“We’re getting to that now,” C says.
“Open party with a lot of strangers?” Trick asks, and his next shot doesn’t go.
I shake my head.
“She’s holding out? That’s an interesting play,” he says.
Anvil sinks one and then the eight ball. Trick pulls out a hundred-dollar bill and hands it to him.
“How long’s that bill been going back and forth tonight?” C asks.
At pool they’re apparently pretty evenly matched.
Trick shakes his head. “He’s a killer tonight. I’m down four hundred.”
“So, Zoe, who do you want to talk to next?” Connor asks. “I had my turn.”
I stiffen. “Connor,” I say, shaking my head.
Both Anvil and Trick focus their attention on me. Anvil scares me the most, but that’s only based on how he looks.
C rubs a strand of my hair between his thumb and finger. “I’m not sure I can be rough enough with you to get what we need. I’m inclined to get distracted where you’re concerned. Maybe the two of them can convince you. Trick’s the best anyway at putting divergent stories together, and Anvil, well, no one holds out long when he’s—”
I stare into his eyes. “Don’t—please.”
“No?” he says. “So how am I going to convince you to talk? Should I bend you over that pool table, pull your tights down, and whip your ass with my belt?”
My heart slams against my ribs. I can’t bear to look at the other two men. Would they watch? Would they join in the punishment? What else might all three of them do? I can’t breathe. I’ve never heard that they’ve forced a girl to have sex, but it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. Sometimes girls don’t say what’s been done to them. Sometimes girls can’t say what’s been done to them.
“I’m scared,” I whisper.
C inclines his head, whispering in my ear. “If you made a mistake, tell me now. I’ll let you make amends.” He nods. “We’ll figure something out. You’ll be all right. But you have to tell me the truth. All of it.”
“I don’t know who put the money in my apartment,” I whisper back, trembling. “I swear it. I’m not lying.”
“Give us a list of the people who were at the party at your place. No one innocent will get hurt. I give you my word.”
I don’t know what drives me to step forward. Fear, I guess, and a desperate need to believe him. I can’t escape, so the only thing that makes sense to my reeling senses is to stay close to Connor.
His arms slide around me. “Hey. It’s all right, baby.”
“I feel like a drink,” Trick says. “I’ll make a round.”
“Not in,” Anvil says.
“All right. A round minus one,” Trick says amiably. “You’ve got more mysterious business to attend to, huh, ‘Vil? Do I need to stick a GPS tracker in the sole of your boot?”
“Sure, if you want me to plant it up your ass,” Anvil murmurs.
I smile. This little bit of guy banter eases some of my tension.
“Here,” Connor says, putting me on the couch. “You’re going to drink, and you’re going to talk. Right?”
I nod.
Trick holds out a glass to me.
My hands are a little shaky as I take two big swallows of the Jack and Coke from a heavy tumbler.
