Chapter 6
RALEIGH
I froze as a pillow took me in the side of my head. I turned to where Angel sat in the middle of my bed, his blond hair a tousled mess after finally getting some sleep. Shirtless, his all-seeing eye tattoos were on full display. He shifted, and the bars through his nipples caught the sunlight. He was nearly lost in the mounds of expensive fabrics, leather shoes and belts, and other brand-name articles cluttering the bed—everything Kali had gifted me over the years.
“What are you going to do with all this stuff?” he asked.
I shrugged, turning back to my closet and removing the last few pieces of clothing from their hangers. “I just want it gone. I can’t even get dressed without the reminder of her slapping me in the face.”
It’d been a couple weeks since Darren’s visit, and I felt no better about the situation. I felt… dirty. Like a used napkin stuck to the bottom of someone’s shoe.
Angel touched my wrist to get my attention. “I’ve never seen you this way after a breakup.”
I dropped the armful of clothes onto the bed, collapsing onto the mattress next to them. My head fell into my hands, an attempt to stave off the tears I felt pricking the corners of my eyes. “It’s so much more than a breakup. I didn’t fuck up a relationship this time, Angel. I destroyed a family.”
I looked up at him when he tapped me on the shoulder. “You didn’t. She did.”
“If you say ‘I told you so’ one more time, I’ll tie your hands behind your back.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” he signed. He dug himself out of the bed, full of energy for the first time in weeks. “We have to open the bar.”
“I don’t feel like it,” I mumbled into my hands before they were pulled away from my face.
“You’re bartending tonight. You promised Ryder, remember?”
I groaned. Angel was right. I hadn’t worked in over a week, with Ryder covering my shifts.
I was passable behind the bar, but I was no Ryder. He was our manager, best bartender, and the closest thing to a third owner we had. He’d been there since the day we opened, having worked under the previous owner. He was too talented for us to let him go. Being single with no desire to change that, he didn’t mind working whenever asked. He was also the only one who could match my attitude with a smile on his face.
I looked at the piles around me, then at my empty closet. When had Kali taken over so much of my life that I literally had nothing without her?
“I need to go shopping first,” I said, somehow finding a pair of sweatpants and a shirt buried in the bottom of my dresser. “I’ll meet you down there when I get back.”
* * *
“Hold on— married ?!” Jack said.
I grabbed a bottle of raspberry liqueur, struggling my way through another one of Ryder’s signature drinks, the Vampire’s Kiss. They were in high demand tonight, and happened to be my least favorite drink to make. Ryder’s default setting was nothing less than “extraordinary,” and that extended to the drinks he created. With fake blood, plastic fangs, and edible glitter, the cocktail was Ryder in a glass: excessive, but nice to look at.
“Out of everything I told you, that’s what you latched onto? Not that she’s a felon ?”
I rimmed the edge of the chilled glass with the fake blood, garnished it with a pair of plastic vampire fangs, and slid it to the blonde on the other side of the bar. Out of habit, I threw in a wink for free. Even under the dim neon lights I saw her face flush, and she made a show of wrapping her tongue around the straw and sucking down half the cocktail. Something was definitely up with me; her provocative move didn’t so much as stir my dick. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve heaped all sorts of attention on her.
Jack added fresh-squeezed margarita mix into the blender and clicked it on, deciding to shout over the music and the blender. “So, what’s your next move?”
Rolling my eyes, I asked one of the patrons to repeat their order of a Blue Lagoon. As I started making it, I turned to Jack. “I don’t know yet. I’m only now starting to get over my shock. No one could have seen this coming.”
Jack’s scoff perfectly slotted into the silence of the blender cutting off and the overhead music transitioning to the next song. With blue curacao in my hand, I shot daggers at him. He slid the margarita to the customer and collected the tip they held out for him, tucking it into the waistband of what could only generously be called shorts . “I’ve seen the people you leave here with. I find it hard to believe you were shocked by Kali.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I shouted as the music started back up.
“Raleigh, most of us run from red flags. You charge forward like a bull. When was the last time you dated anyone who wasn’t toxic? Remember Billie?”
A shiver shot down my spine. Oh, I remembered Billie. I finished my pour and set the bottle down, reflecting on Jack’s words. Was he right? By the time I came up with a solid retort, he was busy with a customer.
I ignored Jack for the rest of the night. I focused on the drinks, lost myself in the music, and tried my best to let thoughts of Kali slip from my mind. I’d found myself faltering the last couple weeks, checking my phone out of habit, hoping to see her name.
In my thirty years, I didn’t consider any of my relationships serious. Yeah, there had been a few people I’d see regularly, but I didn’t think about settling down with any of them—including Kali.
