Page 105 of Depraved Desires

“No. He was a little too busy pummeling my face,” he deadpanned. “He told me to stay away from you, though. NotViolet, but Aspen.”

I reeled back, my most recent theory deteriorating into dust. Customers didn’t know my real name. I’d been extremely careful about letting that slip. The little bit of privacy that I had was important to me. Sighing, I reached for my beverage and took a long sip. There were only a few people I could think of who would do something like that.

“I don’t know who did that to you,” I said. “But I knew nothing about it.”

He frowned as he let that sink in. There was no time for him to reply, because Star slid up beside me, pulling me in for a tight hug. Before I could even react, she was pulling away, looking at me with wide eyes.

“I thought you quit,” she said suddenly.

“No.” I snorted with a half-assed eye roll. “I was actually drugged and then kidnapped from VIP. Some assholes I went to school with took their prank a little too seriously.”

Star’s eyes widened in disbelief and even James’s lips parted in shock. There was no point lying about it. I took another drink, ignoring their surprised expressions.

“You’re serious?” Star queried, searching my face for any sign that I was joking.

I shrugged. “They didn’t harm me or anything. It was their lame attempt at flirting.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue, but it was better than telling her why they really went after me.

Before anyone else could get a word in, one of the cocktail servers approached. I could never remember her name, but we rarely ever spoke. She had bright red hair with scars marring herporcelain flesh. She looked between us timidly before settling her gaze on me.

“Talissa is asking for you.”

“That was fast,” I muttered.

My gaze drifted to her chest where deep scar tissue was most visible. The marks looked almostfamiliar. She caught my eye, fear shining in her orbs. As quickly as she’d approached, she turned on her heels and scurried off.

“What was that about?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

Star snorted in amusement. “That’s Gypsy, AKA, Gloria. She’s always been on the ‘shyer’ side. Personally, I’m surprised she’s lasted this long here.”

“Did you see those marks on her body?” I pressed. “They looked like they were…knife wounds.”

“We’ve all seen them. She won’t talk about it, though.” She turned to James. “Fix me the usual?” she asked him. He nodded and turned to start making her drink.

I nodded, thoughtfully. “I guess I need to go see what Talissa wants.”

I took one last swig of my beverage before placing it down on the bar top and started toward her office. Weaving through people coming and going, I eventually made it to the opposite end of the club. I desperately hoped she wasn’t calling me into her office to say that she was firing me.

Approaching her office door, I knocked my knuckles against the wood three times. It took a few moments, but the hinges creaked as it opened, allowing me entry. Reluctantly, I made my way past the stern looking women and entered her office. The sound of the door closing behind me was like a gunshot in this quiet room.

“I’m glad to see you’re well,” she said as she moved to stand at my side.

Like you even give a shit.

Instead of saying that, though, I swallowed the words and nodded. She extended her arm, motioning toward her desk. Slowly, I made my way across the room, dropping down into one of the chairs. She took her time in following me before taking the seat adjacent to mine.

Talissa’s red lips were drawn into a tight line. Her gaze was as accusing as it was assessing. She tapped her acrylic nails on the surface of her mahogany desk.

“What do you know about Collin Walker and his friends?” she asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

This was the last thing I expected her to ask me. What was even more surprising was that she knew Collin by name.

I furrowed my eyebrows, unable to hide the confusion from my features. “Um…he and his friends are a bunch of cocky assholes. Why?”

Her lips twitched slightly, amusement shining within her eyes. Leaning back in her seat; the chair creaked beneath her weight. “Have any of them struck your fancy?” she pried.

“Did you call me in here to talk about boys?”

Maybe she was one of their moms. She was old enough to be, and she knew I went to Redwood Academy. Perhaps she was simply just wanting to know if I was interested in her son. However, I didn’t know how to answer her question. They were all attractive, but was I interested in them past that?

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