Vespera practed fast, pping a hand over Reba''s mouth like she was about to drag her oft and silence her for good. She practically yanked her into the elevator.
The shot her a look that seemed to say, "Say one more word, and 1''ll strangle you." She was alreadyce-deep in trouble. There was no need to stie up more
Ambiguity.
She didn''t need this.
Reberca justughed to herself. She thought that things must''ve p gotten intense in there. If she had known, she would''ve barged in too
She was genuinely upset she missed the show.
Reba nodded and gave a thumbs-up as if to say, "I swear won''t say anything.
Only then did Vespera let her go.
The three sidestepped into the elevator
As it descended, Dominic''s expression was noticeably cooler than before. Nothing dramatic, but enough to be felt. Like something about him had suddenly be
less approachable.
The quiet pressure he gave eft filled the elevator, making the air feel unusually heavy.
Once they exited the building Reba, knowing they''d shown up out of concern for her, felt touched and insisted on treating them all to ate-night meal,
Dominic said he wasn''t eating and left with Calvert,
"He''s mad," Reba whispered to Vespera.
"Yeah, I noticed. No need to spell it out," Vespera thought.
Dominic hadn''t been thinking straight since the whole incident at the vi, anyway, She would just let him stew,
She changed the subject. "Weren''t you offering food? He''s not eating, but Yaz and I still are. You still treating? Reba nodded eagerly "Of course!"
She drove Vespera and Yasmine to a cozy broth-and-grill spot, where the three of them ate and chattedte into the night.
Yasmine hadn''t interacted much with Reba before, but after tonight, she realized that Reba was a refreshingly bold, sharp, and confident woman with both charm and brain.
Sure, Yasmine could be a little over the top, but she liked people who weren''t fake.
"So. Ms. Sayder, did you manage to find any real evidence against Tina today?"
"Mes. Sowle is a slippery old fox," Reba said with a cold, disappointed smile. “I thought after setting things up twice already and then hitting her with the finale today, she''d finally crack. But nope. When it came to the key detalls, she just dodged and deflected. Ugh
She downed two big gulps of beer in frustration
"Totally expected, Yasmine said, not surprised in the least. She twirled her fingers and took a small bite of some grilled vegetables,
"People don''t be viins by ident. They''re good at finding noble- sounding excuses for the terrible things they do. Those redemption ares you see on TV? Total bullshit. People like her never think they''re wrong-the only ones at fault are the people they think should disappear.!!
"Ms. Ralston, you''ve got a sharp eye for human nature," Reba said.
"Just call me Yaz. Can call you Ba too, like Vera does?"
Sur can? Reba smiled. She pulled a business card from her purse and handed
it over. "Yar, if you ever run into legal trouble,o find me. I''ll give you a
Yasmine blinkard, thenughed behind her hand. What a basiness-minded
woma
She shipped the card into her bag. "No problem. I''ll even send a few friends your way sometime."
"Thanks," Rebetra said cheerfully
When they came out of the booth-and-grill restaurant, Yasinine''s driver was already waiting outside. She waved goodbye to them and walked away gracefully, her steps full of quiet condidence
Vespera asked Reba for her carrys, and the two of the drove to Reba''s apartment,
As soon as they stepped inside and dappped their bags, Reba pulled Vespeta down onto the couch, eyes sparkling
She pulled out berphone and opened an app, loolding way too excited. "Know what this is?"
Not guessing. Just tell me alerady," Vespera said, leaning in, intrigued.