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Carla’s, Tina’s, and Sasha’s heads snapped toward the front door.

“Are you expecting company?”

“No.”

Tina turned back to her, and when Carla didn’t move, Tina rose to her feet and went to the front door.

Seconds later, Phoebe glided into the room with Tina by her side. “I have something you should see.”

Carla moved to her feet as Phoebe scanned the room. “Where’s your laptop?”

“It’s in my bedroom.”

Phoebe strutted quickly to Carla’s flat-screen TV and glanced behind it.

“Never mind, your TV has a USB port. Turn it on.” Carla grabbed the remote and powered on the TV. “I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you, but the judge is backed up with subpoena requests, it seems.”

Phoebe grabbed the remote from Carla and flipped to the right mode to see the USB video. When she got there, the interior of the Velvet Café came into view. Phoebe fast-forwarded the recording.

“There’s us!” Tina shouted, pointing at the girls talking, laughing, then heading to the dance floor.

When they came off the dance floor, Phoebe played the video. The audio couldn’t be heard, but they were witnessing the activity around them. Lennox approached in a blue baseball cap, but he wasn’t immediately identifiable because he kept his head out of sight until he and Carla strolled to the bar.

He ordered Carla a drink, then glanced up as if searching for something. That was the first time his face came into view. Carla looked toward her girls, and Lennox lifted his hand and dropped something into her drink. It took all of five seconds that she’d been distracted, and immediately when she turned back to him, she lifted the alcohol and drank it.

“Oh, my God.” Tina glanced at Carla.

“It was never the joint. It was the drink,” Carla whispered in disbelief.

“He slipped you a mickey,” Tina said, astonished.

The video continued.

“Okay, this is going to flip to outside of the club,” Phoebe said.

They were on the corner, speaking back and forth. The joint was in Carla’s hand, then she rocked back and forth and dropped to the ground.

“Oh my God!” Tina shouted.

The three of them watched in horror as Lennox lifted her from the concrete, tossed her over his shoulder, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then slip off into the darkness with her.

Carla’s lips tightened, and she began to shake.

“I’M. GOING. TO. KILL. HIM!”

She ran from the living room to a back room and came back out with a baseball bat. Then she headed straight for the front door.

Chapter Thirty

Tina and Phoebe ran to jump in front of Carla.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tina shouted.

“Tina Braddon, get out of my way!”

“Shit, all right, you could’ve asked nicely.” Tina moved out of Carla’s way, not wanting to be behind the uncontrollable anger that stirred in her friend’s eyes.

“What a minute!” Phoebe exclaimed, holding her hands out at Carla and cutting her eyes at Tina.