Know Me Well

by Kait Nolan

  Exasperated and trying desperately to cling to reason, Liam gripped her shoulders, gave them a gentle squeeze. “She doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to deal with all this alone anymore.”

  Riley jerked away. “I may have invited you into my bed, but that doesn’t give you the right to run my life. You don’t get to make decisions for me or my family.”

  Liam absorbed the slap of that. Me. My family. Because, for her, those had nothing to do with him. Almost his whole life, he’d considered her a part of his family. His to protect. To take care of. It’d been nothing to extend that mantle to cover her mother, to try to ease the burden he saw Riley struggling under.

  Pain jabbed at his temple, chiseling away at his hold on a rising anger. “I’m not trying to run your life, I’m trying to help you.”

  “I was just fine on my own before you walked back into my life. I’m not some needy princess with a rescue complex, and I’m not some gold digger in search of a sugar daddy.”

  There was fury in her eyes, but the faint tremble of her chin told him something else was going on here. That gave him a little more control. “That’s not who you are. It’s not who your mom is either. Where is this coming from?”

  A muscle jerked in her jaw, but she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I don’t need your help. Not with her. Not now, not ever. If that’s not a line you can live with, then we’re wasting our time here.”

  Mitch’s words from the night before circled back through his brain. Are you sure she wants the same thing out of a relationship as you?

  This was no line in the sand that could or would erode over time. She was building a goddamned wall and expecting him to stay outside it. That wasn’t who he was, wasn’t how he operated. And it wasn’t what he expected from a relationship.

  “This line of yours is more important to you than us?”

  Her cheeks were drawn, but her eyes still sparked with temper. “I won’t bend on this.”

  That was where he ranked in her priorities. After some idiotic need to be a goddamned martyr. Or something. His head was throbbing too fucking much to analyze it right now.

  “You know what? Fine. I’m done. I’m tired from busting my ass to give you that help you apparently don’t want. I’m headed home. I’ll be back in the morning with a crew to lay the floors. Sorry to force more help on you, but you don’t get a say in that since it’s my mother’s building. If you decide you’re ready to be reasonable, you just let me know.”

  Because he needed to throw something, he picked up the pry bar he’d been using and hurled it with a satisfying clatter into the toolbox. Riley said nothing. She was still standing there, arms wrapped her middle, as he stalked out.

  Chapter 16

  Riley flinched at the slamming of the door. She hadn't thought she could feel sicker than when Amber had taken her pound of flesh. She'd absolutely been wrong.

  He'd walked away.

  Not until she watched Liam’s retreating back did she realize she hadn't expected he would.

  Her eyes flew open, her heart jolting as the door opened again. But it wasn’t Liam.

  Autumn stepped in. “So I just saw Liam, and he looked…oh shit.” She shut the door and immediately wrapped Riley in a hug. “What happened?”

  Her throat felt tight. “We just had our first fight. Or maybe our last. I don’t know.”

  Autumn looked around. “Okay, there’s nowhere to sit in here. Let’s go for a walk, okay?”

  All the fight had bled out of her, so Riley followed without comment, shutting and locking the door behind them. Autumn linked her arm through Riley’s, part comfort, part prevention, as if maybe she thought Riley would bolt. They walked up toward Market Street, past Sweet Magnolia’s Bakery—sadly closed at this hour. She could really go for one of Carolanne’s devil’s food cupcakes with chocolate ganache—her ban on sugar be damned.

  Autumn gave her until they hit the town green. “Okay, what did he do?”

  Riley tipped her head over to the other woman’s shoulder in a walking sort of hug. “You’re a good friend.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You automatically assume it’s his fault.”

  “Well, even if it’s your fault, somehow it’s still his fault. So what did he do?”

  Riley let the whole thing spill out, from the ultimatum she’d given him about her mother weeks before, to her encounter with Mrs. Wofford.

  As she recounted the showdown with Amber Hopper Butts, Autumn scowled. “Leave it to her to turn something kind into something filthy.”

