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I shake my head. “I don’t have a cell phone, and I haven’t found any weird papers lying around. Actually, nothing except my necklace was taken. The rest of my apartment was untouched.”
She gasps. “You don’t have a cell phone? How do you even live? This is worse than I thought. You can’t even fucking call 9-1-1. Unbelievable.”
I smile at the customer who walks up to the counter, silently grateful for this small reprieve. The transaction is over too quickly, and I sigh. Although I’m glad to have confided in Harper, it’s forced me to realize how dangerous my situation is. Not only that, it’s bleak.
My shoulders slump as any remaining hope seeps from my body. “I need money. If I had some, I could move, or at the very least, I could buy a few security cameras and a cell phone.”
“Well, you’re not working at a place like T&A again. That’s for sure.”
“Then what can I do? I’m already working long shifts here. I don’t have time for anything else really.”
Harper grabs me for a hug and squeezes me tight. “Don’t worry, we’ll think of something.”
“Thank you.”
The rest of my shift goes by in a blur. My thoughts cycle around and around like a whirlpool until I feel like I’m drowning in the magnitude of my problem. In the end, I can’t think of a single solution that doesn’t involve me becoming a prostitute.
Or asking Hayden for help.
The real question is: do I want to face the lawyer or deal with my stalker?
I rush over to where Harper stands by the coffee machine. “I’ve got an idea, but it’s crazy.”
“I love crazy.”
“I can get the money from Hayden.”
She scrunches her forehead. “From who?”
“Mr. Bennett.”
Her eyes widen while the green hue sparkles. “You’re going toPretty Womanhis ass.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Have you lived under a rock your entire life? Good grief. It’s the story of a rich man who falls in love with a prostitute.”
I frown. “In that case, I’m not going to do what you’re thinking, but it does involve the lawyer. There’s a piece of information he wants from me,” I say, carefully choosing my words. “If I can offer to sell that to him for enough money, then I can move out of my apartment and buy a security system to keep me safe.”
Harper nods slowly. “I think that could work. Are you going to tell me what that piece of information is?”
“It’s… private.”
“More private than you having a stalker?”
I nod. “It’s something pertaining to my life before now. I don’t like talking about it.”
Her gaze softens, and her voice gentles. “Okay, honey. If you think that’ll work, then go for it. I thought he would’ve come back to the Sugar Cube by now, but I haven’t seen him.”
“That’s because I told him I didn’t want to speak to him anymore.”
“You what?” She slaps a hand to her chest. “You’re going to be the death of me. How could you push away such a fine specimen of a man? I’ve failed to teach you. From now on, it’s wax on, wax off. If you say you don’t get that movie reference, I will literally shriek in outrage.”
I put my fingertips to my temples and apply pressure to alleviate the headache that’s forming. “You can be my sensei.”
“Phew,” she says, blowing out a breath. “That was a close one. As your karate master, I want you to contact Mr. I-want-to-sit-on-your-face Bennett. Like right freaking now.”
Chapter16
