Free Written in the Scars (The Estate Series Book 4) by Mel Sherratt Page A

glad about, because she would hate to turn him down. Although she didn’t want him to be disappointed and then ask for one of the other girls, she just couldn’t get past the thought of doing anything sexual – she wasn’t that desperate for money.
    ‘So, Derek, am I allowed to say “just the usual?” to you now that this is your fifth visit to see me?’ she asked as he took off his jacket and hung it on the back of the door.
    ‘Well, you are my favourite,’ he replied with a grin.
    Keera found herself blushing, dipping her eyes as she patted the couch. ‘What are you waiting for? Strip off and jump aboard.’
    She turned away as he removed his T-shirt. When he was lying face down, she grabbed a small plastic bottle, then poured oil into the palm of her hand and set to work.
    ‘So, how have you been since I last saw you?’ she asked as her hands moved up and down his back.
    ‘Not too bad, thanks.’
    ‘Work good?’
    ‘I suppose.’
    ‘What’s your best night then? Friday? Saturday?’
    ‘I don’t work at weekends, so it’s Friday for me.’
    ‘How come?’ Keera pummelled at the skin around his spine next, delighted when she heard a moan.
    ‘I don’t need the money – nor the hassle. I finish around midnight, too - saves catching the drunks. They give me the most abuse.’
    Keera laughed to herself. This job wasn’t much different than being a hairdresser. She asked the questions and the men answered, often telling her more in return. She was a confidante, in many respects.
    Men were always trusting her with their secrets. She kept them to herself, too – unlike Tracy Tanner, who told the rest of the women anything juicy so they could all laugh about it. Keera didn’t like that, even though she often found herself joining in with the laughter. Tracy had a way of telling stories that cracked everyone up.
    ‘What brings you here, Keera?’ Derek asked. ‘I mean, you seem too nice to work in a place like this.’
    ‘I’ll have you know all the girls here are nice, Mr Paige,’ she admonished.
    ‘Oh, I didn’t mean … Sorry, that was rude.’
    ‘I know what you mean. It’s the first job that I came across when I got home. We hadn’t long been back from San Antonio – me and my friend, Marley, that is. We were supposed to be staying there for the summer but it all went wrong within the first month, so we came back.’
    ‘Is Marley a good friend of yours?’
    ‘Yes. I’ve known her since junior school. We left high school with a few exams between us, so with only the crappy jobs to look forward to – if we were even lucky enough to find jobs in the first instance – we wanted to have a bit of fun.’
    ‘I don’t blame you. Living around here is hardly thrilling.’
    ‘Tell me about it. We were so desperate to get away that we decided to go and work abroad.’
    ‘As holiday reps?’
    ‘No.’ Keera shook her head, although he couldn’t see her. ‘I could never do that. All that being at everyone’s beck and call all the time – that wouldn’t be much fun either, even if we could chill in the sun on our days off. We got jobs working in a bar. Serving drinks, waiting on tables, you know. Boring stuff but we had a laugh. For the first time in our lives, we felt free. But then it all went wrong.’
    ‘Oh?’
    Keera shuddered at the memory, still so clear in her mind. She didn’t like to revisit it so her words came tumbling out. ‘We’d been living in a tiny apartment near the bar. Early one morning, the owner let himself in. He accused Marley of ripping him off and stealing his money. He was in such a drunken rage that before we could stop him, he dragged Marley into the bedroom and wedged a chair under the door handle so that I couldn’t get in.’
    ‘You don’t have to tell me—’
    ‘I screamed until help arrived,’ Keera continued, ‘but by then Marley had been beaten badly. The only thing that stopped the bastard from raping her was that he was too pissed to get it