22. Lena
“You look like a fucking smoke show.” Bri’s hand connects with my ass, a loud smack echoing in Tasha’s massive bathroom. Squealing, I laugh, swatting her away, but she grabs my ass. “Bitch, are you not wearing any panties?” She rubs her hand over my now stinging cheek. “Damn, you are ready to get fucked tonight.”
Rolling my eyes, I look at myself in her full-length mirror. Tasha really outdid herself with this dress. It’s a soft, black satin that comes halfway down my thighs, accentuating my hips, with a slit that makes it nearly impossible to wear panties. The front comes down to a V, stopping just past my breasts. The width of the straps tapers off as they come over my shoulders, the thin straps crisscross down my open back and stop right above my ass. I almost died when I picked up the black, strappy heels and saw the glossy, red bottoms. The mask she had left for me was black lace with silver threading, making it shine.
I shoot her a look. “For whatever reason, Devin hasn’t fucked me yet and I can’t for the life of me figure out why.” I lean forward, triple-checking my makeup. “I can’t decide if he’s waiting for the right time or if he actually doesn’t want to fuck me but has just been giving me petty orgasms.”
He seemed wildly distracted after Tony’s little outburst and suggested I come down to Tasha’s to get ready. That he had business to deal with before the fun that was planned for the evening. I almost insisted that I go with him because I had a feeling it had to do with me, but the look on his face gave me pause, and I didn’t push any further.
I catch Tasha leaning against the bathroom doorframe, a smug look on her face. “Is that what you really think?” She stands, heels clicking as she comes up and rakes her fingers through my curls. “You think that man is only tongue fucking you because he feels sorry for you?” She laughs, the sound bouncing off the tiles. “You really were gaslit and brainwashed for all those years to think that a woman like you wouldn’t have every man in this club ready to stick his dick into you the first chance he got. Devin might not be conventional, but he always has a reason for his actions.”
Bri narrows her eyes slightly as if she’s ready to take offense for me, but I just shake my head. She’s right, I was fucking brainwashed into thinking that I would never survive in this world without him . That no other man actually wanted me , they just wanted the power that I was connected to.
Tasha turns her attention to Bri, looking her up and down. “You look like you’re about to make a killing tonight, B.” A smile pulls at her lips at the use of her nickname. It’s such a simple letter, but she only lets her closest friends use it. While Tasha can’t ever replace Kate, I can tell she’s stepping in and keeping my best friend from spiraling further into the black hole she was falling into. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay her for giving Bri another person to lean on.
Bri really does look killer in her black jean shorts with fishnets that lead down to her Doc Marten boots—that could do some real damage to anyone who crosses her. Her shirt is a tight-fitting crop top, showing off her pierced navel. Of course, she’s not wearing a bra, as usual, and her pierced nipples are the real accessory to her outfit, their little sun-shaped hoops pushing through the fabric. Her maroon lips and black eyeliner finish off the look as her short, black hair shines in the light. “I always make a killing when I’m slinging drinks. They won’t know what hit them,” she winks, giving her slyest smile.
We’ve both been party girls, but where I was tamed when I was thrown into Matt’s high tower, she continues to keep up with the twenty-year-olds, nearly drinking them under the table at the ripe age of thirty-one. She even held a keg stand for over six minutes before finally having them let her down because she kicked everyone’s ass at that party. Kate would try so hard to calm her down, worried she would get arrested for starting a drunken brawl with the wrong person, but she didn’t succeed any more than I did.
I’ve bailed my friend out a few times, even when I was with Matt, which didn’t help her case when I invited her to go to things with his posse. She would try her hardest to intentionally piss him off by fucking at least two of his men when they were supposed to be working. I wonder if anyone in the world could ever tame her or be the gasoline that ignites her fire, making her burn even hotter.
Bri looks Tasha up and down in sleek black jeans with a lace corset that bares every inch of skin beneath it, her nipples barely covered by the delicate lace and boning. “Is that what you’re wearing to your show tonight?” she asks, a slight purr in her voice.
Tasha grins, her eyes flashing at me. “Oh no, babe, this is just my daytime outfit. My show outfit is in my dressing room.” She winks at her. “Maybe I’ll let you see it later.”
