“Hey, honey, are you in the mood to…fuck, it’s you.”

The sound of the voice, honeyed and husky at first, then souring and sounding more…normal, had my gut twisting. Even before I looked up, I knew who I was going to see. I’d already finished my set since we’d only done the one show tonight as a trial run, and it was barely nine. Too early for somebody like me, used to being up until two or three in the morning even on my nights off.

I’d thought maybe I’d watch the venue’s next show, maybe walk around.

And now, here stood Daytin in front of me.

As I stared at her, she started to scratch at her arm, her nails bitten down to the quick.

I guess she knew I wasn’t going to take her up on not-particularly enticing offer, because after a moment, she outright asked, “You gotta any money?”

“For what?” I asked bluntly. I wanted to help her, but I wasn’t going to enable her.

“I’m hungry,” she said with some level of belligerence.

So that was how we were going to play it. “You probably are,” I said, “but you’re also hurting for another hit of whatever you took last. I’m not helping you get any drugs.”

“I wasn’t going to buy any,” she replied, lifting her chin in the air, but there was guilt in her dark eyes. She may have wanted food, but if I handed over cash, she’d buy something else first.

I gave her a hard look. “Why are you doing this? Camry’s trying to help you. She knows what you’re going through, knows how hard it is.”

Blinking rapidly, Daytin looked away. “I don’t want to talk about Camry. There’s no point anyway. I blew it.”

“I don’t think you did.”

Her belly gurgled at that moment and I stood, holding out a hand. “Come on. Let’s get some food in you if nothing else. You can eat…then decide what you want to do.”

* * *

The big black man hovering in the door was called Charon. He always said it was because he was the gatekeeper, and he’d laugh while saying it, smacking his hands together. Now, he looked nervous, and not particularly gate-keeperish, as he watched Daytin. She was bent over a plate loaded down with chicken tenders and fries since they didn’t have the chicken soup that would probably be better for her than this greasy stuff. As she took another huge bite of chicken, he turned to me.

“Need you a minute, son,” he told me, jerking his head toward the door.

I joined him in the small hall outside the employee’s break room.

“You can’t be bringing in any street kids, Oz.” Charon pitched his voice as quiet as he could. He’d called me Oz the first time I’d introduced myself, and Oz I would be, it seemed. “The manager will have my ass if he finds out.”

“Act like you don’t know anything,” I said, seriously. “And if he doesn’t buy it, you say I ignored you. Because I’m going to...she just needs some food, Charon.”

“Oz…” He heaved out a sigh that had his great chest expanding under the sleek suit he wore. “Boy, you’re going to get me in trouble.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not.” A ghost of a smile danced on his dark face before disappearing. “Can’t say I blame you for worrying about a kid like that. I’ll keep the boss up front for a bit. Can’t promise more than ten or twenty minutes, though. Best get her out the back before he decides he wants some coffee or something.”

We were gone in ten.

I felt bad rushing her, but I wasn’t going to get a decent guy like Charon in trouble either.

“You didn’t have to eat it all at once. We could have taken it with us,” I said as we walked down the street. She was cradling her belly and looked a little green, so I was leery about putting her in a taxi. The walk to my hotel would take probably twenty minutes, but maybe the air would clear her head and settle her belly.

“I was hungry,” she said defensively.

I had no doubt she was. I doubted she’d had a good meal since the one I’d bought her the first time I’d met her.

“Maybe you should think about going back to the clinic,” I suggested. “Camry could come get you.”

“No!” Agitated now, she all but radiated panic. “They ain’t gonna take me back anyway. I broke out, broke one of their stupid rules. Places like that don’t give second chances.”

Somehow, I doubted that, but I wouldn’t push her on it. “Then let me call Camry.”

“No!” She stopped, looking all around, eyes wide and wild. “This was a stupid idea. I’m gonna go—”

“Okay, okay…” Moving to block her, I held my hands up. “I’ll stop bothering you about Camry. Let’s just let you get some place to rest, okay?”

She still looked wary, but after a minute, she gave me a jerky nod and started to walk.

But we’d only gone about fifteen feet before she suddenly lurched off to the side, almost falling face first into the greenery as she started to heave. A few people passed by, giving us disgusted looks. I ignored them as I hovered near her, pulling her hair back as she emptied her stomach.

She was crying by the time she was done, practically choking on her sobs.

“Hey.” A girl paused by me and held out a bag. I frowned, but took it and looked inside. It was a leftover fast-food bag, but there were napkins and a half-empty bottle of water in it.

Smiling my thanks, I turned back to Daytin as I pulled two napkins out. Carefully, I wiped her face, then folded the napkins and did it again. People were steering far around us, and then the skin on the back of my neck prickled. Glancing up, I spotted a couple cops talking to what looked like a shop owner a couple storefronts down.

Shit.

I didn’t know if they were looking for her, since she hadn’t done anything wrong by leaving the clinic, but anyone with any sense who looked at her would know she was strung-out, and I didn’t doubt there were plenty of cops who could spot someone looking for a mark. The last thing we needed was to get stopped for questioning.

