Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
“We’re going out tonight and I’ve already chosen an outfit for you.” He handed her one of the covered bags.
The thought of going out tonight didn’t appeal.
“Do you really need me to come with you?” Vanessa asked.
She hated parties. People looked at her with pity.
Diago sighed, and then glanced down at his watch. “Three, two, one.”
His doorbell rang, and Vanessa nearly jumped out of her skin, as he reached out to answer it. They never had guests or visitors. This was too new for her. She felt herself tense up and she had no idea why he seemed so relaxed.
The door opened, and the woman in front of him threw her arms up in the air and hugged him.
“Diago, I never thought you’d call.”
Vanessa had no idea what was happening now.
Diago hugged the other woman, and there seemed to be a fondness between the two. She stared in amazement, and what also startled her was a little … envy, mixed with what she felt was also a bit of jealousy, which made no sense to her. She had no reason to be jealous of anyone.
There was nothing happening between her and Diago. All he had done was taken her from her parents, and if it was even possible, given her a much better life than the one she had. Nothing special. Or strange.
Maybe a little strange.
“Who is the lucky young woman I get to play with?” the woman asked.
Diago allowed the woman to enter, which again was unusual. He valued his privacy, and they were secluded. He’d even mentioned an electric fence, not that she had tested it.
“Here,” he said, walking toward Vanessa.
“She’s so beautiful,” the woman said.
She couldn’t help but wonder if the woman was … mad. It had been a long time since she was called “beautiful.” Her mother stopped telling her she was beautiful after her kidnapping.
“Vanessa, I’d like you to meet Susan. Susan, this is Vanessa.”
There were so many questions.
Susan tutted. “I do not have time for silly introductions. You told me to get her ready for a party, and that is exactly what I am going to do. Come on, Vanessa. Let’s go and have some girl time.”
Vanessa didn’t have time to argue as she was pushed upstairs. She was able to steer Susan into her bedroom, but they didn’t stop there. Nope, without question, a bath was run, and she had no choice but to get naked in front of this woman and have her hair lathered.
Susan was a talker.
“You have beautiful hair, sweet girl,” she said.
“How do you and Diago know each other?” she asked.
They seemed quite friendly with one another.
Susan chuckled. “Diago and I go way back. He is a friend I value deeply, and he keeps an eye on me. Never turns his back on me.”
Vanessa couldn’t help but frown.
“I was so delighted when he said he had a woman he wanted me to help get ready. I just love my job.”
“You’re a beautician?”
“And hairstylist. My job is to enhance a woman’s beauty, and that is what I love to do. Like this hair, we’re going to give it volume and curl. Every man will be looking at you and drooling.”
She snorted.
“Any reason for that unladylike sound?” Susan asked.
“Yeah, no man has ever looked at me and drooled, trust me.”
“Then it’s time we show them all they’re missing,” Susan said.
She was out of the bathtub, and being dried. “Do you do this for all your clients?”
“Nope, you are a pretty special client, Vanessa,” Susan said. “When Diago calls at the last moment, I come running.”
“Here are your things,” Diago said, making her scream because she wasn’t wearing a towel. She wasn’t wearing anything, and he was there, seeing her completely naked.
“You’re a star,” Susan said.
Vanessa chanced a glance at Diago, to find him staring right back at her.
“Enjoy,” he said, winking.
What the hell was that?
****
Several hours later, Diago sensed Vanessa’s nerves, and he knew they were totally justified. He had gotten news of a party Isaac Norma was throwing. This time, it wasn’t in his house, but at a gala. He was throwing some kind of charity event, where people could spend money on a good cause, and get something back for their hard-earned money. They didn’t know that the charity was bullshit. Isaac was pocketing the money, and he’d been doing this whenever his funds were running low. He used a charity to take money from people.
The man had been hoping to lure someone in, using his daughter, but Diago had already put a stop to that.
Susan had already given him her opinion on the woman at his side. Of course, she adored Vanessa, and scolded him for not marrying her already. He liked Susan. She was a woman he’d saved many years ago. There were very few people he’d saved, but Susan had been taken from the street. Her husband at the time had rung up a huge debt and decided to use his wife as collateral. The plan had been to sell Susan to the highest bidder, and then that bidder would use her to make more money. Diago had been onto the trafficker, through another deal.