Chapter seventeen
“Come on out, ladies,” Syd screams from the living room.
We’re staying at the Aria in a two-bedroom penthouse in one of their sky suites. This room is crazy huge. It’s bigger than my apartment. We had booked a normal two-bedroom suite, but when they saw we were with Ryker Dallas, we were upgraded. I guess Syd was right about them being VIP everywhere they go. I am a little jealous of that.
The guys were already booked in one of the penthouse rooms, so they are across the hall from us. We heard them leave earlier. I glance down to my barely there dress, noticing more cleavage and legs than fabric. I yank on the hem of the dress, trying to get another inch of length, but it shrinks back up as soon as I stand tall. I blow out a defeated breath. Why did I let Syd talk me into this thing?
Syd pokes her head into the bathroom. “C’mon, woman. Get that beautiful butt of yours out here so we can take a shot.”
Let the fun begin.
“Okay, ladies, listen up,” Syd says, hushing everyone. “Here’s to Addie. My beautiful friend, whom I didn’t think would ever get married.”
“Gee, thanks,” I respond.
“I mean, I didn’t think you’d ever find a man who could challenge you enough to keep your interest.” I nod. “You do have a history of getting bored in relationships,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone. She’s right. I think back to my past relationships, and they all ended the same way: me bored, walking away.
“You found the most amazing man who has proven that he loves you time and time again. I couldn’t be happier for you. And I’m so excited to be standing here alongside you. But first…” she holds her shot in the air, “…we need to say goodbye to your single life. To a night of fun with all you crazy ladies!” Syd holds her shot higher, and we lift ours and clink our glasses together. The golden warm liquid fills my mouth and burns my throat on the way down. I shiver, looking around for a chaser. I haven’t even swallowed the sip I took from my screwdriver before I’m being handed another shot.
“Y’all are going to get me drunk before we even leave this room,” I say, taking the shot from Harper.
“This is it until we get to the club.” Harper smiles wide. This time I keep my screwdriver in my hand, ready to take a drink after the shot. The second one doesn’t go down as harsh as the first.
“We have to leave here in fifteen minutes, so let’s get moving,” Syd says while she turns up the music. She dances as she walks away. “Sexy Back” from Justin Timberlake blasts from the speakers throughout the penthouse. Bryn and I start dancing, swinging our hips to the music. When I dance lower to the floor, Bryn busts out laughing. I look down and notice my dress has shimmied up my thighs and is showing my thong. I’m pretty sure my ass is out for all to see, too. I join Bryn laughing, feeling the effects of the shots already, and stand to pull my dress down.
Damn Sydney! Don’t dance low tonight, Addison.
I hear my phone ding as I’m finishing up my makeup. “I bet I know who that is,” Syd says, standing next to me, putting on her mascara. “Damon said he was moping around before they left because he wanted to come over and talk to you. They wouldn’t let him.” She giggles. I smile, imagining how that conversation went. After we checked into the hotel, everyone (except Aiden and me) agreed we wouldn’t see each other until we meet up later. We both agreed our friends are all assholes.
I grab my phone off the bed and look at the text.
Aiden: This is stupid! I had to sneak off to the bathroom to text you.
I giggle to myself. I’m almost positive they know what he’s doing.
Me: I’m glad you did.
Aiden: I love you. See you tonight, sweetheart.
Me: Love you. Don’t let them buy you too many lap dances!
Aiden: The only person that’s going to be in my lap tonight is you ;)
Warm tingles spread throughout my body just thinking about being in Aiden’s lap.
Me: I’ll give you a lap dance you won’t ever forget :o
Aiden: Fuck, Addison, now I’m hard.
A laugh escapes my lips. I see the little dots telling me he’s still typing.
Aiden: Just make sure I’m the only lap that you’re in tonight.
Me: You’re the only one who will mean something.
Sydney comes and stands by my side, reading my texts. “You are so asking for it,” she jokes.
Aiden: Addison.
Syd and I both wait for him to add to his response but he doesn’t. Oh, shit. Syd’s phone starts to ring, and we glance at each other with wide eyes. She picks it up and we both look down and see that it’s Damon.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” she answers.
“She was kidding.” She rolls her eyes. I can’t hear Damon, but I can assume what he’s saying.
“I won’t. Tell him to calm down. Go buy that boy a shot…or three.” She looks at me with amusement and shakes her head. “Okay. Love you.”
She hangs up and throws her phone on the bed. “Thank God we didn’t tell him where we were taking you.” I raise a brow in question.
