Page 19 of Desolation

Fuck. I can’t give her all that cash. “No way.”

A wicked grin crosses her face. “Okay, fair enough. You can play however you want. But let me tell you this. My boyfriend is the head of a gang and he would do just about anything to get money.”

I back up against the wall. “Look, I ain’t got anymore.”

“Not on you. And maybe not even in this state.”

My brows shoot up at that.

She stands up and pulls a piece of plastic from her pocket and walks toward me. Then looks down to read the card. “But one Mariela Waters that lives at seventeen Walnut Street in Boston, Massachusetts sure looks like she has a lot of money.”

My hands start to shake but I put them behind my back so she doesn’t see. “Where did you find that?”

“A real girl from the streets knows to look in the lining of pockets to find things. I was expecting drugs but this is even better.”

“Rochelle, please.”

An evil smirk floods her face. “Oh you beggin’ for my help now?”

I swallow as I look for the courage I know I have deep down. The courage I slapped on my face when I took on a new identity as a girl from the streets of Chicago. “I ain’t beggin’. I’m askin’ you to forget about all this.”

Her eyes flash to the money she set on the desk.

“Take it,” I stammer.

Her eyes go wide. “That’s it.”

“Yes.”

A wave of sympathy crosses her features. “Shit, girl you in a lot of trouble, ain’t you?”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.” I take a step toward her, my nerves calming a bit. I can tell by her lack of interest in my real identity that she has no idea who I really am, who Mariela Waters is. “Let me just take my things. The ID, the phone, my bag. And I’ll get out of here.”

She looks skeptical but she nods. “I’ll help pack your shit. I didn’t mean to… I honestly thought you were turnin’ tricks.”

I throw all the things back in my purse. “Believe me I wish that was my problem.”

“I won’t say anything.”

I look in her eyes and see sincerity. “Thank you.”

I turn the radio on in my room to block out the noise from the phone call I need to make.

Dax answers on the first ring. “What’s wrong?”

“I need your help.”

“Mari, I’m working as fast as I can.”

“It’s not that.”

I hear him talking to someone in the background and then the click of a door. “What do you mean?”

“I lied.”

I hear him sigh. “You ready to tell me the truth?”

“Yes.”

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