My puffy eyes sting from crying. I wish I could rub them, but my makeup will smear all over my face. I focus my thoughts on the spotlight shining down on me and the pole in front of me. I’m on the center stage. Beth is to my right and a new girl—Tiffany, maybe—is to my left. The music pounds, and I perform my routine without thought. I unlace the corset, pulling the string hard. I breathe in deeply, grab the pole, kick my leg up and rest my ankle on the cold metal. I’m doing a standing split until I kick up my second leg, wrap it around the pole and hang upside down. The girls are no longer contained by the corset. The guys in front of me stare, lean forward, and toss money my way. I slide down the pole until I’m on the floor, pressing my stomach to the stage. I arch my back and tip my head back. I’m right in front of an older guy. He shoves a twenty in my corset and makes a comment I tune out. I smile coyly at him.

When I’m working, my mind is a million miles away. I’m not teasing some guy I don’t know or popping my boobs on purpose. I’m simply not there. So when I sit up and perch on one leg with my hands in front of me like an animal, I no longer feel humiliation.

I feel nothing.

A familiar burn shoots up the leg I’m perched on and I right myself again. I slide my other ankle out, parting my legs in front of a younger guy with a shaved head and a gangly body. There’s a piercing on his left lobe and a tattoo wrapping around the back of his neck.

He’s watching me without blinking, his mouth watering, thinking about things he’d do to me if we were alone. He holds out a fifty and waves it at me. “Take it off honey and this is yours.”

Guys say all sorts of things to me. This one is tame in comparison, but the waving cash never sits right with me. It slams me back into the present and reminds me of what I’m doing. I reach up to the first clasp on the corset and pop it. I work my way down, one by one, unhooking them all. I’m topless, tossing the garment toward the back of the stage. I crawl forward and part my lips, allowing him to put the money between my teeth. I purr when he does it, which makes the guy next to him fish out another twenty. More money juts up from greedy hands surrounding the stage. They all want my attention. They want to make me purr.

They think I’m a goddess, a sex kitten. I never say anything to any of them. I just smile, wink, and lick my lips. My voice would give me away. The shame I feel would be obvious. I’m not some exhibitionist that enjoys swinging on a pole.

I don’t know what I am anymore.

I rise and strut slowly back to the pole, money still between my teeth. I’m wearing a black thong, matching thigh highs, garters, and a pair of stilettos. I know which assets guys like the best and work them. Throwing my hip out, I slowly bend to pick up some cash, pushing the curve of my spine out, and making my ass look curvier.

As I pick up the bills and stuff them onto my garter, more money waves in my direction. Coy smile in place, I glance up and freeze.

“I always knew you were a slut, Cassie.” Mark is standing there in a cowboy hat, a pair of tight jeans, and a denim jacket with a smug look on his face. “You know what I had to go through to find you. Get your ass down here now. We’re leaving. You’re my whore, and I don’t fucking share.” He snaps at me and points to the spot beside him.

I glance around for Bruce. He’s not there. The man who’s always on the floor, right by the door, isn’t there.

Mark knows who I’m looking for. He jabs his thumb towards the door. “That guy is long gone, and if you don’t want to find out where he is, I suggest you get your skinny ass down here. Right. Now.”

Panic is choking me. The guys around my section of the stage turn toward Mark. The man with the shaved head turns and tells him, “Fuck off!”

Without a word, Mark walks over and cold clocks him. The guy falls on the floor and Mark kicks him in the gut twice. No one says anything. No one helps the man. I stand there, mute, my mouth gaping open.

Mark’s beyond pissed now. The veins on his neck are popping up one by one. “Don’t make me come up there to get you.”

My stomach swirls with ice as I walk to the edge of the stage. Beth calls out to me, “Cassie, don’t! Bruce! Where the hell is Bruce!”

People are yelling all around me, but the words sound like buzzing. My heart thumps in my ears, and I break out into a cold sweat. When I get close enough to the edge of the stage, Mark grabs my wrist and jerks me hard. I topple forward, and he lets go. I fall about three feet, landing on my hands and knees next to the guy on the floor. My hair drapes across my face, hiding the thoughts in my head.

Get up before he kicks you.

Run away before he locks you up again.

Fight back before he has his hands on you.

It doesn’t matter how much I want to fight. I’m paralyzed. I see the bright lights and hear the blaring horns. Fuck, I even feel the rumble of the massive engine barreling down straight toward me, but there’s nothing I can do. It’s too late.

Mark’s fingers wrap around my arm, and he jerks me to my feet, hissing at me. “You always played the part of the virgin so well, I bought it at first, but you’re nothing but a first class skank. I’ve missed playing our little games, Cassie." His voice drops to a cold whisper. "I brought your favorite.”

I can’t breathe. A shiver races through me, panic jamming my thoughts. I can feel the metal spikes scraping my skin even though that nightmare happened years ago.

A haze of fear overwhelms me as he shoves me toward the door, not bothering to cover me as he marches me out into the parking lot. I hear Beth screaming, but no one stops him. Why would they? Mark says the same lines he always does—that I’m his wife, a whore who can’t get enough. He jokes about locking me up better next time, explains this is a little game we play. They believe him. They always do—why would an honest woman work as a stripper? Why would someone who isn’t a sexual deviant be in a place like this?

Tears roll down my cheeks as I stagger, topless, into the parking lot. I’m not moving fast enough, so he grabs my arm to drag me toward his truck. “You stupid bitch. Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?” His hand flies and a sharp slapping sound echoes through the dark parking lot.

My skin stings, but I can’t feel it after a second. It’s dark, and we’re alone. If I fight to get away, I can’t run. I’m half naked in heels. Even if I find a cop, he’s more likely to arrest me than save me. It's happened before. It only delays the inevitable. Mark bails me out, then does what he wants.

As Mark reaches for the door of the truck, something comes from behind and slams him into the fender. There’s a loud crash and a shriek. Beth is there in panties and a bra, holding a pointy heel in her hand like a weapon. “You’re not taking her.” Breathing hard, she raises the hooker heel to swing at Mark’s head.

She caught him by surprise when she body-slammed him into the side of the truck, but Mark sees the shoe coming. He grabs Beth’s wrist and twists it so hard there’s a crack. She screeches and tries to pull her arm back. I swing at his face, finally coming to life, but he grabs my fist and twists my arm behind my back. I get slammed face first into the side of the truck. He holds me there as he dangles Beth by her broken wrist with his other hand.

He laughs at her. “You pathetic little bitch. You can’t hurt me. You couldn’t save her even if you pulled a gun out of your ass, you filthy—”

The sound of a weapon cocking cuts Mark's words off cold, but his hands continue to push me firmly against the truck. It’s quiet for a moment. “Release both girls and step away.” Jon’s voice is gravel, tar, and death. I’ve never heard him like that.

Mark laughs and raises his hands, pulling both of us. Beth screams and tries to kick Mark, but he shoves her down. Beth falls backward and scrapes her elbows on the ground. He acts like it was nothing, like what he did will have no repercussions. It never has before. He drops me, letting me fall to the ground, clapping his hands in Jon's direction as if applauding a theatrical performance. “I have to hand it to you—with ample titties and ass inside and the Ferro name plastered outside, the club certainly isn't hurting for customers. You're a brilliant businessman, Ferro.”

Jon aims the gun at Mark’s chest. “Shut the fuck up. Cassie, get her inside. Now.” I help Beth up and start for the door, but I can’t walk away from Jon like this. He never falters, his eyes stay riveted to Mark, but his voice softens. “Please, Cass, just do it.”

I help Beth to the door and pull it open. As we cross the threshold, the gun explodes, shattering the night behind us.