by Maegan Abel
I just didn’t know if they’d be the answers she wanted to hear.
“Did you get any sleep?” Kas asked, shoving a plate of waffles toward me. I frowned, not feeling hungry in the slightest.
“Not really,” I answered honestly. Just as I was about to continue, I was interrupted by Paige.
“You know, my brother needs his rest while he’s healing. You really need to get your shit figured out or stay away from him until you do. He doesn’t need to be woken up for late night chats in the kitchen.”
I stiffened at the realization that she probably eavesdropped on our conversation. I clenched my jaw, scowling at the table as I refused to raise my eyes to meet Paige. It was bad enough that she knew she was bothering me. I didn’t think I could control my temper if I saw her smug fucking expression on top of it.
“Paige,” Kas said, obviously trying to smooth over the mounting tension in the room.
“What? It’s true. He needs to be focusing on getting better, not babying her because of her issues,” Paige said.
I was exhausted and though I knew she was only pushing me to get a reaction, I couldn’t help myself. I looked up at Paige through my lashes and gave her a sly smile. “You know, your brother is lucky he has you to worry about him, but I did enjoy keeping him up. I enjoyed keeping him up all night.” I licked my lips slowly after I finished, not taking my eyes from Paige’s.
“Ugh. Figures you’d spread your legs the first chance you got,” Paige fired back. “I was holding out hope that Zane would realize what a whore you really are before he let it get that far.”
My hands clenched as I started to push up from my chair but Kas reached out, grabbing my elbow to hold me in place.
“Paige,” she started again, this time sounding appalled.
“Whatever. I’ve lost my appetite now anyway.” Paige stood from the table, making it halfway to the door before Kas turned on her.
“Hey. I cooked breakfast, aren’t you at least going to clean up your mess?” Kas gestured to the dishes where Paige had been sitting. Paige only shrugged.
“It’s my house, not yours. Last time I checked, you didn’t even live here.” With that, she turned and left the room.
Hours later, I was still fuming from my fight with Paige. I’d made Zane a plate and woken him to eat and take more pain medicine. After cleaning up our dishes from the bedroom, I returned to find him out cold yet again. I was glad he was home, and glad he was resting. Paige was right about one thing, Zane needed to focus on himself and getting better. And I needed to focus on him as well.
I wasn’t surprised to hear the knock on the bathroom door while I was getting ready for work. Paige had already interrupted me twice, quite rudely reminding me that I was not the only person in the house that used this bathroom. No doubt she could go use the one in Tish’s room, she was just trying to push my buttons. After my win this morning, I wasn’t about to let her.
“I’m almost done, Paige,” I huffed, leaning forward on my toes as I put on my mascara.
“Pix?”
I smiled at Zane’s voice. “It’s open.”
He peeked his head through a small crack in the door, grinning in a way that made it impossible for me to do anything but stare at him. I wanted walk over and kiss those lips the way I always wanted to when he smiled that way at me, but it took everything I had to stay upright. His smile disappeared as he scanned my body, taking in my skirt and tank top. He opened the door further, standing straight as his eyes met mine in confusion.
“Where are you going?” He looked adorable, though a little ridiculous, nearly pouting as he leaned against the doorframe.
“Um, work. I called Shannon this morning and she’s expecting me.” I went back to finishing my make-up as I spoke. He laughed and I glanced over at him. Now it was my turn to be confused.
“Wait, you’re serious?” His eyes were wide, shocked.
“Yeah, I’m serious. I waited for you to come home and now that we know you’re—”
“Absolutely not.” He crossed his arms over his chest, blocking the doorway in a manner I’m sure was meant to tell me he wasn’t even going to discuss this.
Now, I laughed. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You’re not going to the bar,” he said, his voice hard. I turned to face him, hating the look on his face.
“I’m sorry but since when do you get to dictate what I can and can’t do?” I tried to keep my voice even.
“Since I nearly died protecting you!” He almost yelled the words at me and I straightened, standing tall and narrowing my eyes at him. I could count on one hand the number of times Zane and I had fought in the last two years and only one of those had been recently. This wasn’t like him and I tried to tell myself it was just the pain medication talking.
“Zane, I—” I started, but he cut me off.
“No. Adam knows where you work. I’m sorry but I can’t believe you would even think for a second that I would let you do this.”
I bristled at his choice of words and condescending tone. “Let me? I didn’t realize I needed to ask for your permission, Dad.” I crossed my arms over my chest, mirroring his stance as I finished.
“I can’t believe you let her talk to you like that,” Paige’s voice piped in from somewhere behind Zane. Of course.
“He doesn’t let me do anything! He has no authority over me! I’m not a child,” I spat toward where I knew Paige to be. “And you need to mind your own fucking business.”
“My brother, my business.” She leaned against the open bathroom door, giving me a perfect view. I took a step forward before Zane put himself between us.
“Fuck off, Paige,” I practically snarled as I took another step.
“What the hell is going on?” Tish’s voice was followed by his heavy footsteps as he came down the hall.
“Lili decided that it wasn’t enough to almost get Zane killed once, she wants to do it again.”
