Chapter 26

"I'm not sure we should be here Anya," Claudia whispered to her friend as they entered a dark building in the heart of the city's most seedy district. "I'm all for taking our friendship to the next level, but I thought you meant a bottle of wine, listening to classic rock on the radio and pouring out our recent tragic heartbreaks to each other."

Anya laughed and, taking Claudia's hand, squeezed it. The two women stood like night and day next to each other on the threshold of one of the city's more notorious underground gambling clubs. Anya had asked Claudia to come as her wing-woman because she had no other friend she could ask. She needed to find Ash and sources told her he would be here tonight. She hadn't wanted to be alone when she confronted him.

"We're perfectly safe here, Claudia. I promise. These men couldn't touch me even if they wanted to."

The tall, beautiful blond was starting to draw stares from some of the city's most dangerous men. Claudia was always stunning, but