“Stop it.” Kia looked surprised. “Your family has all that money, you live in that huge mansion, but she has to cook? Why?”
“She doesn’t have to. She chooses to,” I said. “She’s really family oriented, and she says this is her way of showing love to her family. And she can cook.”
“She sounds cool.”
“She is. I’ve learned so much from her. From all my family.”
Kia’s phone vibrated. She took it out of her bag and checked the message. “Guess it’s time to head back. That was Marie. I have an appointment in two hours.”
Reality was like a cold bucket of water over my head as I remembered where we were and, more importantly, who we were. Neither one of us could lounge around in the park all day. I had a mother who would kill me for sneaking around like this, and Kia had a boss who was very demanding of her time.
I stood and helped her to her feet. “Yeah, I gotta get back myself.”
“I really appreciate you helping me, Nevada.” She smiled at me, then stood on her toes and kissed my cheek.
“I enjoyed it,” I said, blushing. I’d tutored lots of people before, but never one as pretty as Kia, and no one had ever thanked me with a kiss.
We started walking back, and Kia took my hand again.
“Can I ask you something?” I said.
“Sure. Ask away. I’m an open book.”
“Do you enjoy your . . . appointments?” I knew it was a personal question, but this little bit of time I’d spent with Kia made me feel comfortable enough to ask it. Plus, I just really wanted to get to know her better.
Kia got quiet for a minute, and I worried that I’d insulted her. But she didn’t drop my hand, and eventually she shrugged and said simply, “It’s a means to an end.”
I took a chance and pressed further. “And what about your family? Do they know about what you do?”
We’d arrived at the corner near the library. I was ten minutes past my curfew to return to the car, but that didn’t matter to me in that moment. Kia’s eyes met mine, and neither one of us moved. Then, she told me her story.
“My dad was a soldier. He died when I was ten. I don’t even know if my mother is still alive, honestly.”
I touched her cheek, thinking that was the end of her sad story, but the tragedy had only just begun.
“When I was twelve, my mom married a guy who was a regular at the bar she worked at in Korea. I guess she thought since he spent lots of money, he would be a stable husband. He wasn’t. Turns out he was a creep, a drunk, and a perv—and an abusive one at that. He would beat and rape my mom, which drove her to drink. Then, while she was passed out, he would come in and rape me, and eventually my younger sister. It went on for a couple of years, and then we decided to escape the hell we were living in. We ran away from home.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered. It was kind of surreal, standing on a busy New York corner with people rushing by, oblivious as she poured out the story of all the pain she’d suffered in her life.
“A couple of weeks after we left, we were sleeping on the street, and this woman offered to take us in. But she let us know real fast that we had to earn our keep to stay with her. It turned out she had a pimp who was calling all the shots. She cleaned us up and taught us what men wanted.”
“But you were only kids . . .” I said.
“Yeah,” she explained with a sigh. “But it was scary out there on those streets. We thought about running again, but to be honest, it was better than being forcibly raped by my stepfather, and they did feed and clothe us.”
I felt rage as I imagined Kia and her sister in such a horrible situation, which, she explained, didn’t get much better after that.
“Eventually, the lady and her pimp sold us to some men who brought us to the United States and put us to work in Asian brothels. They moved us around from one shithole to another across the country.” She brushed away the lone tear that fell from her eye.
“What about your sister? Where is she?”
“Probably dead. They separated us somewhere in Florida before I met Marie.” Now she allowed the tears to flow freely.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, wishing there was more I could say or do.
“Don’t be. Marie found me a year ago, and I’m in a better situation now, and I’m grateful. I could be dead too. Yeah, I’m still turning tricks, but at least most of the money is mine.” She sighed. “Right now, I’m saving my money so I can get out of this business and go to college. I want to become a private investigator.”
“A private investigator? Why?”
“So I can find out what happened to my sister.”
And just like that, it all made sense.
Roman
17
I hopped into the passenger’s side of the Expedition Denny had purchased while I was in Miami. It wasn’t brand spanking new, but it was new to him, and he was proud of it. Normally I would have commented on his ride, but not that night. I was in no mood for mindless car talk. All I wanted to do was hurt somebody the way I was hurting inside about my mom, and our next stop would be the perfect place to inflict some pain.
“You bring the bag?” I asked.
“It’s right there in the back.”
“Good. I can’t wait to pay that lying-ass Vaughn a visit,” I said, reaching for the bag. “He ’bout to make a nice donation to my mom’s medical expenses.”
“You sure you wanna even deal with this right now?” Denny raised
