Ready for me.
I try to cover that provocative image with a vision of her covered in blood, to tell myself that this is what I want—to see her die—but her bloody face contorts in a moan of lust as if I’ve just penetrated her with my girth.
I go into a trance.
When I come back to my senses, I’m in my van again, parked across the street from her house. Waiting for her shadow to appear in the window.
I shouldn’t be here. I tell myself that she’s ripping the control straight out of my hands.
In reality, I know I’m giving her that power, and I don’t fucking like it.
I can’t fight it.
But as long as I keep my distance, we’ll both be safe.
CHAPTER2
LILY
present
“She didn’t tell you?”Mr. Harry says with a sly grin. He pushes back his gray hair. “I thought you two were besties.”
The urge to scowl builds inside of me. Instead of letting it out, I shove my breasts in his face. This isn’t the first time one of my friends has disappeared, but at least in the past, there was a social media note explaining that she had eloped with her drug-dealer boyfriend.
But Piper?
Piper and I have been inseparable for years, and the last text I got from her said that she was going to strip in Cancun. I don’t believe it, though. That’s a big move—she would’ve asked me to strip with her.
Maybe she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore.
No. That doesn’t make sense. If I offended her to the point where she suddenly wanted to end our friendship, she’s not the type of person to let it go like that. She has to have the last word. And we promised we’d be there for each other, even when things got hard.
So where the hell is she?
“I’m just jealous,” I lie. “I’ve always wanted to go to Cancun. Of course that skank went without me.”
Mr. Harry laughs again, then rubs my shoulders. I moan, pretending I like it.
“Sweetheart, tell me,” Mr. Harry croons. He leans forward, putting his lips against my ear. “Are you afraid she left you behind?”
My stomach clenches. She was the only person who was there for me when my parents kicked me out, and it hurts to think that she abandoned me too.
I don’t want to admit that, especially not to a customer like Mr. Harry.
I raise a brow, playing up the coy flirtation that Mr. Harry likes.
“Didn’t she hang out withyoubefore she left?” I ask. Piper rarely meets customers outside of the club, so whatever Mr. Harry said to get her to agree to the meeting, it had to be important.
Why would she disappear right after that?
Mr. Harry’s smile drops. “What are you suggesting?”
“Maybe she told you something.” I shrug innocently. “Don’t you have a vacation home in Cancun?”
Mr. Harry tilts his head, a smirk once again painting his lips. “Now, why would I keep secrets from you?”
I laugh like this is one big joke, when inside, his response only solidifies my intuition. Something is wrong here, and Piper is in trouble. Mr. Harry is one of those men with so much money and power, he could do a lot of messed up shit, and no one would bat an eyelash.
