“I’m waitin’, bitch! You better start talkin’ fast,” Rock exploded.
“It’s not a big deal, Rock. Some of the other girls told me if I make up a sob story, the men at the bar would give me bigger tips. All I told those two guys was that my parents died suddenly, and I was left all alone with no family. I told them I was trying to save money so that someday I can pay for college,” Maggie said.
“What’s that gotta do with offering ya help?” Rock said, smelling a lie.
“That’s what these guys do. All of them are the same. They want to come into the bar and rescue the girls. It’s all just a part of their fantasy. They think it will make me pay more attention to them. Besides, they were drunk, Rock,” Maggie lied.
“Well, Armando didn’t think they were drunk, and he took it as a threat. Here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna cut ya some slack this time, but only ’cause I ain’t got no proof that ya told those two idiots anything about me or my men. But here’s what you’re gonna do. Tonight when you go back to that bar, you’re gonna tell those two Italian pricks that if they so much as look in Armando’s direction again, they’ll be dead,” Rock snarled. His brow was scrunched as he pushed his face closer to hers and waited.
“OK, Rock. I’ll let them know. I swear,” Maggie promised.
“Good. And another thing. If I find out you’re lying and plottin’ to leave, I’ll kill Juju and Seth. I’ll let ya live so that you can regret your decision to fuck me over for the rest of your pathetic life. Then I’ll sell your filthy ass to the nastiest dudes I can find. I know a lot of them, too. Now get the fuck outta my car,” Rock demanded.
Maggie quickly grabbed the door handle and shot out into the street. Rock got out and glared at Maggie over the roof of the car. “Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. There ain’t gonna be second chances this time.”
Maggie nodded and rushed back to Seth and Joey.
“What did he want?” Seth asked, feeling protective.
“Nothing you need to worry about. Everything’s fine,” Maggie assured him.
Seth challenged her. “I don’t believe you, Aggie. I can tell you’re upset.”
Just then, Juju returned with an elastic bandage to wrap Joey’s ankle. She looked from Maggie to Seth and back. The tension was palpable.
“What’s going on? What did I miss?” Juju asked.
“Rock just made Aggie get in his car, and she came back upset,” Seth snitched.
Juju studied Maggie’s face. Seth was right; something was wrong.
“Everything OK?” Juju asked her.
“Everything’s fine,” Maggie stated calmly.
Juju knew that Maggie would talk about it later. “Little dude, she’s cool. Let’s take care of your girlfriend, Joey.”
Juju’s comment brought a smile to Seth’s lips. Then Seth started barking out orders. “You need to be really careful with her. Her ankle already hurts, and I don’t want you to make it hurt more.”
“Really, Seth? Yeah, ’cause I went all the way to the drugstore so I can buy this ‘thing’ so it would hurt Joey more,” Juju shot back. “How the fuck does this thing work?” she asked, looking at Maggie and hoping she’d take over.
Maggie stepped in and took the bandage from Juju. “Give me. I know how to use it. Just sit back and learn from the master,” she bragged.
As Maggie wrapped Joey’s foot and ankle with the bandage, she explained that it couldn’t be too loose or too tight. The other three watched as she applied the bandage like an expert.
“And you know all this from…?” Juju asked.
“Well, I learned it from books, but there have been times when I actually had to practice the technique,” Maggie explained.
“I remember,” Seth said sadly. “You always had to fix Shana after men did bad things to her.”
Maggie hadn’t thought that Seth remembered much of their life under the control of John William. But now she realized that she’d been fooling herself. How do you forget living in the bowels of hell? How do you pretend that all the pain and torture never existed?
“That’s right,” Maggie answered, not wanting Seth to feel dismissed. “I had to learn a lot of things so I could help Shana.”
Joey broke the silence. “My ankle feels better. Thanks, Maggie.”
Then Joey turned to her left. “Thanks, Juju, for getting the bandage.”
Juju beamed at her. “Hey, whatever I can do to help. You two better get your asses into school before you’re late.”
As Maggie and Juju walked past the drug addicts, hookers, and homeless people on their way back to their rundown apartment, Maggie relayed the things that Rock had told her. The information made Juju squeamish. She didn’t want any of them to be back on Rock’s bad side. There was no telling what would happen if Rock felt threatened.
“So these two guys at Doubles…what do you know about them?” Juju asked.
“I know they’re really nice guys. I know they live in South Philly, and they come to the bar a couple of nights a week. They know Emma really well…the dancer that I partner with. I never found out how Emma knows them. Do you think I should ask her?” Maggie wondered aloud.
“Nah, it doesn’t really matter who they are, anyway. You just need to tell them not to make any more comments in front of Armando. Make sure they know you’re serious,” Juju said.
A few nights later, when Maggie saw Tony and Vincent sitting at the bar, it made her nervous. She liked the two men—they were nice to her—and she didn’t want to tell them to stay away from Armando. Maggie was afraid she’d scare them off if she became high maintenance. But she knew it was important for them to know the truth.
Maggie finished her first set and collected her tips around the bar. She made her way over to a barstool between Tony and Vincent. She slid onto the seat. “Hi guys. How are you?”
“We’re good, little Maggie. How are you?” Tony asked. He’d been in good spirits all day.
“Well, I actually wanted to talk to you two. You remember the last time you saw Armando in the parking lot? You know, the guy who picks me up every night?” Maggie reminded them.
“Sure, we know him. That flamin’ fuckin’ loser who wears that stupid smirk on his face. I’d like to rip his lips off every time I see him,” Vincent said.
Maggie smiled at the sheer negative energy the men held for Armando.
“Yes, him, the one with the smirk. Well, he was really mad after you left.” Maggie paused, and Tony filled the empty space.
“Oh, he was? What’d he do to ya?” Tony asked.
“He didn’t do anything. But listen, you guys…I know you are trying to help, but I’d rather you didn’t,” Maggie said politely.
“We ain’t tryin’ to cause ya any problems,” Vincent explained.
“I know, but it just makes things…it makes things…harder for me. So please don’t say anything else to him, OK?” Maggie asked in a cracked voice.
“Yeah, sure, Maggie. We’ll keep our traps shut as long as ya promise to tell us if ya find yourself in trouble. Deal?” Tony countered.
“Deal,” Maggie said and flashed her brilliant smile.
When Maggie left them to get ready for her next set, Tony looked over at Vincent. “Somethin’ ain’t smellin’ right, Vincent. The girl looked like she was gonna shit a brick. We need to be more careful around that asshole that picks her up.”
“Yeah, I hear ya, Tony. I saw it too. Anyway, we can’t be startin’ no shit wit’ out talking to the family first. We can let it drop for now, but somethin’ is wrong. We’ll see if Emma can get it outta her. What if this is da guy who takes little kids?” Vincent took a long swig of his beer. “All I know is we better not find out dat bastard is hurtin’ her.”
That night when Armando waited for Maggie’s shift to end, he saw Tony and Vincent walking to their car. Neither of the men threw a glance in his direction, even though they both were acutely aware that he was there in the parking lot.
“That’s right, motherfuckers. Just keep walking before you find yourselves dead,” Armando said under his breath.