“George, be reasonable. You know I didn’t drop that pan. I wasn’t even close to it.” Sofia put her hands on her hips, but she looked as though she would cry at any second.
Why? This guy was an asshole of the largest variety. Why did she want to keep this job?
“You’re fired.” George pointed at the door. “Get out. Both of you. Now.”
Sofia jerked in her spot. “You can’t fire me. You know I need this job.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want, and you should’ve thought of that before you made a mess of my kitchen. Now, get out of my diner. Don’t come back. And take this fucker with you. He’s obviously got a hard-on for you. Maybe you can get him to pay you for a good lay to make up for today’s loss.”
Abram jerked his gaze back toward George. “Are you serious?” Who had the audacity to speak like that? It took every ounce of Abram’s energy to keep from lurching across the distance, grabbing George by the neck, and pinning his smarmy self to the wall.
George chuckled as he wiped his hands on his towel. “Then again, I doubt this bitch has it in her. She’s probably frigid. Has a stick up her ass a mile long. Thinks she’s better than the rest of us. You can try fucking her, but I hope you have lube.” He had the audacity to cackle.
Flames heated Abram’s face. He forced himself to turn toward Sofia, took two steps to reach her, grabbed her hand, and hauled her through the door and into the main section of the diner.
Sofia twisted to grab her purse from under the counter. Good thing it was handy, because Abram had no intention of slowing down enough for her to search for it.
Most of the customers in the diner were staring with their mouths gaping open as Abram dragged Sofia through the front door.
Marci, the teenage waitress, was pressed into a far corner, looking like she might vomit. Or cry. Or both. Abram hoped she could quit and get out of this hellhole, but he wasn’t going to stick around to find out.
Chapter 3
Moments later, Abram pushed through the glass door at the front of the diner and stepped into the parking lot. He had yet to glance at Sofia again. His only thought was getting her safely out of the diner and away from her fucked-up boss.
Sofia wrenched her hand free and stomped away from Abram without glancing back.
“Hey. Where are you going?” He jogged to catch up with her.
She yanked her purse up on her shoulder and ignored him, hugging the strap to her front while she walked across the parking lot. Before he knew it, she was on the sidewalk trudging down the street. Where was her car?
“Sofia?” He raced to catch up and match her incredible pace. “Wait.”
She ignored him again.
Finally, he grabbed her arm. “Stop. Look at me.”
She twisted to face him, fury in her eyes. “Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you think you helped me out in there?”
“Yes.” Of course.
She laughed sardonically. “Well, you would be wrong. I needed that job.”
“Your boss is a dickwad.”
“That may be, but now I don’t have an income. And I needed the money.”
“You couldn’t possibly need the money that badly. Get another job. Why are you working in a diner anyway? The last time we were together you were going to college and working at the library. Did you not finish?”
She cocked one hip out to the side and rolled her eyes. “That’s right. Piece it together, asshole. Life isn’t perfect. It sucks. Sometimes it really sucks. And after your interference in there, it now sucks even worse. So if you don’t mind, get out of my face and go back to wherever you came from. I have a colossal pile of shit to figure out, and I don’t have time for you. Ever. Don’t come near me again.” She jerked her arm out of his grasp and stomped farther down the sidewalk.
Abram took a deep breath. He was shocked. Knocked off his feet shocked.
With another short jog, he caught up with her again. “Look, I have a car. Let me at least drop you off somewhere. You can’t just walk down the street. It’s getting late. It’s not safe.”
It was late November. Already dark out. And chilly. He watched as Sofia shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle. She wore nothing but the ugliest yellow polyester dress he’d ever seen. It barely covered her butt and it dipped low enough in front to accentuate her cleavage. It bordered on obscene and did nothing to make her look half as sexy as he knew she did underneath the ensemble.
She chuckled again with even less humor. “And you care why?”
“I’m not an asshole.” He flinched as soon as the words left his mouth. As far as she was concerned, he probably was an asshole.
“Really? Based on what evidence? The part where you spent hours befriending me in the library, telling me secrets about your life I probably wasn’t supposed to know, and then you disappeared without a trace? Because that was a total dick move.”
She held up a hand when he started to speak. “Don’t even give me some line of bullshit about how you were on a case. Undercover. I don’t want to hear it. You could have done something. Said something. Found me. Sent me a message. No way am I buying that you had to leave town without so much as saying goodbye.”
Unfortunately, she was right. But he had his reasons. And he would defend them to this day. Still, he could have said good bye at the least.
The truth was he hadn’t been strong enough. He knew if he’d faced her one last time, he wouldn’t have had the strength to deny her any longer. They would have ended up in bed. And she was far too young for him to take advantage of like that.
“You’re right. And I’m sorry. Please let me drive you home. It’s the least I can do.”
She blew out a breath, seemingly considering his offer. “Okay, but only because it’s damn far and my feet are killing me.”
He glanced down at her shoes. They were flats, but cheap, and they looked uncomfortable. He was pretty sure if he picked one up and looked at the bottom he would find it to be worn through.
