"We get all types in here," she begins, looking at me. Her eyes seem to be assessing, and I don't doubt she'd be a hard woman to get something past. She seems sharp. "But not too many young women, much less ones who puke the moment they walk in the door."
I resist the urge to apologize and before I can say anything else, she continues.
"I'm Ceyda."
"Ana."
"Ana, then. Why don't you come inside and share some tea with me, it will settle your stomach. And in exchange, you can tell me what you're doing in our small corner of the world."
I raise an eyebrow at her. Curiosity doesn't equal generosity in my experience. Ceyda smirks lightly, pushing off the wall and flicking the burning butt.
"Gossip is like currency here."
Chuckling, I follow her inside.
Luckily, the smell isn't nearly as strong from this entrance and within moments were in a small sitting room. A young girl brings in tea and we're alone. My eyes trail over the room, taking in everything, as I've done for years. The more you know about a place, a person, the more power you hold.
"Thanks for the tea. And sorry for puking on your doorstep."
"No harm, no foul," she replies with a wave of her hand. "My girls get like that sometimes when they're pregnant. Not the first time, won't be the last."
I flinch a bit at the comment. That would pretty much be the worst thing that could happen right now. Years ago I managed to find an outlawed doctor who put some kind of implant in me to prevent pregnancy, but it’s not certain it would work for this long and before Ax, I never had need to think about it. I push the thought out of my mind and make a mental note to ask Sammi later. Now that we’re free, it's something I need to think about. Surely, she’ll know of some contraceptives.
"I'm actually here to ask about someone you may know, though I'm not sure she's one of your girls."
"Ah, so you too need information. Tell me, Ana. Who is it you travel with, and who are you looking for?”
I reach out to take the cup of tea from her hands while I consider my response. Omer had heard of the prison break a few days east of here, and I know we need to be careful not to let anyone connect our arrival with that.
“We were traveling with a small group,” I begin, hoping she doesn’t ask where we came from. “One of our members got sick and a few of us had to stay behind while others came here. I guess some of our group got into some trouble when they got to Tekir, and now my friend is missing.”
I take a sip, pausing to think of what would be safe to omit. Ceyda seems to recognize it as she lets out an airy laugh.
“Don’t worry, darling. I may be a whore, but I’m smart enough to know some things are for my ears only. Besides, fake gossip is all the juicer.” She winks at me and I feel a reluctant smile tug at my lips.
“I’ve only ever known one whore closely before,” I tell her, smiling into my cup, “The one I’m looking for. You do remind me of her a bit.”
“Well, Tekir is not such a large place, and I do know most of the girls around here. What is your friend’s name?”
“Sammi.”
Ceyda raises an eyebrow at me, delicately placing her cup on the table in front of us.
“Ah,” she comments cryptically. My own brows rise in question as a cat-like smile pulls across her face.
“She caused quite the stir yesterday,” she says, staring into my face, “The whole town has been talking about it. Ali was not well-liked, but hewaswell known.”
“Ali?”
“The man your friend killed.”
“He’s dead?” I squeak at this revelation and Ceyda frowns a bit as she nods.
“From what I heard he passed away a few hours ago.”
“Fucking Ethan,” I mutter, rubbing a hand down my face. Ceyda interrupts by whispered bitching.
“I do know Sammi too,” she continues. “Though she isn’t one of my girls, she was one of Ali’s. I haven’t seen her recently, though I can ask around for you if you’d like?”