Page 139 of On A Manhunt: Complete Series

MALLORY

“What do you mean you’re crashing at a Vegas call girl’s apartment?” Bridge asked. It was Saturday and I was at her and Mav’s place for lunch. She’d pulled me into one of the downstairs bathrooms when I told her my plans around Tuesday’s court appearance.

The guys–including Silas who’d flown up for the weekend–were out on the patio manning the grill.

While it was a cold day–the snow had barely melted from the storm–Mav was cooking hamburgers.

They’d shifted their dinner to lunchtime since I was working behind the bar for Arlo tonight.

I’d made good tips the night before, enough to hopefully cover the lawyer’s fee.

Even though the guys were outside, she’d dragged me to the other end of the house. It was great she was ensuring my secret stayed just that, a secret, but I was more inclined to think she was afraid we’d be interrupted.

“I’m crashing at a Vegas call girl’s apartment,” I confirmed.

She pushed her glasses up her nose and looked at me like I was crazy.

Maybe I was, and not just for the sleepover with my new hooker friends.

The night before, the police had cut off the very loud, very amazing sex with Theo.

When she’d dragged me in here, at first I thought it was because she’d heard about that.

But no. It was about my arrest and ensuing court date.

I had no idea who I was any longer. It was sex, sex, sex. Having sex, having sex loud enough for the cops to be called, being arrested for selling my body for sex. Sex.

Sex with Theo though, gah. I melted for him. Craved him. Liked him.

“What?”

“What do you mean, what?” she pushed.

“They’re my friends.” I thought of Annie and Trixie and how they’d kept me from freaking out being put in jail that night. It had been really flipping scary. Until they started chatting me up and gave me sexy times tips that had come in very handy.

“Are you serious?”

“Don’t be judgy.”

“I’m not judgy,” she countered, absently straightening a hand towel. The powder room was as posh as the rest of the house, with a frosted window to let in tons of light and a heated toilet seat. “They’re strangers.”

“They’re my friends,” I repeated. “You forget I can make friends anywhere.”

She huffed. “Like in lockup?”

“Exactly,” I countered, a little hurt. She made it sound like I was a serial offender, where I hung out on a Saturday night to catch up just for fun. “Both women are really nice. I needed to find a local lawyer to represent me and they’re the only people I know in the city to get a referral.”

“Did they find you one?”

I nodded, then smiled. “Yeah, and she–the lawyer–said she’d represent me. Cheap.”

Trixie had connected me with the woman, and we’d talked for a short time about my case.

That it would be a quick ten minutes in court, and she was sure the charges would be dropped.

She’d charge me only for the time before the judge, since she would already be at the courthouse for Trixie’s and Annie’s hearings.

Bridge eyed me warily. “Cheap like you’re going to end up doing hard time because she’s incompetent or cheap because she feels sorry for you?”

“Probably the latter.” I thought for a moment because she was making me doubt myself, and the lawyer. “Hopefully not the first.”

“Mal,” she sighed.

“If Annie and Trixie haven’t had any charges stick and they really are soliciting, then I feel confident she’ll get me off.” I did. I did. Aspen’s manifesting in action.

She was quiet for a moment. “What’s your plan then?”

“I’m driving down on Monday. Crash on Annie’s couch that night. My court appearance is at nine-thirty on Tuesday morning. Then I’ll drive back.”

I checked and the flight cost so much more than it would to drive.

“You can use Mav’s jet, I’m sure,” she offered, sounding like someone becoming used to the very good things in life. Most people offered a shop vac or a ladder, not an airplane.

I wasn’t looking forward to the thirteen hours on the highway…

round trip, and I knew how nice the private jet was, but there was no way I could use it.

I’d been ignoring Cheryl because I had no money to give her.

I didn’t want to hear her mean words or excuses, so I just didn’t respond to her consistent texting and voicemails.

I wasn’t going to take advantage of Mav. Or any of the James brothers for their plane. I hadn’t earned it and while I was sleeping with Theo, it wasn’t a relationship. He’d made that clear with the whole cum, clean up, and clear out routine. We were nothing like Bridge and Mav.

“Not a chance.”

“I’ll go with you then,” she offered. “Road trip.”

I shook my head. “You have school.”

“So do you.”

“I took it off.”

“I’ll take it off.”

“You can’t explain a spontaneous Monday trip to Vegas with me to Mav. Especially when we’ll only be in town less than twelve hours. Not happening.”

“I’ll just tell him it’s a secret.”

I gave her a look. “Like that’s going to go over with him. He’ll get the truth out of you one or another.”

A flush spread up her cheeks. “Probably true.”

“I’ll be gone two days and it will be over.”

She sighed. Hard. “Fine. But if things go wrong and you need money, you will come to me.”

I nodded, but that wasn’t going to happen. I would not be like Cheryl. I got myself into this mess, I was going to get myself out of it.