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Chapter Ten
Terri finished peeling her uniform over her body, giving an extra wiggle to get it in all the right places so nothing that shouldn’t be was hanging out. One day, she would find a job that didn’t have a minimum flesh requirement, but until then, she was stuck with this one. At least Luke was a good boss, and more recently, a good friend. It could always be worse, she told herself, stepping into the mile-high heels. Normally, she would dress in casual attire and change in the locker room at work, but today, with what she had planned, she wouldn’t have the time.
One last glimpse in the mirror to be sure her hair was in place and her make-up was right and she was out the door, prepared for her first night of being chaperoned to work. She found Luke in the living room, his big body spread out over the sofa, booted feet kicked up on the table, and his phone in his hand. He was so wrapped up in whatever he was doing that he didn’t even notice that she’d entered the room until she cleared her throat.
“Ready when you are,” she said, gathering her purse and looping it over her shoulder.
Luke looked up, his eyes flashing briefly. “Yeah. Right. Don’t you usually change at work?” She answered with a small shrug. Pushing to his feet, Luke scooped up his keys from the tabletop and held out a hand for her to lead the way.
The ride into the city was disturbingly quiet, and Terri struggled with the words she had carefully rehearsed. She wasn’t exactly crazy about this little arrangement they had, but she was willing to make it work, for a time, but only if she could convince Luke to make a few concessions.
“Luke?”
“Hmm?” He glanced at her, then returned his focus to the road.
Terri fidgeted, scratching her long nails lightly over the skin on her thigh. It was ludicrous that she should be nervous about approaching him about something she wanted and was entitled to. But she hadn’t known anything else in so many years; it had become an instinctive reaction.
Forcing herself to grow a pair, she sat up a little straighter in her seat. “Before we get to the club, I want you to take me by my house so I can pick up a few things.”
Luke’s expression tightened, and she thought he might be gearing up to tell her no, but he surprised her by saying, “Okay, but I check it out before you go inside, and if everything is good, then you go in and get what you need, fast. I don’t think it’s a good idea to hang out for long. He could be watching.”
She was so surprised by his response that she eagerly agreed to his conditions. In her head, she began making a list of all the things she wanted to take, but mainly, she had her focus set on one thing, and Luke might not be too happy when she told him what it was.
***
“Stay here until I tell you it’s okay,” Luke said, cutting the engine. “And lock the doors behind me.”
Terri was a nervous wreck now that she was sitting in front of what used to be her home. Now it felt tainted. Dangerous. As if at any moment Randy would come bursting through the doors with that half-crazed look in his eye that she knew so well. Her hands trembled and she clamped them between her knees to still them.
Waiting took forever, and Terri was nearly crawling out of her skin by the time Luke waved her on. Taking a steadying breath, Terri emerged from the safety of the car and made her way to the front door where Luke stood, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.
Trying to pretend this was just another normal day, Terri collected her mail from the box and sorted through it as she stepped inside. Nothing seemed amiss, everything in the room sitting just as she left it, right down to the glasses she and Luke had been drinking from that night.
Gathering them, she walked the empty glasses to the sink, all the while feeling like there were eyes trained on her. Of course, there were—Luke’s. He was standing in the doorway, watching her every move as if he was afraid to let her out of his sight.
Get in and get out. Right. They were on a time limit.
Taking a canvas tote from a peg in the coat closet, Terri set about stuffing it with the items she had come here for. When she finished with that task, she knew she had to confront the real reason she had wanted to come here.
“All set?” Luke asked, looking at her expectantly.
“I just need one more thing,” she said hesitantly.
“Fine, get it and let’s go,” Luke said, wiggling his fingers in the universal hurry-it-up-would-ya gesture.
She didn’t appreciate his impatience, but she could appreciate where the emotion stemmed from, because she was feeling the pressing need to leave too. “It’s not something I can put in my bag,” she hedged, leading him to the door that opened to the garage.
“Terri,” Luke said on growl, and she could feel the tension rolling off of him.
She chose to ignore it. My life, she reminded herself. It’s my life.
“Luke,” she said calmly as she palmed the doorknob, “if I am going to stay with you, I at least need my own car. I don’t want to become a burden.”
“You’re not a burden, Terri,” Luke insisted.
“Fine,” she replied sharply. “I don’t want to be dependent on a man again, okay. Not for anything, especially when it comes to my freedom.”
Luke’s head snapped back like he had been slapped. “I would never try to trap you, Terri, but when it comes to your safety…”
