Both physically and emotionally.
I prayed it wasn’t King’s newfound brother who had hurt her. I wanted to believe he was a good man. But the way he’d hit King without a thought and fought with Mimic. I knew an unhinged man when I saw one.
One who acted without thinking.
I looked around the room for Freeway. I hadn’t seen him since Ravage showed up, and I wondered where he was hiding. Freeway didn’t act without thinking; he just didn’t think ever. He was a puppet. Always doing his president’s bidding.
I should have told King about him. But that would mean telling him about my mother and my sisters. I wasn’t ready to have those conversations yet. But I needed to talk to Nav.
I was about to ask to speak with him when Karlyn asked, “Is there a place I could get cleaned up?”
“Of course,” Nav said. “Brandy!”
I rolled my eyes when the club girl bounced her way over to the bar. She sidled up to Nav and said, “What do you need, honey?”
“Can you show Karlyn to the room Ravage is in?”
“Of course. Come on.”
Karlyn looked at me; her eyes didn’t open any wider, but her pupils were blown. “I’ll come with you,” I whispered, and I saw her shoulders visibly relax.
As much as I despised Brandy for my own reasons, I knew she wasn’t like the club girls I’d seen in my father’s club. I wondered about the girls that the Golden Skulls had, and if Karlyn had trouble with them in the past.
I met the two women at the end of the bar, and we walked down the hall to the stairs. As we approached King’s office, we could hear Ravage yelling.
Karlyn’s eyes were on the door as we passed, and I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Brandy stopped on the second floor and asked us to wait while she ran down the hall and grabbed a bag. Karlyn held on to my hand tightly as we walked up to the third floor. I wasn’t surprised when I realized where King had put him.
Brandy unlocked the door and let us in. I didn’t miss the fact that she had a master key. Or at least a key to this room.
“You have a key to Jackson’s room?”
Brandy looked down at her hand and smiled. “I have a key to all the rooms. The girls and I—” She paused. “I guess it’s just me and Tiffany now.” She took a breath before continuing, “We clean the rooms, and when someone comes to stay, I show them to the room King wants them in.”
Sadness washed over me as I thought about Jade and Crystal. Both women innocent of this war. Their only crime was being in the room when the Death Dogs attacked.
Karlyn looked at me. “Aren’t you the president’s old lady?”
“Yes,” Brandy answered at the same time as I said, “No.”
I glared at her.
“I am not his old lady.”
“Oh, he said you were.”
“Because she is. He just hasn’t made it official yet,” Brandy stage-whispered with her hand on the side of her mouth. I rolled my eyes at her.
When Karlyn turned to me, I shrugged. “It’s complicated.”
Brandy scoffed, and I shook my head. “Everything you need is in the bathroom. And here are some clean clothes to put on after.” She handed the bag to Karlyn, who thanked her and made her way to the bathroom.
“Karlyn, I need to get back downstairs, but Brandy will stay with you until Ravage comes up, or if you want to come back down.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary.”
“In case you need anything,” I told her.
“Thank you, Grace.” She moved into the bathroom and the click of the lock was unmistakable.