Not wanting to risk her changing her mind, he decided to keep his mouth shut and nodded toward the parking lot at the diner. “Blue Camry.” He pointed at the car closest to them.
Sofia turned to walk toward his car, her shoulders slumped lower, her head facing the sidewalk. The gorgeous thick curls he remembered were now dank and limp. They were pulled back in a ponytail, several tendrils escaping to hang down around her face.
What happened to you, Sofia?
This could not be happening. How the hell had Roman shown up tonight of all nights and ruined her source of income in less than two minutes?
Fifteen years. That was a lifetime as far as she was concerned. And yet, she remembered him as if it were yesterday.
She might have been young when she met him, but she was old enough to know her mind. And he’d done nothing that entire summer but laugh at her advances, insisting he was too old for her.
He’d been wrong. She knew that in the core of her being. There was no convincing Roman of anything, however. He was stubborn. Hard.
But he also had a soft side, and she’d seen it. She doubted many other people got the opportunity. When they were together, he smiled, joked, teased…lived. She had the impression he didn’t often experience life. It was as though he lived on the outside looking in.
His life consisted of one case after another. He was married to his work. She understood. Even at twenty, she got him. And she hadn’t asked him for a commitment or marriage or even to stay in town. All she’d wanted was to enjoy a summer together.
But Roman wouldn’t let his guard down. He clearly enjoyed her company, but every time she tried to get him to take things a step further, he turned her down. Held her at arm’s length. Treated her like a kid.
It hurt. It still did.
She slid into his rental car and buckled her seatbelt, dreading the fact that he was going to see her apartment next. If she hadn’t been so damn tired and her feet hadn’t been killing her, she would have insisted he
leave her alone and walked all the way home.
“Where’s your car?”
“Don’t have one.” She looked out the window as he pulled from the parking lot, biting her lower lip to keep from crying. She didn’t want to answer his questions. She hated how he made her feel around him after all these years. She wanted to slap him or punch him. Instead she was trapped in his car, breathing his air, smelling his scent.
It all flooded back. The memories. He hadn’t changed his soap or his deodorant. He smelled exactly the same. And she hated that it made her dormant girly parts come to life.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had sex. Forever ago. That was for sure.
“You walk to work every day?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes I take the bus. You’ve thrown me off schedule.” And cost me a job I couldn’t afford to lose. She crossed her arms and shuddered, thinking of the implications. How the hell was she going to pay the rent? Let alone the nursing home…
“You’ll need to give me directions.”
She realized they were sitting at the edge of the parking lot. He hadn’t pulled out. Duh. “Of course. Turn right here.”
For the next several minutes he said nothing while she mumbled right and left each time they needed to turn. By the time they pulled up to her apartment building, she was on pins and needles. Damn him. Damn his effect on her. Damn it to hell that he had to see her like this. At her worst.
He pulled to the curb outside her building.
“Thanks.” She yanked off her seatbelt and grabbed the handle on the door.
Unfortunately, Roman also got out.
“I’m good from here. Thanks for the ride. Have a nice life.” She hoped her terse words would send him on his way.
They did not. He ignored her, rounded the hood of the car, and gently took her arm to guide her toward the building.
“Roman, I’m fine. You need to leave.” No way in hell was she letting him see her place. The sheer mortification would send her over the edge.
“Not leaving you on the side of the road. This neighborhood isn’t the best.” He glanced around as he led her to the door.
When they reached it, he tugged the metal handle to open it. “They don’t keep the building locked?” he asked.
“It’s a safe neighborhood.”
He lifted a brow, but didn’t comment.
She squeezed by him and turned around. “Roman, this is it. You’re not coming up with me. Go back to wherever you were.”
“I’m not leaving you like this. You act like the world has come to an end over that shitty job. Now, you’re going to take me to your apartment, get yourself something to eat, and sit down and tell me what’s going on.” He glanced down at her body. “You don’t eat enough.”
“Fuck you.”
He sighed. “I deserve that.”
“Roman, go.” She pointed at the door.
He leaned against it, crossed his arms and ankles, and sighed. “Not going to happen, Sofia. We can argue all night, but I will win.”
“Jesus. You’re such a bully.” Had he always been a bully? Yes. Probably. She just hadn’t labeled it. He for sure always got his way. Even got the last word—or lack thereof.
“I prefer careful or concerned, but if you want to call me a bully, go ahead. It won’t change anything.” He unwrapped his folded arms and gestured toward the stairs. “Are we going up? Or are you on this floor?”
She stared at him. God, he was infuriating. Oh, what the fuck did she care? Let him see her apartment. Who gave a damn? But I swear if I see pity in his eyes… “Fine.” She spun around and pounded up the stairs.
Roman stayed right on her heels.
When they reached the third floor, she yanked the door open and continued down the hallway. As they approached her apartment, her stomach dropped. She closed her eyes slowly and stopped walking, willing the piece of paper taped to her door to disappear.
When she blinked her eyes open, it was still there.
Mother fucker. Not today.
Roman stepped around her, tore the paper from the door, and stated the obvious unnecessarily. “This is an eviction notice. Failure to pay rent. Is this your apartment?”
