"Because if you're new to this, you could be getting screwed over by your boss. It's just like any business. The people in charge take advantage of the workers. Cheat and steal from them, especially in your line of work."
"Yeah? So what are you saying?"
"That'd I'd be willing to help you if it comes to that. I'm a lawyer. If this guy ever cheats you out of your money or gives you bad product, I might be able to help."
"And why would you do that? I can tell you don't like me."
"I never said I don't like you. I didn't like how you were talking to Raine that night but I'm willing to let it slide as long as you don't do it again. As for why I'd help you, it's because I hate it when the big guys win. I see it every day and it pisses me off."
"If it pisses you off, why you work for guys like that?"
"Because it pays the bills. I got student loans that'll take ten years to pay off. So about this guy you work for, you think you can trust him?"
"Don't know. Just met him a few weeks ago."
"Is he local?"
"He wouldn't say. Said he travels a lot. That he'd check on me next time he's in town."
"When's that?"
Levi cocks his head. "Why all the questions about my boss?"
I shrug. "Just wondering. I heard stories about some dealer around here who was cutting his pills with filler so he could double his supply. The filler makes people sick, like they've got the flu. I wanted to make sure you weren't working for him because if this shit makes me sick, I'm going to be coming back to YOU, not him. And I get really pissed when I'm sick."
Levi looks to the side. "Who was it? You know the guy?"
"I'm sure you don't know him." I start to walk away. "I need to get back to work."
"Wait." He runs after me. "What's his name?"
I stop and turn back to him. "If I tell you, I need to know the truth. I need to know if he's your guy. Don't fucking lie to me, Levi."
"Yeah. I'll tell you. Now who is it?"
"Marchisis. Rob Marchisis."
Levi's eyes widen and he stumbles back. "Shit."
"What?"
He rubs his hand over his face. "Why the fuck do I always do this?"
"Do what?"
"Listen to the shit these guys tell me. They say I'll get rich. They say it'll be easy. And then they fuck me over."
"So he's the guy?" I ask, my heart pumping harder. "Rob's your dealer?"
Levi nods. "But I never met him. I got hooked up with him through a buddy of mine. He said the guy knows what he's doing. Said he's been doing it for years."
"So you never met Rob and never talked to him," I say, confirming it.
"I talked to him. Once. Over the phone. He wanted to talk before he'd let me have the pills. He seemed legit."
"Because he's a good liar. A good salesman. That's how he convinces guys like you to work for him."
"Shit," Levi says, shaking his head. "So you're telling me the pills are fake?"
"I don't know. He might give you the real ones at first, then switch to the ones that aren't pure. Have you given many of these out yet?"
"Just a few. I was going to ramp it up this week."
"I'd say to hold off for now. Don't give any more out until we know what's going on."
"How we supposed to know?"
"Let me know if you hear from him. If he's going to be in town, I want you to call me." I hand him my business card.
"What are you doing to do?"
"I don't know yet. I need to think about it. Do some research."
"You lock the guy away I'm out of business."
"You were never in business with that guy. He was just using you to make himself rich. Trust me, I've seen this a thousand times. Go back to your singing. You'll make more doing that than selling pills." I check the time on my phone. "I have to get back to work."
I walk fast until I get to the street, then slow down so I don't look suspicious. I feel like I'm being watched. I know I'm not, but it feels like it. I just got myself involved with an illegal drug scam run by a guy who I know is dangerous and will kill if threatened.
What the hell am I doing? Should I get out of this now before I get myself in deeper? But I'm already involved in it because of Raine. I love her and have to make sure this guy never tries to hurt her again.
Back at the office, Lisa shows up the moment I get to my desk.
"I need you to finish those write-ups before the meeting and I want to see them before you show them to the team."
"They're already done. They're in the client file." I grab my laptop bag and my phone. "I have to go."
"Go? We have a meeting in an hour."
"I know but I'm not feeling well." I walk past her.
She grabs my arm. "Suck it up because we need you at this meeting."
I look at her. "You really don't want me here. I'm about to hurl."
She drops my arm and steps back. "How'd you get sick? You were fine this morning."
"I think it was something I ate at lunch." I try to walk around her but she blocks me.
"Speaking of lunch, I took a client to lunch at the Italian place next door and the hostess said you were there with some homeless girl. I told her that couldn't possibly be true but—"
"It's true," I say, sick of trying to hide who I am at this job. I've tried to fit in. Tried to keep quiet when I disagree, but I'm done doing that.
25
Miles
Lisa cocks her head. "What's true?"
"That I went to the restaurant with Raine, who at the time happened to be homeless."
"You took a homeless girl out for dinner?" She laughs. "Why? Because she made you feel sorry for her? Miles, you can't be that stupid. You're in the big city now. Those vagrants are only using you to get handouts."
I fold my arms over my chest. "I'm really sick of you talking about the homeless that way. You have no idea why those people are on the streets and it makes me sick to watch you treat them the way you do. They're people, just like anyone else and—"
"Stop right there!" She points her finger in my face. "You will NOT speak to me that way. I could get you fired and I WILL if you keep it up."
