Free House Of Aces by Pamela Ann, Carter Dean Page A

five or seven in one household with running water that was tinted brown or green, and only small portions of food to be shared among the big family. With the lack of food and transportation, since most of them walked or commuted to school, there was an abundance of skinny women with definition in their bodies in every place that counted—voluptuous in ways that were vital for business.
    It was like clockwork every time we travelled. Fly in. Head straight to a poverty-stricken part of town and locate a high school. After that had been accomplished. We usually waited outside after school for a male teacher and pitched the scholarship speech that had been said hundreds of times in different rural places. The teachers would look at our fake credentials, and once they were fully convinced, we’d ask for a full list with pictures of seniors that had outstanding grades. The price for all of these favors? Five hundred Kunas, which was only equivalent to a hundred USD. Once that had been settled, we would set up a meeting for the next day — same time, same place.
    Th at was where it really all began for me, not working as a shadow, but staying up all night, going through every student profile, which listed their information—from grades, their sports activities, accomplishments—only selecting the prettiest ones from the pack. More importantly was how fluent they were with the English language. Yes, we chose beautiful and smart girls, however we also needed them not to be able to speak English that well—preferably borderline illiterate.
    It was all business ; one with a success rate of a hundred percent. I was not one to boast, but that was quite an outstanding degree of achievement.
    At first, there was always something that made me believe that I was making a difference in a young girl’s life. That Tony and I were giving these girls an opportunity to live well and say farewell to their shitty lives back home.
    But I was proven wrong.

Chapter 1
    Ten years ago
     
    “It’s okay , Sabina, that’s why I’m here. I’m here to help.”
    She made a wan smile and pointed at her clothes that were scattered across the floor.
    I picked up the pieces of torn clothes, which had once made up her favorite outfit, and threw them in the garbage. “Like I said, new clothes, okay?”
    She reluctantly nodded as I walked out. When a minute passed and she hadn’t come out, I was starting to worry, so I called for her to come out. Still, she didn’t follow. I went to check on her and found her staring in the mirror crying, her arms bracing herself with the towel still wrapped around her underneath her bathrobe.
    “ Sabina, let me help you. You take this off.” Slowly, I unwrapped her body from the towel that had lain dormant in between her nude body and the bathrobe. I could see her cleavage, plump and pushed up by her arms, promising that further down she was hiding a beautiful pair of breasts. Looking away from her slopes, I gave her a smile before taking her hand and leading her towards the bedroom.
    “Al l right I’m going to go out for a smoke. Your clothes will be here soon.” My assuring words didn’t help, she didn’t seem as if she understood me. She was gripping my hand so tightly that I felt like she was trying to cut off my blood circulation.
    Her blue eyes look frightened. “No, please, no,” she begged.
    Using hand gestures, I tried to explain that I was just stepping out to smoke, and that I would be returning once I was done. Her brows furrowed as her eyes flickered back and forth, trying to understand what I was telling her.
    She then started to nod, as if comprehending me, yet when she lay herself down on the bed, loosening her bathrobe, and started to say, “okay, okay,” I knew that she and I had some major communication problems.
    D oes she think this was why I wanted to assist her? I thought as I watched her bend her legs on the bed, slowly opening them before me. She seemed intimidated yet