Harper had lost count of the number of times a partner had started out understanding and then began picking fights a few weeks into the relationship. Funnily enough, it always coincidedwith them realizing that Harper wasn’t looking to get rescued from her chosen career.
But even when she tried,reallytried, Harper couldn’t picture Maya in that scenario.
“Maya isn’t like them,” Harper said, though she couldn’t get her voice much higher than a mumble. “Most people can’t handle it. Or me, for that matter. They get jealous, or frustrated, or just plain tired of it all, but… it doesn’t feel like that with Maya. She’s not like everyone else. She’s decent.”
The statement was more earnest than expected. So true that it felt close to indisputable.
Maya had been like that since the beginning. All considerate and protective. From that first night in the parking lot to every conversation they had at the Lucky Penny bar, she made every moment they shared feel like a haven. One so free from judgment that Harper sometimes forgot to keep her guard in place.
She hadn’t realized how exhausting it was. To always hold it up.
Maybe Nell saw that, too. Harper wasn’t the only one who’d spent a lot of time around Maya.
“Sheisdecent. Like, ridiculously decent. Everyone at the Penny likes her, other than Colton, and that’s a point in her favor if you ask me.” Nell gave her a careful smile. “I didn’t see it myself, but she apparently scared the life out of him last night. Even though Maya left early, Colton insisted on walking us all to our cars. Wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
The excited glint returned to her eyes. “Is she a good kisser, too?”
The question brought sudden heat to Harper’s face, but it also siphoned tension from her shoulders. She’d kept Kieran a secret because she’d known deep down that he was bad news. While she didn’t feel that way now, she had worried Nell would.
“She’snota good kisser.” Harper grinned. “She’s fucking amazing at it.”
Nell put her hand over her mouth, subduing her laughter into a chuckle, when a hard knock at the door made her flinch. She had always been jumpy, and loud noises proved it like nothing else.
Harper didn’t share her reaction. This particular noise, she had gotten well-acquainted with.
She got up from the table. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
“Something wrong?”
“The landlord has been on our ass. The other tenants keep filing noise complaints.” Harper rolled her eyes. “But these complaints only startedafterhe learned what sort of club Patricia was managing. If he’s showing up before dawn just to shout more bullshit at us, then—”
The threat died on her lips. She’d made it to the front door, raising herself up on her toes to look through the peephole, but where she had expected to see the stumpy silhouette of their balding landlord, she instead saw a woman.
A woman with dark brown hair and golden-black eyes.
Maya looked like she’d been beaten up. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were covered in stains. She was hunching, resting her hand against her side, and traces of red marked her jaw and neck. Smeared blood.
She looked over her shoulder, stiffened, and then knocked again. Or pounded would be the more accurate descriptor.
“What is that racket?” Patricia had stepped out of the bedroom, wrapped in a robe and rubbing her eyes.
“Landlord. I think,” Nell said quietly. Patricia squinted against the bright kitchen lamps.
“What’s he doing here at six-thirty in the morning?”
“It isn’t…” Harper cleared her throat. “It’s nothing. Just give me a second.”
Before the confused looks from Nell and Patricia could turn into questions, Harper opened the door just wide enough to slip outside. She closed it as quickly as she could, turning towards Maya with the sole intention of asking what the hell she was doing here.
No biting remarks came out. As soon as they made eye contact, a soft smile blossomed on Maya’s face.
“You’re okay.”
She said the words as though surprised by them. Like she had expected something more dire than a bewildered Harper standing in the hallway.
“Yes, I… I’m fine.”
Harper glanced at the peephole. Patricia wouldn’t snoop in on the conversation, but Nell might. Harper had done similar things to her.