“Where exactly are you taking me?” Our entire night is top secret. No one will spill.
“Don’t you worry about it. We’ll make sure you stay out of trouble.” The mischief in her voice is slightly concerning. At least I can look forward to the end of the night, knowing I’ll be falling asleep in Aiden’s arms. We have a little secret, too. We have our own room for later. Syd starts digging around in a bag on the bed and pulls out a white sash that says bachelorette. I roll my eyes.
“I can’t believe you’re going to make me wear that.”
“Hey, just be glad I didn’t do the veil with dicks all over it,” she laughs while putting it on me. I look up thinking about that. She’s right; I’ll take the sash.
We walk out of the hotel and spot our ride, a Hummer limousine. I chuckle to myself that it’s not pink. Neon lights and a small disco ball spins on the inside roof of the limo.
“Fancy,” Bryn says, hopping to one side of the limo. Music fills the air when we start to move. A loud pop has me turning toward Syd. She’s pouring champagne into flutes, passing them out. After another round of cheers, Bryn sits up on her knees and opens the moon roof. “Oh, my gosh, I’ve always wanted to do this!” She stands up on her feet, fitting through the open window. “Addison, get up here with me.”
I push off my seat and squeeze in with her. The warm air hits our faces as we slowly make our way down the strip. Lights from cars litter the streets every direction I look. Guys holler and whistle as we pass. Bryn and I wave even though we don’t have any idea what they are saying because it’s so loud. We start dancing to the song coming out of the limo’s speakers. I’ve never been to Las Vegas, so I take in all the blazing lights beaming from the hotels. We pass the Bellagio and the fountains are on. I lean my ear in the direction of the music to see if I can hear what song is playing, but it’s useless. My friends are loud.
“Our turn,” I hear Katie say as she pulls on my dress. Bryn and I duck down into the limo and Katie and Harper take our place.
Syd is texting on her phone when I hop in the seat next to hers. “Who are you texting?” She yanks away her phone, hiding it from me. She smiles, biting her lip. She’s up to no good. I cock an eyebrow. “What are you planning, Sydney?”
“I’m just setting some things up.”
“I can see that. What things would those be?”
She looks down at my bare legs. “That dress is a little short,” she says. I look down at my dress. Again, it has crawled up my thighs. Dammit! I tug it down and glare at her.
“This is your fault. I swear, you’d think they could have spared just a couple more inches of fabric on this thing.” Syd giggles. “I hate you.” I grab a glass of champagne and lean back against the seat.
She rests her head on me. “No, you don’t. You love me.”
“I do. But right now I don’t like you,” I joke and lean my head on hers.
A few minutes later our limo stops in front of the Hard Rock Hotel. Syd grabs my hand and pulls me out of the limo. When I stand, I make sure the small scrap of fabric called a dress is covering all the right places.
“Why are we at a hotel?” I ask Bryn as we’re walking into the lobby.
“You’ll see,” she answers with a large smile. She and Harper wrap their arms through mine, and we follow Katie and Syd through the casino. I look around at the constant sounds of dinging slot machines and cheering off in the distance. The machines I look at confuse me. I’ve never played slots before, but I always had it in my head there were three wheels and you match the cherries or something simple like that. These machines are complicated. There are tons of lines crossing each other in every direction. I watch a person play for a second and wonder how they know they won. Syd pulls me away as I’m trying to figure the damn things out. We walk out of the sea of machines toward the side of the casino. The bright sign catches my attention.
Magic Mike Live. My eyes go wide. I whip my head around to Sydney. Her smile reaches her eyes as she waits for my reaction. She knows I secretly love that movie. We watched it five times while it was at the theater, but I would never admit that to anyone.
“Is Channing here?” I ask excitedly.
A girl who overhears me steps beside me and says, “Nope, I hear he rarely comes to these.”
“Well, that sucks,” I reply.
“It does, but don’t worry, there are sexy-as-hell men in there who will light your panties on fire. They’ll make your fiancé seem mediocre.” She obviously doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Aiden could very easily be a stripper. I laugh at my thought. The drinks are making me silly.
“Girl, I have a man who looks like those guys,” I say, pointing to a poster of the Magic Mike guys. “Aaanndd he’s FBI.”
The girl looks at Syd for confirmation, like she thinks I’m lying. Syd nods. “Lucky woman! Most of the guys I date are losers.”
“Hey, me, too,” Bryn says loudly to the girl. “These two have freaking gorgeous men with guns, literally.” She points to Syd and me while she laughs at her own joke and ends up snorting. Her hand quickly covers her mouth, and we all start giggling at Bryn as her cheeks redden. I wrap my arm around her and hug her.
