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He pulled on his finest clothing, which was very fine, indeed On top of whatever they paid Zaahira, his ladies always left hiift, and that money was his to do with as he chose It was the only money that was his, since he received no compensation at all froed to her

Dressed for the evening, Aden closed the door to his room and headed toward the stairs He was almost to the door, had in fact lifted his foot to take the last doard step, when he heard the screa life, would conteht have happened if he’d left a few minutes sooner But as it was, he heard a woman’s terrified scream and knew instantly who it was

He spun on his heel and raced back up the stairs and down the hallway, passing the startled faces of both whores and custo curiously from half-open doors The door to the small room at the very end remained closed, however Sana’s room Sana had been sold to Zaahira as a srown up in the brothel She’d been a pleasing little girl and everyone’s pet, but there was no room for sentiment in Zaahira’s world When the child had become a woman, she’d become a commodity Thirteen years old and not even a inity had been a rare prize and brought a high price for Zaahira But Aden knew Sana’s fee reh She was very pretty and small and delicate in build She appealed tofor someone weaker, someone to dominate and sometimes to destroy

Aden threw the door open He found Sana quickly enough She was curled in a corner, sobbing and naked, her back bruised and welted, small drops of blood visible in the welts

"You," a man’s voice bellowed "Get out of here She’s taken"

Aden’s head turned slowly A fat man stood on the other side of the bed He was completely naked, and in his hand was a thin-tailed whip, stained dark with blood

Aden saw that whip, and a haze as red as Sana’s blood obscured his vision He leapt over the bed and grabbed the fathiht it doith brutal intention, intending to do to this monster far worse than what he’d dared do to Sana The fat man screamed, but it wasn’t his cry that stopped Aden It was Zaahira’s voice, her co every ounce of her authority as the mistress of the brothel, as his lover and friendas his owner

"Stop!"

Adenbefore it landed on the useless bundle of flesh cringing on the floor before hi hi instead

"Out," Zaahira snapped Aden aze with one of his own, and for a few brief seconds, he wasn’t sure he was going to obey But then Sana whi the sheet fro her out into the hallhere all those prying eyes waited He took her down the stairs to Isabel, an older slave orked as Zaahira’s housekeeper and cook

That’s where Zaahira found hi balainst the pain

"Aden" Zaahira spoke fro if she came too close He shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was He’d thought if the brothel owner had feelings for anyone, it would be Sana, a child reared in her own house But instead, she gazed at the scene with distaste, as if calculating howto lose while Sana healed

"Leave that," his mistress said sharply when he continued to help Isabel "Coreat it threatened to burn him alive Isabel must have sensed his rebellion, because she reached out and laid her hand over his, drawing his eyes up to"I’ll take care of her"

His jaw clenched, but he gave her a short nod and stood to his considerable full height, drawing a small measure of satisfaction from the quick flash of fear on Zaahira’s face

"My office," she ordered, then er still siut, but he’d lived with that particular fire for so long, he’d long ago learned to s it and take on a suitable mask of compliance

Zaahira stormed into her office with a swirl of silk and perfume There’d been a ti that scent A ti everyBut whatever charm she’d once held for him had been lost on the day she’d chosen to rent his body to others for money Aden had been devastated, even as he’d scorned hi in the affection and honor of yet another woman