Chapter Seventeen
Samantha
The weekend was over. It was time to get back to work. Joellen had been incredibly understanding when I asked for some time off. My life turned upside down the day Jack saw Charlie and me in Walmart, and since then it had been a whirlwind.
Today was my first day back at work. Charlie was staying at the clubhouse with Jack, and I would have a brother in The Diner with me at all times.
I guess I was finally going to experience what the other ladies told Beck about at brunch all those months ago. I would now have a brother following me around. The difference was, he would follow me wherever I went. Not just hide out in the shadows.
Standing in the bathroom in just my bra and panties, I attempted to put my makeup on. Strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against a hard chest. His lips found my neck, and I closed my eyes.
“Jack, I have to go to work,” I moaned.
“You don’t have to go to work. I told you I can support you and Charlie.” His hand moved lower to cover the spot where Charlie grew. “And any more babies we have.” He pulled me back against his hips, and I felt his cock harden.
“I enjoy working, Jack.”
“No one enjoys working, Sammy. That’s why they call it working, not fucking. Now fucking, everyone enjoys,” he said, thrusting himself against my ass.
I turned in his arms and kissed him. “Fucking is fun, but work can be enjoyable as well. And right now, I have work. ”
I pushed him away and walked into the room to put on my uniform. Jack stood watching me from the doorway of the bathroom.
“Who is going to be with me today?” I asked, gathering my purse and keys. I turned to look at Jack. He leaned against the doorway and watched me with a heated expression. I watched as he rubbed his thumb against his bottom lip, and his eyes roamed over me.
“I have work, Jack. I refuse to be late on my first day back.” Laughing, I turned to walk away. He was quick. Before I could open the door, he had me pushed up against it.
“When you get home from work, I will peel this uniform off you. I hope you have another one because I can promise you won’t be able to wear this one again.” He growled and bit down on my neck.
My body shivered at his promise. He sucked the spot on my neck he had just bitten, and finally let me open the door.
I told Jack the truth when I said I enjoyed working. And I did. Most of the time. Today, it seemed, every customer had a stick up their ass.
Maybe it was just me.
Jack had worked me up so much this morning. All I wanted was to go home and let him do anything and everything he wanted.
“Sam?”
Shaking my head, I focused on the woman sitting at the counter.
“I’m sorry, Mayor. What were you saying?”
“Everything ok, Sam? You seem a bit distracted.” She chuckled. “I heard you had moved into the clubhouse. And that you have a little girl?”
Mayor Allison Hoffman came in every afternoon for lunch. The mayor was in her forties and married, though her husband wasn’t well known. He tended to keep to himself.
The mayor and I had gotten to know each other pretty well over the last two years. Well, as much as I had let anyone know me.
I sighed heavily. “Yes, I have a daughter with Jack. The short version is, Jack and I met in Arkansas before they moved the club up here. I got pregnant and never told him.”
“I see. There must be a lot more to the long version. Joellen mentioned there have been Shadows in and out all morning. None of them leave until the next one comes in.” She leaned in and whispered, “If you need anything, you can always come to me.”
“Thank you, Mayor.” I knew what she was saying. “Jack has forgiven me. I have an ex-husband who wasn’t thrilled I left,” I lied.
“Does the sheriff know?”
“He does,” I replied.
“Well, my offer stands.”
“Thank you. Let me get your order in. Maybe I can bump it ahead, so you aren’t here all afternoon.”
The mayor laughed. “Oh, don’t do that. Then I’ll have to go back to work sooner.”
I turned in her order to the cook and walked over to check on Romeo, Mimic, and Winchester.
“Hello, boys, drew the short straw, huh?” I asked.
“Nah, we volunteered. Not much of a hardship to come eat lunch and be served by the prettiest waitress in here,” Romeo said.
“Don’t let Jack hear you,” Mimic cautioned. “He won’t let you come back.”
“What can I get you boys?”
“Coffee and the special,” Winchester ordered.
“Same,” Romeo and Mimic stated at the same time.
“You got it.”
“Hey, Sam, phone,” Julie called out .
“Be right there, Julie.” Before I could turn, Romeo took my hand.
“Come back and let us know who it was.”
“I know the drill.” I sighed.
I gave the order to Christopher Wilson, the cook. Chris was in his fifties and had grown up in Diamond Creek. He had been working at the diner since he was sixteen. Started out washing dishes and worked his way up to cook. I don’t think The Diner would be what it was without him. Joellen knew it too and let him get away with more than any of the rest of us.
Walking into the back, I grabbed the phone. “Hello?” I didn’t know who would call me here. Everyone I knew had my cell number.
“Sam?” the voice said.
“Carrie? Why are you calling here and not my cell phone?” I asked, confused.
“I didn’t know if your phone was being bugged.”
“Carrie, that’s ridiculous.”
Though, come to think of it, I guess it was possible.
“Sam, you don’t see what I see. Jack isn’t who you think he is. He is controlling you, just like Derek was.”
“Carrie, that isn’t true. Jack is nothing like Derek.”
