“Piece of shit bastard,” I muttered, fuming. I disconnected the call and slammed the phone down although it didn’t do anything to cool the temper burning inside me.

I’d called Stefano so many times, I’d already lost track.

The same could be said for Camry.

Neither of them bothered to call back or even send a text. That was only one of the things that had me in a foul mood.

Piety had called numerous times that first night and left several messages. But since then, she had only called twice, and each call had been late. At least late for the eastern part of the United States. She hadn’t left a message, and she hadn’t texted anything either. I almost answered each call. I almost called her back.

But what the hell would I tell her? That I’d accepted the money from her parents so I could help my sister? And it was driving me crazy to sit in Philly while doing nothing while she worked?

Would I tell her that the prick lawyer had been right in that there was really nothing else I could have done? He was right, even as much as he was a prick. Maybe he didn’t know why I needed the money, but I had needed the money. And I needed it bad enough to do something desperate, something that would hurt her. That had mattered more than anything.

Maybe it wasn’t fair to compare my sister’s life to the feelings of a woman I barely knew – even a woman I wanted more than I’d ever wanted anybody. But that’s how it was. My baby sister needed me and I’d already failed her too many times.

That thought had me reaching for the phone again, but when I went to check my messages, Piety’s name fill my vision. I read the last message she’d sent me over and over even though I’d already committed it to memory.

Where are you? Is everything okay? I’ve got some cool news, and I can’t wait to tell you. But I want to tell you in person. Call me back, please?

Cool news. I had no idea what she planned to tell me, but that message had come through while I’d been speeding across the country on a first-class ticket paid for by her parents.

Even now the thought turned my stomach.

I went to delete the message, just as I had told myself to do a thousand times over the past couple of days. But before I could, the phone rang.

“Finally,” I muttered under my breath. There was no name attached to the phone number, but I knew who it was none the less.

I answered with a short, “About time you called, damn it.”

“Easy, easy,” Stefano said. “Why are you so hot under the collar? I would have thought you’d be happy that I was giving you time to get all that cash together.”

“I want to talk to my sister.”

“She’s sleeping. You know how these junkies are.” He sounded amused with himself.

I wanted to punch my fist through the phone, grab him by his thick neck, and strangle him.

“When can we meet? I want to get this taken care of. I want it over with.” I sounded calm. Maybe I should consider an acting career.

“Yeah, well, me too. But I’ve been busy. I’m a businessman, you know. Your sister isn’t the only fish in the sea, and I’ve got other…fish to take care of. Although she is my favorite. I’m going to miss her when she’s gone.” Then his voice went sly. “Assuming she doesn’t come crawling back for more. You know, I can be hard to resist.”

“Huh. Fuck you. Look, can we just set up a time to meet or what?”

“You’re in such a hurry. But fine…no small talk.” Stefano laughed and named a place.

I had no doubt it would be just as sleazy as the last place, but it didn’t matter. Camry was all that mattered. “What time?”

“I’ll be there around three. You be there.”

He hung up, and I stood there staring at the phone. I had a bad feeling about this entire thing. But what else was I supposed to do?

* * *

Three o’clock came and went. It was coming up on four-thirty when he finally came in…alone.

Camry wasn’t with him.

That alone made me furious.

I came out of my seat, hands closing into fists.

He had an easy smile on his face when he saw me, and I wanted to knock that smile off his face and his teeth down his throat.

“Hey there, Kaleb. How’s it going? You got my money?”

He looked so damn pleased with himself. The arrogant bastard always looked happy.

“Where is my sister?” Anger was a huge ugly knot in my gut, but I managed to keep my voice level.

“That ain’t how this works.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head, looking almost pained as he said it. “See, you gotta pay me what you owe me and then she’s free to do what she wants. But until you pay me…”

“I want to see my sister.”

Stefano’s eyes went cold and hard. With a shake of his head, he shouldered past me. “You don’t get to make demands here. I own her.”

“Did they forget to tell you that slavery ended a long time ago?”

He laughed. “You’re so naïve. Where. Is. My. Money?” He enunciated each word, the cold, ugly threat coming through with every syllable.

I’d heard it from the very first word, but this time, I knew I couldn’t ignore him. I wasn’t worried about me, but my sister? Yes.

I turned on my heel and went back to the table where I’d been waiting. I sat down and reached for the envelope I’d left on the seat. As he sat down across from me, I slammed it on the table. “There. Now, where is she?”

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” Stefano shoved the envelope into his coat pocket and leaned back in the seat. He dropped his fingers on the top of the table and looked around, looking pleased with himself. “So…here’s what happens now. I’ll let her know that her debt is paid in full. She’s free to do whatever she wants.”

“If she was free to do what she wants,” I said, struggling to keep my temper under control, “then she could have left whenever she wanted.”

“Hey, man…” He held up his hands, looking wounded. “She owed me money. What was I supposed to do? Just let her walk out and leave me hanging?”

“Yeah. You’re the injured party here.” I curled my lip at him, so disgusted I could barely stand to be in the same room.

“Hey, she came to me. Remember that. I didn’t snatch her or something like that. I’m legit.” He hitched up a shoulder and tipped an imaginary hat in a salute before sliding out of the booth. “Nice doing business with you, Kaleb.”

I almost told him to shove his business up his ass.

Instead, I shrugged easily. “Tell Camry I’ll be waiting for her call. I want to know where to pick her up.”

“Hey, I’m sure she’ll be in touch…soon.”

As he turned and slouched out of the club, I fought the uneasy feeling settling over me. More than anything else, that last comment set me off.

I’ve been leery of this whole mess from the get go, but now I was left to wonder if I hadn’t just been played.