Page 3 of Training His Pet

And Velvet would be just the place to find that story. The Persuccio crew didn’t own any part of the club, but they had made it one of their permanent hangouts.

Why?

They owned plenty of their own bars and restaurants around the city, why spend so much time held up in a night club? Maybe they didn’t trust their own properties to keep the open ears of the cops away? There was something there, something special about Velvet.

“Erika?” Christy walked out of the bathroom, rubbing her eyes. “Did you just get home?” she asked before succumbing to a yawn.

“Yeah, sorry, did I wake you?” Erika swiveled her chair to face her roommate.

“No, I had to pee. Then I heard you come in. Any luck?” Christy pulled her hair up and maneuvered an elastic band around the messy strands of hair.

“Of course not.” Erika drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. “I need a connection. Someone on the inside that can get me on that list.”

“Bribery didn’t work?” Christy smiled.

“Unfortunately, no.” Erika frowned. It had been a long shot, offering money in exchange for entry. The bouncer had all but laughed in her face. “I need to work on it.”

“On what? Being sneaky and underhanded?” Christy leaned a hip against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think you want to go down that road, Erika.”

Christy had moved in with Erika after finishing nursing school and needing an apartment closer to the train station. Erika needed someone who would pay their half of the rent on time, and not be bothered by her all hours work environment. It had taken one week for them to fully sync and become each other’s lifelines.

“I don’t think slipping a big bill to a bouncer is going to alter any plans my soul has for the hereafter.” Erika leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “I just don’t want to be writing fluff and garbage for the next twenty years. I need something good, something solid.”

“You mean something juicy?” Christy added.

Erika’s eyes snapped open. “No, not juicy. Not tabloid stuff. Real stuff. Front page stuff.”

Christy shook her head and pushed off the wall. “What are you going to do if you find out something about this family? They aren’t exactly new news, right? And it could be dangerous.”

Christy, the beacon that called Erika home when she became too lost in her ambitions to see the danger lurking in front of her.

“It probably can be, but these guys don’t go after journalists. It’s bad for business.” Erika swiveled back to her computer.

“Yeah, but you’re not a journalist yet. You’re a girl poking around their business,” Christy noted. Without a permanent column, a secure byline in the paper, Erika wasn’t much more than how Christy described.

“How was your shift?” Erika turned the tables. Thinking about everything that could go wrong with her story wouldn’t give her the confidence she needed to actually get the story.

“Exhausting.” Christy yawned again and wrapped her slender arms around herself. The summer heat was on full blast, and Christy still wore flannel pajamas at night. “I have a double tomorrow, so I won’t be able to join you for dinner.”

Friday nights were their night to double down on serious nachos from their favorite takeout joint on the corner. A celebration for getting through another week while at the same time mourning their single lives.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we had to cancel because one of us had a date?” Erika sighed. Other than a few one-night stands along the way, she had been flying solo for the past year and half.

“Yeah, well, with my schedule that may never happen.” Christy stretched her arms over her head. “I’m going back to bed. Six o’clock comes too fast. Don’t stay up all night.” She waggled her fingers at Erika and retreated back to her room.

“Night!” Erika called and wiggled her mouse to bring her screen back to life. A new email had come in.

Finally, a break.

She had made her contact.

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