Connie took a deep breath and tried to give off her usual, confident air as she walked down the street, heels clicking against the wet concrete. "How much?" she asked as she finally reached her destination, a dark alleyway where a well dressed man stood with several, barely clothed, women.

"Which one and what for?" he asked as he leered at the consultant.

Connie knew exactly what she was doing but didn't want to give anything away as she scanned the women, pretending to make a decision when she already knew the answer to his question, "that one" she pointed to one of the women in the furthest corner of the alley, "for the night."

"The whole night?" Connie nodded, "500, but I've got better, I've had some trouble with that one, she's…"

"500?" Connie interrupted him, "here" she took a wad of money from her bag, "there's 1000, I'll have her for the weekend."

The man's eyes lit up at the amount of cash in his hands, "for that money I can give you…"

"I've made my decision" Connie said firmly, "now if you don't mind…"

The man nodded and clicked his fingers in the direction of the woman, "you, go with her" he said firmly. The woman nodded and staggered towards Connie, the dutch courage she'd embraced earlier that evening and her 6 inch heels making her very unsteady on her feet, "you do as she tells you" the man hissed in the young woman's ear as he gripped at her wrist so tightly Connie was sure she saw the woman grimace in pain. "If I hear that you've been up to your usual tricks...let's just say you don't want to know what I'll do." The woman nodded meekly and the man let go of her wrist and pushed her forward, causing her to stumble in her heels, Connie reaching out to steady her before she fell, "here's my number" he handed Connie a business card that simply said 'Mike' with his mobile number underneath, "any trouble from her call me and I'll sort her out."

Connie refused to take the card, "I'm sure that won't be necessary" she said before turning her attention to the woman, "are you ready to go?" she asked, not waiting for a reply before turning and walking from the alley expecting the woman to follow her.

"Here" Connie only spoke again as she reached her car and opened the boot, taking out a hoodie and a fleece blanket, "get in, it's open" she said as she gestured to the passenger door.

"Thank you" the woman whispered as she slipped on the hoodie, and got into the car, wrapping the blanket around her bare legs. Connie said nothing as she turned on the heater and began to drive out of the city centre. It was only when the silence became too much to bear that the younger of the two woman spoke, "I know I shouldn't ask" she whispered, "but what is it you want from me?"

Connie said nothing for a moment before turning on the radio, "we can discuss that later." The woman simply nodded, her gaze fixed on the blanket covering her legs as she played with a loose strand of thread. "We're here" Connie announced as she pulled onto a gravel drive outside a large house in the suburbs. She waited for the other woman to get out of the car, still clutching the blanket before locking the car and unlocking the house, "take your shoes off please" Connie said as she slipped off her own heels and hung up her jacket, "the living room's through there, make yourself comfortable and I'll get us both a drink.

The woman nodded and neatly placed her shoes beside Connie's, "thank you" she whispered as she made her way into the room the older woman had pointed to, not wanting to disobey. She couldn't help but wiggle her toes as the floor beneath her changed from the cool laminate of the hallway to the soft fluffy carpet of the lounge, the soft furnishings vastly superior to the grotty hotels she was used to clients taking her to. The young woman sat on the sofa and, even though the house was a lot warmer that the cool autumn air, she found herself shivering and once again wrapped the blanket around her legs to try and warm herself up.

"Drink this, it'll warm you up" Connie had seen the younger woman shiver and held out one of the plain white mugs towards her.

"Thank you" the woman nodded, slightly surprised that the woman had chosen to make them both a cup of tea, most of the men that had 'bought' her had seen fit to get her as drunk as possible before she did whatever it was they wanted her to do.

"You're probably wondering what you're doing here?" Connie finally spoke. The woman nodded but said nothing. "I don't want, or expect anything from you."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't pay that man so I could sleep with you. I want to help you. While you're here, you'll eat, you'll sleep and you'll be safe."

"Why?"

Connie took a deep breath, "I want to help you, I know we don't usually see eye to eye but you can't keep doing this...you need help, you deserve better than this, let me help you Rita."