“Paige!” Zane turned on her and pointed out the door. “Go. Now.” Tish appeared and grabbed Paige by the shoulders, turning her toward the hallway and walking her out of sight as Zane turned back to me.
“You’re not going. Period.”
“Calm down,” Tish said, coming around beside Zane to stand where Paige had been. They effectively had me blocked in the bathroom with no escape. “Going where?”
“I’m going to work. I’ve run through all my savings and I need the money.” I tried to reason with Tish, thinking he would see my side.
“That’s really not safe, Lee.” He frowned, clearly indecisive.
“I’m not asking for permission. I have to do this. I have to work. What do you want me to do? Sit around this house all the time and wait for something to happen?” I leaned against the bathroom counter, feeling defeated.
“Maybe if someone went with you…” Kas offered, walking up beside Tish. I dropped my arms, frustrated.
“Why is this even a discussion? I just want to go to work!”
Zane looked at Tish who shook his head. “I have a client this evening.” They all looked back at me. “Lee, Zane should go with you.”
“Why? So he can play hero and jump in front of another bullet?” The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I dropped my head, not wanting to see the look on any of their faces at my outburst. After a deep breath, I sighed and threw my arms up in exasperation. “Fine. Fine! I’m leaving in half an hour.” I pushed through them, looking for an escape and hating myself further when I heard Zane’s sharp inhale. Great, I was rubbing salt in the wound with my words and then slamming into him. Fucking perfect.
I stopped in the hallway, looking toward the living room and then Zane’s room — our room. I had nowhere to go to calm down. I moved toward the kitchen and slammed the door to the garage before hopping up to sit on Tish’s workbench. It was hot and stuffy but at least it was quiet and I could hopefully get my temper in check.
Lili didn’t speak during the cab ride to the bar. I offe
red to let her drive my car but she just stomped out to the waiting cab. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever seen her this angry with me. And a part of me felt guilty for thinking it was a little bit hot.
Maybe more than a little bit.
“Pix? Come on, are you gonna ignore me all night?” I asked as I followed her down the sidewalk and through the small courtyard that led to the bar.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” she huffed, throwing the words over her shoulder with a toss of her long hair. Fuck. I was doomed. She really was fucking sexy when she was angry.
She cooed something at the security guard and tossed another glare over her shoulder at me before disappearing through the door. The security guard chuckled and shook his head as he waved me through. I glanced around, my eyes immediately landing on Lili’s backside as she bent to climb under the hollow space at the back of the bar.
I groaned and moved to find a seat with a view of the door and the bar. This was going to be a long night. It had been far too long since I’d been laid and Lili stomping around in those spiky heels and short skirt, acting like the stubborn little vixen I knew her to be, was not helping. Surely there should be some kind of law against this kind of torture. It couldn’t be healthy to go this long without sex when you sleep next to someone that gorgeous every night.
I slid into a chair at one of the high tables in the corner. From this angle, I had a perfect view of the entire room, which is what I needed. Lili’s words from earlier struck me at that point. What was my plan if Adam showed up? I didn’t think he would but when it came to Lili’s safety, it wasn’t a chance I was willing to take.
I watched Lili talking to Shannon and then another girl I didn’t recognize. She was cute, a brunette with curls pulled into a wild ponytail that hung nearly to her waist. Lili seemed annoyed at something the girl was saying and all but rolled her eyes before walking away. The girl stood for a moment, seeming torn, before grabbing a round tray off the bar and heading out to take orders.
Fortunately, it was a weekday so the place didn’t get overly crowded. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop the almost constant hoard of men from hanging at the bar, trying to catch Lili’s attention. She played coy, giving them flirty smiles and laughing as she made drinks, her moodiness from earlier carefully hidden away for her throngs of admirers.
Maybe coming here was a bad idea.
I thought back to the first time I watched Lili work. I’d moved back in with Tish about a month prior and I was working hard to move past the anger and bitterness I’d felt at the betrayal from Adam and Lizzie.
I was hanging with Tish when Lili left and I wondered where a tiny little thing like that was off to so late in the evening dressed the way she was. She was barely covered. It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed but it was the first time I cared enough to ask Tish. When he told me she was working at Silver Moon, I nearly came unglued. She seemed so helpless and that was in one of the most dangerous sides of town. Tish knew how bad that area was, we’d grown up around there, but he told me she could take care of herself. I wasn’t convinced.
I couldn’t have explained then why I went to her work that night. I didn’t understand the draw that I felt, the need to protect her, but it was there. It bugged me watching the way the older crowd got grabby with her but I stayed out of it. She seemed comfortable enough with herself and she handled it just fine. I knew she’d seen me. I’d noticed her glancing my way occasionally and wondered if my being there was making her nervous. I had all but talked myself into leaving several times, but I couldn’t do it.
When the bar closed that night, I called a cab and waited in the alley. I wasn’t trying to stalk her, at least, that’s what I was trying to convince myself, I just wanted to make sure the few rowdy stragglers that were hanging out didn’t cause her problems. When she came out and managed to knock me on my ass while I was trying to help, I realized Tish had been right. This girl could handle herself.