“Don’t worry, Bryn. We’re going to find you one,” I say. “You just need to stay away from Ryker.”
The girl’s eyes widen. “Ryker who?” she says slowly. I smirk and nod, confirming what she must be thinking.
“Holy shit! Ryker Dallas?”
Bryn rolls her eyes at the girl’s overzealousness. “He’s not all that,” she says pointedly. “Just another loser.” Her arms flail out.
“I wouldn’t even care if he was the biggest loser ever, I’d still ride that boy, given the chance.”
Bryn quietly snickers at the girl. “Be careful what you wish for,” she murmurs and then walks toward the entrance of the club, leaving us behind.
“We are so hanging out with you guys tonight,” the girl says. Harper introduces us all as I walk over to catch up with Bryn.
“You okay?”
“Yes. I promised myself I wouldn’t let him get to me on this trip, but seeing him today…” She pauses and lets out a moan. “Why does he have to be so gorgeous and nice to me?”
I tilt my head and laugh. “I’m going to kick his ass for being nice to you,” I say sarcastically. “What’s really wrong here, Bryn?”
“He says he wants to take me out on a real date.” I don’t know what I was expecting her to say but that wasn’t it. I stare at her, waiting for her to continue, but she doesn’t. “And?” I finally say.
“And look at me?” Her hands flow down her body. “A guy like that would never settle for a girl like me.”
“Are you kidding me? You are gorgeous and he’d be one lucky guy to have you. You’re smart, independent, and have a lot to offer a man.”
She sighs. “He’s…Ryker Dallas. I’m just Bryn the accountant. He’d get bored with me within a week. Hooking up at a party was okay, but now he wants a date.”
“Where is the confident woman I know? Where is all this self-doubt coming from?”
“Ugh. I don’t know. I’ve seen the girls he’s dated before. Models from freaking Australia. I can’t compete with those types of women.”
“Have you ever thought those were the types of women he gets bored with? Maybe he needs more out of a woman than just looks. Ryker is a good guy. I don’t know if you should go out with him, but I don’t think you should say no because you think you’re not enough for him…because that is bullshit.”
“You’re just saying that ’cause you’re my friend.”
We move up and I catch the bouncer’s eye. “Hey, what do you think of my friend here.” He looks Bryn up and down. She’s as tall as me and lean but has great curves. She’s wearing a dark blue fitted dress that accentuates her body, but it isn’t too revealing or too short. Unlike mine.
“She’s gorgeous,” he says and winks at her.
She huffs. “He’s just saying that because he works here.”
I stare at her. “I’m going to hit you.”
The bouncer leans over and whispers something into her ear, causing her to blush. Her lips curl into a smile, and she shakes her head. “Thanks,” she says, looking away. She starts to fan herself, and he laughs loudly.
“Okay. Are we ready to go in?” Bryn squeaks, avoiding the bouncer’s heated stare. She blows out a breath. “It’s really hot in here. I need a drink.”
I laugh at her while grabbing the girls to come inside. Finding out what he said is a conversation that will happen later. We walk through a small gift shop before getting to the front doors and then we’re escorted to our seats. Couches surround the stage and there’s a row of tables with chairs right behind it. That’s where we are. Our new friends just happen to be sitting to our left. Harper pulls their table closer so they can join us. We find out their names are Coryn and Abby.
I run my hand across the red velvety couch in front of us. Fancy. Sitting down, I watch as the crowd fills the room. Coryn orders a lemon drop shot for everyone as soon as our waiter comes and introduces himself. Trey. Trey is freaking hot. I’m wondering why he’s not one of the guys on stage because he certainly could be.
We talk with our new friends, waiting for our drinks and for the show to start. Syd keeps smiling at me. I can feel it. She’s planned something, and I’m sure I’m not going to like it. She knows if I get dragged on stage, she’s going to die. A slow and painful death.
“You know, payback is a bitch, right?” I say, glaring at her.
She bursts out laughing. “Just remember, I love you.” She blows me a kiss. I itch my nose with my middle finger.
A couple shots later and after downing a fishbowl drink called XXL Voodoo, with glowing ice cubes, the lights begin to dim. You’d think we were out in the wild with how many women start howling and screaming. It’s like their mating call. My friends? They’re the loudest of them all.
