AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He steps closer, kissing my forehead. “Just some cyber bullying. Nothing of concern. I protect my family at all costs.”
Is he inferring that I’m his family?
He leads me back to the door, his hand on my lower back. I’m still trying to process what’s happening and I allow for him to take me back inside. The door closes with finality, me being inside and him staying outside. I lean back against the door, the image of Max shooting the man playing on repeat.
Chapter 22: Sienna
There’sasingleroseat the base of my doorway when I push it open, the once-perfect bloom now destroyed with a few petals falling off from the pressure of the wood running over it. I freeze seeing the flower I’ve come to despise since I was a little girl. Its green thorny stem has a little water container at the bottom to keep it fresh. I want to pluck each silky red petal and toss it in the trash; instead, the color, the smell, and its sharp green thorns have me pressing my thumb against it until my skin breaks.
I look around the vacant hallway for a clue as to who dropped this off before bringing it inside and placing it in a cup on the table. It must have been Max. It’s not Max’s fault he doesn’t know I hate roses. They were the flowers on my mother’s coffin.
You would never know it was my father who put a bullet in her by the way he spared no expense on her funeral. He played the grieving husband perfectly, even though her casket was empty. The official report says she’s a missing person, presumed dead, and her burial plot lies empty.
I prefer sunflowers. It’s what she and I would always plant. We would steal the seeds from my father’s favorite package of Spitz and sometimes from bird seed packages if we had any, but once they grew tall enough, he cut them down before they beautifully flowered, calling them weeds.
With a smile on my face, I remember the one time my mom and I got one to flower before he found it.
I sigh, thinking about all these tainted memories. I will never go back. Here, I have no sleepless nights. I’m not forced to be someone’s pawn.
Along the way to work there are a few more roses scattered on my path. I want to ignore each one, but my feet refuse and I pluck each one up. My thumb brushes over a thorn, the sharp protrusion scraping at my fingertip.
I place them behind the counter in a glass and continue to the back. I’m the only one here, everyone’s shifts start later in the day, but I need to do the schedule, place the new girl, Demi, on a dancing shift and decide who will lose a dancing shift for a waitress shift before ordering inventory.
I sit in my chair and stare at the computer, the guilt from stealing money still heavy on my conscience. I need a safety net, but it feels wrong to do this to Dante. It’s not like I can return it now. I can only imagine how that would go. “Hey I stole a bunch of money.”Pop, pop, pop.There I go six feet under.
Eventually, voices make their way back to the office I’m in. I’m shocked to see the few hours I had disappeared. Most of the girls are on the floor while a few others trickle into the staff changing rooms. A rose sits on the counter for me. My eyes automatically search for Max. He and Dante are having a hushed conversation, but it looks heated from their body language.
I pick the flower up, smelling it, and my nose wrinkles involuntarily. Wanting to mess with Max, I leave it on the counter, waiting for him to make a comment about it.
Looking back up, Dante is shaking his head on the way to his office while Max strolls toward me. “Hey, pretty lady. Looks like I’m going to get to look into your gorgeous eyes every day now,” he flirts, smirking at me with his eyes shining.
He leans on the counter, lowering his voice, and asks, “You know much about Demi?” His eyes narrow on her, his face hardening.
“She’s a nice girl, hard worker. Don’t you dare scare her off, Max.”
His hand flies to his chest. “Little ole’ me? You watch, I’ll have her eating out of the palm of my hand.”
I chuckle as I watch him try to transform himself into something he’s not. It’s not working, he’s still intimidating as fuck.
“Leave the girl alone.” I shake my head.
“You and Dante sound far too much the same.” He takes a seat and I give him water. “Can I have a beer?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I say with a playful attitude, “Beer is for paying customers.”
He grabs my hand, staring into my eyes with a serious expression. “Be my date this weekend.”
“Not a chance.”
“I’ll have to ask someone else then.”
I can’t help but laugh, and his lips purse at my reaction. He looks so damn sexy when he frowns.
“Max, I’d love to go on your arm, but have you checked this over with Dante?”
“I don’t need my brother’s permission to take my girl out,” he grumbles, his voice rough with possessiveness.
“Doesheknow I’m yours?”
