you do?”
My mind blanked.
What will I do? I had to take care of my family. My waitressing gig wasn’t paying much these days, and it wasn’t as if high school dropouts had a lot of options. I still had a little money stashed away from better times.
But that won’t get us far.
Techno music blared from the speakers out front.
Havana uncoiled her whip. “That’s my cue.”
Nodding goodbye, I headed to the dressing area. A thick cloud of coconut-scented body spray hung over the narrow room. Six makeup vanity mirrors competed for space with the rows of lockers behind them. I waved to Cami, who was doing her makeup in the back, and made my way to my chair.
I started to sit but thankfully remembered to unstrap my wings before I crushed them. Those damn things cost a pretty penny, not that I didn’t have a backup pair. I glanced in the mirror at the black tattoo of angel wings that covered my back from the tops of my shoulders to the base of my spine. Getting inked hurt like a bitch, but it was a fitting tribute to the older sister I’d lost.
I hung the fluffy white wings on a nearby hook and collapsed into my chair. After kicking off my stilettos, I rubbed my feet and tried to remember a time when they didn’t ache.
A naked pair of double Ds brushed my cheek.
Seriously? I glared up at the tiny blonde woman standing over me. “Get your tits out of my face, Cami.”
She laughed and took a step back. “Jealous?”
I raised a brow.
“Okay. I’m the jealous one. You have a better rack and you didn’t even have to pay for it.”
I reached into my G-string, pulled out the crumpled one-dollar bills, and slapped them on the counter. “Fat lot of good they did me tonight. Twenty bucks, and I didn’t pull in much more at my shift at Hooters. At this rate, I won’t make rent.”
Her forehead furrowed. “You know, you could always join me doing escort work. You’d make great money.”
Not this again. I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t give me that look. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. It’s not like we’re hookers or anything.”
I raised my brow again.
“Fine. If you want to make the good money, you do a few… things. Men would pay top dollar to pop that cherry of yours. I’m talking four or five Gs, baby girl.”
I rested my head on my hands.
Is this what it has come to? Bartering my virginity?
I felt Cami’s hand on my shoulder. “You look tired. Forget I said anything.” She paused. “Have you seen the news?”
“No. Why?”
The fact that she didn’t say anything right away was clue enough that something was up. I lifted my gaze to meet her cornflower blue eyes in the mirror. “Why, Cami?”
She fiddled with the tiny plaid skirt she wore. “Best Friends staged a rally earlier tonight.”
At the mention of my sister’s animal rights group, my stomach tightened. “Eden said they were just meeting for coffee.”
Cami set her bubblegum-pink, gem-encrusted cell phone down on the counter in front of me. A video from the local news station played.
I peered into the tiny screen.
A distinguished-looking male reporter cleared his throat. “Around the country reports of canine flu vaccine reactions are emerging. At least twenty deaths have been linked to the long-awaited vaccine, and several hospitals, including our own Saguaro Valley General, have reported bizarre cannibalistic behavior among a subset of recently vaccinated. The Food and Drug Administration along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have denied the vaccine has played any role in these—”
Cami snatched her phone. “Holy crap. I got my vaccine earlier today. Oh, my God. I thought the injection site looked weird. Does it look strange to you?” She held up her left arm. Colorful tattoos covered it from shoulder to wrist.
I scoffed. “Like I can see anything under all that ink.”
She poked at her skin. “It feels numb, and I swear there are a bunch of black veins there. I never should’ve let my sister blackmail me into getting that vaccine. Everyone knows vaccines are full of toxic chemicals. Just the other day I saw a post that said—”
“Enough with your conspiracy theories.” I tugged the phone back and pressed the play button. The video continued.
“And in local news, an animal rights group clashed with police at the Canine Memorial Fountain in Heritage Square earlier this evening. The group, Best Friends for Life, has been vocal