Page 19 of Clubs

I shot her a look. “Uh-huh.”

She gave me a sad, sweet smile. “Well, do you love me enough to loan me some cash? Or even to give me those Vicodin you got from your dental work a couple years ago? I know you have them hidden in here somewhere.”

I frowned. “I can’t give you drugs, Ria.”

“I just need something to get me through the session with my client. He’s a good guy. I know he won’t run. All he really wants to do his bitch about his wife and kids anyway.”

My moral qualms with that statement didn’t make me feel much better about giving her drugs or money. But that was too big of a conversation to tackle right now.

“I can pay you back in the morning. Even in Vicodin, if that’s what you want.”

Another deep breath escaped me.

“I’m sorry. I know you hate when I do this, but I just feel like shit.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’ve been sick all day, and I just need a little bit to get me through.”

At least she was asking. Very easily, she could’ve gone into my purse and taken the money. I preferred she asked rather than stole.

It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I couldn’t think of a better alternative. I went to my purse, snatched a fifty from my wallet, and handed it over.

I could’ve sat there and thought. Thought about how I was enabling her. About how this money would cause her more harm than good. But what did it matter? She was going to get high tonight either way. I would rather she didn’t do anything desperate or drastic to get drug money in the meantime. Giving her this felt like I was mitigating some risk, at least.

I didn’t like it. Hated it, actually. But my baby sister was sick. And she asked for it so sweetly. So I gave it to her. Just like I always did.

CHAPTER SIX

DECLAN

As much as I wished I could say I was angry at Brooke for kicking me out of the car, I wasn’t. Not in the slightest. The run was needed. It was only a few minutes from Spades and the highway cut through a densely wooded area, so I ran through the trees in wolf form. It wasn’t exactly a difficult feat. As soon as I entered a clearing away from civilization, I stepped out of my clothes and tied them around my ankle. I didn’t encounter any furry creatures that would’ve made for a good snack along the way, but I had fed off Brooke last night anyway, so I wasn’t exactly starving.

Brooke, though, I wouldn’t have minded taking another bite out of.

But the fact of the matter was, she was right. I was a dick. But she was getting that money back, whether she liked it or not. And no, it wasn’t a “I man, you woman,” thing. But I would explain all of that to her later.

Now that I was home, my priority was getting the smell of prison off of me, grabbing something to eat, and figuring out who the hell Alicia Tanner was. But that would have to wait, too, because when I walked inside, I was greeted by a familiar face who never would’ve kicked me out of his car.

“What the hell happened?” Emory asked from his perch on my kitchen counter. Glancing past me, he furrowed his brows. “Where’s Brooke? I thought she was picking you up.”

Snorting, I dropped my shirt and boxers onto the couch, having only put my jeans on when I stepped out of the woods. “Oh,” I said, “she did. She picked me up, and then she made me walk home.”

He laughed. “Start at the beginning, please.”

So, I did, ending with, “I was being an ass. I can’t blame her.”

“And she was being a bitch. Seems like that’s the way you guys work. No offense, man, but you and your girl fighting is at the bottom of my priority list right now.”

Touché. “Yeah, me too, I guess. Do you know that name? Alicia Tanner?”

Emory joined me in the living room. Scooting back on the armchair across from me, he shook his head. “No, doesn’t ring any bells. We know most of the members by name.”

“And she’s not one, I know. Why the hell was she dumped behind my bar, then?”

“Beats the hell outta me.” Running his fingers through his beard, he gazed off in the distance in deep thought. “Maybe the Chambers have something to do with this. Are you up-to-date on your taxes and everything?”

“If there’s one thing I never miss, it’s my taxes,” I said. “Even if I had, that wouldn’t make any sense. The Chambers protect their secrecy at all costs. If I had ripped them off, I’d be dead. They wouldn’t have framed me.” I paused. “Well, Brooke said that she framed somebody when she worked for the Chambers, so I guess it’s possible, but I still can’t see it. He was a killer the Chambers were trying to hunt down. I’m obviously not.”

“Clearly,” Emory said. “I’m guessing Brooke is digging into this? She must have some resources at the library, plus whatever sources she has from when she was still working for those pricks.”

“That was the plan, until I pissed her off.”

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