Strobe lights spear through the fog, permeating the air from the ground up. Heavy bass music blares all around us, and I can feel the vibration deep inside me. Syd bounces in her chair, her hands in the air as she screams. I can barely hear her over the music. When the screams elevate to a deafening level, I turn toward the stage. The lights go out. When they turn back on, ten beautifully sculpted men are dancing on stage.
Right in front of me. Holy hotness.
Everyone is up on their feet, including me. I can’t help it. I move my hips to the music while I watch their bodies move around on stage. One guy drops down, walks in front of me, and runs his hand down my face. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispers in my ear. Oh, hell. I should not be getting goose bumps from the heat of his breath. Before I can regain my senses and back away, he’s moved into the crowd. Thank God!
“He was hot,” Harper screams. I nod and smile wide in agreement. That same guy brings a woman from the crowd onto the stage, and I blow out a sigh of relief that it wasn’t me. The guys surround her on stage, each one taking their turn with her. Then she starts talking about safe words and unicorns. Nope, not a random girl. She must be the MC.
As the show progresses, the level of heat in this place rises. Between the gorgeous men and the show they put on to the drinks I’m inhaling, I’m feeling really good…and turned on. I clench my crossed legs, watching a number where a woman and man are on the stage with water falling on them.
I lean over to Syd. “What’s the name of this song? Because the next time I’m in the shower with Aiden, I want it to be playing,” I say, fanning my face.
“I don’t know, but when you find out, please share.” I nod and go back to watching the erotic scene in front of us.
The songs continue and each time a guy hops off stage and walks in our direction, my heart starts to beat faster. I turn and look at one of the girls. Don’t make eye contact, I keep telling myself. I really don’t want to go on stage.
Then it happens. Two guys are on stage dancing and both hop off and head right for us. I do my normal, look away routine, but when I look back he’s standing right in front of me with a sexy ass grin.
It’s the same guy who called me beautiful at the start of the show. “Come on, beautiful, you can’t ignore me anymore,” he says, pulling my hand. The other guy walks Syd on the stage, too. She’s certainly more willing than I am. She practically jumps into his arms. We’re seated on two wooden chairs opposite of each other on the stage. The guys dance between us. I glare at Sydney and shake my head. I knew I should have had more to drink.
I have my legs crossed so I don’t flash anyone, but Mr. Hottie comes and uncrosses them, straddling me. Oh, God. I’m holding on to the chair for dear life.
“Relax,” he breathes into my ear. “I’ve got you.” No. No, you don’t have me. My heart is beating so fast I can’t relax even if I wanted to. Between my nerves, the music, and the man rubbing his groin on my lap, I think I might have a heart attack. I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. God, I hope no one is getting video of this; Aiden would hunt this guy down.
Mr. Hottie grabs my hands and puts them around his neck. His hands glide down my sides. Oh. I bite my lip. Oh, SHIT! He grabs my thighs and picks me up.
“Wrap your legs around me. Don’t worry.”
Don’t worry? That’s easy for him to say. My crotch is going to be rubbing against his cock and only my panties are going to be between us. Oh, no. This is not good. I’m going to kill Sydney. I wrap my legs around him because I start to slide down his sweaty body. I close my eyes and try not to think about what’s happening right now. It’ll be done in a minute. He nuzzles his face in my neck.
“I need you to hold on. We’re about to go up,” he whispers. Go up? Go the fuck up where?
I don’t have time to resist because he jumps up on a ladder. Whoa! He gyrates against me and flashes me a wicked smile. I laugh at the insanity of all of this. Next thing I know, I’m on the floor and he’s dancing over me, on me, against me. My body starts to tingle from the heat coming off him. Our eyes lock for a few seconds.
“Goddamn, you’re gorgeous. Too bad you’re getting married,” he says into my ear, all the while dancing on me. Wait, what? Do they normally say that kind of thing to the girls? Yes, they do. This is all part of the show, I tell myself. I shrug and smile. “Find me after the show,” he says, finally bringing me to my feet and walking me back to my chair.
Okay, that was not part of the show.
When the show ends, I practically drag the girls out of there before Mr. Hottie can find me. I don’t know if he was serious, but I don’t want to find out.
“I think I need to change my panties,” Syd says as we walk out. “Why are you rushing to get out of here?” She looks at me.
“Did your dancer friend tell you to find him after the show?”
Her eyes widen. “Um…no.”
The girls all whistle and moan. “You guys were hot up there. I felt a little weird getting excited,” Katie jokes.
I whip my head toward Katie. “This does not get repeated to Aiden. Ever. That goes for all of you.” I point to each girl.