Bri’s cheeks seem to flush, and she giggles like a schoolgirl. Seeing her come alive around Tasha, whether it’s platonic or something more, makes my heart swell. I know I haven’t been a very good friend these past few days, and I also know that everyone grieves differently. But, seeing her come back to her old self in the last day has been a breath of fresh air, even if she has been more of a spitfire than ever before. A phoenix rising from the ashes.
With time to kill, Tasha pours us each a glass of wine and we sit back in her living room, taking a moment to just breathe. I see Bri’s face as it dawns on me that the last time there were three of us in the same room, it was Kate in place of Tasha. My heart seems to shrivel back and ache as I think about her and how I could have done more to protect her. Tears prick my eyes, but I do my best to blink them back, not trying to kill the mood.
Tasha is filling Bri in on the inner workings of the bartenders on staff as I pull up the news app on my phone. Curiosity has gotten the best of me because it’s been almost two weeks since I last looked at it, my stomach churning at the thought of the article that was filled with lies about what happened to Kate and the cover up that Obsidian orchestrated about her death. I swallow the lump in my throat and scroll through the top headlines.
I slow my scrolling as a headline catches my eye:
Anonymous Donor Contributes $250,000 to Safe Haven in Memory of Drew Green
I read the article; my eyes widen as I take in each word.
In a heartwarming display of generosity, Safe Haven, a local domestic violence shelter, announced today that it has received a significant gift of $250,000 from an anonymous donor. The donation to the Drew Green Endowment Fund honors the memory of Drew Green, a beloved community member known for his commitment to helping those in need.
The picture next to the headline shows a handsome man with soft green eyes, a dazzling smile, and cropped blond hair. His features strike me as familiar, but I heard all about it at a party with some of Matt’s business partners, and I know that this was a huge story whenever he was found dead in his home.
The endowment fund was established to provide ongoing support for the shelter's programs and services, which assist individuals and families affected by domestic violence. Safe Haven has been a vital resource in the community, offering safe refuge, counseling, and empowerment resources for survivors. The anonymous donor, who chose to remain unnamed, expressed admiration for Safe Haven's work and wanted to ensure that Drew Green's impact on the community would be remembered.
Safe Haven plans to host an event in the coming weeks to honor Drew Green’s memory on the anniversary of his death and celebrate the generous donation, inviting community members to participate and learn more about the shelter’s work.
Bri’s face is next to mine, reading the article over my shoulder. “Oh, I remember when he died. It was all over the news and so fucking tragic.” She points to his photo as I scroll back to the top. “It was so sad that he took his own life all because he didn’t win the election for mayor.”
The phone is yanked from my hand, a disgusted look pulling at Tasha’s face. “Do you really believe everything you read? Especially this fucking garbage?” She scrolls on my phone, her eyes moving quickly over each line. Her face softens, whispering something to herself before she hands me back my phone, crossing her arms.
“Did you know him?” Bri asks, looking down at the photo of him still on the screen.
She stares at us. “You really don’t recognize him?” She cocks her head to the side, looking between us. “ Seriously ?”
Bri and I look at one another, trying to find the answer between us. “If we recognized him, would we be asking?” Bri retorts, her hackles rising as she rests her hand on my arm.
She looks at me, rolling her eyes. “You look at his near identical face every fucking day.”
My eyes widen as I look at Bri, her mouth slackening as the realization hits us both. “Oh my God,” I say quietly. “That’s Devin’s brother.”
Tasha shakes her head, breathing heavily out her nose. “It’s a good thing you two are pretty.”
Bri rounds the sofa, sitting back down next to me. “It’s so sad how he took his own life,” she repeats. “It’s hard enough knowing that Kate was murdered in cold blood, I can’t even imagine how Devin feels.”
Tasha sits back in her chair, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “Who says that he wasn’t killed in cold blood, too?” Her words are quiet, but there’s a sharpness to them that cuts through the bullshit in the article.
Bri shrugs. “Why would they lie about that shit?”
“Because it was a cover-up by the same motherfuckers who come into this club night after night, and we’re doing everything we can to prove it.” The words are like a whip snapping at us. I stiffen and I hear Bri suck in a sharp breath. The fire in Tasha’s eyes burns bright. “Drew was a wonderful man who was working to change this piece of shit city.”
