Page 106 of Say My Name

We order a couple of vodka and sodas, and while we wait, Raven relaxes against the bar. Her jet-black hair shines under the lights, and I see the tattoos along her arm, peeking out past the sleeve of her maroon peasant-top.

“So, tell me how everything works,” I say once we’ve received our drinks. I chew on the thin black straw as I wait for Raven to answer.

“It’s simple. Sugar will call you with a time and where to meet your next client.”

“What if I don’t want to sleep with a certain client?”

Raven looks annoyed. “That doesn’t really happen. You just do it, ya know? If you’re having second thoughts…” She doesn’t need to finish her sentence for me to know I better be agreeable with everything or I get booted out.

Wonder if the girls who were murdered were agreeable too.

I glance at an inked rose trailing along Raven’s wrist. “I like this one,” I say, pointing at her tattoo.

Her eyes lighten a little. “Strawberry and I got this one together. Man, I loved that girl. I miss her.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say.

“I wish they’d catch the asshole killing everyone, because I’m tired of losing my friends.” Tears threaten to spill from her eyes, and I can feel the sadness wafting off her in waves.

“Who do you think it is?” I ask.

She looks at me like she knows the answer, but instead of telling me she shrugs. “I don’t know. Probably one of them.” She nods over at Devereaux and the powerful men with him.

“I don’t think so,” I say, not really sure why I’m voicing my opinion. “I think he wants to find out who did it just as bad as we do.”

Raven shrugs again. “If you say so. All I know is if I ever get my hands on the person who killed Strawberry, there will be nothing left of his body to identify.”

“Yeah,” I say, spotting Sugar.

It’s hard to miss her. She has a certain presence about her. All the Greedy Girls do, commanding any room they step into. She glides across the floor, dressed in a simple gold dress, but it clings to every curve perfectly, drawing the attention of the guys she passes.

When she walks up to us, she asks Raven with surprise in her voice, “Swan is the girl you wanted to bring on?”

“She needs money.”

Sugar surveys me, obviously judging my worthiness, and I loosen my body, trying to appear like someone who’s ready to sleep with random men for money.

Sugar must like what she sees because her glossy lips curve upward. “When can you start?” she asks.

My eyes grow a little bigger, hoping she doesn’t ask me to take on a client tonight. “As soon as you need me,” I say, knowing I can’t back down now. I have to do this.

One step at a time. If I end up in a hotel room with some guy looking for a quickie, I’ll cross that bridge when it comes.

“Ok, I’ll call you when a client becomes available.” She hands me her phone so I can type my number into it. I quickly send myself a text so I’ll have her number too. Nothing like being proactive.

Finn can trace the number and we can see who’s been calling her phone.

I glance around, scoping the crowd for Brandon, but he’s not here. That I can see.

I hop off my bar stool. “I’ll be back. Restroom,” I say so Sugar and Raven can hear me. I cross the club floor until I’m walking down a dimly lit hallway.

“What are you doing here?” Devereaux’s voice says from behind me. I know it’s him. I don’t even need to turn around to feel his presence get closer until he’s flush against my back. “I said, what are you doing here?” he breathes against my neck.

“Raven invited me.”

He spins me around. “I can’t take my eyes off you.”

I feel a bit guilty that I’m not sharing vital information with him about this case. I mean, he told me about the prostitution ring, and without him, I would have never known about it.

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