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I picked the photo up, trying to remember what Heath had been like that night. Had there been signs I’d overlooked? Something that gave away that deep inside, the man was capable of taking a life?
I should have known. I should have seen something. Instead, I’d gotten drunk and sung along with the band.
I hurled the photo frame across the room. It hit the wall, glass exploding and raining down over the floor. And then I slid down beside it, an empty scream of pain hollowing out my lungs.
* * *
Ispent most of the day there on the floor, too numb to feel the pins and needles in my legs. Too tired to try walking up the stairs to my bed. By the time night fell, the emptiness in my stomach from lack of food and water became a grumble I couldn’t ignore.
But it was more than just those basic bodily needs. When I got in my car with the intent of just heading to a fast-food restaurant to grab a burger and fries, I found myself driving to Saint View Strip.
I stared up at the neon-pink sign for a long moment, trying to decipher why I’d driven here. With no answers, I decided to just go with my gut.
It was still early, though a blasting beat thumped through the walls and out into the parking lot. There was no bouncer on the door yet, but it was unlocked, so I let myself inside. The dark interior grew lighter as I wandered down the hall until it opened up into the main room. Tables and chairs were scattered around the lower level, and a wide stage with several dancers’ poles took up one side of the room.
“Get fucked. What the hell are you doing here?”
I recognized the woman with flaming-red hair. She’d been arrested at the church rally, and she’d been here the night Jayela and I had searched the club. She glared at me now, eyes narrowed with hate.
Her accusation caught the attention of the big blond guy.
He looked up from his conversation with the DJ and came storming across the room. “Get the hell out. We’re sick of this bullshit. You think you can just walk in here and mess the place up whenever you feel like it? How many times have we gotta tell you? We aren’t doing anything illegal. This is harassment. So like I said. Get the hell out.”
They were right. I was out of line being here. Of course they hated my guts. We’d arrested them, searched the club, and accused them of things when there was no proof. I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I’d gone along with the search, even though I’d known that warrant wasn’t legally obtained.
Coming here tonight had been a mistake. I held my hands up, trying to show I meant no harm. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. He was a brick wall of a man, completely blocking me from getting any farther into the club. “Good. Adios. Don’t come back.”
I turned away, feeling like a fool. What the hell had I been thinking?
“Boston?”
The sound of Eve’s voice was an instant balm to the ache in my chest. It was like throwing water over a fire, then enjoying the slow, rolling rise of the smoke. It wrapped around me, a blanket warding off the chill that had been threatening to engulf me all day.
And that was why I’d come. I might not have known it in the moment, but something deep inside me had sought her out.
There wasn’t the same venom in her tone. Only curiosity.
“The pig was just leaving. Oink oink. On your way.”
Eve shoved the guy out of the way. “Shut up, Augie.” She pushed past him, coming to a stop by my side. She peered up at me, her big brown eyes full of questions.
A rush of emotion threatened to take me down. The kindness there, the concern. I didn’t deserve any of it. “I was just going.”
“I’m more interested in knowing why you’re here in the first place?”
I couldn’t tell her I’d subconsciously sought her out because I was broken and she felt like a healing balm. “I just want to drink.”
She must have seen something in my eyes. “I’m working tonight. But you can drink at the bar. Plenty of alcohol there.”
Augie whirled on her. “Eve! Are you serious? Have you forgotten that the last time this prick was here he trashed the place trying to prove we’re running a sex club?”
Eve fixed him with a hard glare. “Last I checked, I own this club. If I say he can drink at the bar, he can drink at the bar.”
Augie’s jaw went hard. “This is a mistake.” Then he stomped out, disappearing into the backstage area.
We watched him go, and then I turned back to Eve. “I can leave. I don’t want to cause any problems for you.”
