Juliet’s heart galloped in her chest. Never had she imagined this.
“I forgot to mention,” Scout said, voice even. “If you try to harm Juliet or any of your clients, or if you don’t let them out of their contracts, there will come a night when you’re not paying attention—maybe you’re bored, maybe you’re distracted—and someone will come for you and make you very sorry.”
Danny was so still he didn’t even blink.
Scout had a gun. An actual gun. She’d been wearing it this whole time. Slid it out of her coat casually, like she’d done it a thousand times. Every instinct inside Juliet screamed at her to run, but she was just as immobilized as Danny. Her muscles trembled with tension.
Slowly, Danny raised his arms.
“Do we have a deal?” Cybele asked.
He nodded once—briefly, as if he were afraid to make even the smallest movement.
“Then leave,” she said, and Danny wasted no time running. It wasn’t until they heard the door crash shut that Scout relocked the safety on the gun and tucked it back inside her jacket.
“Well,” she said, turning to Juliet. “He shouldn’t bother you anymore.”
“Does anyone feel like a drink?” Cybele stretched, showing off a wide expanse of her perfectly toned stomach. “We should have people over. I’m craving margaritas.”
Chapter 16Juliet, the Model
PRESENT DAY
Juliet was still adrift in a sea of shock by the time twenty girls arrived and filled Cybele’s beachfront home, turning it into a party. They moved outside to a deck overlooking the rolling blue waves of the Pacific, cooled by that perfect California breeze Juliet had come to adore after the constant swelter of Mississippi. As she watched, the girls turned on music—Scout’s, at first, until she yelled at them to change it—and stood taking tequila shots at the outdoor bar, licking salt off their fingers and sucking on ripe green limes. They danced in groups around the pool, collapsing in laughter at themselves.
And still, all Juliet could think was: Scout had pulled agun.
“Hey, girl.” Scout’s assistant, Isabel, clapped a hand on her shoulder, startling her out of the memory of Danny lunging. “You okay?”
Juliet blinked. “Yeah,” she lied. “Of course.”
“I heard you ended things with your skeezy agent,” said Miranda, ambling up alongside Cybele. “Congrats, big shot. You’re officially a free agent.” She and Cybele clinked their tequila shots, exchanging knowing smiles. “Here’s to Mississippi.”
“He jumped at us,” Juliet blurted. “I thought he was going to hit me.”
Okay, so maybe she wasn’t over it.
The three women glanced at one another. Cybele was the first to speak.
“That happens sometimes, when it’s a guy.” She shrugged, knocked back her shot, and winced. “Jesus, is this the tequila by those CW actors? It’srancid. I better have gotten this shit for free.”
Isabel shoved her shoulder. “Remember how we talked about empathy?” She turned to Juliet. “I’m sorry. That must’ve been scary.”
“I just…” Juliet searched for the right words. They were acting like this was normal. “I knew Danny sucked, but I never thought he could be violent.” She met Cybele’s dark eyes. The two of them were almost exactly the same height. In Juliet’s world, that was rare. “I brought him into your house.”
“Listen.” Cybele seemed to take Isabel’s note about empathy, because she softened her expression. “Guys are used to being the strong ones. When they lose that advantage, sometimes it flips a switch and they become capable of things you wouldn’t imagine. We shoved your guy against a wall, metaphorically speaking. I’m not saying what he did was right—just predictable, if you’ve been around as long as we have. That’s why we come prepared.”
“Violence is the last recourse of the desperate,” Isabel said softly. “Trust me on that.”
The other woman’s attention had caught on something across the backyard, and Juliet followed her gaze. A group of girls she recognized from the Serpent Room had gathered around Cybele’s stone fireplace, spreading a deck of tarot cards. Scout sat in front of them. She’d changed into a neon-yellow bikini.No room, Juliet thought with relief,for a gun.
Miranda cocked an eyebrow at Cybele. “What did you guys do that left Mississippi so spooked?”
Cybele shrugged. “It was a standard bait-and-switch. Got him over on the pretense of business, threatened to tell everyone what he’s up to, yadda yadda.”
“Oh.” Miranda laid a warm hand on Juliet’s arm. “We’ve run that play a hundred times, babes. Nothing to worry about.”
“Ahundred?”