  “I gather you’ve had your own run-in with Amber?”

  “Not Amber. Her sister. Same kind of thing. I’m white trash from the wrong side of the tracks. And of course, the only reason I have Judd’s undying devotion is because I spread my legs for him on a regular basis. Everyone knows I’m his little piece on the side.”

  Riley felt a fresh bout of rage on her friend’s behalf. “That bitch! Nobody thinks that.”

  “I don’t give two shits what anyone thinks about me and Judd,” Autumn said mildly.

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. You shouldn’t let her phase you. Nobody believes what she said about you and Liam.”

  “Obviously somebody does.”

  “Okay, nobody with two brain cells and an opinion that matters worth a damn believes it. Truthfully, I feel sorry for her.”

  That was the absolute last thing Riley expected. “For her? Why?”

  “Must be sad to live your life thinking everything is about checks and balances. Not that I’m surprised. That’s how her entire family has always worked. None of them could ever fathom why anybody would do anything for someone else without expecting something in return.” She tugged Riley to sit down on the edge of the fountain. “Anyway, you were upset and all your buttons were pushed, so I presume you went to confront Liam?”

  Riley finished the story. “He just left. And he had a right to.” Now that her fury had begun to wane, she could see that. He deserved her gratitude, not her defensive bitchiness. “I’m not sure I could’ve handled it any worse. I sure as hell could've handled it better. As you said, he did a kind thing. A necessary thing, to his mind. I can see that. But however well-intentioned his motives were, he still blatantly disregarded my wishes. Jesus, he could’ve at least asked.”

  “What would you have done if he had?”

  Riley sighed. “I’d have fought him tooth and nail.”

  “Which he undoubtedly knew. So he pulled his whole alpha male routine and did what he thought was best, which was completely counter to what you wanted, and he didn’t apologize for it. Would you have still been pissed if you hadn’t run into the thunder cunt?”

  That surprised a laugh out of her. “The what?”

  Autumn shrugged. “Bitch isn’t a strong enough word. So would you?”

  “I probably would’ve been more rational about the whole thing, but yeah, I’d still be angry. He completely doesn’t understand my position on this. There’s no way he’d see that my stance is meant to protect his reputation as much as mine. God, the last thing I want is to hear anyone smear his good name.”

  “Did you tell him that?”

  “Well…no.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  Riley fisted a hand around the medallion and dropped her gaze. “Because I was embarrassed…and ashamed. And just enough of me wondered if someone who mattered believed any of the horrible things Amber said.” And she hated it. Hated that she was still as much a victim to those feelings now as she had been years ago.

  “Sweetie, don’t you think he’d understand?”

  He’d been trying. She knew he had a righteous temper when roused, and instead of fully losing it, he’d tried to be rational and get at what was really going on. He'd known this wasn't just about him paying for her mom's apartment. Beneath the pissed off and the hurt, Liam had still seen that there was something else. Because he knew her. And she’d shut him out.

  Da
mn it.

  “I need to apologize.”

  “Good girl.” Autumn gave her a squeeze. “You’re too good together to let something like this split you up.”

  God, she hoped Liam still thought so. “He was really angry.” She looked over her shoulder at the fountain’s lazy trickle. “Maybe I should wish for some back up.”

  “Can’t hurt.”

  “Got any change? My purse is back at the pharmacy.”

  Autumn dug out a nickel. “I feel it’s worth mentioning that there is no correlation with the actual monetary value and the importance of the wish.”

  “Thanks.”

  Riley rubbed her thumb over the face and considered, for just a moment, making a wish to save her business. She’d spent the last year pouring her heart and soul into the place, and it wasn’t out of the woods yet. There were things still to be done to get it back on track, but they were things that would be done either way once the repairs were complete. It was time she spent some heart on something else.

  I wish for a second chance with Liam. Please let him leave that door open.