“Come on, sweetheart,” I said, keeping my voice low. “We need to go. There are cops close by.”

I’d had a feeling that would nudge her into motion and I’d been right. She practically vaulted to her feet, and I had to catch her arm to slow her down.

“You want them to think you’re running from them?” I asked, handing her another napkin.

“No.” She swallowed, then groaned. “I’ve got puke all over me. How can I work now?”

I hadn’t been planning to let her work anyway, but I didn’t need to go into that right now. “We’ll get you cleaned up. Let’s just get out of here.”

The cops were eying us now, so at the crosswalk, I nudged her into the road along with the rest of the flowing foot traffic. If we could get between the two stores just up there—

The crowd thickened right by one of the more tourist-heavy attractions and we cut around that traffic, Daytin moving quicker now. But when she would have gone straight, I pulled her down the alley.

“My hotel has a side entrance. Just down here.”

We ducked inside, and I led straight to the crowded lobby elevator bank. I needed to her out of sight and fast. Cops wouldn’t come in here looking for her without a specific reason, but if hotel security thought I was bringing a hooker into the hotel, well, that wouldn’t exactly be good for my image...or for her.

I didn’t stop fidgeting until I had her on the elevator and the doors slid closed. She slumped back against the wall while most of the passengers shifted to the other side of the car. I stayed next to her, shielding her from their view—and their clear distaste. One girl muttered under her breath about the smell and I stiffened. Daytin’s eyes flew open, her cheeks burning red. I rested a hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

“Haven’t any of you ever had the stomach flu before?” I asked as the doors opened and a few of them trickled out. I faked a sniffle and moved closer to the girl who’d made the comment. “My sister thought she was feeling better and wanted something to eat so I got her some chicken tenders. Stupid me, it’s chicken soup for an upset stomach, isn’t it? Sure hope I don’t end up with whatever she had.”

The next time the doors opened, all of them left.

Daytin still looked like shit, but she managed a weak smile when she looked at me. “That was a dirty trick. I like it.”

Still annoyed, I replied without thinking, “Bugger them all. Fuckwits.”

Daytin’s eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline as I realized she probably only understood half of what I was saying. Waving a distracted hand, I said, “I’m annoyed. Ignore me.”

“I figured. It’s…” She laughed. “It’s sweet. You’re annoyed because she was rude…about me. People don’t get upset on my behalf.” She looked away. “I didn’t run right away yesterday. I waited. I thought you might be calling the police on me and I was pissed. Thought maybe I’d do…I don’t know. Something. But when Camry showed up…how did you know who I was, anyway?”

“She drew a picture of you.”

That caught her off-guard, like she never would’ve thought someone would be interested enough to do such a thing.

“She really captured you.” The elevator doors slid open and we emerged into an empty hallway. Gesturing to my door, I tried to let her go first, but she wouldn’t, so we walked side by side to the room.

“I’ve seen her drawings before. She’s good,” Daytin said. “She should like…I don’t know…get them in a gallery or something.”

“You’re right. Try telling her that,” I advised her. “She won’t listen to me.”

“And you think she’d listen to me?” She laughed, shaking her head. “Not happening.”

Inside the room, she began to pace, her hands moving up and down her arms like she wanted to scratch, but was trying not to because she knew I’d see. I called for room service, then sat on the couch, watching her and waiting for her to calm down. It took about the same time for that to happen as for the chicken soup to be delivered, along with a sandwich and fries for me. She eyed the soup with only vague interest, but after a couple of bites, she was practically inhaling it. At least this, I thought, would stay down. A yawn escaped her halfway through, but she didn’t let it deter her much.

“How long as it been since you slept?”

“Oh, I’m staying with a friend,” she said.

She was lying through her teeth and we both knew it. “Not what I asked.”

“I slept until noon today,” she said before taking another bite of soup.

“Uh-huh. Tell you what, you call her and make arrangements for her to pick you up. You can stay here until then. Or I can get a car brought around and get you there myself.”

Daytin’s shoulders slumped. “Why are you so determined to take care of me?”

“Because you need it.” Shrugging, I got up and went to the other room, pulling a t-shirt and a pair of workout shorts from the dresser. “Why don’t you go shower and put this on? Then you can rest. I’ll…figure out something about your clothes.”

I didn’t know if she’d stay long enough for me to get them cleaned, or if she’d think I was using it as a way to trap her or what. But while she’d tried to clean herself up in the bathroom, the clothes needed to be washed since I doubted she’d let me throw them away.

At first, I thought she’d argue with me, but eventually, she nodded.

“Are you going to call Camry while I’m in there?” she asked in a tight voice.

“No. I’m not.”

I wouldn’t call her, but I might call Kaleb. Even though he was being a dick, he might be willing send someone to help. I didn’t know. Or maybe I’d just call Piety. She might be the better bet.

But I wouldn’t call Camry.