Page 5 of Hart of Vengeance
I took full responsibility for my actions, and with her in prison, I was keeping my fingers crossed that she was learning from her mistakes. “Are you okay?”
She’d been in several fights in prison, which didn’t surprise me. Savannah had been a bully in high school. Where she threw caution to the wind, I did as I was told.
“No. I’m not. You need to get ahold of Duke for me.”
My blood ran cold. “Why? You’re not dating him or working for him anymore.” Savannah had said that before prison she’d tended bar in one of his clubs.
I refused to associate or speak to the devil, and Duke Hart was the devil incarnate. I blamed him for my sister’s foothold in the criminal world, which made it too easy for her to get her hands on money, drugs, and booze.
“He owes me money, and I need it, or else I’m dead.”
The word “dead” should’ve raised a red flag, but I was talking to a cunning person who was an expert in making me panic and feel sorry for her. Plus, she had a flare for the dramatic.
“Savannah, I don’t have time to do your bidding. I’ve got an interview. Call Duke yourself.”
“I tried, sis.” Her tone was sickly sweet.
I rolled my eyes. “Listen, I can’t help you.” I didn’t have time to ask her why she needed money. My guess was either gambling or drugs. Two things she was good at were snorting coke and playing poker.
The sugar in her tone evaporated. “You’re my sister. Family. You’re supposed to help.”
“You should’ve thought harder before you robbed a convenience store.”
Mallory, my best friend, and the only person in my life I could count on, glided toward me from the bank of elevators. If anyone was like a sister to me, it was Mallory. We’d been best friends since the fourth grade.
“Bitch,” Savannah said.
My sister would drive me to drink.Oh, wait. She already has.I often got stinking drunk when she blew into my life, wanting help or money. I thought prison would stop all that. Boy, I was wrong.
Unsure if my words had registered, I said it again. “I have an interview. You know, a job to pay bills and put food in my belly.”
Mallory angled her head, and a stray auburn lock fell out of her messy bun. “Savannah?” she mouthed.
“Yeah,” I mouthed back.
She tapped her wrist where a watch would normally be.
Savannah was breathing heavily, or maybe she was crying.
I wasn’t caving. “Savannah, I have to go. We’ll talk soon, okay?”
She growled into the phone before the line went dead.
I took a huge breath, hoping to calm my nerves.
Mallory hooked her arm in mine. “We need to head upstairs.”
“How did you know I was down here?”
“I was coming down to wait for you. You need a keycard to take the elevator.” Mallory had been working for the law firm as a paralegal for the last two years, and she’d told me that very thing the night before.
But because of Savannah’s call, my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Before I dumped my phone in my purse, I flicked the volume to silent. I didn’t want to risk another call from my sister during my interview.
On the elevator ride up, Mallory asked, “What does Savannah want now?”
“She wants me to call Duke.”
Mallory laughed. “Is she nuts? She knows you hate him.”
