Page 10

A fter a long day at the shop, I head toward my apartment.

My body feels sluggish and my mind foggy from the lack of sleep I’ve been getting every night. Usually it’s Candy that keeps me up at all hours of the night with her antics, but this time it’s because of Midnight, and he doesn’t even know it.

It’s been days since I’ve seen Midnight, and I hate it. I know he’s busy with his girls, but it’s weird not seeing him around the shop. Not only that, but after the way we left things before, I have this feeling in my gut that something is going to go wrong. Like he will realize what a screw-up I am and not worth his time.

I know it’s not personal, and he’s not avoiding me, but it almost feels as if he is. I can’t help but be curious about how the girls are too. How are they dealing with their mom bailing? Or has she come back? I know it’s none of my business, but I want to know. Those girls deserve better than the complex they are going to get from their mom constantly abandoning them.

Maybe I feel so kindred to them because of my own trauma. My mother wasn’t exactly known for being reliable. I bet if she knew who my father was, she would have dropped me off at his house every chance she could too.

Shaking off the thought, I step toward the door of my building.

“Hey, Carl,” I call out to my downstairs neighbor.

He’s a veteran who is living off his disability check. This is the only place he could afford. It’s terrible to know he fought for our freedom and yet can barely afford a shitty place to live.

“Hey there, Lainey. How are you tonight, sweetheart?” he says, puffing his cigarette.

“I’m all right. Has it been quiet tonight?” I ask.

Sometimes it gets eventful here. Fights between bums are a common occurrence. That and drug deals.

“You know it. Get on inside now. It’s not safe out here for a pretty girl like you.”

I roll my eyes at him, but do as he says. “Night, Carl.”

I brush past him and head inside. By the time I walk up the three flights of stairs, I’m slightly breathless. I really need to start working out. Maybe now that I’m making more money, I should get a gym membership.

I reach into my purse for my keys as I stop in front of my door. When I go to unlock the door, I pause when I see the red eviction notice taped to the lock.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I scoff as I rip it off the door. The notice states we are three months behind rent.

That dumb bitch.

Candy made such a fuss over making sure I paid only for her to run off with the money. I shouldn’t be surprised, but yet I am. Hell, in her own way, she tried to warn me by telling me I should pack my shit up and leave.

I stick the key into the lock and find that it still works. Heading into the apartment, I find that she’s cleaned all of it out, including my bed.

God, what am I going to do?

Tears start streaming down my face as I grab the one large duffel bag I own that I got at an army surplus store years ago and start to fill it with my clothes. Candy might have taken my furniture, but at least she didn’t take my clothes.

How the hell did I end up here? Honestly, between my old boss, Candy, and Midnight’s mood swings, I don’t know how much more I can take. It was never supposed to be like this. This wasn’t part of my plan, not that I really had one.

It’s almost kind of funny that I thought things were finally looking up now that I’m working at Dynasty and making more money than I ever have before.

After zipping the bag shut, I dry my tears and take a deep breath.

No more tears.

I’ve been at rock bottom before, and I’ve made it out on the other side. I can do it again, and next time I won’t trust anyone to do the important things. Like make sure the bills are paid.

Standing, I look around the room to see if there is anything else I have left behind. When nothing stands out, I grab the duffel bag and head toward the door. Without thinking about what I’m doing or where I’m going, I head back to the bus. I’m thankful Carl is back inside when I come back down. I wouldn’t want to admit to him what happened.

I’m going to miss the old guy.

I stand at the bus stop waiting for the bus as I try to work through what I can do. I realize I really only have one option.

It’s only one night.

Tomorrow I will figure something else out.

When it finally circles back, I get on and zone out. Finally, after twenty minutes, the bus comes to a stop where I get off every morning. Standing, I make my way off the bus and head toward Dynasty.

The streets are winding down as I walk down the quiet street. When I arrive at Dynasty, I walk around back and hide my bag by the back door.

Just one night. I’ll stay here one night, maybe two, and then I’ll find somewhere else to stay. No one will know.

I keep repeating it to myself so I don’t think about how wrong it is to do what I’m about to do. If I get caught, I am truly fucked. I will lose the only thing I have left.

This job.

Sighing, I make my way back around the building and let myself in through the front door. As I step inside, Jerico looks up and frowns.

“Hey, you okay?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

“Your face is all red…”

“Oh, my allergies are bothering me,” I lie.

He looks at me like he doesn’t believe me but doesn’t question me further. “There are some meds in the back if you need some. What are you doing back here so soon?”

“Midnight called and asked me to meet him. He wants to talk to me about something.”

Jerico nods. “Cool, cool. Do you want me to stay with you while you wait for him?”

“Nah, it’s late, you should head home. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Get out of here.”

“All right, all right. I have a few more things to do, but I’ll let you know when I’m leaving.”

He goes on about his business as I start working. I don’t need him to question me.

When two rolls around, Jerico comes back up front. “I’m getting ready to go. You sure you are okay? Midnight shouldn’t make you wait like this.”

I smile. “Club life, right? It’s okay.”

Those are the magic words. I’m so glad I remember what Elle told me about the club.

“Lock the door behind me,” he says as he makes his way toward the door.

Slowly I follow behind him and flip the lock. He waves, and I raise my hand, only dropping it once he’s out of sight.

