“Do you know the best way to drink a shot of tequila?” she continued. I finally looked over at her as she sat next to me. I did know the best way—everyone knew. I cracked a smile because I couldn’t help it.
“Off a woman.”
She shook her head no. “Not off any woman. Off of me.”
I laughed. “Off of you?”
“Yep.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep, but first—”
“Get out of here, Candy.”
Her eyes became huge. Without a word, she huffed and left. I turned and stood. “What the fuck?” I didn’t want Candy, but seriously, what if I’d wanted to fuck her brains out until I couldn’t remember my own name? It wasn’t as if I was coming back to this dump again. I wasn’t even in Malibu. I’d driven down the Pacific Coast until I knew I wouldn’t see anyone familiar before I stopped to get my drink on.
“Listen, kid. If you want the herp, then you can fuck Candy, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that’s not your thing.” His gaze flicked down to the dog tags on my chest. “And at fifty bucks, she’s a cheap hooker too.”
I blinked.
He laughed. “Do you have fifty bucks?”
I shook my head. I didn’t. I was spending my last few bucks on my drinks. Sure the Army was giving me money, but it wasn’t enough.
“Would you like a job?”
I finally found my voice. “You’re offering me a job?”
“I’m not sure yet. We should talk. My name’s Bobby.” He reached out his hand for me to shake.
The next day I’d met Bobby at his office in Malibu and he talked to me about Saddles & Racks and what they had to offer. He was the LA head person and Mark was the Vegas person.
“Why was he at a shit bar?” Nancy asked.
I laughed. “I asked him the same thing. He said it was where he found all his recruits. Like diamonds in the rough or some shit.”
“But not Candy.”
We both laughed. “No, not Candy. Thank God for Bobby or I might have the herp.” I was half-joking. I might have had enough money for her to blow me that night.
“Things happen for a reason.”
“Yeah, they do.”
We ordered another round of drinks, talked some more, and then I convinced Nancy to leave with me so her friends would think we were hooking up and I walked her to her car.
When I got home to my empty house, my phone buzzed with a text from Mark.
Mark: You okay with a new roommate?
Well, shit, that was fast.
Me: Yeah sure, whatever.
Mark: Cool. Andy will be there next week sometime.
Chapter Five
Joselyn
It had been twelve years since I’d been back to Miami. Since the night I fled, I hadn’t returned. When the taxi dropped me off at the bus station, I bought a one-way ticket to Washington D.C.
I’d barely made the last bus for the night, and when I asked how long it would take for me to get there, I wasn’t expecting to be told twenty-seven hours. I had no clothes other than what I was wearing. No toothbrush, no brush to comb my hair, no food—nothing. Luckily, I had the wad of cash I’d stolen from Marco and I had over thirteen hundred dollars left after my bus ticket. Who the hell carried that much cash on them? Maybe it was to pay for our date. I had a feeling it wasn’t, though. I didn’t know Tony, but the way he was dressed, the way he spoke to me, the limo he picked me up in, and his bodyguard Jose all indicated that one’s virginity was worth more than a few hundred dollars, especially if he were splitting it with my mother. The hotel room probably cost more for one night than the cash in Marco’s wallet.
The bus pulled to a stop, jolting and squeaking, causing me to wake.
“We’re here.”
I looked to my left toward Alison. She had become my friend in the short amount of time we’d traveled from Miami to D.C. She hadn’t asked why I was crying when she’d first met me. Instead, she’d started talking to me at our first rest stop about poutine fries she’d had in Canada, and she made me laugh. Gravy and cheese curds on French fries? What had the world come to? She swore up and down that it was the best thing ever and that I needed to try it. I was a chili and cheese girl myself. Granted that was only in the summer when Seth treated me.
“What time is it?” I yawned.
“Almost two in the morning.”
Where the hell was I supposed to go at two in the morning? I had no way of contacting Seth. I didn’t know what precinct he was at. Didn’t know his phone number, where he lived, or if he was even on duty.
I nodded and stood, ready to get off the bus and wander around a city I didn’t know.
“Do you need my mom to take you somewhere?” Alison asked.
“My friend should be here to pick me up,” I lied. How would I explain to her mother why I was dressed like a hooker? How would I tell her I needed to go to every police station until I found Seth? I felt as if I had a big sign above my head and it was flashing that I was just sold to the highest bidder.
“Want us to wait until they show up?”
We began walking down the aisle toward the front of the bus in a single file. “No, no, it’s late. I’m sure he’s here.”
“Give me your cell number and I’ll program mine. We should hang out sometime.”
I almost began to cry again. I wanted so badly to be normal. I was seventeen and I should have a cell phone. This day and age practically everyone had a cell phone. “I—”
Her gaze met mine. “Silly me. You probably left it with your stuff in Miami. Let me find some paper and a pen and I’ll write mine down for you.” I knew I would never call her. The less people knew who I was and knew I was in D.C., the better.
I didn’t know if she did it on purpose, but I was grateful she was quick not to question why I didn’t have a phone or any belongings. I was sure she saw it written on my imaginary neon sign that I was a hot mess. I felt as if I were one. I was broken and still sore as fuck between my legs. My feet hurt like a bitch in those god awful heels too. I couldn’t wait until I got to take a nice long bath followed by a long cry in a bed before I slept for a week.
After Alison and her mother left, I grabbed a waiting taxi and asked to be taken to the closest police station. The driver eyed me through the rearview mirror. It didn’t faze me. The last forty-eight hours had been the worst of my life and having another taxi driver wonder what was going on with me wasn’t bothering me one bit. I was finally in the same city as my best friend. Granted it was a huge city and I had no idea where he was.
I stared out the window watching the orange streetlights as the driver took me to the precinct. Theoretically, I didn’t know if it was the closest one to the bus station, but it didn’t matter. What were the odds that I’d walk in and it’d be Seth’s station? What were the odds that he’d be on duty at this hour or even at the station?