Tits wrapped one of my arms around her shoulder and wrapped her arms around my waist since I had about four inches on her. My legs were like overcooked noodles, too unstable to hold my weight, so Tits practically dragged me from the room.
“Get it together, Savannah.” I said the words out loud, hoping the impact would force me into action.
“Any help would be appreciated, Blue Eyes.”
“Thank you,” I whispered when she opened the door and somehow found the strength to lift me over the little hump and place me on the concrete walkway.
“You said that already. Now let’s get the fuck outta here.” She dragged me along as I barely limped my way toward the parking lot.
“I mean thanks for pretending to not know who I am.”
“No offense, Blue Eyes, but the less I know, the better my odds of survival are.” Her grip on my waist tightened as we drew closer to a gold-colored El Dorado with a crooked Cadillac badge on the front. “Lean against the car,” she instructed.
My legs wobbled, but the sturdy older car held my thin frame easily as Tits ran around to the driver’s side and opened the door. She pushed the back door open from the inside and pulled me across the back seat.
“Shit. You’re one strong woman,” I said, yielding to her arms.
A low chuckle escaped from Tits, and I looked up at her.
“Of course, I’m strong. I’m Russian.” She winked and arranged me in place, then slammed the back door before she took her seat behind the steering wheel. “Russian-American technically because Mama was an immigrant, but she raised me like they do in the old country.”
I didn’t know what that meant. Our family was Irish, which meant Catholic with a healthy appreciation for whiskey and a deep respect for the men who made the rules. Priests and criminals, which it turned out were pretty much the same fucking thing. “How’d you end up here?”
“Like I said, raised like they do in the Old Country.” Tits started the car and drove slowly out of the parking lot, slamming on the gas the minute we were on the road that would take us away from the motel.
“Also, I have bad taste in men, a trait it seems I’m doomed to carry on.” Tits kept her focus on the road ahead, occasionally glimpsing behind her to make sure we weren’t being followed.
“He’s the best of the bunch,” I told her sincerely. Dealio wasn’t a horrendous piece of shit, at least not directly. He knew what the Black Jacks did and supplied the drugs, but he didn’t take part in the abuse.
Tits barked out a laugh and increased the speed a little more. “That much is true, but he’s not the kind of guy you can have a forever with, ya know? One or both of us will end up dead or in prison, eventually.”
“But that’s your choice, and I suppose that’s what your mama wanted when she came to this country.” It’s not like I was ever in a position to judge. My life choices would have led me to the same two endings. A coffin or a cell.
Tits laughed again. “Well, Dealio has exactly what this girl wants. A big cock, a long tongue, tons of money and an endless supply of drugs.”
There was no regret in Tits’ words, and I envied that. It reminded me of the woman I was before they turned me into a whore. I’d chosen to stay at my father’s side and run the business, a silly notion in my head of growing up to be like Sadie Ashby, a badass bitch in charge. No, the head bitch in charge.
“You think I’m stupid?” she asked, keeping her eyes peeled over the steering wheel.
“No, I think you’re smart. You know exactly who he is and you accept it because you know what you want and how to get it. More women would be better off if they were honest about what they wanted.”
“Yeah, and what do you want, Blue Eyes?”
“Freedom,” I sighed and my voiced cracked, not from emotion but from dehydration.
“You’re getting that honey, so think just a little bit bigger because I have to find somewhere to take you. You got somebody to take you in?”
A bitter laugh escaped that led to a coughing fit. My ribs hurt like hell, and I cried out. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had anything to drink, and all the talking had only dried my mouth out more.
“If he hasn’t come to get me, chances are good he won’t take me back, so no I have no place to go.”
“Shit, Blue Eyes, that’s not what I wanted to hear. I’m already doing more than I should, but I can’t keep you at my place. It violates Green Zone rules.”