by Linda Kage
I reached around behind me to comb his hair with my fingers. "You're mine too. There's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be."
"Don't ever leave me," he demanded in a broken voice.
I smiled, thinking my next words were the easiest promise I'd ever make. "I won't."
Chapter 28
PICK
They buried Tristy on a Saturday morning.
No one attended the graveside service except Tink and me. We brought Fighter along, so he could pay his last respects to his biological mother, but the windy day kept taking his breath, so Eva carried him to the car, and I was left alone to say goodbye to my oldest companion.
I knew I should've mourned her loss, but mostly I just felt relieved. She didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to worry about her anymore.
"That witch was wrong," I told her as I tossed a handful of dirt into the hole on her casket. "You didn't die alone. You had your beautiful little boy with you. I can't think of any better company in the world than that. I swear, Tris, I will bring him up right and teach him to love the memory of you."
Then I turned away to join my family at the car.
I made love to Eva that night slowly, worshiping every dip and curve of her body. She held me afterward, stroking her fingers over my heart tattoo, and I kissed her hair. I knew I should be happy. We were finally together without breaking any marital vows. But uncertainties continued to plague me.
What would happen to Julian when the state finally realized I wasn't any kind of legal guardian to him? How much longer did we have with him? And what about Eva's father?
She'd expressed her concern about him more than once, but I'd told her everything would be okay. What could he really do to us? Her uneasiness made me antsy, though. She knew the douche bag a hell of a lot better than I did. If she felt certain he'd try to get back at us for the way I'd kicked his ass, then I couldn't discount the idea either.
Unfortunately, the next day, one of my worry-filled questions was answered.
When the boss's daughter Jessie called all the Forbidden employees in for a Sunday afternoon meeting while the place was still closed, I hoped to God she was going to announce that her dad was ready to return to work and take over running the place again. Gamble had pretty much taken charge since the owner had been out of commission, and I hated having Gamble boss me around.
I arrived about ten minutes before the conference. All the other bartenders, plus most of the waitresses, as well as the two cooks, had already arrived and were loitering around the back of the club by the bar.
Needing my fellow bartenders to lift my mood, I bumped my arm into Quinn's elbow when I approached him from behind.
I nodded my chin at him and grinned as he turned to acknowledge me. "How's that tongue of yours doing, kid?"
He flushed. "Good."
Next to him, Ten laughed and jabbed Quinn in the belly teasingly. "Aww, look at that humble little grin, while I know for a fact his girl can't keep her hands off him. Always begging to stay the night, unable to stop kissing him. He's turned her into a fucking nympho."
"And he keeps saying she can't stay over." Quinn scowled at his new roommate. "But I don't care if he brings women in overnight. It's not fair."
"Hey, life's not fair," Ten said, completely unrepentant about refusing Quinn more time with his girl.
"Maybe you should tell him he can't have any women over until he agrees to let your—"
"Save it," Ten cut in, scowling at me for putting in my two cents worth. "I don't care if he bars them from my bedroom; I'll just take them somewhere else to fuck . . . like he's going to keep doing with Cora."
"See," Quinn told me. "He won't budge on the issue at all."
When I noticed Ten shift uncomfortably behind Quinn's back, I decided Ten probably had a damn good reason for saying no, and I had a bad feeling it'd leave me pissed at him. But I didn't get to think about it much because Jessie strolled out from the back hall.
"Everyone here?" she asked. "Good." Before waiting to hear that a handful of waitresses hadn't arrived yet, she kept talking. "Dad got an offer to sell this place, and he took it. Meet your new boss."
Just like that, she dropped the big news. No easing into it, no foreplay to soften us up and tell us what good workers we'd been to her family. Just . . . boom. New boss.
What the hell?
Gasps and questions flew around me as my jaw fell open. But damn, I hadn't expected this to happen. I glanced at the other guys, and they returned the same puzzled glances before Mason glanced over and his eyes went wide.
"Oh, shit," he whispered.
