Page 40 of Convict’s Game (Skeleton Crew #1)

Lovelyn set down her glass. “I can tell you why she’s not being treated as a priority.

Sex workers never are. It’s common practice for police to overlook or even ignore those they consider to be on the lowest rung of society.

Mostly because everyone else does, too. If my father came across a prostitute lying in the street, he’d more likely step over her than offer help. ”

The set of her jaw told me exactly how she felt about that.

I was stuck on the sex worker label. It made sense, yet it made me feel even worse for Esther.

I asked, “Why do you think she was murdered? Couldn’t she have just fallen into the water and drowned?”

Cassie’s eyes flashed with intrigue. “Would you strip off every piece of clothing and go for a swim in Deadwater Harbour on a cold spring night? I find it hard to believe that Esther did.”

My mouth fell open. “She was naked?”

Cassie nodded. “Lovelyn told me on the phone earlier. Isn’t that right?”

Lovelyn confirmed it. “Naked aside from a bracelet of plastic beads. My father is not a fan of paperwork, and he often gives it to me to manage. Therefore, I have access to all the systems, so I can do some digging.” She winced and peeked my way.

“It could be difficult to hear when it’s about someone you were friends with. ”

The bracelet sounded like the one Esther had taken from Annabelle when we were in the holding cell. “No, it’s fine. We weren’t friends. I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but I’m not sure she liked me all that much.”

The half a cocktail I’d consumed loosened my tongue, and I found myself spilling the history I had with Esther, from teenage years until when I’d gone to her to find Jacobs. Then onto the auction, and her presumed role in what happened to me after.

Genevieve held her hand over the jewelled choker at her throat, her only embellishment to a little black dress, aside from a huge diamond engagement ring and a shiny wedding band. “She helped them use you? To what end?”

I couldn’t talk about going into the game, so I hedged the question. “I’m not sure, and now, I’ll never know.”

What I really wanted to talk about was how Convict rescued me, but I was already deep into oversharing and risked messing up. Instead, I gave them the link to my family concerns, explaining that I’d been in turmoil after the funeral and how I knew Esther.

“I asked for her help in finding a man called Rhys Jacobs who’s manipulating my grandmother.

She led me to trouble instead. Convict’s now helping to find Jacobs, and once we have him, I’ll finally be able to work out why he’s messing with my family.

I’ll never be able to ask Esther why she did what she did. ”

With the words said, I felt…lighter. No one judged me for the crazy actions I’d taken in my desperation and grief. They only seemed intrigued, even if they only knew half of it.

At school, I’d had a good group of girlfriends but had lost touch when I’d moved to private school under my grandparents’ guiding hands. There, they’d encouraged me to befriend specific girls whose families they approved of, but those relationships hadn’t lasted.

I wanted a friendship group. I didn’t know if it could be these women, but for another three weeks, I was tied to a member of their crew. Maybe this was another way to make the best of it.

We’d moved to the sofas mid-chat, and Everly handed out a tray of pizza bites. The curvy brunette stared at the food with one hand to her belly then leapt up and bolted across the room.

Genevieve stared after her. “Morning sickness. She’s suffered it for months. It should be stopping soon, but any child of Shade’s is going to be trouble.” She arched an eyebrow at me. “Talking of difficult men, Mila, come help me mix the next round of drinks.”

I joined her in the kitchen area. Genevieve set me up at a chopping board and handed me a bowl of limes.

She fetched ice from a tall freezer and cracked it into the shaker. “You asked about the game rules and how they bring you closer. No one else here, but you and I have been through it, so I wanted to share the wisdom I’ve gained.”

I swallowed and nodded.

She picked up the bottle of tequila. “I didn’t love Arran when we were first tied together.

Like I said, he drove me crazy, but the feelings hit hard as the weeks passed.

It’s to do with the closeness and the bond that gets forged by the experience.

If two people are together every day for a period of time, and by together I mean intimate, not just work colleagues or friends, they connect.

Thirty days is how long it takes to fall in love with that kind of intensity, and by all accounts, the game does that job very successfully. ”

“It does?”

“No couple has ever broken up.”

I blinked, stalling in my task of juicing the limes. Her words rang louder than the party chatter. I wasn’t sure if it was a promise or a threat.

“There are so many women who sign up for it and who are willing to do whatever it takes. Some don’t like the man who catches them at first, but that changes. I’m explaining this to you because, like me, I’m guessing you didn’t opt into the experience.”

I closed my eyes. She’d read between the lines so easily. “I…”

“It’s okay. Arran already knows. Tyler had been updating him daily on Convict’s health and the work he was doing, then he stopped short once the game had taken place. It was no surprise that you were the woman he emerged with. Arran predicted it.”

“He won’t kick him out for it?”

“He loves him. When we were on our honeymoon, he opened up about when they met at a fight club in Edinburgh, down by the docks.”

I gave a weak laugh. “We have a warehouse there. Maybe we crossed paths.”

“Maybe you did. Like with the game, Arran and Convict fought and bled together. I’m pretty sure your man could do anything right now and Arran would forgive it.

Let’s just say he’s come a long way in managing his very big and very strong emotions.

So back to you. I’m not prying, but I know exactly what you’ve been through and I’m walking proof that it all comes good. ”

“I don’t hate Convict. He’s just…”

“Infuriating?”

“An excellent word.”

Everly returned from the bathroom and settled on the sofa. Lovelyn rubbed her arm.

I twisted my lips and told Genevieve, “He kept my brother here without me knowing. How am I supposed to forgive that? I know he’s in a gang, but I’m not. I’ve never been near this world.”

“Neither had I before Arran, and he and Shade did something very similar to Riordan. He’s my brother, if you didn’t know. They didn’t hurt him, and I got over it because he did and because it’s part of the life. You get addicted to the gang shit, believe me.”

I finished with the limes, and Genevieve added the juice to the tequila and triple sec.

She shook the shaker then poured. “I’m telling you this because one, I can see that you’re struggling, and two, if you really don’t want this world and the man you’re tied to, you should get out now.

Before more time progresses and the love comes. ”

My shoulders dropped. “I don’t want to leave him.”

“Right. Then piss him off in exchange and you’ll feel better.”

I laughed in surprise, and Cassie joined us, taking two of the glasses. “Is that Convict? If he’s driving you around the bend, do the same to him. Let him wonder where the hell you’re going so he flies into a panic.”

I angled my head in question. “Where am I going?”

“We’ve established that Esther died in suspicious circumstances and that you know some of her history. Do you know where she lived?”

I nodded. She’d mentioned a block of flats when I’d asked to meet up, though we’d ended up making the arrangements over the phone.

“Excellent. That plus a chat with the other women who were in the auction with you is a must to give us intelligence. Who bought them, what did they know of the deceased, and what rumours have they heard since? I feel a field trip coming on. Charge your glasses, ladies.”

A clamour of answers started, Everly crying off at leaving the warehouse, Lovelyn excited about investigating the police angle, and Cassie narrating the text she was sending her boyfriend who’d act as our security.

She winked at me. “If Convict freaks out, tell him it’s part of the Skeleton Girls curriculum: Field Trips and Fuck Yous.”

I stared between them. “Wait. How will Convict know that I’ve left?”

Cassie snickered, and Genevieve covered her mouth. Even a queasy-looking Everly smiled.

Cassie gave me the answer. “If he isn’t tracking your every move, then he doesn’t deserve the title of skeleton crew. Trust me, he’ll know.”