lady’s house into a brothel. For years, they killed the ones who no longer serviced them, and got away with it. Where were the cops?
A knock abruptly ended the debate, and Orion’s constantly wandering mind.
All three of them stiffened, their eyes on the door. Jaclyn and Orion moved forward, no longer at odds. The two of them would always be partners. Sisters in blood.
“Who the fuck could that be?” Jaclyn demanded, trying to sound strong, bored even. But she was afraid. “Maybe the cops?”
Shelby let out a small whimper from the bed.
They were meant to have cops stationed out front and in the back of the hotel to keep them safe, along with one stationed in the lobby. Of course, Orion hadn’t believed the detectives. She didn’t trust anyone outside of the girls in the room.
Thoughts of Thing One flashed in her mind, and with the way Jaclyn’s forehead crinkled with concern, Orion wondered if she was thinking the same.
They hadn’t found them for years, and now Thing One was on the loose.
Another knock rung out, louder this time.
Orion jumped. “I don’t wanna fucking answer it,” she said, creeping closer to the door.
“Maybe it’s your boyfriend,” Jaclyn said, a hand on her hip.
Orion flipped her off.
She pressed her eye against the peephole, not stupid enough to open it, trusting uniformed strangers and one all too familiar detective to keep them safe.
She saw a blonde head, bleached because she could see the roots. A woman. She was somewhat distorted through the peephole, but Orion could see both her bare arms were covered in tattoos.
The woman banged again. “Orion, open the door!” she shouted loud enough to be heard through the door.
Orion jerked back. The woman was not familiar, but she knew her name and where she was.
“Who is that?” Jaclyn demanded.
Instead of answering Jaclyn, Orion slowly opened the door, out of curiosity more than anything.
The woman standing in front of her was smaller than she was. Petite. Heavy makeup but in a way that suited her. A pink bra peeked through her thin cotton tank and she was wearing a ripped denim skirt and combat boots. She should’ve looked ridiculous and kind of skanky, but she made it work. Girlish envy, the same she’d had for Jaclyn that day all those years ago, bubbled within Orion.
The woman blinked rapidly at Orion, putting her shaking hand to her mouth.
Orion stared back. She recognized her best friend, though much had changed. The makeup. The hair. The tattoos that likely gave her parents a heart attack.
“Ri,” April whispered, her voice low and broken. “I can’t believe it’s really you!”
It hit Orion in the stomach, and she had the strongest urge to break down and cry in front of this stranger who used to be her best friend in the whole world. Her only true friend before that horrible day.
Luckily, she didn’t get the chance.
April moved forward to yank her into a bear hug she couldn’t escape from even if she wanted to. Orion couldn’t decide whether she wanted to or not. She didn’t want people touching her. At this point, she wasn’t sure if she wanted anyone to touch her ever again. But other parts of her craved it. A contact that wasn’t designed to hurt, to defile, to damage. A part of her was taken right back to the many hugs of their youth, their closeness, their bond. But she didn’t know how to differentiate.
This woman, April, didn’t let her decide. She just did it.
Orion did not relax into the hug, despite the smell of coconut and cigarettes—exactly how she smelled ten years ago—despite the fact she was warm and gentle. No, she didn’t move because she didn’t know how to be hugged or hug back.
Eventually April let her go, but stayed close, running her eyes up and down the length of Orion’s body, a look of disbelief crossing her features.
Her eyes were glassy but a small, melancholy smile jerked the corners of her lips upward.
“You look . . . the same, almost.” Her hand reached out to her face but stopped short at Orion’s flinch, her hand hovering a moment before moving back. She had pink, chipped nail polish on her fingers. “Your freckles are gone,” she said, little more than a whisper. “But you’re here.”
Orion didn’t know what to say. Did she compliment April’s outfit? Her tattoos? Ask her about her life that she got to have while Orion’s was stolen from her? Something in her ached to figure out a