That felt like ages ago.
So why was I here now?
I watched as the prick in a white baseball hat leaned over the counter to put his face close to Lili’s and nearly came out of my chair. He said something in her ear and as he spoke, her eyes found mine. She watched me as she laughed, not looking away until the prick dropped back to his feet. She poured them both a shot and they downed them together. I could see his arrogant fucking smile in the glass and my fingers mutilated the empty water bottle I had on the table as I watched their interaction. She knew what she was doing.
I wasn’t supposed to drink while taking pain medicine, I was well aware of this, but the second time the waitress came around to offer me more water, I ordered a shot of tequila and a beer. I didn’t plan to drink much, just enough to take the edge off the rage trying to bubble up at the way the guys were ogling my girl.
Lili made it a point to avoid looking in my direction again until the waitress walked back up to the bar. No doubt she’d called out my drink order to Lili. She glanced over at me briefly and her narrowed eyes told me she wasn’t happy. I didn’t really care. I was here to make sure Adam didn’t show up and she was making my life infinitely more difficult.
I downed the shot the second the waitress placed it on the table, the familiar burn of the alcohol making me smile.
“You need anything else?” the waitress asked. I glanced at her nametag for the first time and grinned.
She was tall, the perfect height for what I needed as I leaned over in the same way the prick at the bar had toward Lili, slowly brushing a piece of Heaven’s wild curls back to whisper in her ear. “Heaven, huh? Well, I think I need a few more of these, Heaven.” I put the empty shot glass on her tray and leaned back.
She blushed, heading to finish taking orders as I took a long pull of my beer. I felt Lili’s eyes on me and I looked at her over the bottle. She watched me for only a second before glancing away again but it was long enough for me to see the conflict in her eyes. I’d made my point.
It was only minutes later when Heaven came by with two more tequila shots, dropping them off and giggling, barely making eye contact. Great. I felt like a dick for using her to make my point to Lili but there wasn’t anything I could do about it now. She seemed sweet, probably too sweet. I hoped Lili wouldn’t completely crush her for her unknowing involvement in my little scheme. I took one of the shots before picking up my beer again.
As I worried about Heaven’s fate, I watched Lili expertly climb on top of the bar with Heaven right beside her. The whole bar erupted into cheers as Heaven blew the whistle and Lili held up a bottle of Cuervo. I took the last shot in front of me as I watched the line form in front of the girls. The alcohol felt heavy in my stomach but the nearly constant ache I’d grown used to in my chest was now nonexistent, replaced with the burning mixture of alcohol and jealousy.
Yeah, I could admit that I was jealous. I could also control it. I was a grown fucking man for shit’s sake. I was convinced I’d made my point about her flirting to piss me off. I watched her carefully pour the liquor into the mouths of the people in the line as they shoved cash at Heaven who was trying desperately to keep up with the flow. It wasn’t until the prick in the white hat was up that I realized how wrong I was.
He stepped in front of Lili and her eyes flicked up to mine. Her smile dripped with wickedness before she looked back down at him. She snatched his hat, causing the crowd to go crazy as she strutted along the bar seductively. Pulling it low over her eyes, shielding the light from her expression and leaving her face in shadow, she lifted her head toward me again. She sauntered back to the prick and bent down, grabbing his shoulders and turning him away from the bar before leaning him backwards against it. It wasn’t until she straddled his head, her spiky heels on either side of his face, giving him a clear view up her skirt, that I lost it.
The crowd was cheering as I pushed out of my chair, shoving through the mass of people as I watched Lili hop down and disappear from my sight. When I finally got to the bar, she ha
d her back to me. She was stretching, clearly scanning the crowd. She must have noticed I wasn’t at my table anymore. I leaned across the bar, reached a hand out, and slapped the brim of the hat, knocking it backward off her head before she could react.
“Hey!” she squealed as she spun to face me. I didn’t watch the hat hit the floor, keeping my eyes on her instead.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” The alcohol was making me shake. It was then that I realized it had been well over a month since I’d had anything to drink and I just inhaled three shots of tequila. At least, I was trying to convince myself it was the alcohol causing me to shake.
“What the fuck, Zane? This is my job,” she hissed at me, crossing her arms over her chest. I glanced at the tattoos automatically but I held on to my anger.
“It’s your job? I’m sorry, when did you become a stripper? I thought you were a bartender.”
She narrowed her eyes and I glanced over as Heaven approached cautiously. “Is everything okay over here? Do I need to call Donovan?”
Lili huffed a breath and the anger I’d thought was sexy earlier was now infuriating. She had no room to be pissed at me anymore.
“Sorry. It’s fine. I’m her boyfriend,” I said, apologizing and introducing myself to Heaven at the same time. “Zane.”
“He’s my roommate,” Lili countered and my eyes refocused on hers. The word and the inflection behind it tore through me. I stared in silence, shocked that she was still pushing.
I had two choices in that moment and I could see them both clearly, even though everything else seemed to be blurred due to the tequila.
I could swallow my pride, remind myself that Lili was stubborn but she was mine, and step back to let us both cool off… or I could lose more than my temper.
