Help Me by Clara Bayard Read Free Book Online

discount garbage. Fantasy is one thing. Actual cheap clothing is another.” With that she stalked out of the room and shut the door behind her.
    I looked down at my dress. “This is the nicest thing I own.”
    Trey shook his head. “Don’t worry.”
    “But…she told me to leave. How am I supposed to…?”
    He put a finger over my lips, stopping me from saying anything else. “Let’s go. I’ll give you a ride how and we can talk.”
    “Oh, of course.” I nodded and followed him out the door, leaving Veronica’s lushly decorated office behind us, and passing Peter on the way out.
    Trey led me through the kitchen and out the back door. There was a small parking area there at the bottom of the steps and he walked over to a convertible that sat low to the ground. It was black with chrome that gleamed in the dim light, and probably cost more than my parents’ house.
    “Hop in,” he said as he opened the door and climbed in behind the wheel.”
    I did not hop. I gingerly placed myself in the deep leather seat and tried to sit perfectly still so I didn’t accidentally damage anything.
    Trey peeled out of the lot quickly and then rounded the corner. Once we were out of sight of the club he pulled over again and turned the car off.
    “What’s going on?”
    “We can’t talk in there, Amanda. You need to remember that place is wired top to bottom. I don’t know exactly what the system is, but Peter and the other guards don’t miss anything that happens in the club.”
    “You think even Veronica’s office is bugged?”
    “Possibly. But better safe than sorry.”
    “I was hoping to talk to more people.”
    “You will. We’ll come back tomorrow night and I’ll make sure we find something about your sister.”
    “Well,” I said, running my fingers over the door handle, “I’m not even sure she was ever there.”
    “She was.”
    I looked up, surprised at the surety in his voice. “Huh?”
    “I’ve seen her. Your sister.”
    “You have? Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “I couldn’t. Not in there. I wasn’t sure, but then I thought about the tattoo and I’m sure I’ve seen it.”
    “Oh.” I was glad, but kind of scared, too. Because of what I had to ask next. “Um…what was she doing there?”
    Trey sighed. “You already know the answer to that question. She works at the club. She’s one of the companions.”
    “My sister is a prostitute? Is that what you’re telling me?”
    He didn’t respond. He didn’t need to.
    My stomach roiled and for a moment I thought I might throw up all over Trey’s amazing car. But I managed to keep it together. Barely. I felt like I’d been hit with a wrecking ball. Kat was a…I couldn’t bear to think it. She worked at the Eden Club. Dated men for money. Had sex with them for money. And she never told me. No, she lied.
    “Look,” Trey said softly. “I can only imagine what’s going through your mind, but don’t forget why you showed up tonight. You think your sister is in danger, right?”
    I nodded.
    “Focus on that. Leave the rest of it behind.”
    “I…I’m not sure how to do this.”
    “We’ll figure it out together, okay?”
    “Why are you helping me?”
    “Because you need it.”
    And then I started crying again. Trey held my hand for a moment and then started the car again. Through my tears I told him Kat’s address and he drove me there. I was still weeping when we arrived and he just sat there silently with me.
    Finally, I pulled myself together enough to speak. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually cry this much.”
    “It’s okay,” he said. “Get some sleep, okay?”
    “Yeah.”
    He reached into the glove compartment and handed me a business card. “My cell phone number is on here. Call me if you need anything. I’ll pick you up here tomorrow at ten in the morning.”
    “The club is open that early?”
    “Well, it doesn’t really ever close. But no, we’ll go there later.”
    “What are we doing first?”
    “Going shopping.