I turned and froze.
Bradshaw Mercer strolled out of the hallway behind Jessie, looking as rich, polished, and pristine as ever. When his gaze met mine, his smile grew.
"Good afternoon, everyone." He nodded pleasantly, breaking his gaze with me before looking at all the others as if he were some kind of honorable businessman.
My eyes narrowed. I still wanted to hurt him. Bad. Even more so now than ever. But if he thought he could control me by buying the bar where I worked, he better try to come up with a better strategy. I would drop this place so fast . . . Except I had Eva, Julian, and Skylar to think about. I wouldn't be able to support them on just the garage salary alone. What if I couldn't find another job somewhere else? What if—?
Damn, he was good, I'd give him that.
"My name is Shaw, and yes, I'm technically your new boss, although I've already hired an assistant to run the day to day management. You'll be receiving all your instructions directly from her." Stepping aside, he swept out his hand to the figure who I suddenly noticed waiting in the shadows behind him. "Patricia? Would you care to introduce yourself?"
When Mrs. Garrison stepped into the light, my jaw dropped. Quinn, Noel, Ten, and I instantly glanced toward Mason.
Gray eyes swirling with murder, he threw up his hands. "I quit."
But as soon as he turned away, our new supervisor smirked after him, her eyes gleaming with triumph. "Not so fast, Mr. Lowe. If you quit, I'll relieve these four gentlemen here from their duties right along with you."
My stomach dropped as Mason ground to a halt. He turned back slowly and glared at her before swerving his tortured gaze to us guys. His eyes begged us to let him go, while ours begged him not to get us fired.
"Fuck it," Ten was the first to answer. "If you need to break out of here, then go. I can find a new job."
Noel closed his eyes and muttered, "Shit." We all knew he couldn't lose his income. He was living with a woman who was still looking for work, and now he had three siblings to take care of on top of that.
"I . . . I just signed a six-month lease on my apartment," Quinn said in a small voice. "But I . . . oh, man. I understand if you have to . . . Whatever you need to do, Mason. It's okay."
Mason glanced at me. He knew exactly who I had to support, and he knew who he had to support. Gritting his teeth in a snarl, he turned back to Mrs. Garrison and glared at her. He was going to stay.
She smiled smugly. "That's what I thought."
She started talking to the crowd as a whole, explaining a bunch of bullshit no one cared about. As she blathered on, detailing her new duties as our direct supervisor, I slid my gaze back to Eva's father. He was watching me—a small, smug smile twitching around his mouth.
I'm not sure what his game was, if he was doing this to get revenge because I'd hit him, or if he wanted to draw his daughter away from me, but I was used to being the underdog, the one always forced to bow to superiors. He had another thing coming if he thought this was going to spook me.
Mason was spooked though. He vibrated as he glowered at Mrs. Garrison. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she'd come into Forbidden and tried to convince him she was pregnant with his baby. God, so much had happened since then.
Eva had happened.
Eva, the woman I couldn't lose, no matter what.
My stomach churned with unease.
Mrs
. Garrison dismissed us a few minutes later, reminding us our new work policies would soon show up on the board in the break room. Mason didn't move, so Ten, Noel, Quinn, and I stuck around too, backing him up for . . . whatever he may need.
With a pleasant smile, Mrs. Garrison sauntered toward us.
"Why are you doing this?" he demanded, his voice low and deadly. "And how'd you get hooked up with him?" His gaze sought Eva's father before he turned back to her.
She grinned. "What? Are you jealous, darling?"
"Hardly. I just wanted to give him my congratulations in case he's the one who put those bruises on your neck."
Her eyes turned dark and troubled as her fingers found her throat, where I spotted dark fingerprints I hadn't noticed before.
If he'd done anything like that to Eva when he'd molested her, I'd—fuck, I couldn't kill my boss. I would go to jail.
But, oh man, it'd be worth it.