"Go ahead and try. Last I checked, the employee manual didn't ban employees from expressing their opinion. What it DID ban was talking about sex, or anything related to it, and I recall several instances in which you did just that."
"We weren't at the office at the time."
"It doesn't matter. We were still working. We left to talk about a case. And the HR manual directly states that you are not to talk about things of a sexual nature with a co-worker."
She narrows her eyes at me. "Are you threatening me?"
"I'm just pointing out what's in the manual." I glance at her boss walking by. "Good afternoon, Gerald."
"Miles," he nods at me as he continues to his office.
"Don't you dare say anything," Lisa snaps.
I look back at her. "I'll tell you what. You stop making comments about homeless people, not just to me, but to them. No more dirty looks. No more telling them to get a job. Just leave them alone. Do that, and I'll keep quiet about all the inappropriate things you've said to me."
She huffs. "Fine."
"I'll see you tomorrow." I leave and go down to the street, my mind back on Levi and what he said. I need to find Raine. I don't want her walking around the city knowing Rob could show up at any time.
When I get to my apartment, she's not there. And I can't call her because she doesn't have a phone. Racing back down to the street, I go to the alley to check if she's there. She's not. She's not in the coffee shop either.
Shelly is working the register and sees me. "Hey, Miles. What can I get you?"
I go up to her. "Nothing. I was just seeing if Raine was here. Have you seen her today?"
"Yeah, she was here earlier." Shelly grins. "I've never seen her smile so much. I'm guessing that has to do with you?"
"I hope so," I say, smiling back. "We're dating now, if
she didn't tell you."
"She did. In fact, she couldn't stop talking about you, which is not at all the Raine I used to know. She used to not even talk to me, but today it was all Miles this, Miles that. She really likes you."
It makes me happy to hear that. For the longest time I couldn't tell if Raine even liked me but it turns out she loves me. I'm still shocked she told me that, and even more shocked she said it more than once.
"Did she say where she was going?" I ask.
"She said she was looking for jobs."
"But did she say where?"
"No. Hey, shouldn't you be at work right now?"
"Yeah, but I took the afternoon off. If Raine comes back here, could you tell her to meet me at the apartment?"
"Okay. You sure don't want a coffee?"
"No, I gotta go."
I'm still dragging from my lack of sleep and I never ate lunch but I don't have time to stop and eat. I need to find Raine. Searching up and down the street, I don't see her anywhere. I check the park. She's not there. I'm not sure where else to look.
I return to my apartment and breathe a sigh of relief when I see her on the couch.
"Raine," I say, going over to her.
She hops up from the couch and hugs me. "Miles! What are you doing home so early? It's only 4."
"I was looking for you."
"Why?"
"I need to tell you something. Let's sit down."
As we sit on the couch, panic crosses Raine's face. "Is it Gladys? Did something happen to her?"
"No." I get out my phone. "But I did get a text from Zoe this morning." I open the text. "She said Gladys saw the doctor. Her lungs are clearing but he's putting her on a different med. And she sent a photo." I show it to Raine.
"She looks good. Like she's finally getting some sleep. No more bags under her eyes. And she has so much more color in her face. Probably because she's getting regular meals now."
"Yeah, I think she's found a good home."
Raine's eyes fall to the couch. "I still miss her."
"I know. I do too. Maybe we could go see her this weekend."
She looks up, excited. "Could we call Zoe and ask? I really want to see her."
"Yeah, we'll do it later. I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
I take a breath. "Today when I went out to get lunch, I was waiting in line at a deli when Levi came up to me."
She rolls her eyes. "Let me guess, he asked you for money?"
"No. He saw me walking down the street and noticed I was limping."
"You hurt yourself?"
"My knee. Remember when I hit it in the shower last night?"
She smiles. "Yeah, I remember. I was hoping we could do that again but not if your knee's bothering you."
"It's better now but I think we'll need to do it in the bed until the swelling goes down. Anyway, as I was waiting in line at the deli, Levi came up to me and said he noticed I was limping."
"That's weird. Why would he care?"
"Because he has a new business." I take the pill from my pocket. "Selling these."
Raine takes it from me, holding it in her palm, checking both sides. "These are what I used to take. The exact same pill." She gives it back to me. "Levi gave you that?"
"Yeah. I didn't want it but it was free and I wanted to show it to you to make sure it was what I thought it was. Levi said if it worked and I wanted more, he'd give me two more free, then after that we'd talk about how much it'd cost to get more. Sound familiar?"
She nods. "Too familiar. Sounds just like the deal Jacob gave me. These guys must all do the same thing."
"I wasn't so sure."
"What do you mean?"'
"The way Levi was watching people on the street, looking for people in pain, approaching me the way he did? It all seemed too similar to the story you told me to be a coincidence."
"You don't think...." Her voice trails off. She doesn't even want to say it.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. So I asked Levi some questions."
Raine shoots up to standing. "You didn't tell him about Rob, did you?"
"Not exactly. Rob's name came up but I didn't link you two together."
She throws her hands up. "Why would you even bring him up? Rob has nothing to do with Levi."
