Tonya went on. She told Kat everything while tears trickled down her cheeks. This was the first she’d talked about her situation. Her family hadn’t even wanted to listen. Kat was blown away. For all that she had seen and done, she couldn’t picture any mother turning against her own daughter like that. Yeah, she thought, I’ll take Tonya under my wing.

“Go get ya things,” Kat commanded her. “You comin’ ta live wit me and my girlfriend, Goldie. She’s cool, you’ll dig her.”

Just like that Kat rescued Tonya off the streets. She was about to show the young girl a hustle, one that wouldn’t just feed her for a day, but possibly a lifetime. If she played her cards right.

Tonya’s body had been a burden her entire young life, attracting lots of unwanted attention from boys and men alike. But it was about to turn out to be her greatest asset. She was entering a world where men would again only be interested in her body, but at least they would pay good money to see her, and maybe not touch her.

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER
2

TONYA WAS LOST IN HER THOUGHTS staring out the passenger-side window of Kat’s white Cadillac Escalade truck. As the music played, she wondered where they were headed. She didn’t bother to ask out loud and Kat hadn’t said. Tonya was scared and excited at the same time. Scared, because she didn’t know what her future held. Excited, because it had to be better than the present.

When guys pulled up alongside Kat’s vehicle at a red light, they were shocked to see a woman pushing it. This is a status ride signaling the owner’s arrival into the big time. Tonya wondered how could Kat afford it? Was the stripping game that good? She hoped that one day she would be able to get a fly whip like this too.

The truck was Kat’s pride and joy. She had it decked out with all the latest accessories, two seven-inch TV monitors mounted in the headrests, one more in the visor. And a big fifteen-inch TV that dropped down from the ceiling. The vehicle was also loaded with a PlayStation 2 video game system, a DVD player, twelve-disc CD changer and a hanging stereo system. To top that all off, she sat on twenty-four-inch chrome Ludacris rims.

Pulling up on 82nd and Lindbergh Avenue, Kat guided the big truck to the curb and parked. They exited the car and, with the press of a button, Kat unlocked the rear door so Tonya could retrieve her things.

Grabbing two duffel bags, Tonya closed the rear door and proceeded to follow Kat. While they walked toward a pretty beige-paneled, detached home, Kat reached over her shoulder, pointing the key car alarm in her vehicle’s direction, activating the Viper alarm system. The headlights blinked and the alarm chirped.