7
7
Liam
Selena: Sorry again about last night. Thanks for your help.
I read the text twice, trying to think of how to respond. Whatever Liberty had been on was strong, and I didn’t think Selena knew what she might be up against.
Me: Have you spoken to her this morning?
I sent it and waited.
Selena had told me last night she’d been worried that Liberty was on drugs. I’d been uneasy, leaving her there last night after dropping Liberty in her room. Liberty could bring some dangerous shit to her door if she was messing with heavy drugs. I’d seen death in my club because of this kind of thing.
Selena: She got up this morning, packed her bags, yelled at me, and stormed out of the house. She’s gone. I couldn’t help her. She refused to even talk to me about it.
Sounded like drugs all right. I could normally pick out a female like that a mile away. Liberty had fooled me though. I’d been too distracted by that face and her world-class tits and ass that I hadn’t noticed the signs.
Me: It’s for the best.
I slid my phone in my pocket and headed out of the house after rubbing Ozzy’s head and telling him I’d be back later. I needed to make up my mind about Madeline’s invitation to bring Selena to dinner.
I found myself not looking forward to being around her simply because I wasn’t feeling anything more for her than friendship while I was starting to see the signs of her wanting more. She didn’t deserve to be strung along, believing we would become a couple when I wasn’t into her. Not the kind of way a man needed to be if he was going to be exclusive with one woman.
I got on my bike and debated on my next move. Going to Miami for a few days was probably needed. It would give me space, and I could be around to deal with club stuff. I cranked up the Harley and headed south. A week away, and I would be more clearheaded and ready to make a decision about Selena.
I made a quick stop at the service station to fill up and call Devil’s to let Tex know I was headed to Miami. With him back for the next week, things would be under control here. My gaze veered to the next exit up ahead and the Abernathy’s sign that could be seen from the interstate. Deciding to do a little investigating for Selena since I was leaving town and not sticking around to help with anything that came up with Liberty, I turned on my blinker and headed toward the bar I hadn’t set foot in since the night I’d taken Liberty to the motel.
Pulling into the front, I parked my bike and got off. It was early still, and the sign said they opened at eleven. That was thirty minutes ago. Not much of a crowd at this time of day. I took off my helmet and headed inside.
Behind the bar was a guy unloading a cart of clean glasses onto the shelf. He glanced back at me as I made my way over there. Only two tables had people at them, but there was no one sitting at the bar. He put the glass in his hand down and turned to me.
“Can I get you something?”
I pulled out a stool and sat down. “Bud Light,” I told him.
“Tap?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
He picked up a tall glass from the cart.
“Liberty still work here?” I asked.
He paused and looked back at me. “Yeah. How do you know Lib?”
Lib. Him shortening her name like that annoyed me, but I didn’t want to think about why.
“She working today?” I asked, ignoring his question.
He glanced toward the back, looking unsure of how to answer. “Uh, yeah,” he finally said.
I followed his gaze. “She here already?”
He slid my drink in front of me. “Listen, I don’t know you, and I don’t feel comfortable telling you Lib’s personal stuff.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “When she’s on shift next isn’t personal. Just a question.”
The guy didn’t say anything.
“Did she work last night?” I asked.
He nodded. “She worked a double yesterday.”
“What time did she leave here?”
He tensed up and shook his head. “Why do you want to know?”
The little dickhead was getting on my nerves.
I picked up my beer and took a long drink before setting it back down. “What time do you close on Sundays?”
“Ten,” he replied.
The back door opened, and my gaze swung to see who was walking through. It was an older man with a bald head and a large belly. He was headed in this direction.
“Shawn, there are two more carts with glasses to get out before the lunch hour hits. Speed it up.”
The guy in front of me nodded then went back to unloading glasses.
I turned my attention to the older man. “You the manager?” I asked.
He nodded and smiled. “Tom Abernathy. I own the place. How can I help you?”
“Does Liberty still work here?” I asked.
The way his brows drew together instantly seemed as if he didn’t like me asking questions either. “She’s been working here for five years,” he said in a less than friendly tone.
Five years? Selena had said she kept losing her jobs. Did the man have her confused with another employee? I doubted she’d been here long enough for him to remember who she was.
“You sure about that?”
The man’s shoulders snapped back as he tried to make himself appear taller. “Liberty Dillard has been working for me for five years. Of course I am sure. I’m the one who signs her paychecks. What business do you have with her?”
I took another drink, studying the man. Would he lie for her? Did that hot body of hers in the tiny shorts and tight tank she wore here have him drooling over her? Men could easily be led by their dicks.
“I’m friends with her sister. Checking to see if she’s where she says she is—that’s all. Her sister has reason to be worried about her.”
The man’s face turned red, and his eyes widened. “The same sister who kicked out a sick girl in the middle of the night? That sister? The same one who can’t be bothered to give her a ride home so she has to walk to the damn bus station two miles away? Why don’t you tell that sister she can go to hell for me, yeah?” he said angrily, then swung his gaze to the bartender. “Let him finish his beer and then make sure he leaves.”
The other guy glanced at me nervously and then nodded. I got one more glare from Tom Abernathy before he stalked away. I waited until he was gone before asking the bartender anything else. I wasn’t leaving until I had some answers. Liberty was good at playing the helpless-female-in-need act. I’d fallen for it myself.
Sounded like Liberty had called in sick and blamed Selena for it, lying about getting kicked out. Ole horny Tom had believed her completely.
