“I, uh, I,” I stammered, wriggling, putting up some effort to escape. I looked side to side as if searching for someone to save me, but no one would be coming down this alley. It was a dead end.
He increased the pressure on my shoulders. There would be bruising.
“Hey, no need to hurt me. You that girl’s body guard or something?” I spoke French with a thick Portuguese accent, emphasizing the fact that I was not a native. How I wished Jeremy had eyes on me. Being completely alone was no fun as a spy.
“I asked you what you thought you were doing.” He hit me into the wall over and over.
“Just trying to make it out here, that’s all. She didn’t have a good hold on it, ya know?”
“No, you tripped her, causing her to lose her balance.” He bared his teeth and cocked his head to the side.
“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t have had to do that had she kept it in her hand and not on her shoulder. Is she hurt? I-I didn’t mean to hurt her. Her bag looked kinda full, and I wanted to see what was inside.”
“You been doing this long?”
“Only about a week now. I just need stuff, ya know?” I looked frantically around. “I’m really sorry. Please. You’re hurting me.”
“Did you run away from home or something?” His hold on me relaxed.
“What’s it to you?” Did being a street kid earn me sympathy points with this guy? I’d play that up.
His eyes dilated slightly as he looked me over. He was considering me. “Just asking. That was a pretty cool move you did there. If I hadn’t been watching, you would have gotten away with it. It was pretty gutsy with all those people around.”
I smiled. “It’s one of the best ways to get bigger things off people, ya know?” I pressed my palms into the wall behind me.
“The problem is that you were picking in my area.” His look was once again menacing.
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” I tapped my foot on the dirty asphalt.
“I’ve never seen you before.” He stared at me like someone searching his memory for a recollection of someone.
He’d loosened his hold when he’d thought I was an orphan, so being on my own was a plus, maybe being a newbie would be too. “I moved here last week. I need a way to live, ya know?”
He nodded and his look softened again. “Actually I do know. You should come work for me.”
Something told me not to give in easily. I shook my head. “No way. Uh, uh. I don’t want to work for no one.”
He tilted his head to the side.
“I’m a one-girl show. I don’t need anyone.” All sympathy left him.
His hands left my shoulders, still holding the bag, but he set them on the wall beside my head and then spread his legs to hem me in. “In that case, I’m going to have to hurt you.” He flipped out a knife and brought it to my face.
I pushed hard against the building and sucked in a breath. I’d said the wrong thing. He didn’t want me to think I had any kind of choice. I would join him or die. The wall seemed harder and the dank smell of the alley turned my stomach. Distant chatter and laughter filtered in from the main area outside the alley. “Well, I’m not sure,” I stammered, time to show some vulnerability. “I mean, I don’t want to get hurt and I’ve never worked for anyone before and…I don’t know…I mean, what do you mean work for you?”
His forearm pressed me harder into the wall and my shoulder blades ached. Even speaking through clenched teeth, the smells of mint and curry met me. “I’m offering you something here. It’s not something you can turn down. You’re lucky I’ve given you as much attention as I have. You need to realize that and remember it.”
I wanted to nod, but couldn’t without having the knife cut into me.
“Fine,” I squeaked. “But I really need this money.”
“We all need money.” He smirked.
“I need it for my family. My dad’s sick. Really sick. I have to help him.”
His eyes softened yet again. “I can supply opportunities you’d never get on your own, and I can keep you safe from other groups.”
“Really? What kind of opportunities?” I blinked a couple of times and then gazed at him with extreme focus.
He put the knife back in his pocket and swung the bag in front of me. “You see this?”
I put my attention on the bag. “Uh, I stole it remember? Of course I’ve seen it.”
“Ah, but you really haven’t.”
I stared at the light brown bag, the black crescent moon staring out at me. I raised my eyebrows in anticipation.
“This bag gets you into the best museums and keeps you safe while you’re in them.”
I scowled. “I can go into any museum I want already.”
“Have you picked at any museums in town?” He jerked his head back, surprise in his voice. It told me what my answer should be. I could make him think I’d pulled off some good heists so he’d be even more determined to collect me.
“Of course.” I stared at him with narrowed eyes.
“And you got away with what you stole?” His fingers went to his parted lips.
“Yes.” I drew the word out and put my hands on my hips. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He tapped his fingers on the stucco wall, clenched his teeth and said, “Maybe because any number of rivals wouldn’t hesitate to blow your head off and throw you into the Seine for filching in their territory.”
I sneered. “You’re kidding, right?”
He shook his head, slow and even. “No.”
I gulped. “I didn’t know.”
“Listen, what’s your name?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, making a show of considering if I should trust him. “Eva,” I said slowly.
“Where are you from, Eva?”
“Portugal.”
“Well, Eva from Portugal, I’m Kamal. People don’t mess with me,
