Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Inside the dimly lit bar, Victor Sterling aimed a laser pointer at the shapely backside of a woman nearby and laughed.
“Whoever dares to slap it gets a thousand dollars.”
Derek Vance walked straight over to Sienna Vale and, without the slightest hesitation, smacked her on the backside.
As expected, Sienna spun around and slapped him across the face.
But Derek had already earned the thousand dollars.
I stood frozen, staring at the scene in disbelief. I regretted not stepping forward myself. A few slaps would have been worth it for a thousand dollars.
That much money could cover my family’s basic expenses for an entire month. And Lily was still sick.
“Don’t be upset, Honest Fool,” Victor said with a smile. “My game is only getting started. And today, there are only two contestants—you and him.”
Derek waved the thousand dollars in front of my face.
“Money really does come easy, doesn’t it? How many bricks do you think you’d have to carry at the construction site to earn a thousand?”
His voice was thick with contempt and mockery, but I had long since grown used to it.
I worked construction-site labor, earning a hundred dollars a day. The pay was low, but every penny I made was earned honestly.
Victor swung the laser pointer toward the men and women in the center of the dance floor.
“Whoever can bring back a bra in the shortest amount of time wins three thousand dollars.”
With that, he pulled three thousand dollars from his bag and slapped it onto the bar. The bottles and glasses rattled from the impact.
“You’re such a generous man,” Derek said with a grin. “Are you just here to give me money?”
He drained his glass of whiskey in one gulp and headed toward the dance floor.
It was my first time in a bar. I had only heard that some of the women who came to places like this were very open-minded.
But I had no idea how I was supposed to get a bra. I could only stand there, completely at a loss.
Five minutes had barely passed when Derek returned, swaggering toward us with a skimpy bra dangling from his index finger.
He looked like a rooster that had just won a fight. Every tiny hair on his face seemed to radiate his smugness.
Victor clapped and laughed.
“Of everyone I’ve ever seen, you got a bra faster than anyone else.”
Derek lifted the bra and tossed it directly into my face.
“Honest Fool, your wife’s probably never worn a bra this sexy in her life.”
Then he snatched the three thousand dollars off the bar and kissed the bills hard.
“Damn, money smells good.”
Victor looked genuinely curious.
“How did you manage that?”
Chapter 2
“Mr. Sterling, add another two thousand and I’ll bring you a pair of panties.”
“I’m not interested in the panties. I want to know how you did it.”
Victor had spent years in bars, so he knew some of the women there were involved in dirty business. Bringing home underwear that might carry a disease was nothing but bad luck.
Derek rubbed the bills between his fingers.
“What’s so difficult about it? That woman’s a prostitute. Two hundred bucks gets you a round with her. Give her five hundred for a bra, and she’ll think she’s met God.”
Damn him. Derek spent most of his time in bars, clubs, and massage parlors. He knew exactly which women worked that way. With enough money, getting their underwear wouldn’t be a problem.
I clenched my teeth, furious, but there was nothing I could do.
Victor smiled.
“Clearly, you know your target market. You might be a real sales professional.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Derek stuffed the money into his pocket. The contempt in his eyes remained fixed on me.
Derek and I had been classmates in high school. Even back then, he had bullied me constantly.
Today, he had run into me near my home and forced me to come to the bar.
Only now did I understand what he was after.
Derek had met Victor before. He had seen Victor use money to play these games with strangers, and he knew the winners received generous rewards.
And I, the spineless loser, had been the perfect foil. With me standing beside him, Derek could win even more money.
All I could do was swallow my anger.
As luck would have it, we really had crossed paths with Victor Sterling.
And now, we had the dubious privilege of playing his game.
Victor Sterling swept his gaze across the dance floor, then lifted his chin.
“See him?”
Derek and I followed his line of sight.
In the middle of the dance floor, a bald giant pushing six and a half feet swayed with a barely dressed girl in his arms. His hand roamed freely over her body, and she looked like she was enjoying every second of it.
Derek and I both nodded.
“Yeah. We see him.”
“Which one of you can walk over there and kiss that guy’s bald head? Five grand.”
Victor counted out five thousand dollars, laid the bills on the bar, and looked at us with open provocation.
The bald man was huge, covered in sleeve tattoos, his face packed with hard muscle and menace. One look told you he was an underworld tough.
To Derek and me, he didn’t look like a man. He looked like an animal waiting for an excuse to snap.
Derek was about five-eleven. I was five-seven. Neither of us could take a beating from someone like that.
Chapter 3
“Are we playing or not?” Victor asked, already sounding bored. “If not, I’m going home.”
The impatience on his face made the message clear. He had no use for contestants without guts. No guts, no thrill.
Derek took two steps forward, then stopped.
Five grand was tempting. But what good was money if you weren’t alive to spend it?
Then my phone rang.
The moment I answered, Mara’s voice came through in a furious rush.
“You spineless loser, why aren’t you home yet? Don’t you know Lily’s sick? Did you get the money or not?”
Lily was my daughter. A sweet, sensible little girl.
She’d been diagnosed with congenital heart disease shortly after she was born. This was the best time for treatment, but the cost was so high it had left me helpless.
Mara liked calling me a spineless loser. She needed to believe she had made a mistake marrying me. It was the only way she could feel better about her own life.
“Hang up right now,” Victor said, waving another stack of cash. “Five hundred.”
The sight of those bills made my eyes light up.
It wasn’t money anymore.
It was Lily’s life.
With cash as power behind me, I hung up on Mara for the first time in my life. As long as I brought money home, what did it matter if she called me a spineless loser a few more times?
After ending the call, I walked forward like a man with no soul left in him.
I could feel Victor watching me with interest. This was his game. I was one of the players, and he held my fate in his hands.
That must have felt incredible.
“Hey! Where the hell are you going?” Derek shouted as I passed him. “That guy’s the local bully. You trying to get yourself killed?”
For one brief second, I almost believed Derek actually cared.
Then the feeling passed.
I was only a piece on his board.
I kept walking. I couldn’t hear Derek anymore. I couldn’t hear the bar’s pounding music, either.
There was only one thought in my head.
One kiss. Five grand.
I didn’t care how badly Bruno Kane might beat me afterward. I was a spineless loser anyway.
I came up behind him, jumped, and landed on his back.
A man without money didn’t even deserve to be called a man.
With that thought burning through me, I pressed my lips hard against Bruno’s bald head.
Then I looked across the dance floor at Derek.
My voice was empty when I spoke.
“You willing to risk your life?”
Derek jerked at the stunt so hard he nearly lost his balance.
Then he reached over his shoulder, grabbed me, and ripped me off his back.