But…
She tricked me. That was exactly it. I felt cheated, duped, swindled… fucking bamboozled. What bothered me most was all the people she’d taken down with her. She’d pulled the wool over the eyes of everyone around her: me, her husband, her kid . Pulling an innocent child into her infidelity made it so much more twisted—and now that child had lost everything.
I was halfway through making a round of J?gerbombs when it hit me.
That’s what I would do with the clothes.
I couldn’t do anything about the house or the car, but I could give that broken, hurting family something .
I was more than relieved when last call sounded. I pushed through the last round of customers and all but collapsed onto the countertop when the last person walked out the door. I remained quiet as we cleaned, so lost in my thoughts that even Jack didn’t pick up on it and didn’t pry. When we finished, I trudged down the hall toward the office where Angel would still be working. I rapped on the door three times, then waited for the two in return that served as my signal to enter. When I didn’t hear them, I tried again. Still nothing. I tried the knob and it turned, the door swinging open into a dark room.
Frowning, I spun and dragged myself up the stairs. My muscles ached, my shoes stuck to the floor and I smelled like… well, a bar. As I approached my bedroom, I spied dim light of my bedside lamp spilling through the cracked door. I peeked inside, finding an Angel-shaped lump under the blankets on my bed, surrounded by pillows on every side. I stayed still for a second, waiting to see if he would turn, but the blanket moved evenly with each breath.
He was asleep.
He didn’t often fall asleep on his own, especially during the nights following a nightmare.
I let out a sigh of relief and left him sleeping in my bed, forcing myself into a shower before I joined him. My muscles sang with relief as I settled into the mattress. I pressed my face into the pillow to muffle the moan that bubbled out of me. I rolled onto my stomach, one arm under the pillow, and was dozing off when Angel stirred. He settled against my back, resting his face on my shoulder and wrapping an arm around my waist.
I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath, emotions hitting me like a freight train. My eyes burned, my chest ached. I swallowed against a lump in my throat, feeling as if I were about to cry. Then, a wave of warmth washed over me. I blinked tears away, my chest relaxing. The hornet’s nest of thoughts in my head calmed, and I eased into the pillow. Angel’s hand rose to my chest, flattening over my heart.
We hadn’t done this since he’d started dating Eli, but I didn’t want to move him. Instead, I closed my hand over his and drifted off to sleep.
* * *
“I don’t like the look on your face.”
I scoffed, chasing Ryder through his apartment as he walked away from me. “You love my face and everything about it.”
I’d caught him getting out of the shower and in the bedroom, he let his towel hit the floor. One thing about Ryder Clark was that he had no shame whatsoever. Ryder looked over his shoulder, giving me a blue-eyed stare and crooking a brow at me. “What do you want?”
I followed him through into the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe, admiring the view and forgetting why I was there in the first place. I loved my tattoos, but Ryder's smooth, unmarked body was gorgeous. He stood nearly tall enough to look me in the eye. Almost. His dark, wet curls dripped water onto tan skin. I watched a drop fall onto his shoulder, trailing down his chest and slipping into the trail of hair that led to his…
“Raleigh?”
“Hm?” I sputtered when Ryder’s wet towel slapped me in the face.
“Did you come here to check out my ass or ask me for a favor?”
“Both?”
“Spit it out, Jenkins.” He tugged on a white T-shirt and a gray pair of sweats. I tried my hardest to ignore how good he looked in those sweats.
Instead, I plastered on my best “help me” eyes. “Cover for me tonight?”
“Sure.” Without another word, he pushed past me and headed for the kitchen.
That was too easy.
“That’s it?” I called, finding him selecting a mug from the cabinet.
He looked up in surprise. “Did you really think I’d say no?” He grabbed a second mug, holding it out in invitation. I accepted, opening the fridge like I lived there and withdrawing the milk.
The coffee maker gurgled to life. “After last week, yeah. You saved my ass.”
Ryder shrugged as if it were no big deal. Maybe it wasn’t to him, but in the five years we’d owned the bar, I’d only missed two shifts. “I don’t mind. You’re clearly going through something, and the extra hours are great. Besides, it’s hardly an issue to look at Jack the whole night.”
I smiled and accepted the drink Ryder offered. “That little twink would chew you up and spit you out.”
“That’s why I admire him from afar. Even I’m not that brave.”
The conversation lulled, and I took the opportunity to drink my coffee. I was grateful Ryder covered my shifts with no questions asked, but I could feel his questions simmering beneath the surface. As I drank, I felt his eyes on me and knew what was coming.
“Just ask,” I said.
“What’s going on, Raleigh? For real.”
