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The sun is just starting to rise as she sits behind the wheel, staring at the club. For a brief second, her gaze darts to the camera.
Does she know I’m watching?
I always watch the camera to make sure that my employees leave without hassle after the club closes for the night. The bouncers walk the staff to their cars, but I like to keep watch from afar.
Though some people might describe me as a bad man — and they wouldn’t be wrong — I care for my staff. For the most part, they are good people. They all have families waiting for them to come home.
I won’t allow them to be taken away from their families like mine was taken away from me.
After a few more minutes of sitting in her car, Hadley gets out and starts walking. She glances over her shoulder before turning a corner and disappearing out of the camera’s sight and into the early morning.
“For fuck’s sake,” I say, locking my computer before getting up and heading for the doors to follow her.
Neither of the bouncers say anything to me as I walk outside and follow her. She doesn’t seem to notice me as she turns another corner.
I keep my distance from her, wondering where she is going.
Is she working for Felix? It seems like too much of a coincidence for her to start working for me once he comes back to town.
It’s not the first time that I’ve thought Hadley might not be who she says she is. I doubt it will be the last time that I suspect her of it either.
There’s a lot of things that don’t make sense about that woman. Too many pieces of the puzzle are still missing.
I don’t like missing pieces. Missing pieces are how my cartel is put in jeopardy.
Hadley walks quickly, looking behind her every now and then. I keep my head down and stay several feet behind her, making sure she doesn’t see me the few times she does look over her shoulder.
She keeps walking, farther and farther away from downtown.
The houses around us look like they’ve been neglected for years. Grass grows high and fences are falling apart. Several of the houses have broken windows. Even more are covered with graffiti.
There are kids playing, though most of them look like the kind of kids that grow up to join cartels.
What the hell is Hadley doing here?
She keeps walking until she stops in front of a house that looks like it’s been ravaged by a fire. The entire exterior is covered in scorch marks and there isn’t a single window intact.
I hide behind a car resting on cinder blocks and watch as she looks around. It’s too early in the morning for anyone other than the kids to be outside.
I doubt they’re supposed to be outside either, but I know sometimes outside is happier than at home.
Hadley grabs onto one of the window ledges and hauls herself up. She slides inside the house like it’s something she’s done a million times before.
The hell. Whose house is she breaking into?
I didn’t think that Hadley had something like that in her but now I’m starting to see that I may have been wrong about her. That recklessness I saw in her the first night we met is showing again.
It’s what prompts me to dash out from behind the car and follow her into the house.
Though I don’t see her when I enter, I take a moment to look around. Furniture is burned and soot coats the walls and ceiling. There are a couple holes in the hardwood floors where a fire once burned through.
Weeds and animals have started taking over the space. A mouse scurries by with something in its mouth, disappearing into a hole in the wall.
“What are you doing here?” Hadley asks, appearing in the living room with me. She looks around, her eyes slightly watery.
“I could ask you the same thing. This doesn’t seem like the kind of place you would spend your time.”
Her cheeks turn pink as she glares at me. “Because you know everything about me, right? Sleeping together a few times means that you get to judge what is and isn’t like me without giving much consideration to the fact that you don’t really know me.”
