of all the places to stay in the city, starting from the most expensive at the top to the cheapest at the bottom. You might want to avoid most of those. A pretty, young girl like you will draw a lot of attention and not the good kind,” she warns.
“Thank you, I’ll be careful,” I answer. Those places don’t scare me, not after some of the places I’ve slept, but even if I were terrified, it’s not like a girl like me has many options.
She shakes her head, a small frown on her face, but she holds back whatever she wants to say. Giving her a little wave, I make my way outside and scan the list in my hand, moving right to the bottom.
Pulling out the basic cell Zodiac insists I carry, I fire off a text to the devil, or Diablo, as I had started calling him. I hadn’t seen him, or Zodiac for that matter, since that day in the pub, which seemed like a lifetime ago now. I wasn’t far enough up the leadership totem pole for that thankfully, at least until now. This phone was our sole means of communicating, even when they sent a guy over to drop off or pick up the product or cash.
Me: I’m here.
His reply is instant.
Diablo: Tell me where. I’ll pick you up.
Me: Negative Ghost rider. I have to find somewhere to live first.
I move to slip the phone back in my pocket, but it vibrates again.
Diablo: Tell me where you are, accommodation has already been arranged for you.
Fuck. I didn’t want them to know where I was staying, though it wouldn’t take much to find me if they wanted to. Still, these aren’t people you fuck around with.
Shit. I shove the list in my bag before texting him the name of the coffee shop.
Frustrated, I slump down on the wooden bench next to an enormous planter filled with pink and white flowers. Staring down at the phone in my hand, I resist the urge to call Wyatt and Megan and let them know I arrived safely. I don’t trust that my calls and texts aren’t being monitored, and the last thing I want is to lead anyone in their direction.
With a defeated sigh, I slip the phone into the side pocket of my bag and wait.
An old gray-haired woman sits on the other end of the bench, using her cane to carefully lower herself down. She rummages around inside a plastic bag and pulls out a half-eaten loaf of bread.
I watch in fascination as she rips off small pieces and tosses them to the birds, who are now crowding around her feet, pecking each other out of the way to get to the prize.
It seems like a waste of perfectly good food to me, but what the fuck do I know?
I’m so distracted watching her that I don’t know anyone else is here until a shadow falls over me.
Dammit, Viddy, you know better than to let your guard down like that.
Glancing up, I see the devil smirking at me as a halo of light illuminates him from behind, acting as a reminder that even the devil was an angel once.
“Hello, Cherry.”
Chapter Nine
It’s been six years since I’ve seen him, and the memory of the man hasn’t done him justice. He is still too handsome, still too dominating, and yet my body responds to him like my adolescent one had. And it pisses me off something fierce.
“Diablo,” I answer without thinking.
He pauses before throwing his head back and laughing. The sound does funny things to my insides. I ignore it and stand up so he isn’t looming over me anymore.
He takes a step back so he can take me in, eyes staring at my black shitkickers before slowly working their way up my denim-covered legs, the oversized black hoodie that hides my figure underneath, to my face.
He might not have changed much over the years, but I have. Having money meant having more food, and with Megan having an apartment, it meant clean clothes and showers when I needed them. I might have refused to put her at risk by moving in with her, but I wasn’t crazy enough to pass on the essentials.
“You look good,” he finally says. I shrug even though his words warm something inside me.
Jesus, woman, get a grip.
“So, where are we heading?” I question, letting a little of my impatience sound in my voice.
He laughs again, clearly not bothered by my prickly tone. He