From Damaged Goods, Chapter 7

She held up her arms and declared, “This is it.”

“This is what?” I wasn’t able to hide the confusion in my tone.

“This is the place that we stayed the night the man came for my sister. This is the place we would have come back to had Talon not rescued us. This is the place where the big dreams of Las Vegas die.”

And then she was silent. She didn’t look at the people, instead, she watched me as I watched them. I took in their tattered clothes, their dirty faces, and the sadness in the air. This was not a place I wanted to be now, let alone sleep and live. This is not a place that anyone should ever have to see. After a few moments of silence she said, “Do you see now?”
            “See what?” I didn’t understand. What exactly did she want me to see?

“Do you see why I am grateful to Talon and Lissa? They rescued us from ever having to return to this place, or any other homeless encampment. They are our friends, our family. We all take care of and protect each other. What we do is not wrong. It may not always be safe but it is not wrong. Talon makes sure that we get paid and as such, he gets some of that money. He deserves it.”

“Please, tell me what it is you do to entertain.” It was not a question, I was demanding an answer.