Page 1 of Heathens
Prologue
Queen of Deception
Evelyn Snow
Paris, 2015
They say the more you do something, the easier it becomes, though I’m not convinced that’s true. Perhaps you can become accustomed to something: Pain. Heartbreak. Shame. Degradation. But, easier? Itnevergets easier.
I untie my robe as Auguste’s beady eyes scan my body. It’s just as unbearable as the first time.
“You’ve gained weight,” he says quietly, watching me with his equable, mahogany eyes. “You know how important your appearance is,” he adds, walking over to me, grabbing my chin gently, and forcing me to look up at him from my place on the bed.Fuck off and bite me, I want to whisper, fury roiling through me like a volcano, surprising me. “Perhaps we should punish you,” he adds, his voice barely a whisper. He lifts his hand and spanks me, hard, across my abdomen. My eyes prick with tears and shame.Don’t let him see you cry. “Do you like it here?” I pull away from his grip and nod submissively. “If you don’t, we could always send you away.”
“No,” I blurt, the panic evident in my voice.
“Don’t worry. We won’t. Not this time.” The eerie, quiet way he speaks always sends a cold chill down my spine.
He could send me away, though. He’s done it before to the other girls. But he won’t send me away.Eve Wintersis very popular among the elite in Paris. My clients would revolt. Wouldn’t they?
I hate my work name. I hate that Auguste gave it to me. I hate that I’m too cowardly to fight back.
I pull my knees to my chest and don’t say a word. Lately, the power has been shifting between us, and I scrutinize the edge of that power every chance I get. I suppose I have been since I was young—an observant child that turned into a sharp-eyed woman. Now, I’m a vigilant whore. I’m certain the job is easier when you don’t see things the way I do. In this case, sometimes staying silent after his ‘kind insults’—the simplest description for his quiet degradation—gives me a thread of an edge. It throws him off. Even if it’s only temporary, that vacillating power is the only thing that gives me hope.
And I need all the hope I can muster because I have to find a way out.
I’d rather slit my throat then spend the rest of my life tethered to him and his underlings. I may not be bold like my best friend, and I may not kick and fight back, but I will do everything in my power to find a way out. I am merely a caged hawk, examining and learning my prey. A queen of deception. One day, I will find a way to attack where they least suspect it.
He watches me from the bed, and my insides liquefy. His eyes narrow ever so slightly. Lay low, Evelyn. The ball’s back in his court now, and he knows it. He stands and nudges my legs open with his knee.
“Everyone has to pay their price,” he mumbles, unzipping his trousers. “Repentance.” It’s his favorite word.
It’s amazing how staying quiet riles him up. It’s my upper hand—my royal flush. His tells will be his downfall one day.
I’m going to kill him.
He continues, and I try not to smile. “You think you’re that important? Irreplaceable? You forget I’ve fucked you. It’s nothing special.”
I’m going to drive a knife into his neck, but not before I castrate him.
“You can never leave, my Evie. You’re American, and you’re in Paris illegally. We burned your passport. Evelyn Snow is dead.”
When I leave, I’ll make the authorities aware of everything you did to me. To them all.
“We have eyes everywhere.”
Eyes I’d be happy to gouge out with an escargot fork.
He forces my legs wider still, and a cold sweat breaks out across my skin.
“I’m on my period,” I say quietly, and he pulls away instantly.Pig.
“Clean yourself up before the next one comes in.” Disgusted, he adjusts his trousers and gives me a revolting smile. My lie works every time, and the idiot has no idea it’s impossible to bleed this many days in a row.
“I always do,” I answer, giving him a sweet smile.Hello, ball. Happy to see you again.
He walks away and slams the hotel room door behind him.
* * *
