I hit the call button. I’d explain everything.
I waited. Nothing.
Shit. There was no goddamn cell service up here. I tossed my useless phone back onto the crate.
I’d worked so hard down at the club, only for it to go up in flames. Now I’d managed to get on Harvey’s good side. Nothing ruined that faster than disobeying orders.
What the hell was I thinking? I couldn’t stay here. I braced my stiff neck with one hand and turned my whole body to look for Armin’s truck. Not back yet. But as soon as he walked in that door, I had to get him to take me home.
Everything I’d struggled to build, relationships with the other girls, the clientele, all gone in the club fire. Despite the loss, now I was on the verge of getting closer to Harvey than ever before, and I was going to blow it if I didn’t get the hell out of here and get back to him.
Why was it so damned cold in here despite the fire, and the woolen blanket, and Armin’s flannel shirt? It didn’t matter. I had to get going. I shoved the blanket off me and pushed myself to standing. My hip throbbed, but it was manageable. Armin had carefully lay my wet clothes on hangers and hung them off the mantle to dry. I reached for them, groaning at the pain in my arm and my abs, still.
The screen door slammed, and the front door opened. “Mia?”
“I have to get out of here, now.”
“Oh, hey now. Wait a moment. I called your work, and they said you could…it would be okay for you to stay here a couple of nights.”
“Well, that’s not what the text from my boss said.”
“Maybe he sent it before I called.”
I tore my skimpy dress from the hanger, but the quick motion went straight to my head, striking me dizzy.
Armin dropped the bags he carried and hurried over to my side to steady me.
“You didn’t eat or drink anything,” he said.
“I’m not hungry,” I said.
“Not even for ice cream?” He nodded at the bags he’d dropped.
Tears pricked the backs of my eyes. Crying, and forwhat? Ice cream? I was tougher than this.
“I’ll bring you anywhere you need to go Mia, but for God’s sake, first it’s got to be a hospital. You’re burning up.”
He steered me back to the couch, and helped me sit down. My eyes wouldn’t focus. I opened my mouth to argue with him, but all I could do was stare straight ahead and watch my vision narrow until darkness overtook me.
twelve
. . .
Armin
I raninto the room and flung on the light. Mia’s shouts died down and her eyes opened wide. She’d flung all the blankets off her, fighting whoever she’d been screaming at in her dreams.
This was the second time I’d heard Mia scream. Every time it stopped my heart.
I crossed the room to be by her side, but she eyed me like I was the enemy.
“Are you okay? You were having a nightmare.” I’m an idiot for asking. She’s not okay. The sheets are soaked with sweat and her eyes are crazed with fear. If I put that little purple pistol in her hand, I’d say there was a fifty-fifty chance she’d’ve shot me on sight.
“Did you work with him, Armin? Did you work for Harvey?”
“No Mia,Jesus…no.” The accusation hits me low, though it’s not far-fetched: I’d never witnessed it for myself, but I’d heard half the cops in the county were in Harvey’s pocket. After the Feds dismissed those property fraud charges of his last year, I couldn’t help but wonder how far Harvey’s reach extended past the borders of our little town.
Her eyes searched the room, still not really seeing. I sat lightly on the edge of the bed and put my hand to her head. She was burning up. “We have to go to the hospital. You have an awful fever.”
