“Worried you’d lose your minds, get in trouble.”
“Stupid,” he muttered, sounding more than a little annoyed. “What’s she think we get that ten percent for?”
This was a good question and one I didn’t have an answer to. In my experience, ladies of the evening didn’t protect their protectors. If they were lucky, it was the other way around. They usually avoided them, if they could, or sought them out for not so good reasons, such as getting their fix.
Knight’s girls weren’t like that. I knew why, hell, I definitely knew why.
It still was stupid.
“Got an ass to kick, Rhash,” I reminded him.
“Need back up?” he asked.
“Feeling like kicking ass?”
“How bad was she?”
“Fat lip. Swollen eye,” I told him.
“Then… fuck yeah.”
I grinned.
That was why Knight inspired loyalty in his girls. Because he employed people like Rhashan and me who gave a shit.
“I’m starting at the hotel,” I shared. “Meet me there.”
“It’ll take me about ten, fifteen. Wait for me. I don’t want to miss anything.”
I grinned again. Rhashan and all the guys thought it was hilarious to watch me work. This was because I was five foot two and cheated the gods by drinking a lot and eating whatever I wanted and still, I was thin. I had tits and nicely rounded ass. Neither in overabundance so, no doubt about it, I was slender. I wasn’t girlie but I wore my honey blonde hair long and wild and I also had a not to be messed with, once a week schedule of getting a manicure and pedicure.
Still, I could take down a man over a foot taller than me, with over a hundred pounds on me and have him whining like a baby.
The guys thought this was hysterical, watching a man go down at the hands of a petite woman wearing nail polish. Sometimes, when I’d get the callout, two or three of them would show just to watch.
I never disappointed.
“See you there,” I said to Rhash.
“Yeah, later,” he replied.
I flipped my phone shut, started up my girl, she purred for me while I waited the thirty seconds before I saw Cher pull up and park. Then I gave her a chin lift through the windshield and waited while she walked to Serena’s house. After that, I waited until the door closed behind Cher.
Then my girl and I took off.
* * * * *
I had my back to the wall at the side of the door when I heard the elevator beep. I turned my head and watched Rhash walk out.
Rhashan was a huge, midnight skinned black man. Handsome. Fuck, they made few of them as good as Rhashan from head to toe. Smooth with a kick, like a good bourbon. You sucked it back then sucked in a breath to ease the warmth on its way down.
He’d recently married a woman I liked unreservedly, which was rare. It was known he liked to dominate which was why I didn’t dip my toe in midnight before he made the ultimate hook up with his new wife, Vivica.
No one controlled me. Not anymore.
That didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the view immensely as he walked his muscled bulk my way.
When he got close, I lifted up a keycard between two fingers.