“Yep.” Nerves made her knees week. She’d feared this day would come. But why did it have to be today? She leaned forward, set her hands on her knees, and drew in a breath, trying hard not to cry in front of Roman.
So much for avoiding his pity. On the flip side, at least he wouldn’t get to see the inside of her place.
Roman set a hand on her back. He rubbed up and down her spine for several moments. And then he spoke in a soft voice. “Let’s go.”
She righted herself and forced herself to meet his gaze. “Go where? Roman, I haven’t paid my rent. I’m sure my key won’t work in the door. My stuff is inside. I don’t own much, but what little I have is in there, and my landlord is probably going to hold it until I pay him. I don’t have the money.” The first tear fell unbidden.
Roman nodded. “I can see you’re in a bind. And lucky for you, I’m here. I have a place. You’ll come stay with me for the night. Tomorrow I’ll help you sort this out.”
She stared at him. “Are you insane?”
“Not even close.”
“You don’t know anything about me. You can’t take me to your place.”
He frowned. “Unless you’ve had a serious change of personality in the last few years, I’d say I know you well enough to take you home. And what other choice do you have?”
None. That was the truth. Any friends she had disappeared from her life years ago. She was alone now. Alone in a cold, hard world that didn’t care if she had money or not. It kept revolving either way.
Now she had a new set of problems. And the old ones were still there to keep her on her toes. Was she being tested? By a higher being? If there was a God, he was having a heyday watching her life slip into the gutter slowly. If she didn’t find a solution soon, what would happen to her mother?
Chapter 4
Sofia rubbed her forehead as she rode in silence beside Roman. She’d gone with him because she hadn’t been able to think of another option. After pounding on the landlord’s door to no avail, she’d given up.
Her head hurt. She was hungry. And now she was trapped once again with the flood of emotions Roman brought to the party.
He hadn’t changed much. He was still sexy as all get out. Maybe he had lost a bit more hair, but he’d been balding even fifteen years ago. Instead of it making him look old, he looked distinguished. As far as she could tell, he was as buff as he’d been back then. He had a few more wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, but damn…
She refused to look at him, hating her physical reaction to him. As if a switch had been flipped, her sex came alive. She squeezed her thighs together, but her damn skirt was so short nothing was left to the imagination.
In contrast to his physique, she had changed a lot in fifteen years. She’d been hardly out of her teens at the time. Fit. Healthy. Happy. Grounded. She had plans. She wanted to be a high school teacher. She worked at the public library to help pay her tuition. She had intended to be the first person in her family to graduate from college.
Her parents had emigrated from Russia when she was a baby. They worked hard their entire lives to provide for her. And they’d done their best. They contributed every extra dime they could to her schooling. In the end, however, fate had thought it might be funny for her mother to get Alzheimer’s and her father to die of cancer.
“We’re here,” Roman stated softly. He climbed from the car, rounded the hood, and opened her door.
She hadn’t meant for him to be all chivalrous with her, but she’d honestly been too drained to move.
“You live here?” she asked as she stepped outside as carefully as possible to avoid him seeing up her skirt.
“Well, not exactly. I’m just staying here for a few weeks. On vacation. It belongs to a friend of mine.”
“I see.” She f
ollowed him to the front door, waiting while he unlocked three different locks. When he opened the door, he darted inside and reached for a panel. She realized it was an alarm. “Your friend is very safety conscious.”
“You can’t imagine.” He smiled, flipped on the lights, and shut the door behind her as she stepped inside.
The only belonging she had in the world at the moment was her purse. She’d give anything to burn the dress and shoes she wore. But she didn’t even have a change of clothing. George’s policy was for employees to turn their uniform back in when they quit or got fired, but to hell with him. He owed her money. He could fuck himself.
Roman led her farther into the house.
It was a nice place. Not huge, but loved. Organized. Taken care of.
As they passed the living room, it drew her attention. It was incredibly cozy with a large, brown, soft, leather couch and matching arm chair. It faced an impressive array of electronics, most of which she’d never owned in her life.
She jerked her attention back to Roman when he spoke. “Sit.” He pointed at the table as he headed for the fridge. “I can tell you’re tired, and you probably want a shower, but you need to eat first. I went to the store earlier. I do have food. I was just too lazy to cook it. That’s how I ended up at your diner. I just got here today.”
She set her purse on the floor, her gaze moving to the row of floor-to-ceiling windows next to the breakfast room that framed the most amazing, breath-taking view of the beach. “Holy smokes…” She wandered toward the window and stared out into the evening. The sun was setting on the other side of the house. The beach looked so serene. Peaceful. It called to her somehow. She felt compelled to forgo food, kick off her shoes, and wander out into the sand.
It wasn’t as though she’d never seen the beach before. She’d lived in this area her entire life. But something about this particular moment affected her.
“Breathtaking isn’t it?” he said from behind her.
If she wasn’t dressed in her ridiculous uniform, hungry and tired, she would abandon the thought of food and sleep and go stare at the ocean, letting the sound of the waves soothe her.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Saving Sofia (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Underground Book 7) Page 2