"Actually he does."
Raine slowly sits back down. "I don't want to hear this, do I?"
I take her hand and keep hold of it as I talk. "Levi started working for Rob a few weeks ago. He never met him but they talked on the phone."
"You're sure it was him and not some other guy named Rob?"
"I confirmed the last name. It's definitely him."
"Shit," she mutters.
"I'm not trying to scare you, Raine, but there's a real possibility Rob will be coming back to town. Levi said he'd be coming back to check on him."
Raine shakes her head. "He won't do that. Rob's smart. He wouldn't want to risk being around his sellers in case someone saw them together and connected him to what they were doing. He won't come back here to see Levi."
"He told Levi he would."
"To make him feel special. He did that stuff to people all the time, including me. He'd tell me he was going to take me on a weekend trip, or to dinner at a place I really wanted to go, then when it was time to actually follow through, he'd say he got called away on business or make up some other excuse. He'll do the same to Levi. He won't show up."
"Even if that's true, I want you to be careful. Don't leave here unless I'm with you."
"Miles, I'm not going to sit here all day doing nothing. I won't go out at night but I'm still going to go out during the day. I applied for two jobs today and then I stopped by the place I applied at yesterday and they set up an interview."
"That's great, but Raine, I really don't think you should go anywhere until I do more research on Rob and figure out what he's up to."
"Research?" She rips her hand from mine. "Have you been trying to find stuff out about Rob without telling me? Even after I told you to leave it alone?"
"Yes, but it was hardly anything. I did a quick online search. That's it."
"Dammit, Miles, I told you to stay out of it. Rob is the past. I don't want you going after him and bringing him back into my life."
"It's already happened. Levi is working for him, and you're friends with Levi."
"I'm not friends with him. And even if I found out he was selling pills, I wouldn't go asking him about his dealer. Now, because of you, he knows we're connected to Rob. What if he tells him?"
"He won't. I didn't tell him you knew Rob, or that I did. I just said I'd heard rumors about him selling pills on the street that weren't legit."
"And you don't think he's going to tell Rob that?"
"Why would he? He's not going to confront his boss."
She lets out an exasperated breath. "Miles, you may be smart about law but you know nothing about how guys like Levi work. If he thinks he's being screwed, he's going to get to the bottom of it. I bet he's already talked to Rob. And he probably told him you're the one who told him the pills were bad."
"Shit," I say, realizing I may have just put Raine in even more danger. "But wait, he won't connect us. Rob doesn't know we're together."
"Levi does."
"Yeah, but why would he tell Rob that?"
"I don't know but let's hope he doesn't." She walks to the window, gazing down at the street. "I'm not going to do this."
"Do what?"
"I'm not going to live in fear and hide in this apartment because of Rob. I'm not letting him ruin my life again."
"Raine, if he comes to town and sees you or tries to find you—"
"I'll kill him," she says, her voice strong and determined.
I come up beside her. "I'm serious. You need to be careful. If you go somewhere, make sure you're surrounded by people and bring your pepper spray. And I'm getting you a phone."
She doesn't argue about it, but just nods.
&
nbsp; "I'm sorry, Raine." I put my arm around her. "I shouldn't have brought up Rob to Levi. I was trying to protect you but I might've just made it worse."
She turns and hugs me. "I know you were just trying to help. You're always trying to help. It's just who you are. It's why I love you."
"I love you too." I keep hold of her, not wanting to let go.
I was trying to help her but I fucked up, and now I'm even more worried about her than I was before.
26
Raine
My interview at the gas station is today. I didn’t tell Miles about it because I didn't want him trying to stop me from going. He doesn't want me leaving the apartment until we're sure Rob isn't coming back, but I'm not going to live my life that way. I'm done letting Rob control me.
Miles was up all night, tossing and turning. He's worried about me and keeps telling me how sorry he is for bringing Rob back into my life. But now that I've had time to think about it, I'm not that worried. For one, Rob doesn't know about my connection to Miles and Levi doesn't have any reason to tell him. And two, I can't imagine Rob coming here just to talk to Levi. He values his time too much to waste it meeting with some homeless guy.
Just before noon I walk to the gas station, which is only a couple blocks away. I arrive a few minutes early but the manager is waiting for me when I walk in. We go back to his office and he asks me a few questions about my work experience, then asks how I would handle different situations with customers. The whole time I'm nervous but I answer the questions better than I thought I would. When the interview ends, he hires me on the spot.
I'm so excited I decide to go tell Miles. It's noon, which is when he usually eats lunch. He said he'd probably eat at his desk today so he could catch up on work. His office is one street over so I cross the street, then cut through a parking lot, seeing his building just ahead.
"Raine," a guy says. I turn and see Levi in the alley. He's on the ground, holding his stomach. "Raine, I need help."
Levi's a hypochondriac so I'm not sure if he's really hurt or just being overdramatic.
I sigh and go over to him. "What's wrong?"
"Some asshole came up and knifed me." Levi rolls onto his back, clutching his side. He moves his hand and I see blood soaking through his shirt.
Home With You Page 23
