Chapter 28: Allies, Part 7

Michael

In the car, I lie her on the back seat where, so far as I can see, she immediately falls asleep, so I clip both rear seat belts around her and angle myself to watch her from the front.

James gets in, stuffing something into his pocket.

'What's that?"

"Her cash."

"Her cash?"

"You heard, 'The Pot goes to the Lady', plus what they each paid to attend."

"Are you planning on making a habit of this? She's not a pro."

He side-glances me. "I'm planning on giving her exactly what she wants; eye-watering sex and a college education."

The drive back to the apartment is without incident; Charlotte sleeps right through it, only barely rousing as I carry her out to the elevator. The attendant raises an eyebrow at us, a pair of strange men accompanying a young woman, half-asleep and wrapped in a blanket. She must look like a victim of assault. But he relaxes as she leans into James' embrace, murmuring something sleepy, and he holds her upright against himself, looking down a