Becoming the Street Boss - Hayley Faiman Page 0,103
try. I growl to myself, careful not to make a noise. I want to know. I need to know. Then Massimo’s voice booms and I hear him say my name, clearly.
Lifting my head, I take a step back, wondering if I’ve somehow been caught. Chewing on my bottom lip, I wait for a moment, then when the door doesn’t fly open, I return back to pressing my ear against the door.
“Erin is a problem. What are we going to do with her?”
“You don’t know that it’s her exactly, just that the messages came from her residence,” Arlo says.
“She’s a whore I’ve had, multiple times, one who made it clear she wasn’t finished. It’s been five years, who else could it be?” Massimo asks, his and Arlo’s voice clear to me.
I gasp. I know exactly who he’s talking about. Erin is a gorgeous blonde Irish call girl who works here. She is highly desired, and a mega bitch, at least to me. I have caught her glaring at me from across the room before, but I’ve honestly never said a word to her.
“That cunt has been stalking me and my wife for five years. Who else could it be?”
“Another lover of hers?” the mystery voice asks.
“She’s one of my top earners, I can’t let you just get rid of her. Plus, she’s never caused me any issues at all,” Arlo murmurs.
There’s a moment of silence, none of the men speak, then I hear Massimo clear his throat. “Trade her. I want her gone. If she’s the one that’s been stalking me, I want her sent to the Russians, or anywhere, I don’t really give a fuck. Sell her,” Massimo growls.
Sell her.
My heart hammers against my chest. He’s talking about a person. I know that the women and some men sell their bodies for sex here. That’s nothing new, and as far as I know all of them are consensual, now. But, the words that Massimo says, how callous he is about another person’s life, it makes my heart ache.
I’m deep in thought, still leaning against the door when it is wrenched open and without time to react, I fall flat on my face.
“Pippa?” Massimo’s voice shouts.
Lifting my head, I scramble to my knees, glad that I stayed in my jeans and t-shirt instead of changing into a skirt and blouse. Slowly, I lift my face to meet Massimo’s, who is now crouched down in front of me.
Without a word, he slips his hands beneath my armpits and hauls me to my feet as he stands and straightens himself.
“How much did you hear?” he demands.
I don’t look at Arlo or the other man in the room, my eyes are focused on his and only his, and those eyes are pissed the fuck off.
“Not much,” I drawl, chewing on the inside of my cheek.
He snorts. Arlo chuckles. “Liar,” Arlo calls out.
Shifting my gaze over Massimo’s shoulder, I narrow my eyes toward Arlo. He doesn’t care though, his lips curl up into a grin and he shakes his head a couple of times, as if he finds me comical.
“What did you hear?”
“You’re going to sell Erin. Why? Why would you do that?” I whisper.
Massimo tilts his head to the side, his eyes roaming over me. He doesn’t say anything, instead he turns around to face Arlo and the stranger.
“You need to tell her,” Arlo says.
Massimo nods then jerks his chin toward the other man. “She needs to know in order to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. Also, to protect and prepare herself,” the stranger says.
My gaze flicks from him, to Arlo, then finally lands on Massimo. I watch as he sinks his white teeth into his bottom lip and he shakes his head once as his eyes slowly close, then reopen.
“Someone I was with before you, a woman I paid, she’s been stalking you since we were married. I don’t know why, I don’t know how. She followed me before I went away, then took photos and sent me emails while I was gone.”
Shaking my head, I stumble backward. “Two of them? Why? I’m not special,” I mutter.
Massimo reaches for me, his fingers wrapping around my waist before he gently tugs me closer to his body.
“Because of me, to get to me. I don’t know what she wants, but it’s something. I want to find out, then send her away for your safety.”
“Won’t that piss her off?”
“She’ll be gone,” he grinds out through gritted teeth.