His body jerks like he wants to lunge at me as he clenches his teeth. “Well, we both know you’ll only stick around long enough for Carly to fall for you before you leave her like you have everyone else. Face it, once the shine wears off, you’re out of there. Besides, what about Trixie?”
"Don’t go there," I growl. It's a dirty move - twisting shit and using it against me.
He smirks, shrugging like he doesn't understand the shit he was trying to start. “Just saying.”
“Fuck you, asshole,” I seethe, throwing the door open and slamming it shut again. For all the trouble he’s had in his life, Storm is lucky enough to have fallen in love once before and it seems he’s well on his way again with Ali. All I want is the thing he’s found but somehow, it always evades me. My chest burns and I sulk away from the truck, pulling out my phone and dialing Kodiak’s number.
“What’s up, brother?” he answers.
“I’m fucking done with him. He can do this job by himself or you can send someone else out with him but just keep him the fuck away from me.”
Kodiak chuckles under his breath and if I wasn’t so pissed, I would probably find the situation funny also but all I hear are Storm’s snide words replaying in my mind.
“That was quick.”
I blow out a breath and run my fingers through my hair. “Don’t start with me. Y’all haven’t been able to deal with his cranky ass either.”
“True.” He laughs. “How about we let him stew by himself for a little while then?”
“That sounds like a plan. Just check in with him later for me, will ya?”
“You got it,” Kodiak says and I hang up, noticing a text from Carly.
Carly:
Don’t get your hopes up.
Me:
Too late.
* * * *
Cold air blasts me in the face as I step into the fancy hotel downtown and I slip off my sunglasses as I scan the lobby. When I don’t recognize any of the faces milling around or sitting in the lounge, I turn and walk over to the bar. As I slip onto a stool at the end of the glass bar with the wall to my back, the bartender glances in my direction and ambles over.
“What can I get you?”
“I’ll take a beer. Whatever you’ve got on tap,” I answer, still scanning the lobby through the glass walls that section off the bar area. He nods and fills up a glass before setting it on a napkin in front of me. As I take a sip, I remember the flowers I sent Carly this morning and pull out my phone to check for a text. I laugh out loud when I see a photo of the flowers in the garbage can.
Carly:
This isn’t going to work on me.
Me:
What will work on you?
I guess I didn’t really think it would work but I’m also surprised she threw them away. She never says or does what I expect her to and I like it.
Shaking my head, I tuck my phone back into my pocket and lean back against the wall so I can watch the crowd. I fidget with the napkin and sigh. Sitting still for long periods of time isn’t really my strong suit but if it will keep one of our girls safe, then I’ll do it. Even if it's like torture.
My phone rings and I dig it out of my pocket before glancing at the screen.
“What’s up, Boss?” I ask Blaze, our president.
“Where are you at?” he asks, sounding out of breath and I sit up, all my senses heightened.
“I’m on my way to check in on Dina. Everything okay?”
He sighs. “Yeah, it’s all good. I just need that file that Streak gave you earlier.”
“Oh, it’s on the dresser in my room.”
“Perfect. I’ll let you get back to it then. Let me know how Dina’s doing after you leave.”
I nod. “You got it, Boss.”
I hang up and slip my phone back in my pocket as I scan the crowd one last time and chug half my beer. Standing, I toss a twenty down on the bar before stepping back into the lobby toward the elevators. It’s a little excessive to wait so long after arriving at the hotel, but I’d hate myself if I lead Mitch right to Dina’s door.
The elevator door opens and I step inside, sighing as I lean my head back against the wall, thinking about the day we moved her here.
Dina first called us from the hospital after her husband had beaten the shit out of her and a nurse slipped her our number, telling her we could help her. She even went the extra mile and hid Dina at her house until we could move her, but nothing happened according to plan that day. Dina’s husband, Mitch, has erratic working hours and it was difficult for us to get information without it getting back to him so we went in blind, which was a huge mistake.
Mitch showed up as we were walking Dina to the truck and attacked us. He caught me by surprise, punching me in the face, and as a result, I smashed my head on the side of the truck and passed the fuck out. When I woke up, he was on top of Storm, hitting him, and I jumped up before kicking him off of him. The sound of two of his ribs cracking as he hit the concrete steps was satisfying but not nearly as satisfying as pressing my gun to his head. It was a stupid move, especially in the nice suburban neighborhood where it all unfolded, but this case got to me.
The elevator doors slide open and I walk out, turning left down the hallway toward Dina’s room, still keeping a watchful eye on everything around me. I stop in front of her door and check the empty hallway one last time before knocking. After a second, the door opens and Dina offers me a soft smile.
“Hi, Chance.”
“Hey, Dina,” I say, looking over my shoulder. “Can I come in?”
She nods, backing up, and I notice the bruises around her neck where Mitch tried to choke her are almost gone as I step into the room and close the door behind me.
“You want something to drink? There isn’t much, but I could get you some water.”
I shake my head. “Don’t worry about me. How are you doing?”
“Good,” she says, sitting down on the couch and clasping her hands together as a shy smile teases her lips. “Great, actually.”
“Yeah?” I ask, noticing the light in her eyes that wasn’t there a few days ago.
She nods. “It was scary at first, but each day it feels a little easier, you know?”
I smile. “I always had faith that you’d be all right.”
“I can't believe I have a future again. That’s the weirdest feeling in the world,” she says with a laugh and I nod.
“If you need anything, you can call any of us and we’ll help you out. Don’t think just because we got you away, our help ends here.”
“I know, Chance,” she whispers, nodding. “Thank you. I think if it wasn’t for you and Nurse Kelly, I might be dead right now.”
“We’re glad to help. Now, what’s the deal with your parents?” I ask, scowling when fear creeps back into her gaze. Her parents were supposed to come down from Maryland to get her four days ago but they got held up.
“Um… about that… Mitch has been calling them and he’s threatened them if they help me. They said they didn’t give a damn, but I don’t want them to get hurt so I asked them to stay there for the time being.”