Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Isadora nodded her understanding, then rounded the other club girls up. “Get back in your rooms. We’re still on lockdown. I see anyone else out of their rooms, you’ll join Queenie on her way out.”
“What?” Queenie looked stricken as she looked from Isadora to me. “No! I don’t have anywhere else to go!”
“You can go back to Bones,” Isadora said, unruffled. “If they’ll have you. Once Cain hears about this little stunt, you may be on your own.”
Queenie looked back at Jolene. “Look, I’m sorry, OK? Styx is yours. You won’t get no push back from me anymore.”
“Fuck you,” Jolene spat.
“After everything’s secured, I’ll get some of the girls to clean this up,” Isadora said as she helped Queenie to her feet. “For the record, your girl put up with Queenie longer than I would have. I saw her enter the room when this all started hours ago.”
“You knew she was in my room and didn’t come get me?” My temper was about to redline. I had more important shit to worry about than this.
“Hey. Your girl is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Not sure what Queenie said to set her off, but once Jolene was done, she was done. She physically tossed Queenie out. When Queenie wouldn’t stop…” Isadora shrugged. “Things got a bit more physical. Queenie swung at Jolene. Jolene shoved her head into the wall.” Isadora gestured to the blood spatter on a wooden support.
I couldn’t help but grin. “Good goin’, baby!”
“Don’t you call me baby!” Jolene bit out between clenched teeth. “If you didn’t give her a key, how’d she fuckin’ get in?”
“Stole it. Probably made a copy of her own.”
“Is this how you guys work around here? ’Cause I don’t want any Tom, Dick, or Harry walkin’ into my home without permission.”
Had the situation been different I’d probably have laughed my ass off. But I had a small window, and it was rapidly closing.
“Come with me, Jolene,” I said, putting my arm around her and leaning in to kiss her temple. She halfheartedly batted at me but allowed the contact. I took her into our room and shut the door.
“Don’t bother lockin’ it. Women just come and go as they please around here. I’ll probably walk in here one day, and you’ll be in bed with one of ’em but, oops, baby! I don’t got no idea how she got here. Must’a stole a fuckin’ key!”
“Honey, come sit with me a minute.” I sat on the couch in the living room, but Jolene seemed even more agitated.
“Yeah, if you notice a few scratches in the leather, that’d be your girl out there and her freakishly high heels.”
“Jolene.” I tried to keep hold of my temper. She didn’t need it, but I was struggling. It wasn’t her I was getting agitated at but the situation. I absolutely did not need this drama with a club girl right now. “Just sit with me.”
She continued to pace, her arms wrapped around her as she did. I thought she’d continue to fume over Queenie, but she didn’t. She just paced back and forth for a couple of minutes. While I didn’t have the time for this, not letting her work through whatever she was upset about wasn’t even an option. Finally, she turned to face me. The tears streaking down her face hit me like a sucker punch.
“Baby,” I said, jumping up and going to her. I pulled her into my arms and let her cry. What else could I do?
“Are they dead?” She asked the question so softly I almost didn’t hear it.
“Not yet, baby.” I scooped her up and went to the window seat I knew she loved because it overlooked the sea. She sat on my lap, her arms around my neck, clutching my shirt. “I told you I’d give you the choice to see them if you wanted. I also told you I’d give you that choice before it went too far.” I shook my head. “It’s gone too far. They’re a fuckin’ mess.”
She sucked in a breath, looking at me with large, wide eyes. “Tell me everything,” she demanded, her voice strong, not wavering one little bit even as her chin trembled.
So I did. I glossed over parts of it, but told her they’d suffered every pain she’d suffered. As many indignities we could reasonably manage. Obviously, we couldn’t put out a video of them getting raped or us beating the shit of them, but something similar had been done, and they were in their last hours of life. Maybe even their last few minutes.
“OK,” she said softly. “Do you want me to stay here? To not confront them?”
“No, baby. I don’t want you confront ’em. I want you to just let me and my brothers finish this. Venus and Millie did a better job than any of the rest of us ever could. When I tell you they suffered, I mean they fuckin’ suffered.”