Throne Read Online Free Page B

the distant call of another siren, all combined to form a web of sound that held her trapped, immobile, the dollar bills still held in her outstretched hand as if she were a prayer statue.
    Fine. She would work harder. She wouldn’t let them provoke her into making trouble. It was just what Chang wanted. A real reason to lay into her. Sometimes when she caught him staring, following her as she moved around the restaurant with her eyes, she couldn’t tell if he was picturing her naked or picturing her on the floor as he kicked her. The smile was the same.
    Shivering, she curled her fist around the money and shoved it into her pocket. Normally she skimmed some off the top of what she made for her private fund, but not today. Reaching down into the same cash register, she pulled out her most prized possession, a massive pair of black sunglasses, gold banded thickly over the bridge of the nose and medallioned over the temple, and slipped them on. They covered half her face, and she pulled on her sneer. There. Reaching back, she undid the knot in her hair, and let it fall down her shoulders like black and copper snakes. There. Better. With the world held back a step, she grabbed her bag, and made her way down the same narrow corridor to get her coat and step outside.
    Chang was opening the service door, behind which were stacked all the mops and buckets and cleaning liquids and shelves of supplies. He turned as she strode toward him, a smile across his face. Lifting her chin Maya tried to brush past him, but he stuck out his arm and blocked the hall, leaning in and down so as to shove his face into hers.
    “You know, you treat me nicer, I treat you nicer,” he said. “Is reasonable, no?”
    “Get out of my way,” she said, voice vibrating like a violin string.
    “See, now you angry because I catch you not working. It not my fault, is your fault, no?”
    “Chang,” she said, refusing to step back, to let him intimidate her. “Get out of my way.” His breath reeked of garlic.
    Something shifted in the way he held himself, and he was no longer leaning against the wall but lounging. Reaching out with his hand, he touched a lock of her hair where it lay on her shoulder, made to rub it between his fingers. Without thinking she slapped him away and darted back. With a laugh he stood up, gestured for her to pass.
    “So angry! So little, so young, but so angry! Like little snake!”
    Not trusting herself to answer, Maya stepped quickly forward, but just as she passed Chang fell back across the passageway, his arms trapping her in on either side, face pressing into hers. Reflex made her half turn and press her back against the wall, trying to get away from him, but there was no room. Turning her head, she saw Meimei enter the hall, pause, freeze for what seemed like forever, and then quietly step back out of sight.
    “Now come on, shh, be nice to Chang, Chang be nice to you…” he said, and his smell was everywhere, his bland sweat that smelled of his chubbiness, the garlic rolling in endless waves across her face. Moving his face to one side, he went to press it into her neck.
    Something inside of Maya clicked. She was slender, small, but she still could swing her knee up into Chang’s crotch like a field hockey stick. Illegal sticking , she thought as Chang let out a cry and crumpled before her like a beach ball that’s been pierced, and with a shove she was free, snatching her coat from its peg and out the door, the cold a welcome slap on her face.
    Maya paused, swept her jacket on, threaded her arms through the worn sleeves, cinched it tight about her waist. It was black with gold thread and sequins about the shoulders and upper arms, ratty and bright and it barely kept her warm. But she liked it. She took a deep breath, could hear Chang beginning to bellow behind her, but still she didn’t run. Somehow, for some reason, it was important not to. Reaching up, she adjusted her sunglasses, and then, trying not to cry,