We moved to the couch and sat down, and I spilled everything. Ryder knew I’d been seeing someone, but that was the extent of his information and he obviously wasn’t expecting the situation to be so serious… or so scandalous. He didn’t even tease me about the gifts. When I got to the part about Kali being arrested for embezzlement, his jaw was on the floor.
“Holy shit,” he muttered when I was finished. He stared into his mug. “I should have made this an Irish coffee.”
“Don’t tempt me. I have a flight in a few hours and the last thing I need is to get kicked off for being drunk.” I chugged the rest of my drink, letting the warmth ground me.
Ryder eyed me skeptically. “Raleigh, where are you going?”
I looked away. If I didn’t, he’d see right through me. “It’s best if I don’t tell you.”
“Are you doing something stupid? Because we made a pact that we’d tell each other if bail money was necessary.”
A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. We’d been drunk off our asses when we made that pact. I didn’t think he’d remember it the next morning. “No bail money. I’m going to meet someone.”
Ryder crooked a brow, waiting for me to continue.
“Sorry, that’s all you’re going to get. The less you know about this situation, the better.”
He fell quiet then, worrying his bottom lip. I expected some classic Ryder quip, but something in my tone must’ve sobered him. Instead, he scrubbed the back of his neck. “You’ll call me if you need help, right?”
This time, my smile was genuine. “Of course I will. I really appreciate you covering for me.”
I took our empty mugs to the sink, then Ryder walked me to the front door. “Does Angel know where you’re going?”
Something tugged at my chest. I ignored it. Keeping Angel in the dark was safer for him. “I told him I had something to take care of.” It was the truth. I just hadn’t told him where . “I should be back before the end of the night. This won’t take long at all.”
So, of course, my flight to LAX was delayed by four hours. I’d originally planned my meeting for lunch, but it had to be pushed to post-dinner drinks instead.
I sat in a cushy bar in Beverly Hills, taking in my surroundings. The dim lighting created an expensive ambience, not that the place needed it. Reminiscent of an old school gentleman’s club, it was safe to say that I felt ridiculously out of place. More than one person turned their heads. I wasn’t accustomed to feeling self-conscious, but damn, this place wasn’t my scene at all.
Dark wooden panels lined the walls and premium leather chairs sat around a roaring fireplace. I sat patiently despite the heat and stares. Well, sort of. My leg bounced under the table, the leather in my chair squeaking. Behind the antique-looking railing, a young male bartender mixed drinks, the ice in the shaker nearly overpowering the hushed conversations around me.
A sudden voice behind me made me jump. “Are you getting ideas for renovations?”
I looked over my shoulder. Darren stood there, and after my heart stopped trying to pound its way out of my chest, I smiled at him. “Yeah, you know, I think if this place had blood dripping down the walls it would really draw a crowd.”
He offered his hand and I shook it, and I declined another drink when he ordered his. “I have to be honest,” he said, taking the chair across from me, “I was surprised to get your call.”
“I won’t take too much of your time.” I removed the envelope that had been burning a hole in my pocket all day. “I wanted to give you this.”
Darren took the bundle and peered inside, eyes widening in shock. “Raleigh, I can’t accept?—”
“Please,” I begged, lowering my voice.
His eyes turned skeptical. “Where did you get this?”
“Savings.” I lied. “I couldn’t sit by and let you have nothing. I can’t take back what she did, but I’m finally in a place in my life where I can do this. For you, your son, and my conscience. You guys shouldn’t be left with nothing. Please take it. Start over.”
After a long wait, Darren finally folded the envelope and tucked it in his jacket as the server returned with his drink. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.”
I steeled myself. I’d thought long and hard over my next decision, and I’d arrived at a conclusion: Kali didn’t deserve anything from me. If I testified that she spoiled me with the stolen money, they’d take everything I owned as evidence. Even the bar and my apartment could be in jeopardy, but Angel and I had a backup plan if things fell apart. From the sound of it, Darren didn’t. I didn’t blame him. How in the hell did you plan for the love of your life to go to prison for fraud?
I gave him a banal smile. “Lucky for us that I always paid for my own dates, huh? As far as I can recall, I don’t think Kali ever spent a dime on me.” I raised a hand to stop Darren when he tried to cut me off. “I’m not doing it for her. I’m not even doing it to save myself. I’m doing it for the family she left behind.”
He’d likely be too proud to admit it, but Darren’s eyes glittered with unshed tears. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
I shrugged and got to my feet, drawing more attention. “Just take care of that boy of yours. And in a few years, if he ever wants a job, you know where to find me.”
Darren laughed. “Take care of yourself, Raleigh.”