Read Get Bent for Free Online Page A

Campbell?” Her expression is neutral, resting in a place where each word I say could tip the scale, convince her that I'm one way or the other. Right now, I want her to like me. I need her to.
    “Well, hello there, Blair,” I say, trying to switch on the charm to half-mast. If I go all the way, she'll be repulsed. Pull it all back, and I might as well spit in her face. “I wanted to ask you a question.” She blinks her long eyelashes at me and waits with her red lips pushed out and her cheeks sucked in.
    “Shoot,” she says, scooping some hair over her shoulder and letting her eyes flicker around behind me, taking everything in. Blair is not in a good place right now. Anybody could see that. She's nervous, and she has a right to be. Nobody knows who attacked America and Marta, and even more frightening, no one knows why. She could be next; she might not be.
    “Do you have access to any of Naomi's things? Anything that the police left behind?” Blair gives me a once over that says she isn't sure what to make of my questions. One thing I do notice right away: she doesn't like them.
    “Why?” she asks suspiciously, fanning faux eyelashes as she keeps her gaze traveling around the room, hooking onto unknown roadies and local staff with a nervous flicker of her tongue over her lips. “I mean, what would they leave behind that would be of any use to you? They're cops, Turner.” I squeeze my fists tight at my sides. I am so not used to taking shit from people. I'd sort of like to punch Blair in her tiny nose. But I'm not going to. I'm over that crap. It's not worth it. The only thing that's worth it is this. I sigh and release my frustration into the humid air. It's so fucking hot in air. Should be fucking illegal. Christ. I can't even breathe right now.
    I stare at the exposed beams overhead, the untreated wood. This building is old as sin. I don't know anything about the history of it, don't care at the moment, but it would be kind of cool to find out. I run my hands down my face and count cobwebs twenty, thirty feet up. The acoustics in this place are going to be off the hook.
    “Is this like, some souvenir sort of a thing? Do you need something to remember her by?” Blair sounds bitter when she asks these questions, but I don't let it bother me. Naomi isn't dead. Marta is. Naomi is out there, somewhere, and I'm going to fucking find her. I drop my chin down and stare Blair down hard. She can't hold my gaze, good sign.
    “If you can think of anything Naomi left, I'd like to see it. Sometimes the cops look at things one way and the bad guys look at it another.”
    “Are you a bad guy, Turner?” she asks me, tilting her head slightly, pursing red, red lips. She's got that rockabilly look going on that I'm not a fan of. She's pretty, but she'd be prettier in a pair of jeans and a tee. Whatever. I've only got eyes for Knox at this point. Seems like a one-fucking-eighty for me, but it's not. It's just a natural progression. I've been through a lot of girls, hundreds even, and I don't give a shit about any of them. For Naomi, I'd chop off my own dick. Pretty simple.
    “I don't know, Blair. I'm still figuring that bit out. When I find an answer, I'll let you know. For now, I just want to search Naomi's stuff.” Blair shakes her head and pulls out a cigarette from the pocket on the front of her dress. She lights up and doesn't offer me one. I notice absently that her hands are shaking.
    “There's nothing, Turner. The cops took everything. Stop worrying about it, okay?”
    And then she walks away and leaves me there more curious than ever. I might be an asshole, but I'm a perceptive asshole. Something's up with Blair Ashton. I smile. Any clue is good, any new mystery is helpful because it means progress. I take another breath of the humid air and listen to the drone of the crowd out front. After this is all over and Naomi's back, we'll be crowned the freaking King and Queen of Rock. I pause. No, I think as I get out a