because he would find me somehow, and when he did he would beat me and torture me and then he would kill me," she choked out. "I am not allowed to leave our building without an escort by one of my uncles or him. If I do one thing that he does not like he beats me senseless. I am afraid everyday that I will displease him somehow and he will kill me."

She was sobbing like crazy by now. She was so skinny she shook violently with every fit of sobs that racked her body. I sympathetically wrapped my arms around her, which she leaned into welcomingly. I let her cry on my shoulder until she calmed down, rubbing her back gently the whole time. At this time, the waitress knocked on the door to give us our fifteen minute warning.

"Would it be such a crazy idea if I suggested you come hide in our hotel?" I asked.

"My father would find out," Lynn sniffled. "He would somehow find me and kill us both."

"I'm sorry you have to live like that."

"There is nothing you could do. He will force me to do these things until the day he dies. Or until the day he kills me."

The waitress knocked on the door again and shouted that our time was up. I sighed and stood up, heading sadly for the door. Lynn started to take off my jacket to give it back to me.

"Keep it," I insisted.

"Are you sure? I know this is one of your favorite jackets and-"

"Keep it," I said as I got closer to the door.

"Thank you," she said softly, a faint trace of a smile on her lips. "You are so kind."

"No, I just know how to treat people," I said as I softly shut the door.

The guys were still drunk as hell when I returned to my seat.

"Hey Tom; so how was it?" Georg snickered.

I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Come on, it's getting late," I said as the other three stumbled behind me to the car.

I drove us back to the hotel and made sure they all got back to their rooms before returning to mine. I decided to take a shower to wash strong odor of beer off my body. I then slipped into clean boxers and a pair of old sweat pants. I looked out my window before crawling into bed. I saw Lynn across the alley looking out her window, looking at the dark ground below. She was still wearing my jacket around her shoulders like before. When she looked up she saw me and waved. I waved back and maintained eye contact for a little while. I opened my window and motioned for her to do the same.

"No major problems tonight, it seems," I yelled across the alley.

"No, not really," she responded.

"No fuss over you having my jacket?"

"He was too wasted to notice. I should go before we wake him up."

"Well, good night," I said as I closed the window.

"Good night," she called.

Just before I put my head on the pillow, I caught a glimpse of Lynn's father enter her room, grab her by the shoulders, and slam her on the floor. Not too much later, I could smell my favorite jacket going up in flames.