Leaning closer to Mrs. Garrison, Mason lowered his voice. "Too bad I didn't know you were into that before. I wouldn't have stopped squeezing."
"Hmm." She blinked repeatedly, her eyes flickering out all her troubled thoughts. Ignoring him, she turned to Quinn. "Well, don't you have a pretty face? What's your name, handsome?"
When she reached out to touch Quinn's cheek, Mason slapped her hand away. "Don't touch him."
She lifted her brows, pleasure spreading across her face. "My, my, you really are jealous today. Do you know how much that turns me on?"
While the rest of us dropped our jaws in shock, Mason sniffed and spun to us, dismissing her. "Mess with her at your own risk, but be forewarned. She's a lying, manipulative, blackmailing bitch."
"Dude," Noel said, shaking his head. "I think we've already figured that out."
Mason nodded and strode from the building. Mrs. Garrison huffed as she stared after him. When she glanced at the rest of us, we all lurched away. Even Ten, who usually didn't know any better. Frowning even harder, she whirled away and marched off toward the office, breezing past Eva's father who had just waylaid one of the waitresses by catching her arm and sending her a friendly smile.
"Was it just me," Ten murmured to Noel, Quinn, and I. "Or was that meeting totally fucked up?"
I kept watching Mercer as he slid alongside the girl, whispering intimately, and dread coiled hard in my belly. Great, here was yet another reason I couldn't leave Forbidden. I didn't want any of the waitresses to get tangled in his web.
"Tansy!" I yelled, lifting my chin and beckoning her to me when she glanced over. All the waitresses knew I was their protector. They trusted me. So, when I called her away from that prick bastard, she sent me a relieved smile and deserted him, hurrying to me without question.
Glaring Mercer down, I curled my arm around Tansy's waist and lowered my mouth to her ear. "Do not trust that snake. He's a fucking rapist. Do you hear me?" She shivered and looked up at me with wide, brown eyes. When she nodded, I nodded too. "Don't ever let yourself get caught alone with him. And warn all the other girls too. I don't care what he says to any of you, no one talks to him alone. Got it?"
"Okay, Pick." She leaned up and kissed my cheek. "And thank you. I thought I felt a strange vibe from him, but I tried to ignore it."
"Don't ignore those vibes, honey. They keep you safe."
"No, you keep us safe, Pick. Ever since you saved me from that customer who followed me out to my car and Mandy from the guy who cornered her alone by the bathrooms, there's no one in this building I trust more than you. And if you say he's bad news, consider all of us waitresses forewarned."
I nodded, glad she'd spread the word. Now I just had to figure out how to keep Tinker Bell and my children safe.
Chapter 29
EVA
Mason text bombed me before Pick even made it home from his meeting. It was still strange to get an incoming message on my new phone. I wasn't at all the social butterfly I'd been back in Florida. But what my soon-to-be cousin-in-law wrote was even more bizarre.
"Your father is evil incarnate."
I snorted. That was the understatement of the century. "What has he done now?" Dread seized me. "Is Reese okay?"
"NO ONE is okay with that asshole still alive. He bought Forbidden."
I frowned, not sure what he meant. "What?"
"The bar where your boyfriend and I both work. He BOUGHT IT. HE OWNS IT. HE FUCKING OWNS US!"
Shaking my head, I stamped out a quick reply. "That makes no sense."
"You seriously didn't know? What is he planning to do to us? I don't like this."
"Of course I didn't know, you idiot. But I'll find out what he wants." Though I already knew.
"Good. Oh hey. Don't tell Reese about this yet. I don't want her to freak."
Oh, but he had no qualms about freaking me out. Thanks, buddy.
Pick walked in the front door, then. His eyes were hooded, but he sent me a warm smile. "There's my reason for getting up every morning." He swept toward me and kissed me sweetly.
If I hadn't just talked to Mason, I wouldn't have known anything was bothering him. He didn't let me in on any of his troubles, so I assumed he didn't want to worry me any more than Mason wanted to worry Reese.
