Page 77 of Rum & Coke

My clutch buzzed on my lap, and I opened it, pulling out my cell phone.

Vinny:I’m on my way home. Meet at your place in an hour?

I typed back right away:Let me check with Mel. The party blows.

I rolled my eyes, realizing what I’d typed. “Hey, do you want to stay?” I asked her.

“You want to leave already? We just got here.”

“I know, but—”

Melony looked down at the phone in my lap. “But Vinny’s texting you, and you want to go to your man.”

I grinned. “Yeah.”

“Shouldn’t we at least let Sebastian know we’re here?”

“Shit,” I sighed. He’d given me money to come, and now I was going to leave without letting him know I was here. No matter how I felt about the way he made money, he’d still shown me compassion on a few occasions. Like when he told me to come to him if I ever needed anything, or when he helped me try to figure out who was stalking me. I needed to tell him about the regular who stalked me now that I knew his name.

“You’re right.”

I texted Vinny back:Make it two hours. I’ll text you when we’re leaving.

“Let’s go see if we can find Sebastian and then we can leave.”

“Okay.” Melony took a big sip of her drink, finishing it. “Let’s get another drink too since it’s free alcohol.”

I nodded and stood, sticking my phone back into my purse. As we walked toward the bar, I finished my rum and Coke. Once we were at the bar, we ordered our drinks and then turned to walk away.

“Maybe he’s in the house?” I suggested, walking toward the open entry that was more like a garage door opening than your standard sliding glass door. Just then, Sebastian walked out, Mateo behind him and the two guys from the fight next to him. Sebastian’s gaze met mine, and he smiled.

“Scarlett, Crystal.” He nodded a greeting.

Okay, so I was Scarlett tonight, and Melony was her stripper alias too. “Thanks for having us,” I stated.

He grinned. “Please, make yourself at home. The other girls are upstairs.”

Doing what?“They are?”

“I have a game room, and I’ve been told there’s a high stakes pool tournament happening.”

“Oh.” I blinked. “Want to go check it out?” I turned to Melony.

“Sure,” she replied.

I turned back to Sebastian. “Thanks again for having us.”

“Before you go, let me introduce you to my friends.” Sebastian turned slightly to the men next to him. “Tony, Xavier, this is Scarlett and Crystal. They work for me.”

Tony, the man with gray hair, stepped forward with an outreached hand. I extended my hand and he took it, and kissed the back. “Scarlett, my apologies for not meeting you properly the other night. It’s good to see you again.”

Xavier stepped forward. “Yes, our apologies.”

I eyed Sebastian, wondering what he’d said to his friends to make them apologize.

Tony looked at Sebastian and then back to me. “If you two ever want to make real money, give me a call.”

“That’s enough.” Sebastian chuckled. “You know my girls are off-limits.”