“Then tell me why the Shadows have been in the diner all day? I wanted to come see you at work, talk to you alone. But Jack won’t let you be alone, will he?”
“He is worried about me and Charlie. With Derek sending that note, he could be anywhere,” I reminded her.
“Which is why we should leave,” Carrie urged.
“Carrie, I don’t want to run anymore. Matlock is sending divorce papers to Derek. I want my life back, and Jack is helping me do that. Plus, Charlie is his daughter. I can’t take her away from him. I can’t do that to Charlie either. She loves her father.”
“Dammit, Sam, you aren’t listening. Derek will not give you up. He won’t let someone else have you. I haven’t told you everything the notes said. I didn’t want you to know how truly evil he is. ”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sam, you have tables waiting,” a voice called down the hall.
I placed my hand over the mouth of the phone. “Coming, Joellen.”
“Carrie, I have to get back to work.”
“I need to see you, Sam. You and Charlie. Meet me somewhere? But you can’t tell Jack.”
“Carrie, I can’t not tell him. Besides, I have someone with me everywhere I go.”
“You lost the tail before; you can do it again. Meet me in Scottsbluff. Thursday, you can leave work early and meet me at Luna Bean. I need to tell you everything so you understand you can’t stay there now that Derek knows where you are.”
I bit my lip and thought about what she said. If I didn’t know everything, maybe staying wasn’t the best idea.
“Ok, I’ll meet you Thursday.”
“Alone, Sam.”
“Alone, Carrie.”
The call disconnected, and I hung up and went back to work. I had a few hours before I had to decide what to tell Jack. Right now, I needed to be as honest as possible.
I walked over to the table where the Shadows sat. Mimic watched me carefully. I knew there were a handful of brothers who didn’t trust me. They made it clear with how they watched me, like they were waiting for me to prove them right.
“Who was on the phone?” Mimic asked as soon as I reached the table.
“It was Carrie. She wants me to meet her on Friday night. Alone.”
“That’s not an option, Sam,” Winchester advised.
“I know, and I will tell Jack tonight. I need to meet with her, but you guys all know how to hide well. She doesn’t need to know someone is watching.”
Mimic never took his eyes off me. “She’s right. Carrie only needs to think Sam is alone.”
“I have to get back to work. Your order should be ready soon, and I’ll bring it over,” I told them.
The rest of my shift was uneventful. Romeo and Winchester left, but Mimic stayed. He drank coffee and ate a few pieces of pie. He moved from the booth to sit at the counter. When King spoke with Joellen about this arrangement, he promised the Shadows would not interfere with her business.
Sitting at the far end of the counter, Mimic could see both the front and back doors. His back was to the room, but I knew he’d seen everyone enter; though, once they were inside, I guess they didn’t concern him.
A few minutes before the end of my shift, Jack and Charlie walked in.
“Mommy!” Charlie ran over and threw herself into my arms.
“Hello, baby. What are you doing here?” I asked, looking up at Jack.
“Daddy said we could have dinner with you.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” I looked at Jack, then turned to look at Mimic. I set Charlie down and walked over to the counter. “I said I would tell him, and I will. I wouldn’t have told you the truth if I wasn’t going to tell Jack. Why would I, when I know you would tell him if I didn’t?” I asked him.
“Did you tell us the truth?” he asked.
My eyes narrowed, and I gave him my best mom stare.
He didn’t flinch.
“Yes,” I growled.
“Hey, Sammy,” Jack called out. He placed a hand on my elbow and turned me toward him. “Mimic didn’t tell me, Romeo did. He was worried because you looked spooked after the phone call.”
I sighed heavily, but I didn’t apologize to Mimic for my outburst. There was something about him. I knew he didn’t trust me. Sure, I lied to him, but he had no way of knowing that. Did he?
“Come on, Sammy, go clock out and have dinner with us. We can talk about the phone call.”
“Not in front of Charlie,” I said.
“No problem,” Mimic offered. “Charlie, wanna sit at the counter and have dinner with Uncle Mimic?” He spoke to my daughter like I wasn’t standing right in front of him. He was really the only brother I didn’t feel comfortable with.
“Yes! Mommy, can I?” Charlie bounced up and down, waiting for my answer. I knew she loved sitting at the counter. What child didn’t love spinning around on the stools?
I glared at Mimic. He had put me on the spot with Charlie, so if I said no, I’d look like the bad guy. He was forcing me to lie to Jack.
Ok, so, I know I’m making the choice to lie, but that’s not the point, dammit!
“Sure, baby. Daddy and I are going to sit in a booth. So, if you get tired of Uncle Mimic, you can come sit with us,” I told her, then walked into the back to clock out of my shift.
Moving back out to the dining room, I saw Jack still at the counter with Mimic. Probably talking about me and how wrong I was for Jack.
“Hey, Sammy,” Jack said, cutting off whatever Mimic was telling him. I couldn’t help feeling suspicious. Standing, Jack took my hand and led me to a booth.
“What’s up with you and Mimic?” he asked, and right then, I knew he’d said something to make Jack question his trust in me.