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She grabbed a chart and walked off. I briefly wondered if she was right, but shoved it to the back of my mind. He was here to do a job, and I had to get my son. I clocked out, then headed to the locker room to grab my stuff. I didn’t have time to change tonight since I was already late. With my bag in hand, I headed for the exit, purposely ignoring the fact that Officer Thorson was still there.
“Hey,” he said, running to catch up with me outside. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I am,” I smiled at him. “Thank you. I just have to get my son.”
“Yeah, I thought I would walk you to your car. Anyone would be shaken up after what happened.”
That was the truth. My whole body was jittery and on edge. I was trying to appear cool and calm, but my brain was going a million miles a minute, trying to keep up with my body’s reaction. I didn’t want to go home or be alone tonight, but I didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter.
“Do you want me to drive you home?” he asked, watching me carefully.
“What?” I looked up at him, realizing I was standing in the same spot as when he stopped me and I had totally spaced out.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
“I have to get my son,” I repeated.
“How about I follow you? And when we get to your house, I can check it out for you, just to make you feel better.”
I didn’t want to admit how much I needed that right now. Just the fact that he offered had my eyes welling with tears. Other than Gina, I had no one. My parents lived in Florida, far away from all my drama. When I got pregnant, they wanted to move closer, but I wouldn’t let them—not when I knew who Rico really was. My dad had a lot of health problems, and the last thing I wanted was to put any more stress on him.
And that was another problem. If Officer Thorson drove me home, everyone in the neighborhood would see it. It would eventually get back to Rico, and then his father. I didn’t need that kind of attention right now.
“I’m fine,” I smiled. “Really.”
I could tell he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t push it either. I got in my car and drove away, but in the rearview mirror, I saw him watching me. A small smile touched my lips. Gina was right. He was very good looking.
4
JACK
Workingout wasn’t nearly enough to completely wipe the cravings from my mind, but it helped enough that I was able to get out of the house and look at a bike I’d had my eye on from the moment I passed it at the local mechanic’s on my first day in this town. There was nothing special about this bike. In fact, it was going to take a lot of long hours to fix it up and make it run again. Which provided the perfect cover for me as I scoped out the neighborhood.
The man was good enough to bring it to my house on his trailer. I handed him the cash and shook his hand as he twitched uneasily in front of me. Yeah, I got the same feeling the first time I laid eyes on my neighbors. Since all of them were working for Baz, I had to assume that they were all druggies just like me.
Just like Iusedto be.
I would always be an addict, but that didn’t mean I would always be a druggie.
“Send me some pictures when you have her fixed up,” Mike smiled. “I’d love to see how she turns out.”
“Will do,” I answered, slipping him another hundred. “Do you see a lot of people from around here?”
He glanced at one of the other houses and nodded. “Yeah, notexactly the clientele I want hanging around, but a man has to pay the bills.”
“Understood. If you ever hear anything…” I paused, making sure he understood what I was saying, “give me a call.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “You don’t seem like the type to hang around these guys. Mind if I ask why you’re in this part of town?”
I wanted to say I was nothing like them, but that wouldn’t do much to hold my cover. “Just got out of prison. This was the only place I could afford.”
“You looking for work?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m assuming since you’re fixing up this bike you’re good with your hands. If you need a job, swing by. I may have an opening for you.”
That raised more than a few red flags. “Just like that? I just told you I got out of prison and you’re offering me a job?”
