Chapter Four
James
Sadie is one of the best liars I’ve ever met.
I nearly froze when I stepped out of my room Sunday and found her standing there.
Apparently, she had a bad date and was picking June up for a shopping trip, but I don’t trust that story one bit.
Still, she seemed unruffled at my appearance, smiling without a care in the world.
The steady thud of my pulse betrayed me as I pretended she was a stranger.
I thought surely she’d call me out on my shit.
It seems she’s just as happy to pretend like we’ve never met as I am. If I was a more gullible guy, I might think she heeded my warning and decided to put distance between us.
But I’m not a dumbass. She has a game she’s playing, and I intend to figure out what it is.
I head across town to prove the delicate little flower is actually a Venus flytrap waiting to attack. Instead, all I see is Sadie taking her giant dog on a walk and then, an hour later, a puny guy shows up and meets her at the door with an awkward kiss.
What the fuck?
I climb off the bike and am halfway across the parking lot when I stop.
It takes a moment, but common sense returns and I force my leaden feet to return to the motorcycle.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Sadie with a guy.
When I was watching June for Theo, I remember at least two different guys with her.
It makes no sense for the sight to fill me with burning rage now. But rather than attempting to psychoanalyze myself, I turn the bike on and peel out of the parking lot, heading to the Iron Cage.
I make it nearly a week without driving by her apartment complex or plant shop.
I’ve stayed busy handling club business, managing trades with Basil, and overseeing a few small drug shipments.
I caught Nico before he could sneak out to try and see that South Fiver bitch he seems so enamored with and managed to keep Lyle out of jail after he and his ol' lady got caught breaking into her ex’s house.
I didn’t ask what that was about, and he didn’t offer.
I last until Saturday before I can’t fight the pull anymore. While everyone else gets wasted on booze and music and fucking at the Iron Cage, I return to the one place I shouldn’t be.
I park the Jeep outside of Sadie’s apartment and settle back in my seat, staring up at her lit window, berating myself for doing something so stupid and… June-like.
But this isn’t what June was doing with Theo. She was a hunter stalking her prey. I’m simply protecting my family. Underestimating women has never done us any favors. They end up betraying us, selling our secrets, bringing detectives to our doorstep, or starting gang wars.
Sadie has an ulterior motive. And even if she doesn’t, she could quickly become a problem.
It’s only a matter of time before Lorry, the detective investigating June, starts talking to her friends.
And if the Fivers haven’t found out who June is yet, they will soon.
Sadie will sell us out in an instant to protect her friend, whether to a cop or a gang.
Keeping an eye on her is just smart.
Falling asleep while sitting outside of her apartment is not.
A low bark wakes me up. I jump, twisting to the side with all nerves on alert.
Standing a few feet away is Sadie, wearing thin-framed glasses, bootie shorts, and a T-shirt, her massive dog at her side.
The sun is still low on the horizon, draping her in a golden light that contrasts perfectly against her black hair.
“Fuck,” I mutter, a coiled knot aching in my neck.
“Good morning, Mr. Goldberg,” she says.
“Who?”
She rolls her eyes but rather than answering, asks, “Why are you stalking me?”
“I’m not.” Except the words sound as lame to me as I’m sure they do to her.
“No? So, it’s just a coincidence that you’re asleep outside of my apartment at the ass-crack of dawn?”
“I…” God, I want to jump into a volcano. I desperately search for something helpful to say, but my brain still feels half asleep, and all I come up with is, “Why didn’t you tell June we’ve met before?”
“Is this seriously the conversation you want to have at seven in the morning outside of my apartment?” The dog drops to its ass next to her with a whine, and she scratches its head without looking down.
“Would you rather go inside your apartment?” The words don’t even pass through my mind. They just drop out of my mouth without parachutes, desperate to land on the same ground that Sadie now stands on barefoot.
“Oh, sure, why don’t I invite my giant stalker who looks like he came from beating someone to a pulp into my home? What could possibly go wrong?”
“I’m not stalking you.”
“Then what are you doing? What do you want, James?”
“I want to know if you’re a threat to my family.”
Her hand pauses its scratching, and the dog looks up at her, clearly annoyed. “Why would I be a threat?”
“You lied to your best friend about meeting me.”
“I was following your lead! And you’re the one who has shown up uninvited at my shop and home, twice now.”
“You’re right,” I say, desperate to claw my way out of this fucking ridiculous hole I’ve dug. “I apologize.”
She frowns, and an overwhelming urge to do whatever it takes to erase the expression makes me suddenly dizzy. I wrap my fingers around the steering wheel as if to keep myself steady.
“Seriously? That’s all I get? You know I could call the cops.”
“Be my guest,” I say.
After a beat of silence, she says, “Stop following me. I’m not lying to June next time, and trust me when I say you really don’t want to be on her bad side.” She holds my gaze, filling her look with meaning that neither of us is willing to give words to.
“Fine. You’ll never see me again.”
“Good.”