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“People would eat this shit up. Lindy, I had no idea you could design like this. What the fuck?”
“It’s only something I’ve dabbled in,” she said. “Nothing spectacular.”
“Lindy, all of this shit is phenomenal. I’m not so sure about the leather trench coat, but these leggings and that pink leather shit? Priceless. And look at these boots! You’ve got them customized down to the fucking rings the laces go through. And what’s this? Fucking leather coats with lace ruffled shit?”
“I didn’t know if you’d like that, honestly,” she said.
“Lindy. All this stuff is incredible. You’re definitely in charge of the customizing-slash-repair shop. That’s clearly your thing,” I said.
“Oh. I meant to tell you. The contractor who's coming by to look at the business portion of the building called me early as fuck this morning.”
“Sucks to be you,” I said.
“She wants to come by Sunday instead of Tuesday. Something with her kids and doctors or whatever. So, I’m gonna be meeting her there for the walkthrough. Wanna be there for it?” she asked.
“Sure. What time?”
“It’s not until five. She said the estimate should only take about an hour. Then we can talk budget, plans, and schedules if we decide to hire her. But I’m telling you, she’s the only reputable one in town. All the rest are pretty skeezy,” she said.
“Well, we won’t let her know we know that. We’ll stick to the budget and see what her best offer is,” I said.
“Good. Now, why the hell did you actually call?”
“I told you, I wanted to talk about the store,” I said.
“Might work with others, but not with me. I’ve known you for years, Emma. I know when something’s up. It’s about Jacob’s eye, isn’t it?”
“They won’t tell me what’s going on. None of them will. First the shootout we heard about, then the secrecy. Then the black eye last night. They won’t tell me anything, and I’m fucking worried as hell,” I said.
“It’s shit with their crew. You know that. And you know men are fortresses when it comes to that life. They want to protect you, but some shit they can’t talk ab
out without risking the safety of their entire network. Come on, Emma. You know how this goes.”
“But something, you know?” I asked. “I mean, they’re very open when it comes to sex. And they trust me with their money. Money, Lindy. Two hundred fucking thousand dollars of it. But Jacob can’t tell me where he got his black eye?”
“I’m not saying you don’t have a point, but what I’m thinking is why the fuck you’re telling this to me. You need to be telling this to them,” she said.
“Because you asked, you nosy bitch,” I said.
“Because you needed to talk, you clingy asshole.”
“How the hell do I even bring up a conversation like this? And when’s the right time? Things are going well, and I don’t want to ruin it,” I said.
“Look, I’m the last person to be taking relationship advice from or whatever, but in the relationships I’ve seen? There’s always going to be shit going down. Buck up, suck it up and be an adult. Voice your concerns and don’t let shit fester. That’s when things get out of control, and you start saying shit you don’t mean.”
“Ugh. Fine. See you tonight at work?” I asked.
“Don’t like it? Don’t ask. See you tonight.”
CHAPTER 25
The Saturday shift came and went without a peep from the guys. Mom came into the bar, got shit-faced, and went home with some guy in his car. Her beat-up piece of metal was still in its parking space when I left, so I went home and crashed without a care in the world. I was too exhausted to worry about the guys, and I was too inundated with stuff that had to get done. I had tips overflowing in my coffee can and I had to go put them in the bank. Also, I had the to pay off the rest of the building loan now that the check had cleared in my account. And I had to get rest for the appointment Lindy and I had with the contractor on Sunday.
But when I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the front door, I knew my day was about to change.
I opened the door in my robe and saw the guys standing there. Jacob’s eye was still bruised but it wasn’t nearly as swollen as it had been. Tyler had a bruise on his jaw, and Adam was limping a little bit as they came into the house. They were holding coffee and doughnuts and had darkened expressions on their faces.
I was excited to see them, but the worry was percolating in my stomach again.
