Fannie turned to the drinks cart and poured herself a tall scotch. Normally she wasn’t a scotch gal, but, goddamn, Ray always had the best fucking whiskey. Smooth as silk, hot, sliding down the back of her throat. It was hard not to enjoy it. She sat down in a cushy chair and took a sip as she crossed her long legs, Ray watching her as she moved. Rain hitting the window glass, quiet and cool in the room.

He’d already spread back the sheets on the king-sized bed. She smiled up at Ray, but there was a coolness in his face, looking a bit ashen and worried.

“Go on,” Fannie said. “Say it.”

“Buster wants you gone,” Ray said. “He’s made some kind of fucking cockamamie agreement with the local yokels. He’ll find a place for you. But he’s taking away north Mississippi. He said he’d find work for you elsewhere.”

“Let me guess,” Fannie said. “A casino greeter down in Biloxi? Someone to tug the peckers of old men on golf weekends? Laugh at their bad jokes, pat their bald heads, and make them feel twenty years younger?”

“Yeah,” Ray said, blowing out some smoke. “Something like that. I won’t dip dog shit in powdered sugar. But I told him hell no. I told him if he wants to get you gone, I’m out, too. He made a goddamn deal with you to run things. I’m too fucking old and tired for his crap, going back on his word. Buster understands what I bring to his goddamn buffet. I can take my people and my business elsewhere. I’ll head back to New Orleans. Those folks love me down there. It won’t change a damn thing for me.”

“Appreciate it, Ray,” Fannie said. “You are a real gent. But I don’t like it. I don’t like having a chaperone.”

Ray’s face softened. He walked to the drinks cart and uncorked the scotch, studying the label and nodding his approval. He looked handsome yet funny in the long silk shirt and the boxers, navy blue socks hiked up to his skinny knees. “I’m glad to do this for you,” he said. “I’m glad to be of some use.”

“That’s not what this has ever been about.”

Ray nodded. “I know.”

“I took off my panties when I got to Batesville,” Fannie said, taking a little sip. “I couldn’t wait.”

“You’re bluffing.” Ray laughed a little. “I see it on your face. I’ve always been able to tell when you’re lying to me.”