Page 89 of Fire Dancer
Jananovich listened intently as I explained how much money I needed and how desperately. In fact, he nodded like he’d heard that story a hundred times, and he probably had. With Stacy. With Janet Sullivan. With Rob, Saanvi, and the others, no doubt.
And, shit. Was I truly going to add myself to that list?
As I spoke, he raked his gaze over my neck, and his nostrils flared again. Ick.
“Well, we are a staff member short with Stacy away,” he finally mused, stroking his chin.
Away, my ass. She was six feet under, or soon to be.
And I swear, I will make this murderer pay,I vowed quietly.
“What’s your asking price?” he asked.
“What’s your going rate?”
He mulled that over. “For an entry-level position?”
My imagination only came up with two positions. Number one was eyes squeezed tight with my head tipped back while a vampire got off on sucking my blood. Number two was eyes squeezed tight with my legs spread wide while a vampire got off on other aspects of my body. Both had zero appeal.
But, hey. I had a few moves of my own planned. Number one, a kick to the balls. Number two, a stake to the heart.
Number three,a little voice whispered.Burn the place down.
“Five thousand a night,” he said. “Assuming you don’t need room and board.”
He assumed right.
But, damn. What would he offer next? Medical plans? Retirement benefits? Dental coverage?
I frowned at the image. Dental…vampires…
Ick.
The crazy thing was, I actually found myself doing the mental math. Six nights with Jananovich, and our tax hike would be paid off. Just three weekends…
Then my sanity won out. There was no way I would prostitute my body or my blood.
I shook my head. “No room and board. My safety, on the other hand, is nonnegotiable.”
He waved a hand, dismissing the thought. “I can assure you, we see our consultants as investments. It’s not in our interest to hurt anyone.”
Oh yeah? He’d probably assured Stacy too.
His eyes twinkled. “In fact, I’m told the experience is quite pleasurable for the escort. A real rush, apparently.”
On a scale of one to ten, with one being slightly crude and ten being absolutely, positively disgusting, I gave that a nine — and only because I was reserving ten for the real thing rather than just imagining it.
“So I gather,” I said dryly.
His brow furrowed. “From Stacy?”
“No, she didn’t say a word,” I said in her defense, though that wouldn’t help her now. “I figured it out on my own, though it took a while.”
Things went on in that vein — ew,definitelyno pun intended — for a while. Eventually, I found myself signing a nondisclosureagreement, then bustled off to join the escorts. Jananovich called me back before I got both feet out the door, though.
“One last thing, Ms. Martin. We usually vet our escorts carefully, but time is short.”
A helicopter buzzed overhead, and Jananovich rose to his feet.