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“It’s no trouble at all.”
“Okay.” I handed him the car key.
“Let me know when you get home.”
He still wanted to know after everything?
Griff cupped my chin and gave me a quick kiss. “When you’re able to, we’ll talk about it. Go home and get some rest.” He opened the passenger door for me, and I got in. Instead of stepping back, he leaned in toward the driver. “I got your license plate number. Take good care of him.”
I ducked my head and allowed a tear to slip.
Why did good guys like Griff lose everything because they made one mistake when assholes like David were still thriving?
17
GRIFF
The sting of sweat dripping in my eye pulled me out of my thoughts about Scottie and the way he’d been avoiding me for the past three days. I’d told him I would give him space until he was ready to talk, but at this rate, it would never happen until I made a move.
What was going through his mind anyway? If he’d allowed me to sock that fucker in the mouth, he’d probably feel better already. Despite what others said, sometimes violence felt good, especially when bastards like his ex deserved it. But Scottie hated violence, and I was trying to change, so I’d held back. I hated walking away and not being able to do anything about the utter devastation on Scottie’s face.
“Burke, I’m not paying you to admire the scenery.” The site supervisor, Karl, shouted so loud some men nearby stopped to look.
I gritted my teeth. Karl was an asshole who breathed down my neck like a dragon. When he bothered to stick around. Sometimes he appeared on the site, left an hour later, and didn’t even come back for the whole day. Too often I’d had to step in and show the men the proper way of doing things while he was god knew where.
Apparently, it’d been my fault for approaching him about installing inclinometers to track the soil movement while excavating. How had I known someone had been standing behind me while I’d asked him? Worse, how was I supposed to know that someone had been his boss?
He’d been on my case since.
Without responding to him, I hopped back into the excavator. The excavation site was abuzz with activity as the crew worked on the foundation of what would eventually be a skyscraper. At least the job would go on for months. As long as I kept off Mr. Asshole’s radar, I should have a job until I figured out my next move.
As I maneuvered the excavator, its mechanical arms extending and its bucket biting into the earth, I scanned the site. The hustle and bustle of the construction crew continued around me, each member playing their part in shaping the foundation for the future building.
I must have been working for nearly an hour when an uneasy feeling settled in my gut. A group of men at the edge of the excavation site had their backs turned toward the soil wall.
Something was wrong.
I turned off the machine and scanned the surroundings. Just what I’d feared. The ground around the trench seemed unstable, cracks snaking their way through the soil like veins.
“Karl.” I loathed talking to the man, but I had no choice.
He stiffened, so he must have heard me approach, even though he was chatting on his phone, but he didn’t respond. I inhaled deeply and tapped his shoulder.
“Karl, we have a problem.”
He spun around, eyes flashing. “Don’t you see I’m on the fucking phone?”
“It’s urgent.” I tried to keep my tone steady despite the familiar knot of frustration building inside me.
“I told you to stop pussyfooting around and get to work.”
“Listen, this isn’t about me,” I snapped. “The ground here is unstable. We need to evacuate the area and reinforce the excavation before it collapses.”
“What the hell do you know? How many construction sites have you worked on while you were behind bars?”
The fucker. I clenched my fists. “If you don’t call back the men, you’ll be risking their lives. It’s not worth it.”
“You want to know what’s not worth it?” Karl pushed his face close to mine and lowered his voice, “Having a low life like you making trouble on my construction site. Get back to work right now, or fuck off before I fire you. You’ll never work a construction site in this state again.”
