Page 18

Chapter Seventeen

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Satan Met a Lady

Gina knocked again; no answer. Where the hell is Marcella? Even though it was super late, everyone knew she barely slept. Gina stamped her feet to warm up; she probably should’ve put on real clothes instead of just grabbing a beanie and throwing a jacket over her PJs. But she’d expected Marcella to come through for her.

No such luck. Frustrated, she tried again to take a hit off her vape pen but got nothing. The cartridge was completely empty, and it was her last one. Gina groaned. She’d crashed out after everyone took off, thanks to a couple shots of tequila and a Xanax. But a few hours later she snapped awake, convinced she’d heard a noise. She’d spent a half hour trying to get back to sleep before finally giving up. Figured she’d stay up smoking and scrolling but then realized she’d drained her nic pen.

And now she was fully awake and itching for it, and Marcella wasn’t answering. Which meant she had to go all the way to the corner store for a new cartridge.

Gina sighed and shuffled through the parking lot in her platform UGGs. None of the lights were on in the rooms around her, and the street ahead was empty. The wind had picked up, and it cut straight through the thin material of her pajama bottoms. She swore under her breath. The past couple days had been truly fucking awful. First that creep knocked her out and shaved her head. Then all the drama tonight, and the way Marcella had treated her, as if it was her fault that some idiot was squatting there. Of course she’d assumed they were a team and this was all part of their plan. And yeah, maybe she shouldn’t have taken the guy’s money in exchange for showing him the room. But it wasn’t like she was getting paid to watch the front desk; she’d basically been forced into doing it “as a favor.”

Whatever. At least she’d gotten twenty bucks out of it.

From here on out, Marcella could answer her own damn phone. As it was, Gina was probably going to have to get a job, something temporary just to cover basic expenses. She sure as hell wouldn’t be earning much until her hair grew back; the convention crowd wasn’t going to pony up cash for a bald chick. Gina scratched at the hat; even the cotton irritated her scalp. All in all, her life totally sucked right now, and no one seemed to care.

Gina yanked open the door of the all-night bodega and went straight to the counter. “You got watermelon cartridges?”

The old guy behind the counter nodded and reached up to grab one. “This’ll give you popcorn lungs, you know.” He made an exploding motion with one hand. “Like that. Little holes all through ’em.”

“So fucking what,” Gina snarled.

The guy shrugged, taking the twenty. “Just sayin’.”

“Yeah, well, mind your own fuckin’ business,” Gina grumbled, snatching the cartridge off the counter. As she stomped back toward the motel, she ripped open the wrapping and tossed it on the ground. Screw that guy, screw Marcella, and screw everyone else in this shitty fucking town. Maybe it was time to move back to Tempe. She could crash with Belinda for a while. Work the fancy hotel bars in Scottsdale. Less competition there anyway; she could probably make a killing.

Distracted by trying to slot the new cartridge into the vape pen, Gina didn’t notice the car tailing her. Not until she stopped to take a hit and caught movement in her peripheral vision. Turning, she startled; the guy who had asked to see the room was right behind her. He smiled wolfishly, showing all his teeth.

“Fuck!” Gina gasped. “You scared me!”

He tutted. “You really shouldn’t employ such coarse language. It’s not ladylike.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled, taking him in. He was average height, pretty old, and dressed in a bulky parka and corduroys. Just like earlier, he looked harmless enough. But harmless guys didn’t follow you around in the middle of the night, did they? Gina dug around in her coat pocket for the pepper spray; with a sinking feeling, she realized she’d left it in the office.

Gina stepped back to put some distance between them, and his eyes narrowed. “I imagine you’re surprised to see me. But then, we have some unfinished business, don’t we?”

“Nah, I showed you the room,” she said, edging back farther. “You want to see it again, it’s another twenty.”

He cocked his head to the side. “That glimpse was hardly worth what I paid, don’t you think? And I must say, your behavior was very rude. Someone should teach you some manners.”

His voice went hard on that last bit in a way Gina definitely didn’t like.

“Fuck you,” she spat, turning to bolt. But she barely got two feet before tripping on her pajamas. She went sprawling, scraping her palms and sending the vape pen skittering away. Suddenly panicked, she scrambled, trying to regain her footing.

She was yanked back up by her jacket. She yelped and then felt something sharp at the base of her spine. “That is an extremely sharp knife you’re feeling, and if I press harder, you will never walk again,” he said softly. “Now then. You and I are going to have a little chat. Then we’ll get down to business.”