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Now’s the time I have to decide whether I’m going to act like the sweet and innocent girl I was going to pretend to be, or whether to just be me, at least part of me anyway.

“Yeah,” I say, deciding that going with some of the truth is easier. “I can.”

His eyes rove over my body, and I swear I can almost feel them whisper against my skin.

“So.” I clear my throat, stepping back. “That ride?”

His eyes flash. “You can take a ride with me anytime, darlin’.”

I swallow. Somehow, I don’t think he’s just talking about a ride home.

I press the numbers on the keypad of the shitty little phone, numbers that I memorized by heart so that I leave no trail of who I really am. Pressing the call button, I hold it to my ear and listen to the ringing tone that comes over the line. It’s four in the afternoon now and the last time I checked in was just before work last night.

But on account of the fact that I didn’t walk into the apartment until nearly five this morning, I’ve only just woken up.

“Kitty,” Ty barks through the speaker. “Cutting it close.”

“Well, hello to you too.” I hear his answering huff down the line and before he says anything else, I decide to throw my idea out there. “Boss, I can’t check in every day, there’s gonna be times when I just can’t. I didn’t get in until five this morning and I’ve only just woken up. These shifts are cray cray.”

He’s silent and I start to wonder whether I’ve crossed the line. Although I’m undercover on my own, it doesn’t mean that I can dictate how everything is run. Ty’s the boss for a reason.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “I guess you can’t.” I open my mouth to say something else but he cuts me off. “I want you to check in every forty-eight hours. But I won’t step in unless I don’t hear from you for seventy-two. How does that sound?”

“Better,” I murmur.

“You still know the emergency number, yeah?”

“Yeah.” I smile, knowing that at least someone out there actually worries about my safety and cares what happens to me.

“Good. Anything yet?”

“I got introduced to some of his guys last night,” I tell him as I lift out of bed and pad through to the small kitchen.

“Names?”

I pull the OJ out of the fridge and pour a glass. “Giovanni, Marco, Dennis, and Truman.”

“Last names?”

“Didn’t get them,” I say, taking a long swallow of the refreshing juice.

“Anything else?”

“Yeah.” I place the glass into the sink and walk into the bathroom, turning the shower on. “The goddamn truck broke down, which means I had to catch a ride home from Jonny.”

“Fuck! I’ll get Luke to come and fix it.”

“No!” I shout. “If Luke comes here then Joel will know I have friends, it’s best he thinks that I don’t.”

“Joel?”

“Yeah, he kind of runs Wayward, but Jonny told me last night it’s his brother.”

“How are you gonna get to work if you don’t have a truck?” he asks and I can almost hear his frown over the line.

“Jonny said that he’d pick me up and drop me off until I can get the truck fixed.”

Ty goes silent again and I just know he’s thinking what I am. As soon as Jonny offered last night, or I should say this morning, I knew it was a good idea. The more alone time I spend with Jonny, the closer I’ll get and the more I’ll find out.