“First day of having real power,” Luciano said. “You deserve it.”
“Thank you, brother.”
“Expect pushback,” Luciano warned.
“I always do,” Carrera replied. “I always do.”
Slash
Slash had spentthe afternoon in Carrera’s beautiful home. After taking herself on a self-guided tour, she had to admit, he had fantastic taste. In his home office, she unrolled the white board, removed the protective layer from the adhesive back, and attempted to stick it onto his wall.
First time, crooked. The second time, too low. The third attempt was the winner. Next, she listed each missing person, along with the clues she’d gathered on Terri and Kim Billiawitz.
Even though Karen had accepted cash for sex trafficking, she added the prostitution case. Next steps? Speak to dancers about this Greg guy, and find the owner.
When she finished, she instructed the computer to activate the home security system, then left through the front door.
Sunday brought more activity in Carrera’s neighborhood. A family walked by with a stroller, their dog leading the way. A group of kids played ball a few houses down. A carload of teenage girls drove by, their windows open, tunes blaring. Her life, at that age, had been a living nightmare.
Shoving out the painful memory, she eyed the parked cars that lined the curb. No sign of the car from last night, so she jumped in her SUV and headed to the grocery store.
Back at home, she prepped for dinner.
Thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Jilly stood on her front stoop with a six-pack, a bottle of wine, and a big smile.
“Love your home,” Jilly said after stepping inside and offering the wine.
“Thank you, but you didn’t have to.” Slash brought Jilly into her kitchen, placed the chardonnay in the fridge to chill.
“I’m not much of a drinker,” Jilly said, “and I didn’t know if you liked beer more than wine.” She set the six-pack of bottles on the kitchen counter.
“I’ve got iced tea, I can make a pot of coffee, I’ve got Pom juice, sparkling water.”
“I’d love sparkling water with a splash of Pom,” Jilly said.
Slash made her the drink, popped open a beer for herself. “Dinner is chicken thighs in the air fryer, I’ve got kale to steam. I made a dinner salad if you hate kale, and either sweet or baked potatoes.”
Jilly laughed. “You do know there’s only two of us.”
Slash smiled. “I went a little crazy, plus I got us a chocolate cake with chocolate icing from the bakery. I never go in there, but this is a special occasion.”
Jilly nodded. “I’ve thought about you over the years and wondered what happened.”
“Same,” Slash said. “Those were some crazy times, and not good crazy.” She drank down a mouthful of beer. “Are you hungry?”
Jilly hesitated.
“You can be honest with me,” Slash said.
“I’m starving. I ate a quick breakfast hours ago, then got busy studying.”
“Let’s get you some food.”
While Slash brushed the chicken thighs with her homemade olive oil spice mix, Jilly ate a salad.
“Catch me up on your life,” Slash said.
“I toughed it out at the foster home for the last few weeks, then got the hell out,” Jilly said between bites. “I got a job in a department store for a while, then worked other retail jobs before finally landing an office job. I started as receptionist, worked my way up to office manager. After the owner sold the company, it fell apart. He was paying for my college courses, but the new owners weren’t offering that. “Deb from the club is a close friend of mine. She told me how much she made dancing, so I got a job at Blue Suit. I’m close to getting my degree, and I want to land a job that I can turn into an actual career. Then, adios to dancing.”