He's in shock, his mouth slightly parted as he stares at me like I'm some alien, just blinking.
Giggling, I back away. “Bye bye, Pet. See you tomorrow,” I wink.
He snaps out of it. “Wait! Do that again. It was too fast; I missed it.”
“Sorry. Gotta go.” I wave, disappearing into the house. Evie shakes her head with a light smile as we walk out the front door to the car.
She pokes me in the belly. “You're getting a little soft there, Low,” she grins.
“Am not!” I gape at her.
“I think those men are slowly getting to you. And I think that's a good thing,” Evie says.
“You do?” I ask, my brows pinched.
“At first, I’ll admit, I was jealous. I wanted you all to myself like it has been for eight years, but since they came into your life, mostly Rosie, I’ve seen you laugh more, smile more. There's a lighter presence to you. I like this Harlow. It gives me a good idea of who you were before you were beaten and broken.”
Her words hit me hard. I don't want her to think she isn't enough, but I can't argue with her. I’ve been seeing it too. It fucking terrifies me, but also thrills me.
“You deserve to be happy, Low. You deserve to love and be loved. And those men in there,” she points back at the house. “They love you. You just need to learn how to let them in.”
“I don't need them, Evie. I have you,” I say. “You’re enough for me.”
She gives me a sad smile. “I know. And I’m so fucking glad for that. But it doesn't just have to be me, I'm willing to share. But I'm still number one. Next to Rosie, of course,” she laughs.
I say nothing more as we get into the car and drive over to Redemption, my brain processing her words.
Fuck. Why does life have to change? I was just enjoying life, killing, dancing, singing, and spending my free time with my bestie. Now I have all these... feelings... eww.
Karma, I thought the deal was to be a bitch to them, not me. I want a refund.
“GOD, THIS PLACE LOOKSeven worse with the lights on,” I cringe. “It's like going to a bar and taking someone home when you’re wasted. You’re thinking that they’re pretty cute, but then when you wake up in the morning, you don't know if you took home a human or a zoo animal.” I shudder, looking around at the now empty building.
When we came here that night, I thought it had potential. Looking at it now, I wasn't exactly wrong, but it's gonna need a lot more work than I was expecting.
“I want to change everything to silver and black. The bar top needs to be replaced. Everything that's fabric needs to go. God knows the amount of blood, cum, piss, and sweat that has soaked into all of that,” I say, waving my hand at the chairs and couches.
“The stage needs new flooring. The bathrooms need to be gutted and everything replaced. Oh, and the carpeting has gotta go but other than that, I think we're good. And I want EVERYTHING bleached, at least like ten times.”
“Is that all?” Evie giggles.
“Oh, shhh, you. You know this place will do well, once it's done,” I laugh, slapping her on the arm.
“I'm wondering how this place would light up under a black light,” Evie says, then looks around to make sure she's not touching anything.
“No, girl. Just don’t.” I shake my head and shiver.
“You're kidding me, right? That grosses you out, but you can bleed multiple men dry and disembowel them. How does that even make any sense?”
“Well, with like 99% of them, I’ve had them tested. You know how much I love my blood play, but I would never risk my health.”
“Excuse me, Queenie. Sorry to interrupt you, but I think you should see this,” one of my outside workers, who I hired to do a building inspection, says from behind me.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Well, we were down there, checking every room, when we found a door that was hidden. It's not on the blueprints you gave us. I think you should see it.”
“Lead the way.”