Page 71 of Reverb
“Course.” David’s voice was slurred but happy, and his breath warm against the back of her neck. “I do sometimes, when I need to.”
She didn’t ask why. The dog tags on the bear were explanation enough.
Mish pressed back into David and snugged Marly under her chin.
Chapter Fourteen
Way the heck too early the next morning—and after a round of coffee that wasn’t as good as Adrian’s—the seven of them piled into a luxury mini bus, the kind David usually saw used as party buses. Thing washuge. “This is less obtrusive than a stretch limo?”
Marcella gave him alook. “It’s easier to maneuver and park, and yes—less obtrusive. Plenty of vans and small buses out there, especially in the mornings. Ride shares. Trips to the airport.”
“Not like we’re going to have the party lights and be dancing around one of those poles,” Ray quipped.
Zavier got a wicked grin. “I think I’d enjoy you pole-dancing.”
That earned him a snort from Ray. “Oh, I’m sure you would.”
Mish grabbed a pole and rotated around it. “I worked as a stripper early on, you know.”
Something tumbled in David, even as the others chuckled. Mish must have seen his expression, because she raised an eyebrow. “This you have a problem with?”
Even though her tone had been gentle, it itched across his mind, and he was brought right back to his initial shock of emotion.
David took a seat on the couches that lined the bus. “No, not at all. I’m sure you were spectacular.” He hadn’t known this little fact about her, even after running a background check on her. “Was this before or after you changed your name?” There was a certainpossessivenessto Mish’s stalker, in the way that asshole thought he owned her.
Mish froze, then sank onto the couch across from him. “Before, right after I turned eighteen. With the cancer treatments, Mom was having a hard time working, and it seemed the quickest legal way to make some money. I couldn’t risk getting jailed for turning tricks or escorting. Though I did think about that.”
Marcella rubbed her neck. “That’s a lot to handle at eighteen.”
Zavier looked thoughtful. “I’ve done sex work. There is that risk, for sure. You’re right—a barely legal woman attracts more attention from the cops.”
“This bus ride is turning into a confessional,” Adrian said.
Ray shook his head. “I don’t think anyone here feels guilty, Adrian.”
“Granted,” Marcella said. “But let’s keep this part of your collective pasts out of the limelight, yes? I have no issues, but the scandal sites would have a field day.”
There were general agreements about that. Throughout the conversation, Mish’s gaze never left David’s. “You think this guy knows me from that? I only stripped for about six months, until our finances settled out and I was getting gigs singing in bars and could switch paths.”
“I don’t know.” It was an honest reply. “I still get the sense that this is personal. That he knows you from somewhere that isn’t Twisted Wishes. And while your high school photo isn’t anything like your image now, I bet your look while stripping was closer to Mish Sullivan, the rock star.”
She frowned in thought. “Yeah, I carried some of that over to the musical stage. It was empowering.”
“I want to ring that fucker’s neck.” The words were low and harsh, and it took David a moment to realize that Dom had spoken them. He was Domino now, all leather-clad and spike hair, with makeup that was on point and so unlike the man Dom was in his off time.
The depth of anger was out of character, though.
“Sweetheart,” Mish murmured.
Dom’s eyes were pools of fury. “I’m not kidding. If I knew who this guy was, I’d hunt him down and strangle him myself. No one fucking deserves what you’re going through. Even the goddamned press is more respectful than this fucking fucker.”
Given Dom’s loathing of the public spotlight and the press, that was saying a lot. While all of Twisted Wishes was salty with the language, he’d never heard Dom string togetherthatmany curses in a row.
“Babe.” Adrian’s voice was soft. “Please don’t kill anyone. You might look good in orange, but that’s going a bit far for fashion.” He rubbed circles on Dom’s back.
Dom bristled, but softened. “I just want Mish to be safe.”
“I love you all, but I don’t need your protection.”
