Raymond pointed at the drugs and weapon on the table; his men understood and packed them into a suitcase before he signaled that they should leave.
Grace was still in his arms; she didn't want to break the hug and didn't even notice when the others left.
"Mr. Xu I am so happy to see you again." She finally broke the hug and stared at him.
Her eyes brightened with excitement, then she looked around and discovered they were the only ones present.
Raymond stared at her dress, which exposed her cleavage and the short gown she had on.
"Why are you here?" His mood darkened.
"I came to find a husband with..."
"To find a husband?"
He couldn't believe her words. "Stand," he ordered, and she hesitated, but seeing that he was serious, she stood up as he scrutinized her body with his gaze.
"Who dressed you up?"
Her palms became sweaty. "You don't like it?"
"I dressed myself up," she said, as she couldn't bring herself to mention Nel's name.
"What are you doing here?"
Then she stared at her feet. She thought he would be happy to see her, but instead, he was upset.
"I am sorry," Grace apologized, turning to leave. "Where are you going?"
"Home"
"Come here"
As if in a spell, she dragged her feet towards him, and he pulled her to sit next to him. "Who brought you here?"
He knew that the person who brought her here was there because they wanted her to meet him.
This was his usual meeting spot on Friday nights.
"I don't want you to leave." She muttered, "For everything I said, I apologize."
He chuckled and used his finger to trail her cheeks. "Do you want to go to my place?"
Without hesitating, she nodded, and he burst out in laughter. The room roared with his laugh, and she was confused as to why he was suddenly laughing.
"Do you know what that means?"
She shook her head in denial, and he sighed. He seemed to laugh only when he was with her.
"Come, I will drop you home." He stood up and held her hand, but she didn't move.
Sadness was visible in her eyes. "But…you will leave once you drop me off."
"You want me to stay over?"
Again, she nodded without thinking twice. "Get up," he ordered, but she shook her head in denial.
"I want to stay."
"Do you know what happens in such a place?" he questioned.
"If you are here, then it means you must like what happens here, so I also want to experience what happens."
A cunning smile formed on his lips. "Come with me then."
He held her hand, and they walked out of the cabin and went downstairs. He took her to the edge of the club and pointed at the stage.
She saw some girl's half dressed; they danced around a pole, then her gaze moved to the others who were dancing, rubbing their bodies against their partners.
Her cheeks became red, and her pupils moved from left to right. Was this what a nightclub looked like? She asked herself.
Raymond stared at her with an amused look, then one of his men approached him and whispered a few words.
"Stand here; I will be back," he whispered, and she got worried.
"Are you leaving?"
"No, I will make a phone call. Stay put," he explained, and he walked through the backdoor and went where it was less noisy before he dialed a number.
-
Grace rubbed her palms nervously as she looked at the strippers. Then a man approached her with two glasses of wine. "Do you mind sharing a drink with me?" he asked.
The man was dressed in a blue jacket, a blue t-shirt, and jeans. "I don't want a drink," she had to shout out so he could hear.
"Do you want to dance?" He moved closer and whispered so she could get him.
"No"
"You can't just stand here; come on."
"I am with someone." Grace replied nervously, and the man believed she was lying. "Who are you with? Point him out, and he will personally ask you to go with me. You see, I rule this place.
Grace remembered that she had heard Nel whisper to the guard at the entrance that she was the pope's woman.
"I am with the pope."
The guy burst out in laughter. He looked at her, and even with the dress, he could tell she was just a kid.
The pope didn't deal with kids. "You from the dom?" She didn't look like someone from there.
Grace decided to stop talking to him; she scanned around for Raymond. Then she turned to leave when the guy grabbed her hand. "Don't walk away from me; my temper is short."
Grace struggled to get out of his grip, but it was impossible. She looked around and noticed everyone was minding their business.
No one stepped forward to help her; they were so engaged in their activities.
Raymond's brow furrowed when he saw that Grace was being held by someone. He looked upstairs and spotted one of his men, then he pointed at the DJ.
To everyone's surprise, the music got disconnected.
"What's happening?"
"Do you want to die? Tell me how." Raymond glared at the man; he hated this man in question to the last drop of blood in his body.
Guro looked at him, confused. "What did I do?"
Then Grace hurried to Raymond; at this moment, Guro realized he had indeed messed with the pope.
"I… I had no idea she was... Um, your woman..."
"Apologize"
"She is a woman; I can't apologize to a woman." Everyone's gaze was on him, and it would be a humiliation to apologize to such a small girl.
Raymond sniffed, and a smile crept on his lips. "Rest for a while."
Then he took out his gun and shot Guro on the leg. Everyone got scared at the sound of the gunshot, and the place was filled with people screaming and looking for ways to run.
Grace's eyes widened in shock. Guro fell on one foot, and the man behind the bullet was Raymond, the man she found protection from.