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It was two days later when I checked my phone and found six missed calls from Gina. I called her back while Titan, Cruz, and Storm gathered at the pool to discuss detailed plans.

“Girl!” Gina’s voice burst through the line. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for days!”

“Sorry, girl. I’ve been busy training.”

“Training?” She paused. “What kind of training are we talking about?”

I eyed my reflection in the mirror, noting the marks the men had left on my skin. The woman staring back at me was different from the one Gina knew—harder, darker, and more dangerous.

“The kind that changes you,” I said finally.

“Damn.” She whistled. “That’s cryptic as fuck. You gonna explain or keep being mysterious?”

I chuckled. “First, you tell me what you’ve been up to. Did you get that grant to expand your salon?”

“Maybe.”

I squinted. “Did you or did you not?”

“I did get the grant.”

“That’s great!”

“But!” she shouted. “I’m not expanding right now.”

My excitement waned. “Why, what happened?”

“I need it to pay some bills around here. My mortgage has gone up, and it’s the relief I need to make my life a little bit more seamless.”

“Gina, if you needed money, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Girl, what did you think me applying for the grant meant?”

“That you were trying to expand, and you wanted to see if you could get free money, not that you were in need.”

“I have ambitions to expand, and I’ve got a five-year plan to get there, but right now, this is where the money is needed.”

I sighed, sat in a chair, and crossed my legs.

“Do you need more money?”

“I could use more. But I’m good for now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Girl, I’m not about to be taking big money from you like that anyway.”

I scrunched my nose. “Why?”

“Would you take it from me if the tables were turned?”

“Yes.”

“Lie again.”

I cracked a smile and laughed. “Okay, you got me, but that’s not the point.”

“It’s exactly the point.”

“Okay, what if I said I have a way for you to make some money?”

“I’d say… I’m listening.”

I snickered. “Okay. I’m doing a part-time gig at Club Velvet soon, and I could use your help.”

“Club Velvet? A gig? Oh, you have been holding out fa sho!”

I bit my bottom lip but held back my laugh.

“Why you been holding out on me like that, Santari?!”

“I’m trying to let you in on it now if you’ll be calm and let me finish.”

“I can’t believe you.” She made noises with her lips, and I giggled deeply.

“Please, with the theatrics.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“There’s a masquerade party happening at Club Velvet, and I’m going to be a bottle girl.

If you want to assist me, you can be a bottle girl.

We’ll be serving drinks to the most important men in the building.

The ones with heavy pockets. So tips will be big.

You will make cash on hand, and the gig pays five figures for three hours on top of that. What do you say?”

“I say… hell yeah.”

I laughed.

“But also, shit, are you broke, too? What’s up?”

“Oh girl, no. But I wanted to try something spontaneous, so this is it.”

Honestly, I hated lying to Gina. She was my girl.

But I couldn’t very well tell her that we were getting ready to go in and poison these niggas to cripple Pandora’s Box’s money operations.

That would freak her out, and then she’d wonder what I’d gotten myself into.

And if only she knew, it was more about what had gotten into me.

I smiled as Gina continued to talk. She was down, and I was ready for us to make our debut.

“First, you’ve got to come over and get our makeup and hair ready. I’ve got our costumes.”

“Oh, you just knew I was going to say yes, huh?”

“If you didn’t, I would’ve hired somebody to help.”

“Mmhmm. Okay. I’m there, girl. When do you need me?”

“Tomorrow night.”