Stupid boys. Sweet, caring, amazing but definitely stupid boys.
"How was your meeting?" I asked directly.
His eyebrows shot up. "Unexpected. Our boss sold the bar to some rich guy from out of town." Well, at least he didn't lie. But he certainly wasn't telling me the entire truth, either.
"Oh, yeah?" Hey, if he refused to tell me what he knew, I wasn't going to tell him what I knew. That way, we didn't have to worry each other.
Pick nodded, not meeting my gaze. "He's already hired someone else to run the place for him too."
My phone dinged, telling me I had another text. Pick let me check the message while he greeted the babies who were both chewing on toys together on the floor.
"Oh yeah," Mason added. "And he put Garrison in charge. She said if I quit, she'll fire Pick and all the other guys too."
My gut tightened and cold coated my skin. Hands shaking, I typed back, "Pick just got home." Maybe that would shut Mason up for a while, because I couldn't take any more distressing news. I needed some time to think about this.
"Okay, good," he wrote back. "He can tell you the rest."
But Pick told me nothing, which let me know he was just as terrified as I was.
***
We took the kids to the park for the rest of the day. Like Pick, I pretended nothing was wrong or that our happy little bubble wasn't about to pop in the loudest way possible. When we returned to the apartment, I told him I had to run an errand to the grocery story because I had a surprise for supper. Which was about as true as what he'd told me about his meeting.
I left him with both kids, and strode out to my car, the car he'd looked over so thoroughly before buying, making sure it was sound enough for me to drive. I didn't burst into tears until I'd started the engine and was on the road to the store.
My father probably knew everything about Pick by now, where he worked, what he drove, that he had no rights to Julian. If I didn't do what Bradshaw wanted, he'd find a way to get Julian taken away from Pick. He'd destroy the man I loved. I knew that for a fact. Julian would probably get thrown into foster care, and Pick's biggest fear would come true.
I knew how to stop the monster, though. As soon as I went home with him and gave him the façade of a perfect happy family so he could continue to show the public what an outstanding man he was while he kept being a depraved bastard behind the scenes, he'd leave Pick and Julian alone.
The only way to keep them together was to give my father what he wanted. The idea made my hands shake and my stomach clench. But I was going to do what I had to do.
I'd stopped crying by the time I'd reached the store, thank goodness. On autopilot, I pushed a shopping cart down the aisles, picking up the ingredients for chicken parmesan, Pick's favorite dish. Then I wheeled past the bedding section t
o browse.
Pick had detailed to me every one of his glimpses. If I was going to break my promise to him and end up leaving him the next day to go back with my father, then I could at least make one of his visions come true tonight.
***
We had a late supper, waiting until the kids were asleep before we ate. He put them to bed while I cooked. The meal I prepared pleased him. His eyes lit as soon as he strolled into the kitchen and saw his favorite. Shaking his head, he grinned at me as he pulled out my chair for me to sit. "You spoil me more than I deserve."
I could never spoil him enough. A hitch in my chest caused me to glance away. I could spend the rest of my life cooking him his favorite supper every night, and it still wouldn't be enough.
If only I had the rest of my life to show him that.
Too observant for his own good, he touched my chin. "Hey." His gaze softened into a confused frown as it traveled over my face. "You okay? You seem extra quiet tonight."
I nuzzled my cheek into his hand and then hugged him around the legs, resting my chin on his abs so I could look up at him. "How can you even ask that?" I murmured, smoothing my hand over his taut ass. "I'm here with you. My life is perfect."
He chuckled and leaned in to kiss my hair. "You keep touching me like that and you might get lucky tonight, woman."
"Mmm. Sounds nice. But what if I touch you here." I smoothed my fingers around to feel how hard he'd already grown.
He sucked in a breath. "Food now, or later?"
"Later," I said.
He groaned, his brown eyes swirling with need. "God, I love you."
Sweeping me off my feet, he carried me to our room, where tonight, I was going to be as loud as I could possibly be.