  She kissed the coin and tossed it. It seemed to hit with far more gravity than a mere nickel merited, causing a resounding sort of thunk before sinking to the bottom, where it glinted faintly in the dying light.

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  ~*~

  Back at the pharmacy, Autumn gave her one last hug. “Now, no matter what happens, if you need to come knock on my door at any hour, you can. I’m available to listen to details of juicy make up sex, or to support a crying jag and bitch fest if he’s an idiot. There’s an emergency pint of Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer with your name on it, either way.”

  “Thanks.”

  “He’s not going to be an idiot.”

  No, that role is pretty clearly being played by me.

  “I’ll see you later, okay?”

  After waving Autumn off, Riley went to retrieve her purse.

  Christ, she was tired. She’d been running on fumes for weeks, juggling all the responsibilities for work, spending every spare minute with Liam, and then trying to get this presentation put together for Peyton Consolidated. It was no wonder she was ultra susceptible to Amber’s particular brand of nasty.

  Liam was justifiably angry. She’d give him a little time to cool off, take some time herself to get past the hurt and irritation, then they’d straighten this out. She’d apologize for jumping his case and explain. But later. After she’d had time to think, to find the right words. Rushing in without a plan certainly hadn’t gotten her anywhere, and she was hardly in the right frame of mind to clearly explain herself. Besides, shambles that it was, she wanted some quiet time alone in her pharmacy.

  There was comfort in the routine of checking the machine, recording the call-in prescriptions, then going about the regimented process of measuring, counting out, compounding. She made notes about inventory, called a client or two, and retreated to the office to start working up an order for Monday. They were down to their last box of Epipens and one of the two inside was damaged. If anything came up with that before the next delivery, she’d have to send her customers over to Walgreens. There’d been too much of that these last few weeks. A lot of balls had been dropped in the wake of the flood.

  As she continued to clear off the paperwork that had accumulated, Riley sent up a small prayer of thanks that the Board of Pharmacy hadn’t been by for an inspection. She set the records to rights on that front, and went ahead and started on the quarterly estimates for her accountant. Might as well get ahead on something since she was here and had the time. One hour bled into two. By the time she reached the bottom of the pile, it was nearing ten and her back was making its protests known. Time to wrap this up and head home.

  She opened the drawer to put her work away. An envelope slipped out, as she slipped the ledgers inside. Old mail. How long had that been in there? Slipping a finger beneath the flap, she opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. And felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.

  Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

  Her insurance had lapsed. The renewal should’ve been sent in two weeks ago. How the hell could she have let this happen? The check covering her stock losses after the flood should’ve been enough to jog her damned memory. Jesus Christ, this had potential disaster written all over it. And, of course, customer service wouldn’t be open again until Monday morning.

  “It’ll be fine,” she told herself. The pharmacy was closed until noon on Monday. She’d call first thing and get it taken care of. There was no reason to worry.

  At the faint sound of the bell, she startled and reflexively checked the time. After ten now. She grabbed the last Epipen from the desk before she settled.

  Liam.

  Of course, he’d come back to check on her. Nice to know he wasn’t the type to let a good mad fester.

  Deep breaths. He’d come to her. Even if it was to finish out their fight, he’d come. That meant he wasn’t through with her.

  She slipped the Epipen into her coat pocket. “I’m really glad you came—” Riley broke off as she swung out of the office to see two men in masks crossing the room.

  They stopped, as shocked to see her as she was to see them.

  One beat passed, then two, as Riley tried to fight through stunned disbelief. This was Wishful. Stuff like this wasn’t supposed to happen here. She started forward—to do what, she had no idea—but one of them pulled a gun.

  “Hands where I can see them!”

  His shout kickstarted the heart that had stopped and she jolted. Adrenaline dumped into her system. Run. Run. RUN. But there was nowhere to run, no escape with the counter and both robbers between her and the door. Moving slowly, she laid her shaking hands on the edge of the counter.

  Keep cool. She slipped her thumb beneath the edge, pressed the panic button as the gunman crossed the room.

