“But now you’re saying that they got in trouble on what night?” I asked carefully. I still didn’t know what Paula knew, but I was assuming that TaShay hadn’t told on me. I figured she was using the fact that Paula would never suspect me of anything, so I was going for broke with that assumption.

“How did TaShay even get in the club?” she asked me.

“Well, I believe she has a fake ID of some sort, because I don’t remember there being a problem with her age at the door.”

TaShay getting in hot water for a fake ID and alcohol was definitely better than any sex acts.

Her aunt said, “Okay, so Friday night is accounted for. Now I have to see about Saturday and Sunday nights. And I’m sorry about this, Terrance.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. So, how’d you come to your conclusions on them?” I asked her.

“I’ve just been told a few things by people I know in San Diego. And I don’t think I want TaShay around this girl Taniva anymore. A bad reputation like that could ruin her career before she even gets started.”

I said, “I understand. And you’re right, of the two of them, Tan was a lot more loaded than TaShay the night that they were out with me.”

I couldn’t defend both of them. That would have been suspect. So TaShay would have to lose Tan to protect her modeling career. Or if they had a strong enough bond, they would continue to be friends anyway. But I had to give her aunt something to run with to cut TaShay some slack. Simply speaking, Tan would have to become the scapegoat.

Paula said, “Well, again, I apologize for calling you this late and asking, but I had a heated conversation with my niece today, and I needed to know what I needed to know.”

“Yes, you do,” I told her.

When we hung up, my heart was still pounding in my chest, and I had to take several deep breaths to calm myself down.

“Shit!” I cursed out loud to relieve more of the tension. “Never a-fuckin’-gain,” I told myself. “What the hell was I thinking?”

I don’t know who else, or what else those girls had done or gotten themselves into, but I was already thinking about protecting myself as much as possible. I had to come up with a workable response for everything.

All of a sudden, the incident with Corey was the last thing on my mind. I was thinking about leaving everyone alone—no Corey or Andrea, no Danni or Theresa, no TaShay or Tan, no Rachel or Victoria, and definitely no more of Marcus Vissel. The man and all of his ties had turned into the devil. Surely, I couldn’t blame Marcus for all of the decisions that I made and the people that I had dealt with, but as Judi had said, it all added up together, and it was all wrong. I would have to distance myself from all of that. It was all about personal survival now. Fortunately, I had enough money stashed away to even change my career if I needed to. All I had to do was pick another profession.