“How long you been working here, Shawn?” I asked.
He tensed and looked over at me. “Three years, and Liberty has been here since before me,” he replied, seeming to already know what I was going to ask next.
Two witnesses to back up Liberty. Why would Selena lie about something like that? But then maybe she didn’t know. If Liberty never called her and hadn’t gone to their mother’s funeral, Selena might have assumed she was still not keeping a job. That wasn’t a big reach. I couldn’t blame her for that.
Fine. So, Liberty wasn’t a flake when it came to a job. That didn’t wipe out all her other transgressions. The reason I was here had nothing to do with her work ethic anyway. I wanted to be sure she wasn’t about to bring any danger to Selena’s door if she was messed up with some lowlife druggie.
“Do you know if she’s seeing anyone? Maybe hitting the party scene after work?”
Shawn was putting another glass up when a smirk touched his lips. He didn’t look at me. “Liberty broke up with her boyfriend a couple of months ago. She doesn’t party at all. Works too damn much.” He cut his eyes to me. “I don’t know what her sister has told you, but these questions don’t fit her. The only thing Liberty is guilty of is being too damn stubborn to let someone take her home after work.”
She’d had no problem letting a stranger almost twenty years older than her give her a ride after work on his Harley, but I didn’t say that. Whatever life she did live, she kept it out of the workplace. I had to give her props for that. I wished the girls who worked for me could do the same thing. They loved bringing drama to work with them.
I finished my beer and laid a twenty on the bar, then stood up.
“Thanks,” I told him and headed for the door.
Last night was still going to bother me, but Selena had a security system, and she was at the hospital more than she was at home. I didn’t need to stick my nose any further into this. Liberty checked out with her employer and coworker. Granted, both were men, and they probably fantasized about fucking her every chance they could, but they hadn’t looked like they were covering anything up.
Getting back on my Harley, I tried to shove all thoughts of Liberty out of my head. Cranking it up, I turned to drive out of the parking lot when the sight of her bent over a bush, holding her long brown hair back, caught my attention. I parked my bike in a parking spot closer to her, watching her.
I was a few feet behind her when she straightened and her shoulders slumped forward. She let her hair go, and it cascaded down her back. I waited for her to turn around. I might not have seen her face yet, but I knew that ass. It was Liberty, and I was positive she had been vomiting just now in the bush.
When she turned around, her eyes locked on me, and then they widened. She was already pale, but the shock, then fear that flashed in those honey-brown irises unsettled me. I was missing something. Overlooking it because I didn’t want to see Liberty for anything more than the spoiled bitch she had been to her sister. Trying to remove Selena from the equation, I took in Liberty’s appearance. She was dressed for work. It looked like her top was a size too small. Probably helped with the tips.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
I raised an eyebrow. “Checking to see if you’re gonna bring any trouble to Selena’s door while I’m away.”
The flash of hurt in her eyes before she dropped her gaze to the ground didn’t fit. What did she have to be hurt over? I’d caught her before she even hit the concrete last night and carried her the rest of the way to the house since I couldn’t ride with an unconscious woman on my bike.
“I’m not at Sissy’s anymore,” she replied. “And I don’t think she’ll have a change of heart.” Liberty didn’t look my way again but started to walk toward the back of the building.
“She opened her home to you, tried to help you, and you threw all that in her face this morning and left. She’s going to worry about you. Are you really that selfish?”
Liberty stopped walking. Her back went rigid, and she stood there for a moment, saying nothing. I started to think she was going to ignore me and leave when she finally turned back around to face me. Her brows were drawn together, as if she was trying to figure out what I’d said.
“Selfish? Me? That’s what you think?”
A hard laugh fell from her full lips. Without the red lipstick, they were a pale pink. I liked them better that way. Not that I should like anything about this woman. But I was a red-blooded male, and she was a sexpot.
She tilted her head back, letting her waves of thick brown hair fall back over her shoulders as she stared up at the sky. I said nothing but waited to see if she was going to explain or elaborate.
When she looked at me again, she no longer looked angry. There was a quiet determination in her expression. “I need to get to work. If you are done accusing me of things that you know nothing about, I’d appreciate it if you left. Sissy is in no danger of me coming near her again—I can swear that to you,” she said, then spun around before taking long strides toward the back entrance of Abernathy’s.
I watched her go, wishing I didn’t give a fuck about her being mixed up with bad shit. She had so much potential, yet her father had really ruined her. Men bent over backward to do her bidding. Her life had been too easy, whereas Selena had had to bust her ass to get to where she was now. I was sure there was jealousy there, causing Liberty to lash out at her sister.
Fucking women.
She stopped and took the handle of a suitcase I hadn’t noticed before and rolled it toward the door. There was another one behind it. Why did she have her suitcases here? When she’d left this morning, she must have gone somewhere. Had a plan at least.
I watched her pull both suitcases inside and waited until the door closed behind her.
Turning back around toward the bushes, I walked over to see if I’d been right about her throwing up. I had been. Looked like she’d lost her breakfast.
Glancing back at the building, I thought back to last night. She’d been pale. I’d caught her before she hit the ground when she fainted. More than twelve hours later, she had thrown up what she had eaten for breakfast. She was still pretty damn pale. Selena had said she woke up and grabbed her things and left. She hadn’t mentioned her appearing sick. Why would she run off from the roof over her head when she wasn’t feeling good?
Unless there was another reason she was sick and didn’t want her sister to find out …
Fuck.