  His partner backpedaled two steps. “Man, I didn’t sign up for this. Nobody was supposed to be here!”

  “Shut up and come on. She’ll make this quicker.”

  “You’ve done nothing yet but pick a lock. You could walk away right now.” Her voice trembled only a little.

  “Oh no. We’re here. We’re not leaving without what we came for.”

  Did she know that voice? Hard to say. Hard to even hear over the thud of blood in her ears.

  “Where’s the safe?”

  Riley couldn’t drag her gaze from the gun.

  When she didn’t answer fast enough, the gunman took three quick strides and stuck it in her face. “Where is the safe?”

  She flinched back, lifting her hands to shield her face. “In…in the office.”

  “Get moving.” He gestured with the gun.

  Riley didn’t move, her eyes fixed on the weapon. Matte black. Some kind of revolver. In the back of her mind, she could hear Liam drilling her on what to do in exactly this situation. They’d spent hours practicing disarms for various weapons in various positions, but in the end he’d told her, If somebody comes in with a gun, you give them what they want. Nothing they can steal is worth your life.

  “Woman, I said move!” He was behind the counter, shoving the gun into her face before she could blink.

  Riley recoiled, stumbled, and crashed to the floor, her head cracking against the wall hard enough she saw white. The gunman swore, grabbing her arm in a bruising grip and hauling her to her feet. He shoved her into the office, calling for his accomplice.

  “Unlock it.”

  She considered, just for a moment, opening the money safe, giving them the cash she had on hand. But no one robbed a pharmacy for cash. So she moved to the controlled substances safe. Her hand shook so badly, she entered the code wrong the first time.

  “Hurry up!”

  “Just give me a minute! You’re making me nervous, and if I get this wrong again, the system will lock me out.”

  Forcing herself to slow her breathing, Riley started again. She hesitated, considering her opti
ons. How much time had passed since she hit the panic button? Probably not nearly as much as it felt like. Locking them out of the safe would likely get her shot. She finished the code, and the door unlatched.

  “Out of the way.” The gunman didn’t wait for her to comply. He snaked an arm around her neck, jerking her back and pressing the gun to her head.

  Riley yelped, reflexively grabbing at the arm around her throat and dropping her chin to keep him from cutting off her air. But he didn’t seem inclined to choke her.

  “Be still, woman!”

  There was no standing completely still. She was shaking too badly. But she dropped her hands.

  Think. Think, she ordered herself.

  His partner was staring, and even through the mask, Riley could tell he was horrified. “Man, don’t hurt her.”

  “Shut up and fill the bag. Everything.”

  As the other guy emptied the safe of all the class 2 drugs, she could see the insurance bill laying on the desk. With the insurance lapsed, anything they got away with would be forfeit. Even if it was recovered, it would go into evidence. She’d be out the cost of all of it. All her hard work would be for nothing. There’d be no recovering from that loss.

  She hadn’t worked her ass off only to watch two idiot drug seekers piss it all away.

  Anger made her a little bit steadier. Wiping sweating palms on her lab coat, she felt the bump in her pocket. The Epipen. Could she reach it? And what would he do if she did?

  Moving slowly, she slipped a hand into the pocket, curling her hand around the injector. Slowly, she fumbled to remove the safety release. Her captor’s grip was firm, but didn’t obstruct her airway, and the gun seemed to be more about making a point than about really hurting her. Surely, if he was going to kill her, he’d have done it once the safe was open?

  The other guy was more than half through dumping the contents into a duffel bag. “I don’t even recognize half these drug names.”

  “So what? If it’s in the safe, it’s valuable.”

  The cap popped off. She didn’t dare try anything while the gun was pressed to her head. Her assailant’s body was long and wiry and acrid with sweat. He was nervous, too. She felt it in his posture. A shot of epinephrine to a system already flooded with adrenaline might just give him a heart attack. It might kill him. Riley waffled at that. She didn’t want to kill anyone.