She leans back, picking up her glass of wine off the side table and swirling it. She closes her eyes, seeming to fall back into her memories. “He saved me from my previous life and brought me here, knowing that I would thrive in this environment with Devin and his promised protection. Drew was very passionate about protecting women and working to support people who found themselves in situations they felt trapped in.” She opens her eyes, shining bright with tears as she looks right at me. Her eyes nearly burn through me as she looks right into my soul, the one that was nearly taken from me by the devil himself.
“Once Devin got involved, the men who hurt me and others like me didn’t stand a chance. Some of them were permanently removed from this Earth to rot in the worst corners of Hell, while he chose to keep others alive to suffer, rotting in a cell, begging for death. Drew looked the other way, knowing that what his brother was doing would leave a mark on the city and he was hopeful it would deter others and make a change.”
Taking a sip of wine, she clears her throat. Her eyes still shine with tears, and she doesn’t bother to dab them away, letting one fall freely down her cheek. “Drew was the golden child to his parents. Smart, talented, good-looking, and an upstanding citizen.” She sighs. “While Devin was less than desirable to his parents and trying to work through his sociopathic tendencies. He would fight constantly, his bloodlust typically getting the better of him. He was arrested once for participating in an illegal underground fight club, but his parents managed to scrub that from his record.” Another tear falls, this one she wipes away, sniffing quietly.
“What really happened to him? To Drew?” The question comes out quietly, my heart aching for her and Devin at such a big loss in both of their lives.
She looks at me, the tears in her eyes evaporating as rage burns through them. “He was running for mayor and was favored to win, but you see, he was actively being recruited into Obsidian. They liked the idea of someone so popular with the people having a position of power and the influence they thought they could have with him.” Her eyes flash, nose flaring. “However, he was actively turning the tables and exposing them as the crooks they really were. People started asking questions about some of the other powerful people, and then suddenly, the election flipped, and he was found dead from what they were calling suicide the next morning.”
She takes another sip, her hand trembling slightly before she sits it back on the table. She grips the armrests of the chair, her spine stiff. “Devin and I called bullshit on the whole thing the minute the story broke and have been working diligently to prove that he was murdered by Obsidian. Tony was recruited for the cause after we…after he joined the team.” She looks out the large wall of windows, identical to the ones in the penthouse. “I think the worst part is that Devin’s father blamed him for Drew’s death.”
Bri gasps. “That’s fucked,” she bites out. “He clearly had nothing to do with it.” She leans forward, her wine nearly spilling over the edge of the glass.
“It gets fucking better.” Tasha’s eyes stay glued on the windows, taking in the lights from the cityscape. “Devin went to visit him prior to the funeral to discuss any of Drew’s last wishes from his will, and the fucker sat right there in a drunken stupor and told Devin that it should have been him. That Drew was what the world needed, and Devin was only a bloodstain on society.”
My heart nearly shatters at the thought of any parent saying something so heinous to their only living child. Yes, it sounds like Devin was quite the handful and maybe didn’t make the best decisions when he was a kid, but he clearly has the same stances as his brother did. He just chooses to take a less-than-noble route to dealing with things.
“That’s fucking terrible.” Bri leans back against the couch, seeming to curl in on herself. “I hope he fucking killed that bastard.”
Tasha sighs deeply, this time looking at Bri. “Unfortunately, he only got one good swing in before his father’s security threw him out. But he hasn’t seen or spoken to his father since then and is seemingly better off going no contact.”
“What about his mother?” The question bubbles over my lips, because surely, she has kept in contact with her only living child.
The scoff that Tasha makes is answer enough. “She’s a noble wife who stands by her husband, not caring to cut ties with Dev.” The same kind of wife that Matt would have expected me to be.
Laying my hand over my heart, I can almost feel it cracking as I think about how his own mother turned her back on him in such a tragic time. Leaving him to grieve alone.
“But he had you, right?” Bri looks at her longingly, as if she is aching for her to have her, too.
“We have each other, and our friendship has only gotten stronger as we’ve fought to honor his memory and uncover the truth with as much cold hard proof we can gather.” She grabs the stem of her wineglass, swirling it before downing the rest. She licks her lips, savoring every drop.
“Who does he think did it?” My mind flashes to Matt, and while I used to believe that he would never commit such a crime, knowing what I know about him now, I wouldn’t put it past him. However, he wasn’t one to ever really get his hands dirty; if he was involved, someone else did the bidding for him.
“Whoever it is,” she says darkly, “will suffer a long and terrible death.”