“Is your fiancé the jealous type?” Coryn asks.
All the girls bust out laughing. “He is definitely an alpha male,” Syd says.
“Mmm, he sounds hot,” Coryn purrs. I lift a brow to the girl who is still a stranger to me. I don’t know why her comment rubs me the wrong way, but it does. Syd notices my expression and jumps in between us.
“Alright, girls, next stop!” She gestures for us to start walking. She walks beside me and leans into me. “We can ditch the new girls if you don’t want them to come.”
I exhale. “No, they seem fun. I think my nerves are just overstimulated, and I overreacted to her comment.” I look down at her, eyes narrowed. “And you are going to pay very, very badly for that back there.” I point back to the club.
She beams. “It was hot.”
Okay, I’ll admit it. It was a little hot.
***
The blue ambiance of the club glows from down below. It seems Ryker called in a favor and we were escorted up to the VIP section. Our hands are never with an empty glass either. I’m sure everyone up here wonders who we are. We only have an hour left before we meet the guys at a different bar. I’m excited to see Aiden, put my hands and lips on him. Since we left the Magic Mike Live show, I’ve been horny as hell, and I’m looking forward to our time tonight more than ever.
A remix of the song “That’s What I Like” from Bruno Mars starts to play. “Let’s go down there,” Syd screams, pointing to the crowd. I nod my head and grab her hand.
We tell the other girls we’re going to dance. Harper comes with us, but the other four stay to watch from above. We hang onto each other’s hands, weaving our way onto the center of the dancefloor. I put my hands up in the air, moving my hips to the beat of the music. Syd looks at me and giggles before bringing my hands back down. I feel my dress creep up and tug it down. I mouth thanks. No need to say it, she’d never hear it.
It’s probably the first time I’m thankful I’m wearing just a scrap of fabric. It’s so freaking hot in here. I look around at all the bodies. It’s packed. Sweat drips along my brow. I wipe it away and take a few breaths, blowing it up into my face. I’m not drunk but I’m feeling good. A glass of water sounds great right now, though. I lift my thumb and pinky and do the universal sign for “I need a drink.” Sydney and Harper both nod in agreement.
Harper goes first, then me, and Sydney behind. I have Syd’s hand in mine. When I feel it drop, I turn around. Some guy is holding her around the waist, trying to get her to dance with him. She rolls her eyes and tells him no thanks. When she tries to keep walking, he tightens his grip on her. Come on, fucker. She said no. I walk back and grab her hand.
“She doesn’t want to dance, dude,” I scream and pull her out of his grasp. He pins his gaze on me. His eyes creep down my body and back up, meeting mine again. There’s heat in them now. I shake my head. Not going to happen. We start walking again and the asshole flings his arm around my waist and slams me into his hard chest.
“It looks like you want to dance with me,” he hisses.
“No, asshole, I don’t,” I snap, trying to get out of his grasp.
“I think you do.” He runs his other hand down my side and moves his hips to the rhythm of the song. I take a couple deep breaths, trying to calm my anger. I attempt to move again, but this time he grabs my ass. “Your ass is gorgeous.”
Red. Flaming red is all I see. The stench of cigarette smoke and sweat makes me feel sick to my stomach. I can’t even tell if it’s reality or a flashback. I can feel his hand grabbing my ass. My mind turns off and my automatic defense mechanism kicks in. I grab the hand holding me and ram my elbow back as hard as I can. When he lets go, I turn and bring my knee up to his groin and then punch him right in the face. He goes down and everyone steps to the side. You’d think I would have stopped; he’s down, but the rage running through my veins doesn’t let me. I kick him, making sure to move my pointed heel to his groin area. He screams out in pain. I’m pulled off him by a very large bouncer. Max-sized bouncer. I fight him until my brain kicks back on and I’m able to process the situation.
I’m hauled outside. “What are you kicking her out for? That asshole was sexually assaulting her, and she was defending herself!” Syd screams as she follows us outside.
“Stand there and don’t move,” he demands, looking down at me. I glare back at him until he goes back inside.
I look down at my hand and it’s red and swollen. Shit, that’s going to hurt when my adrenaline calms down. I pace along the sidewalk, my body trembling with anger. I groan a few times out of frustration.
“Addie, are you okay?” Syd asks.
I don’t answer because I’m not okay. I continue my path, back and forth, taking deep breaths in and blowing them out. I take off my shoes and throw them against the wall. The large bouncer is still not out here, but another one stands to the side, watching me. Breathe in, breathe out. It’s all I concentrate on. I’m safe. He can’t hurt me.
