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considered the inconvenience worth it. Besides, it felt good to throw off her armor for a night. Uncomfortable, but good.
    “There she is.” Rachel’s fingers bit into Sawyer’s arm. “With the braids.”
    Ignoring the sharp sting in her calf muscles, compliments of the killer shoes, Sawyer searched the crowd at the end of Rachel’s finger and spotted their prey straight away. Long, black braids shot through with shocking blue, light brown skin, big glasses, and a dancer’s body.
    “She’s beautiful,” Sawyer said.
    “Fucking gorgeous. You should see Lola dance. It’s like … magic.”
    Sawyer rolled her shoulders back, her mother’s man-hunting advice sneering in her ear. Breasts out, chin up, and a smile. Just a little one, like you’ve got a secret, and if they do as you suggest, you might share it with them . She hated it—hated the lies, deception. Cheating. Anything you imagine, it happened in the hurricane of waspish women, stuck up men, and their bratty children. Nothing was off limits, except embarrassing the family. Once you crossed that line, you were out. Unless you left first.
    “Oh God, she’s coming this way.” Rachel’s grip turned bruising. “What do we do?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Do we hide? We should probably hide. Oh shit, she’s looking at me!”
    Sawyer sucked up Rachel’s panic like it was her own. Lola’s long legs ate up the floor and she reached them before they could think of anything to say or do.
    “Rachel. I didn’t think you’d be here tonight.” Lola’s liquid brown eyes flicked to Sawyer then back to the purple pixie. “Who’s your friend?”
    Rachel stood straighter and slid an arm around Sawyer—Sawyer’s chest clinched tight at the contact. The floor tilted. She barely heard Rachel’s introduction, but felt her standing wooden beside her. Lola didn’t notice. Her sharp eyes locked onto Rachel’s hand draped on the curve of Sawyer’s hip. Going by the downward curl of her lips and flared nostrils, Lola was not happy. Nervous tension crackled in the air. People around them were oblivious.
    “I need to visit the little girl’s room,” Sawyer said. Her nerves fizzed and her heart beat fifty times for every step she took through the crowd.
    At the restroom entrance, Sawyer paused and turned around. Lola and Rachel were standing close, their noses almost touching. She watched them pause, breaths mingling. Then Rachel pressed her palm against Lola’s jaw. Even from across the floor, Sawyer could see the sparks flying between them as Lola lowered her head and claimed Rachel’s mouth.
    She cheered silently while a thread of jealousy stretched taut in her belly. Sawyer shook it off and went into the ladies’ room. Cold water, that’s what she needed. A splash on her cheeks did little to chase away the heat. The leather made her warmer than usual, even with half her body bared. Hell, the bodice barely covered her nipples, and the leather tassels that made up the skirt might as well not exist at all. If her mother ever saw her wearing this—
    Her phone chirped and Sawyer jerked away from the mirror, her eyes wide with fear. Get a hold of yourself! Mother’s voice—shrill, commanding. Would she ever get away from them?
    Sawyer grabbed a sheet of paper towel, blotted her cheeks and reached for her phone with a shaking hand. It might be from him. It might not. Only one way to find out.
    u can go if u want … thanx 4 ur help! i owe u 1!
    Relief eased the tension from her muscles. Rachel’s crazy plan worked. Sawyer couldn’t believe it. Then again, some people had a way of getting what they wanted. Persistence paid off. Maybe if she fought harder, Sawyer could work past the cobwebs blocking her view of the future and leave the past in the past. It was difficult when the one person she loved more than life itself had blood ties to the one person who made her life a living hell for the past five years.
    The bathroom door opened and two girls close to