âWhat the heck, howâs that even possible?â Raven scowled, flicking his cigarette butt to the ground and crushing it with a twist of his boot. âHow could she wake up so soon? You guys pulling one over on me?â
But as Raven drew closer, he locked eyes with Ivyâs lucid gaze.
Man, those peepers were something else. No wonder she was a star!
He was not one for fancy words, this roughneck. All he knew was he had never seen anyone as stunning as Ivy.
âWho are you people? What do you want with me?â Ivyâs voice quivered as she huddled into a corner.
She had scoped out the place already. It was a wreck, with no windows, wind whistling through every crack-a derelict building forsaken mid-construction.
âSo, you really did wake up, huh? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Donât you worry about who we are. You just remember youâre gonna keep us company for a bit,â one of the goons snickered.
Ivyâs skin crawled with fear. Why? She had no beef with these thugs. Why target her?
âYouâ¦you guys⦠Iâve done nothing to you. Why are you doing this to me?â
The buzz-cut man, Raven and the other lackeys did not give a damn about Ivyâs pleas.
âDonât come any closer! Donât touch me! Let me go, and we can talk, anything you want⦠Donât touch me. Iâm sick and itâs contagious.â
At the mention of sickness, the buzz-cut man recoiled. âSick? Who are you trying to fool? You look all pristine and delicate, not a hint of illness.â
âIâm serious! You know how it is, with all the schmoozing in showbiz. Iâll be straight with you-Iâve got⦠A certain kind of illnessâ¦. My thin frame, itâs because I canât eat a thing. Iâve got no quarrel with you. I donât want to drag you down with me. Why are you doing this? Letâs sit down and have a chat. Iâm not long for this world. Canât have you guys cutting your lives short, too, right?â
Even though the starlet looked tempting, none of them wanted to catch whatever she was peddling.
And truth be told, they all knew the kind of sex mess that could happen in showbiz. Why else would Clara send them to corner a celebrity like Ivy?
âCome on, donât all you rich folks pride yourselves on being clean? Howâd you catch something like that?â
Raven settled back, lighting another cigarette.
âBoss, Iâm just a small-time actress. I have no controlâ¦â Ivyâs voice broke, tears welling up.
Her acting chops might have been green, but they were more than enough to handle these brutes.
With a sob, she covered her face and wept. âTruth be told, not even my agent knows. I only spilled âcause I was cornered now. Iâm just a walking corpse with a pretty face, sometimes even less free than you guys!â
The buzz-cut man softened, seeing the beauty in tears. âDidnât think you celebs had it rough⦠But we took a job, and we gotta deliver. We canât let you walk out unscathed, or we canât face the music! We wonât touch you, but we gotta strip you down, take some photos!â
Ivyâs eyes, red-rimmed, lifted to meet theirs. âEven if I die, I need to know why. Who did I cross? Who wants me gone so badly theyâd send youâ¦â
âCanât say! Thatâs the rule! Look, letâs be considerate here and make it quick. Strip yourself, save us all some trouble.â
Ivy shivered, realizing they had not abandoned the idea of laying hands on her.
âIâm telling you Iâm sick for your own good/Did you ever think, the one sending you to harm me, knowing full well Iâm contagious, why would they risk you getting close to me? It shows they donât just want me gone-they donât care about you either. How can you be sure theyâll keep their promise and pay you off? Guys, whatever sheâs paying you, Iâll triple it, no, tenfold, and I can wire it now!
But if Iâm paying you ten times more, youâll have to do me the favor of bringing the person who ordered the hit. How about it?â