Page 7 of Clinch'd

A glance at the bruiser reveals him looking at me with a blank expression and I turn back to suit as he tsks, “Well?”

“What do you want me to do?” I’d rather jump off a bridge then do anything for this fuck. But any thoughts of going to the police like we should have to begin with die on my lips when he mentions Lorri.

Lorri may be young and foolish but she’s my sister and I’d never willingly put her in harm’s way. She’s all I have left, or so I tell myself.

Shit. Fuck. Damn. What do I do? My only option is a poor one because I cannot go back down that road even if this fucker and his goon are a red fucking flag that I should.

“Good. Then, we need intel and you’re going to get it.”

“Wh-What? Me?”

“Yes,” he says with a flick of the wrist. “You’re perfect. No one would ever suspect anything. Look at you.”

Vaguely insulted although I shouldn’t be because it’s true, I bite my lip against further protest and wait for the rest.

“You’re affiliated with Beast? He’ll introduce you to the mark.”

Oh shit. Beast is going to be mighty confused when I show up and he’s expecting Lorri but what choice do I have? None, and I can only hope he doesn’t say anything.

“Who? What?” I stutter, my blood pumping painfully through my veins.

“Your focus is getting into his inner circle. We’ll contact you when that’s done,” Suit says motioning for me to move and standing when I scramble out of the way.

Inner circle? What exactly does this entail?

“Wait for our message, and Ms. Callahan...say nothing.”

He walks away, his companion following silently and they’re at the door when I pull from my shocked stupor and ask, “Who?”

“Cooper Jackson.”

Three painful days pass before I hear from anyone. I didn’t mention it to Lorri because I was afraid, she’d rush headlong into something that might get her killed.

Instead, I agonized over Suit’s menacing demands and the prospect of seeing Cooper again. The sick part of me feels a thrill at the thought which fades with the reality that I’m being sent in to spy on him. Well, that and I’m not sure how to get into his inner circle. These guys made it seem easy but I’m no siren and he’s likely to look past me as he’s already done.

All of this and the specter of Lorri’s possible death hang over my head.

I’m not immune to the darker side of shit. I’ve lived in less than savory situations and made friends many would consider thugs. I’ve contemplated reaching out to them, but I don’t want to make this worse than it already is. Besides, I fled that life a long time ago.

When I finally receive a message, I retreat to the back of the diner to hyperventilate in peace.

I’m so screwed.

I don’t even bother with the semantics of how they got my number, because clearly, they have ways of tracking me down.

Beast will meet you at Crave 9pm

That’s it. Nothing else, like I don’t know, information about what’s going to happen next. I played over my options for the last few days, but I always came back to Lorri’s safety. Right now, they don’t know it was her but if we go to the police they will, and I’m terrified of what might happen if I don’t conform.

Which is why I’m standing outside of Crave at a quarter to nine in one of Lorri’s stretchy ass dresses with my hair curled and hanging to my butt. I know my normal facade won’t attract attention, so I put on heavy makeup and wrapped myself in tight clothes.

I’ve never been keen on using my body to attract, well, anything because I know only too well what a slippery slope that is. For that reason, I’m not sure I’m going to get far but it has to be better than nothing.

Wobbling on four-inch heels, I pull down the dress inching up my legs and glance down at my boobs hanging out of the top. With a silent sigh, I tell myself to suck it up because there are no other options.

In high school, before I dropped out, I dabbled in theatre and it’s this small knowledge I draw upon when I attempt to slide into a sexy, carefree persona and clench my fucking ass cheeks as I head inside.

I’m saved from having to search out Beast when the bruiser from the diner grabs my arm as I enter and pulls me toward the back of the club. My pulse stutters and I pray to a fucking god I gave up on a long time ago that I’m not being led to my death.

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