Taking a deep breath, I make my way to the back of the shop, shutting off the lights as I go. Once I’m at the back door, I open it and grab my bag. Just a few more minutes and then I can go to sleep. Locking the door, I set the alarm. Without thinking about it, I skip over the break room and let myself into Midnight’s office. I drop my bag on the floor and curl up on the couch with the pillow and blanket that are still where the twins left them.

Before passing out, I set an alarm on my phone to make sure I’m awake before anyone shows up in the morning. The last thing I need is for them to find out that I’m homeless.

As I fall asleep, I can’t help but wonder what Midnight would do if he caught me. I can only hope he would understand.

It’s only one night after all.

My finger drums on the steering wheel as I drive, nerves coursing through me.

Today is the first day at the girl’s new school, and for some reason I seem more nervous about it than they do. Hell, they woke up before their alarms this morning and demanded we leave early and get donuts.

They’ve been going to school for years, so the concept is nothing new to them, but this is the first time they have had to switch schools completely. Their classes won’t be made up of people they’ve known since kindergarten, and I can’t help but feel a little guilty that they had to switch because I never bought a place in the same district.

We could just move into Miranda’s house. I do own it…

I shake the thought away before it can take root. The girls love my place, and I do too. It’s not that far from the clubhouse or Dynasty, and with the hours I work, I need someplace closer rather than not.

Besides, it would never feel like home. Especially not with the way she emptied the place.

“You’ll pick us up today, right, Dad?” Sienna says from the back seat.

I glance in the rearview mirror, and my heart beats faster when I see the girls sitting in the back seat. Fuck, I love them. I always have, but getting to spend an unlimited amount of time with them without the black cloud of Miranda hanging over us makes me realize how much.

I clear my throat and look back at the road. “I will.”

“Will we go to the shop after?” Selena asks.

“I have a tattoo this evening, so yes. I know you don’t want to hang out there while I work, but I promise it’s only for a little bit. I’m going to figure something out, okay?”

“It’s fine, Dad. We like the shop,” Sienna tells me.

“You like it now, but if you spend too much time there, you might not,” I warn.

“Does that mean we will see Lainey?” Selena asks.

I pause for just a moment while I turn into the drop-off line. “Lainey will be there.”

“Do you think she could take us down to the diner for milkshakes?” Sienna asks.

“Maybe, depends on if we are busy and if she wants to.”

“She will want to,” the girls say in unison, making me chuckle.

I come to a stop and put the truck in park before turning and looking over my shoulder. “Okay, this is it. Are you two ready?”

“Ready,” they say at the same time.

“You know you guys can call me at any time and I’ll come get you, right?”

Selena rolls her eyes, but it’s Sienna who responds. “We know, Dad.”

Before I can say anything, Selena throws open her door and jumps out.

“Love you!” they say in unison before shutting the door.

I don’t even bother to move as I watch them walk toward the building. Not even when the dickhead behind me honks, trying to get me to move forward. Only once the girls are out of sight do I finally move.

I have hours before the shop opens, but I head in anyway. Lord knows I’m behind on paperwork and ordering supplies since I’ve been out all week. It will be nice to get some work done uninterrupted for a change.

Before I know it, I’m pulling up at the back of the shop. I let myself in through the back door and shut off the alarm as I step inside. A noise catches my attention, making me tense.

That’s fucking weird.

I hear it again and reach for the gun I keep in the small of my back, tucked out of view by my cut. Gun in hand, I slowly make my way down the hall, clearing each room as I go. The door to my office is cracked open, making me frown. I know for a fucking fact that I shut that before I left the other day, and no one has a reason to go in there.

Very carefully, I open the door slowly, only to pause at what I see. “Lainey?”

She rolls over so fast she falls off the couch and onto the floor. “Ow!” she cries out.

“Shit, are you okay?” I ask as I shove my gun back into its holster and make my way to her.

Lainey places her hand in mine and lets me help her up and back onto the couch.

“You scared the shit out of me. I should get a bell to put around your neck,” she jokes as she rubs the back of her head.

“Are you okay? Did you hit your head?”

Lainey sighs but smiles. “I’m fine. You just scared me.”

“What are you doing here so early? We don’t open for hours yet.”

Lainey winces and looks down at the ground. “Yeah, I was so tired last night I just decided to stay here. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Why didn’t you ask Jerico for a ride? Or call me?”

“I didn’t think to ask him, and I wasn’t about to bother you. Especially when you have the girls. I’m sorry if I overstepped by staying here. It won’t happen again.”

“So you never went home?”

“No,” she lies.

I know she’s lying because I spotted the duffel bag when I was helping her off the floor. What the fuck happened at home to push her out of her apartment to crash here? What the fuck did Candy do now? There is no doubt in my mind that Lainey only stayed here because Candy made her feel like she couldn’t go home.

I go to press further, but my phone rings.

“Goddammit, hold that thought,” I mutter as I grab my phone. “Yeah?” I say, without looking at the screen.”

“Hey, I need you to stop by the clubhouse before you go into work,” Reaper demands.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Can it wait?”

“No, we need to talk.”

“Okay, I’ll be there soon.” I hang up and look back in time to watch Lainey fold the blanket that had been wrapped around her.

“You have to go?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. Let me know if I need to reschedule your appointments again.” She nods without looking at me.

“I don’t think it will come to that, but I’ll let you know.” I turn and start to head out of my office when I say over my shoulder, “And Lainey, don’t think I don’t know you were lying. We’ll have to talk about that later.”

Lainey groans, making me smile.

That’s right, Flower, I know you were lying, and I want to know why.