Ten minutes later a cop car pulls up and a cop gets out and walks over to me. Thank God they called the cops. That guy can’t get away with grabbing women however the hell he wants.
“Miss?” he asks.
“Addison Mason.”
“Miss Mason, are you the one who attacked the guy in there.” He points to the club. I’m caught off guard by how he used the word attacked.
“I defended myself from being sexually assaulted,” I deadpan.
“That’s not what he said. He said he asked you to dance and you attacked him out of the blue.”
“That is not what happened,” Sydney sneers and jumps in between us.
“Ma’am, please stand aside,” the cop says as he puts his hand on his gun. I look up for a second. Shit!
I pull Sydney behind me. “Syd, I got this.” I glare at her and hope she listens.
“Officer…” I pause and look at his badge, “…Romero, that isn’t what happened.” I try to sound calm.
“We have other witnesses who tell the same story.”
“Other witnesses? It happened fifteen minutes ago. How can you have already talked with other witnesses?” So much for being calm. This asshole cop is lying, and I’m not sure why.
“Ms. Mason, please turn around. You’re being arrested for aggravated assault.”
“What?”
“Don’t make me use force, Ms. Mason.”
I can’t believe this is happening. By now the bouncer has come back outside with my friends. They are all freaking out. I have a feeling if I don’t go, someone is going to get hurt. I turn around and put my hands behind my back. I’m facing the girls and most of them have tears rolling down their faces. The cop tugs on my hands more than necessary and I let out a grunt.
“You’re going to regret this,” Syd warns. “You don’t know who she is.” I look at Syd like what the hell are you doing? That is not going to help this situation.
The large bouncer steps forward. “Officer, I can tell you it wasn’t her fault,” he says in a deep voice.
“Well, she can tell it to the judge,” he responds. The bouncer’s expression turns hard at the officer and softens when he looks back at me. I mouth “thanks.” The asshole cop pushes me toward the car.
“Can I at least get my shoes?” I ask, walking barefoot on the cement. Now that I’m able to form a coherent thought, it’s gross thinking about not wearing shoes. He doesn’t reply, just pushes my head down into the back of his police car. By now a crowd has formed and many are taking video of the whole thing. Aiden is going to have a heart attack if he sees that video.
I’m taken into custody at the Las Vegas Detention Center and escorted into a holding cell—at least they gave me some flip-flops—and have a seat on the long bench off to one side. The cold steel hits the back of my legs and I shiver. I pull down my dress a little and curse Sydney at the same time. There is another long bench on the other wall where a woman sits. Must be a slow night for only one person to be in here.
“What are you in here for, hun?” she says, popping her gum.
“Defending myself.” I wrap my arms around my chest. It’s freezing in here and it stinks like urine. I glance down to the floor and can see stains of God knows what. I don’t even want to think what I could pick up with one little swab.
Her snicker makes me look back up at her. “That’s what they all say.” I tilt my head, wondering what the hell she’s talking about.
“I was,” I say.
“Oh, I believe you, sweetie,” she says in an accent. It sounds southern, but not like Texas southern. “I’m just sayin’, that’s the first thing someone says when they’re caught.”
I can’t even comprehend that answer. Caught from what? I look away from her over to the passing guards. A couple of them look over and smile at as they walk by the cell. I roll my eyes and look back to her.
I sigh. I guess talking to her is better than sitting her doing nothing. “So, what are you in for?”
“Defending myself,” she says, her tone serious. I chuckle awkwardly. She’s a weird one. “I know what you’re thinking, our stories are exactly the same. We need to stick together. Girl power.” She throws her fist in the air. I’m not sure if she’s drunk or high, but she’s not right. I look closer and her eyes are dilated, which tells me she’s on something. This keeps getting better and better. I hope Syd finds Aiden soon. “Did you run over your husband, too?” My mouth gapes open before I snap it shut. I giggle to myself, wondering what she would say if I said yes. She stares at me with a serious gaze.
“Um…no.” I shake my head. “I didn’t. I kicked some guy’s ass who sexually assaulted me.”
“Good for you.” She jumps up on her feet. I sit up straighter against the cold cement wall, wondering if she’s going to come over to me. “See, us girls need to stick together. Men are all assholes,” she yells down the hallway.
“Sit down, Barb,” a male’s voice says from around the corner.
“Fuck you, Nate,” she replies and sits back down.
I know I’m going to regret asking, but it seems I don’t have anything better to do. “So, Barb, tell me why you ran over your husband.”