Chapter 10
Alec
“Motorcycle and boating for you, and housekeeping for the missus,” I say as I pull out the order book and lay it on the table. “These will really help build those accessible bus stops in the city.”
These people are so stupid. Have they never seen a bus stop in their lives? Probably not. That’s why they believe me when I say bus stops need to be more accessible than a sidewalk. Whatever. It works, and I have the limp from my “fake leg” to thank for that.
As I sit inside the air-conditioned mansion while the husband fills out three different orders, I can’t help but think about Tegan. I was a dick, I know, but she hit a nerve.
Stacks once told me that I was a sellout, and it took everything in me not to kill him.
He knew what I came from. When he found me, the rips in my clothes weren’t made by my hands.
They were from years of use and few washes.
When he found me, I was covered in old vomit and couldn’t be touched for the first three years because of a lifetime of fucking trauma.
But God fucking forbid I “sell out” to get away from that.
It’s an honor to pretend to be the person I ran from. My success is a big fuck-you to my stepfather, proving that his way wasn’t the only way to succeed.
Regardless, I feel bad for leaving her at the welcome sign. I’m the one who brought her into this. She just needs to accept our lifestyle. If not, she can go back to what she came from.
The thought of sending her back there sends a zap of discomfort into my chest. But what choice will I have? If she can’t get with the program, she can’t be part of the program, and I can’t fight for her if she won’t fight for herself.
I can only hope she learns to accept us. This lifestyle is better than she thinks. She just has to let go of her pride.
“Thank you, sir,” I say as I put the order book inside my bag and walk to the door. A hefty wad of cash rests in my pocket—payment for my performance.
Once I’m back in the heat, I head toward the welcome sign. She wasn’t left to her own devices for more than twenty minutes, but there’s a very real chance that she won’t be there. She seems like the type who would leave a situation she doesn’t like. I mean, she did, didn’t she?
But as I near the sign, I see her. She’s seated on the pavers surrounding the large stone sign. Her eyes don’t meet mine, and I can’t tell if her face is covered in tears or sweat. Her damp hair sticks to her cheeks.
“I’m too fat for this heat,” she says when I toss my bag down and sit beside her, and it draws a smile out of me.
“I like that about you.”
“What?” Her hazel eyes, flecked with gold, finally rise to me. “That I’m fat?”
“I like your snark.” I smirk. “Not everyone would say the truth with their whole chest.”
She averts her gaze and uses a stick to drag a line through the dirt. “Do you think that’s why I’m bad at this?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t think you’re bad at this, and I’m sorry I snapped at you. I just see how much this job can change your life if you just . . . learn to lie a little. Tell me, pup, have you ever lied?”
She squints as she studies the houses lining the street. “To get free meals, I guess.”
“What was the last lie you told?”
“That I was pregnant.”
My spine straightens. “You didn’t.”
“I did.”
“You can tell people you’re pregnant, but hypothyroidism is going too far?” I say with a laugh.
She smacks my arm, and I like how her hand lingers for a moment. “It’s not the same when I lie versus when you lie for me.”
“Get quicker, then. Respond before I have to do it for you. I’m only trying to close the deal.”
“Does that mean I’m not fired?”
The way she looks up at me, so na?ve and sweet, does a number on my conscience. Maybe bringing her into the crew was a mistake after all. She’s so innocent.
But then I remind myself that I didn’t chain her to me and force her to come.
I gave her a choice, and she chose this.
Yeah, maybe she didn’t have all the facts, but she’s not stupid.
A van full of young adults would have been her first clue that we aren’t exactly upstanding citizens.
If our van had been emblazoned with some sort of religious symbology, maybe she could have pegged us as fanatical missionaries, but it was just a van. She had to have suspected something.
I lean into her to sweep the sweat-damp hair from her face. My eyes are lost in those gold flecks in her green irises. She looks so small. So defeated. I only want to see her smile again.
I forget the heat and the pressure to succeed. I forget about her tender age as I lean closer.
And I kiss her.
She takes my breath away when she kisses me back.
There’s no real hunger in the motions of her mouth. She’s timid, exploring a new sensation she doesn’t fully trust. But the hunger is there, buried beneath a mountain of uncertainty and fear. I want nothing more than to unearth those hidden parts of her, but how?
I break the kiss and lean back to brush more hair from her face. “Pup,” I whisper.
She blinks up at me. “Did you kiss me because you feel bad for me?”
Her question hurts my heart. Is she really so oblivious to how attractive she is? I couldn’t even help myself just now.
“I brought you along because I felt bad for you. I kissed you because I haven’t stopped thinking about it since the shower.”
She bites her lower lip. “I think I like it better when you lie.”
I grab my bag from the grass and dig through it. If I want to ensure her place in the crew, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands. I open my order book and pull a few pages from it. She eyes me as I hold them out to her.
“What’s that for?” she asks.
“Orders to give to Stacks.”
She takes them, but she looks unsure. “What will you give him? Don’t you have to turn in orders too?”
“I saved a couple for myself, don’t worry.” I pat the order book. Another lie. Stacks won’t say shit to me, though. If he tries, I’ll just say I was shadowing the girl to make sure she could handle the job.
“Does your lying know no limits?” she says, and a broad, genuine smile finally graces her face. “Thanks.”
I need her to have some orders. I want Stacks to think she’s doing great before she figures out how to be great.
Which I know she can be.
“You ready to head back to the van, or did you want to give the job a try?” I ask.
She sighs and looks at the neighborhood once more. “I think I’ve had enough for now, if that’s okay.”
It’s more than okay.
I stand and offer her my hand, and we start for the van together.