Page 2 of Awakened by Sin

Gavin’s new partner. “Vinny’s replacement. Nice to meet you. You finished Incognito. It looks great.”

“I’d like to talk to you if you don’t mind.”

She blinked.Talk to her about what?“I’m here to have fun and keep Lyla company. I don’t want to discuss my husband.”

“We don’t have to discuss him. We can talk about something else,” Marcus said.

Before she could think of something to say, Gavin interrupted. “Marcus, can I talk to you?”

“Sure.” Marcus nodded to her. “I’ll look for you later.”

“For what?” she asked empty air since Marcus and Gavin had lost themselves in the crowd.

“Marcus is blunt and a bit strange, but I like him,” Lyla said.

“But why would he want to talk to me? As Gavin said, I’m just a widow.” God, she wanted to punch him, but that was nothing new. She slapped him the night she found out Vinny had been murdered, but she doubted he would let another assault pass without consequences. “As if that’s all I am, a dead man’s wife. Jesus, I’m a person, dammit.”

“You know Gavin has no tact,” Lyla said consolingly.

“And no manners.”

“Let’s get a drink.”

Right. A drink. That’s what she should have done the second she walked into the club.

“What’s the special tonight?” she asked the well-endowed bartender.

“We have a drink called the Hookup that has tequila and—”

“I’ll get two.”

“You got it.”

She watched the bartender’s tits jiggle as she paraded along the bar. “Who’s your doctor?”

“Dr. Hosen.”

Carmen recognized the name and mentally filed it away for future reference. Years ago, she got a boob job to make her waist appear smaller, and now … now, she didn’t give a crap about her waist. The Playboy look she’d favored since high school didn’t do it for her anymore. On a recent trip to the salon, she dyed her platinum locks black, and now she was considering the unthinkable—going back to her natural breasts.

“Yours look amazing,” the bartender said.

“They’re okay, but they don’t look as soft as yours. Let’s see.” She reached out, and the bartender did the same so they could compare.

The bartender nodded. “I’d say they feel about the same.”

Carmen jumped when someone kicked her in the butt. She glanced over her shoulder and found Lyla glaring at her. “What?”

“Carmen, this is Alice, the community outreach coordinator.” Lyla gestured to a woman standing nearby. “Alice, this is my cousin, Carmen. She’s coming with us to the dog shelter next week to volunteer.”

She was transfixed by the hideous, ill-fitted satin dress Alice wore. She looked like she just left an 80s high school prom. All that was missing were the braces and a metallic scrunchy in her hair. She looked as out of place in Incognito as a kindergartener at a strip club. Alice’s mousy brown hair was pulled back in a halfhearted, messy twist, and her amber earrings didn’t match her outfit.

“Nice to meet you,” she said and shook Alice’s hand. “You work for Pyre Casinos?”

“Yes. I just moved from Utah.” Alice’s eyes flicked over Carmen before she flushed and looked away.

“Mormon?” Carmen prodded, wondering if this woman was from a strict religious background that didn’t allow modern clothing or makeup. It would explain her horrible fashion choices.

Alice frowned. “No. Why?”

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