Damaged Queen (Darkness Within Duet 2)

She wanted to go to the cops, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. There was not enough evidence. She had nothing, and the cops, they were probably paid to look the other way. Not only that, she knew Alan had evidence of her leading those girls to their dark fate. There was no way she could do turn them in without incriminating herself.

Alan had taught her a lot, and so had life. He knew her hands were tied, and he loved to play his game with her.

Everyone had a price, something they were willing to fight for or at least turn a blind eye to. Hers had been her guys and her freedom.

It didn’t exactly fill her with comfort knowing, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Finishing off her burger, she threw the napkin in the trash and made her way back to the shop.

Stephanie was still busy with customers, and Harper was more than happy for the distraction. She took care of customers, or told Stephanie when she was out of her depth.

Just as they were closing up for the day, a man entered the store carrying a huge bouquet of red roses.

Harper glanced at them and let Stephanie deal with them.

“I’m looking for a Harper Miller,” he said.

“I’m her.” Harper wiped her hands on the apron and signed for them. “Did you order roses like this?” She turned to Stephanie.

“I didn’t. They’re beautiful though. They’re for you, so you must have a secret admirer.”

“I don’t have anything.”

“Here’s the card,” Stephanie said. Harper didn’t make a move to take it. She sat and listened as Stephanie read it out. “No amount of roses will make up for what I did. I’m coming for you soon, babe. You better believe it, Draven.”

Harper took the card from her and read it. She frowned. “Does it have a number?”

“Who is Draven?”

“He’s an old … friend.”

“Sounds more like an old lover.”

“He’s complicated.”

“The complicated ones are always the best. This is the point I’m making, Harper. We need to get you back out there. Get you on the market, dancing and having fun. This Friday, I want you ready, and we’re going out on the town. We’re going to hit a couple of bars. Dance, flirt, and maybe make out with a couple of guys.”

“What happened to you?” She wondered what Axel had done to her. Stephanie was more open, free, happy.

“Nothing. I just feel different. We have one life. One short life, and I want to live it to its fullest. The only way to do that is to live. I’m not hiding, and I do think making out with a lot of guys is incredibly fun.”

“Okay, fine.” Harper chuckled. “Friday night, I’ll be ready. I want it to be fun though.”

By the time Friday night finally arrived, Harper wasn’t interested in getting pretty, or even doing anything remotely close to going out and having fun. She wanted to be alone. The roses were a problem for her. She couldn’t stop thinking about what they meant.

Draven was back.

Why had he forced her to leave in the first place?

It made absolutely no sense to her why he would contact her like this.

Was it even him?

Get a damn grip, Harper.

She pushed those thoughts to one side and instead finished getting ready. By the time Stephanie picked her up, she was ready for a drink. Lots of them.

“You look ready to party,” Stephanie said.

“I am. Come on, honey, show me how to have a good time.”

Stephanie let out a whoop, and Harper followed her boss and friend as they entered the first nightclub.

The music was too loud.

Harper went straight to the bar while Stephanie headed for the dance floor.

She ordered herself a shot of whiskey, and knocked it back. In order to get away from the questions rushing in her head, she needed to have a lot of shots and a lot of dancing.

Stephanie dragged her onto the dance floor after her sixth shot.

The whiskey was cheap and not doing what she wanted. She threw herself into dancing. The men who joined them tried to get touchy with her, but she ignored them. If they touched her, she pushed their hands off.

Some of them muttered that she was a lesbian. Again, she ignored them. They could all go and suck on their own cocks. She was here to have fun, not to entertain them.

Stephanie got bored with a lot of clubs quickly, and for Harper, she was more than happy to keep on moving.

From one club to another, the drinks kept flowing. The only problem was during their walks to each hot club, Harper was sure she actually got sober.

She needed to numb her body, to stop thinking.

By the sixth club, Harper downed two shots, one after the other. When Stephanie tried to pull her away, she refused. “I just want to drink. That’s all I want. To drink.”