I’m not able to stop my flinch at his words. He sees, of course, and he  obviously likes that.

“But I still don’t know what to do with her. She’s too much trouble to keep here.”

I’ve been standing too long and have had too many endorphins running through my body. My legs aren’t going to keep me upright much longer. The odd thought strikes me that I can’t remember when I last ate anything. No wonder I’m swaying and everything seems so surreal.

My body decides it’s taking too much energy to stay upright, and my knees buckle. Only Harris’s arms keep me from hitting the floor. My vision starts to fade.

“Worthless,” Mike says, a look of disgust on his face. “She’s no good to me in this shape, and she can't be out anymore. I need working girls, I’m not running a fucking hospital. Speaking of which,” he prods me with his foot, “If you think I’m paying that hospital bill, you’re sorely mistaken.”

I try to say something, but nothing comes out. The darkness is taking over.

“Let me have her,” Harris says.

Those are the last words I hear before the dark wins completely.

***

“Athena.” Mike has stopped by my apartment. It’s not common for him to do so these days. I’ve been with him eight years, and I typically do my best to stay away from him. It’s probably been a year since he last decided to grace my apartment  with his presence.

And today he’s not alone.

I don’t picture the guy with him as a client or customer. After so many years, I’m usually able to pick those men out. Normally, something in their eyes give them away, or the lift of their mouth does. This guy, though, I don’t know what he’s doing with Mike.

“This is Harris,” Mike says, and the new guy nods.

He’s not unpleasant to look at. In fact, many would probably call him good-looking. Unfortunately, he’s obviously friends with Mike, so that makes him ugly as hell to me. I try to keep my eyes on Mike, but something about Harris makes that difficult.

It’s more than his looks; it’s the way he holds himself. His demeanor. He has a bold confidence that doesn’t seem to be intimidated by Mike. It’s nothing I’ve seen before, and I wish I had that confidence.

“Harris, this is Athena. She’s very special to me.”

I try not to roll my eyes at Mike’s statement.

“Hello, Harris,” I say and nod. I don’t touch men as a rule if I don’t have to.

“Goddess of wisdom?” Harris asks, his voice friendly.

“Ironic, right?” I reply. “If my parents only knew.”

I kick myself for being so flippant. I know better than to be sucked in by a friendly voice and a pleasant looking exterior. But Harris is grinning. Wisely, he doesn’t mention my parents.

“I wanted you to meet him,” Mike says as if we didn’t say anything. “He’s going to be working with me now. He’ll be my second in command.”

“Huh, that’s too bad,” I say, looking straight at Harris. “Now I can’t like you.”

Mike looks like he’s going to hit me, but Harris laughs and slaps him on the shoulder. “I see why she’s so special to you.”

He’s laughing, but it’s true. Besides, he’s new. He won’t be laughing for very long.

***

When I wake up, I’m in a car. It catches me off guard, because I thought I’d already be dead or at least halfway there. I don’t open my eyes just yet. I want to gather as much information as possible without letting whoever’s around know I’m awake.

I’m reclining, which means I’m probably in the passenger seat. We’re moving rather fast, so I’m guessing we’re not in the city. We must be on a highway. I don’t feel anything around my arms or legs. Normally, I’d feel relieved that whoever I’m with didn’t feel the need to tie me up, but I’m in such bad shape, they probably knew they didn’t need to.

My left leg is asleep. I stretch it and, fuck, it hurts like hell.I gasp.

“Awake?”

It’s Harris.

I don’t answer him at first. I’m trying to decide how I feel that it’s him I’m in the car with. While it’s better than being in the car with Mike, it’s not that much better. He is Mike’s second in command, after all. Of course, having said that, Harris has never physically hurt me, and he did stop Mike from shooting me. I wonder why?

“Why am I here?” I ask.

“We’re going to my house.”

“Why?”

“Because Mike is letting me have you until he decides what to do with you.”

He’s letting Harris have me. It sickens me. Being away from my former occupation, even for a few days, has impacted me. I’m already getting addicted to the moments I’ve had of a normal lifestyle. One where I’m not giving myself away. I don’t think I can go back to it. Especially with Harris.

“Figures,” I say.

“What?” he asks.

I adjust my seat so I’m sitting upright, and I wince in pain.

“I’ll give you something to help the aches and pains when we get to my house. Now tell me what you meant by saying it figures.”

It’s easy to be myself around Harris and tell him exactly how I feel. I don’t like it, and I can’t explain it, but that’s how it is. I try to tell myself he’s a dangerous man, but it doesn’t work.

“It always seems to me that you try to separate yourself from Mike. That doesn’t make sense, because you work so closely with him, but that’s the impression I get.” I peek over at him, and his lips are pulled down in a frown. “Yet in the end, you’re just like everyone else.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that when it all boils down, you’re really just biding your time until you can have a piece of me, too.”

His frown deepens, and he slows the car down. I look around franticly; we’re in the middle of nowhere. “Why are you slowing down?”

He’s silent as he pulls well off the road and comes to a stop. In that moment, I know I’ve pushed him too far.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’ll shut up. Please don’t.”

When the car comes to a stop and he turns to face me, it isn’t anger in his eyes, but shock. “Damn it, Athena. What the hell do you think I’m going to do?”

“You were pulling off the road because I said something rude and snarky. What do you think I believed was going to happen?”

“You thought I was going to hit you?”

“Or worse.”

He sighs. “I pulled off the road because I wanted to give you my full attention, and I can’t do that and drive at the same time.”

“Oh.” I should feel guilty for thinking Harris would treat me like that, but I don’t. When you’ve been around as many men as I have, you realize that even the nicest ones have secrets. And you should never underestimate the strength a man has, because some of the strongest men I’ve met are small. Although no one would ever call Harris small.

“To answer your question, Mike has assigned me as your keeper until he can find you a partner.”

“Partner?” I’ve know Mike for over ten years. There is no way he’s looking for a partner for me. “I don’t believe you.”

“You’ve said that a lot to me lately.” He almost smiles. “I wouldn’t know what to think if you actually did believe me.”

“No, I believe he assigned me to you, but I don't buy the line about a partner.” I raise an eyebrow. “When you say gave....”

For the first time since I woke up in his car, Harris isn't smiling. His face contorts into an expression of disgust. “His exact words were, ‘Do what you want with her, but try to keep her alive.’”

Try to keep her alive.

My stomach revolts even though it’s empty, and I dry heave. That one phrase echoes in my head. Try to keep her alive. Try to keep her alive.

“Athena.” Harris’s voice is faint. “You’re okay. Take deep breaths.”

But I’m not. I’m not okay. Mike took away my ability to be okay years ago, and no matter how hard I try, I never seem to be able to take it back.