And whatever chance we had of beating Eagle at his own game could only be accomplished if I remained alert and on my toes. Feeling sorry for this girl wasn’t going to help me. It was going to stand in my way.
Mercy covered her face with her hands as she sobbed a little harder. Her shoulders shook and now her voice was muffled. I breathed in, trying to get a hold of myself.
What was she expecting me to do? Hug her?
I didn’t. I wasn’t about to touch her. What I did do was let her cry, for as long as she needed. She had to get it out of her system so she could move on. When her sobs finally began to lighten a little, she looked up at me, wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands.
“S…sorry, I didn’t mean to break down like that.”
“Do you need a glass of water?” I asked and she looked up at me sharply. Like she wasn’t expecting me to be kind to her.
What kind of a man did she think I was?
“I’m fine, I’m not thirsty.”
“So you can talk now?” I asked and she narrowed her eyes at me. I could see that her eyelashes were wet. She was still doing her best to force down the sobs.
“What more do you want to know?” she asked in a voice that sounded resentful.
“Did you have any personal interaction with Eagle or Crash?” I continued.
Mercy licked her lips and shook her head.
“No, Crash was usually…well, out of it, I guess. And Eagle, he wasn’t too interested in me. Maybe because I was really bad at it.”
“Bad at what?” I asked, confused.
“At dancing. At the stripping. You asked me earlier if I was good at my job. The answer is no, I’m not. I’m not a talented stripper.”
A part of me found that hard to believe. Would I give money to see Mercy up on a stage taking off one piece of clothing at a time? Absolutely. I’d pay a lot of money for that. But the thought of other men watching her too made me mad.
“You still made good tips?”
“Enough, yeah. I was making way more money than I did before I joined the strip club.”
“So you didn’t actually overhear anything? You didn’t have a chance to eavesdrop on a conversation? You were never in the room?” I asked.
Mercy ran a hand through her silky golden hair. I tried to keep my eyes off her red dress. It framed her body perfectly. She had a narrow waist. Long. smooth pale legs. She was sitting in the chair with those legs crossed.
“No. Not really. I wasn’t ever close to them.”
I didn’t know whether to believe her. I didn’t know if she had anything to hide. Was Mercy trustworthy? Mary-Beth seemed to think so, but based on what evidence?
“Except this one time, I was in the changing room at the back and Eagle walked in with one of the girls.”
I looked up at Mercy and she seemed almost nervous as she spoke.
“What did you hear? What was he saying to her?” I asked.
“I think they were together; they were making out mostly,” she replied and blushed and looked away.
“Okay.”
“Well, I didn’t want to step out of the back and interrupt them. I guess I was just scared. I was scared of everyone there, especially him.”
“Did he say anything of significance?”
“He was making fun of Crash. The girl was laughing too. He said something about how Crash was weak and it was very easy to get him hooked on heroin.”
I clenched my jaws in rage. Not that I gave a shit about Crash. He wasn’t my brother-in-law. But I hated Eagle. I wanted to bring the motherfucker down.
Mercy continued. “And he told her it wasn’t long now. She seemed excited about the news too. He made some promise to her that things would be different once he was in charge. That is what made me think that maybe he had some kind of plan to take over from Crash. I mean, why else would he get him hooked on heroin?”
Mercy was staring at me now, expecting some kind of response.
“What else?” I asked dismissively. This wasn’t up for discussion. Definitely not with someone I didn’t know and didn’t know I could trust. I just wanted the information from her.
“That was it. That is all I heard.”
“Did he see you?”
“No, they fucked. I had to listen to that, and then he left.”
I was thinking, trying to put all the information together and formulate a plan. I could feel her watching me. She wanted me to say something.
“Now you know everything I know,” she said finally, and stood.
“Sit down, Mercy,” I growled but this time, she didn’t follow my command. Instead, she glared at me defiantly. “You don’t want to test me,” I said.
“Or what? What more could you possibly do? Hold me captive in this place? You’re doing that already!” she hissed.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the way her breasts rose and fell. The dress seemed to squeeze the air out of her lungs. Still, she held herself poised, head high and chin thrust out. I stepped toward her, expecting her to flinch but she didn’t. She was determined to have a showdown.
“It would be wise for you to sit back down.”
“I don’t have to listen to you. I don’t have to listen to any of you. You are not my keeper!”
I saw the way bright pink spots formed on the tops of her cheeks.
“I have told you everything you wanted to know, and I think it’s only fair that you let me walk out of here now,”
