“Why do I get the feeling you’ve heard everything I’m about to tell you before?” Kasha asks, her face resigned. She holds out the notebook and pen for me and I look at it like it is the enemy.

Because I have.

“How long has it been since you received the injury?” she asks.

I hate those words. I hate the way they make my stomach coil up in distaste.

Years.

“You realize that your chances to have your voice repaired lessens with time? This is something that needed seeing to immediately.”

I don’t respond. She’s right, but then look at her. She’s perfect. She’d never understand the problems of not having money or insurance. She would never understand the life I’ve lived in general.

“It’s going to be like that, is it?” she asks and I shrug, avoiding looking in her eyes. She sighs, not bothering to hide the fact that she’s put out with me. “Fine. I’m going to prescribe some medicine for you to take twice a day and there are some exercises you can do that will help.”

No medicine is going to give me my voice back.

I don’t know if she thinks I’m naïve or what, but if there was an easy cure, I would have begged, stolen, or borrowed to get it already.

“You’re right. There is a surgery, but it has been so long now I’m not sure it would help. Still this medicine will relax your vocal chords and keep them from being under so much strain. The exercises will keep the damaged chords a little more viable. Ultimately, surgery is the best choice.”

No insurance.

She stops and looks at me strangely. I feel like she’s searching for something from me.

“Honey, you do realize Marcum has claimed you as his? The last thing you need to worry about is money. He will pay for it. The biggest worry you have is if it will even work at this point. You could permanently paralyze the chords too, that’s always a worry. But then, you don’t exactly have much use of them now. Still, it’s something you two need to discuss.

“Claimed?” I croak.

“Claimed. He’s a little old for you, honey, but I’m not here to judge. You’re a smart cookie. As sugar daddies go, I’d say Marcum is one of the best. You sure won’t have to worry about anything as long as he’s around. And you’ll have the club’s protection when he’s not.”

I stand up somewhere in her speech. My mind is whirling around and around. She thinks Marcum has claimed me? I barely get time to register that before she accuses me of using him. She’s taller than me and probably better than me in every way one could measure. I shouldn’t have pride, but ironically I do and she’s stepping all over it.

“Which is good, because let’s face it. If an enemy doesn’t get him he’s probably not going to be around much longer. You’re a practical girl. I can respect that.”

My breath almost stops in my lungs. Marcum brought this woman into his club; it’s clear he trusts her and it just feels wrong that she repays him this way. I’ve not had anyone to show me loyalty in my life, and because of that maybe seeing it so blatantly pisses me off. I slap her, mostly to stop her talking, though I might hit her harder than I normally would have because I’m angry.

I’m tired of not having any control. I’m tired of being here, I’m tired of living a life where I’m forced to be put in these situations.

I’m freaking tired!

She stops talking and stops to look at me. Her eyes are wide with surprise. I figure she’ll either kill me in a fight or with her perfection, but I’ll at least try and make a good show of it. I prepare myself for it, knowing she will strike back… how could she not?

“You bitch!” she growls, but before she can hit me the door opens.

Kasha must not care because she grabs me by the hair and yanks my head. Which seems really weak. In her perfection, I expected her to deliver a cinematic punch that would knock me out. I try to jerk away. Unfortunately, I do it just as she tries to deliver a slap to the side of my face. I miss the majority of that, but I move at just a good enough angle her large diamond ring catches the bottom of my cheek and cuts it. I stomp on her foot and I might have done worse, but before I can, Ride comes over and separates us.

“What the fuck is going on?” he yells, and I figure this is where I’ll get worse. I had a chance against Kasha even if she is a freaking Amazon. When Ride hits me I probably won’t get up easily. Let’s face it, I never did well going toe to toe against my father.

“Marcum’s latest little pet hit me,” she yells and just because she called me a pet—like I was a dog—I reach for her hair and grab it hard before Ride can stop me. I’m rewarded by taking some of her hair with me when he pulls me farther away. Kasha tries to strike back, but Ride ends it.

“Don’t move, Kasha. I’ll be back. Marcum wants Toi downstairs,” he growls, and he does it in such a way, she immediately minds him. I can’t blame her. I’m more than a little scared of him too.

So scared I leave—even when he’s taking me to Marcum and I’d rather claw Kasha’s eyes out.