Page 17 of Vengeful Vows

Gray shakes his head, but he’s smiling, too. “You’re obsessed with starting a war.”

“I’m ready for a war,” I insist. “It’s about fucking time.”

“I don’t know what he’s on about,” Jimmy admits. “Thought he was too busy with his new strip club, Luxe.”

“Speaking of that.”

Gray turns to me. “One of his girls is waiting for you in the back.”

I blink at him, confused. “One of his girls?”

“Just listen to what she has to say,” Gray urges.

Why the hell would one of Murphy’s dancers come to us, of all things? And why talk to me? My brother is next in line for the business, not me.

But I guess of the two, I have more patience to listen.

Anyway, I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If she has information about Murphy and his plans, then she’s an asset.

I walk to the back office and open the door.

The girl sitting there, wearing a tube top, a short skirt, and a full-length fur coat, flinches as if I’ve burst open the door instead of gently opening it.

“O-oh,” she stutters. “Mr. Burke.”

“Call me Declan.”

She looks to be about Bree’s age, maybe younger. With a sweet, round, pretty face, she doesn’t seem like the type of girl to work for Murphy.

“D-Declan,” she says, her voice finally smoothing out. “I’m sorry to bother you. I’m Diamond.”

I’m aware that Diamond isn’t her real name, but it doesn’t matter.

“What is it you need to tell me, honey?” I try to set her at ease.

She swallows hard. “Luxe is getting dangerous.” She looks at her feet. “Mr. Murphy’s taken a lot of the girls. He’s forcing them into doing extras.”

“Extras?”

She licks her lips as if her mouth is dry. “You know, extras. Prostitution.” She nearly whispers that last word, as if it’s a bad word.

I frown. “He’s forcing girls to sell their bodies?”

She nods slowly. “Yes. A lot of us... well, we’re reliant on...things.”

“On drugs.”

Diamond looks up at me, something suddenly sharp in her dark brown eyes. “Drugs that the Burkes supply.”

I can’t argue with that.

I spread my hands. “Well, if you’re here for freebies, I can’t help you.”

“It wouldn’t be freebies.”

I know she’s hoping for dust or some of that new china white we have, but I’m not in the business of giving dust away to all the pretty girls that come to me.

She seems as if she is thinking of approaching me, but her body just sags in the next second. “It wouldn’t be free, because I’m giving you information.”

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