Chapter 6 #2
A hot flush creeps its way along my chest. I feel my face go bright red.
“Oh, um…” I don’t know what to say. I’m not sure what he means.
I’ve been nothing but trouble, at least financially, for him since the day he saved me.
How could I not think that way when these people have done nothing but give and I’ve done nothing but take?
“Hey, boss.” A voice from behind us breaks the moment. Tank nods at me and waves at Aurora. “Hey there, sweetheart.”
Savage startles and gives Tank a murderous look, but Tank throws up his hands in a surrender motion. “I was talking to the baby?” His eyes are wide, and he says it like a question. I mean, of course he was calling the baby sweetheart. Did Savage think Tank was talking to me? Was Savage jealous?
Savage’s shoulders visibly relax, and he barks, “What is it?”
Tank jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “Phantom said there’s a little problem that needs attention. He wants you in his office.”
Savage blows out a breath. “Fuck. Okay.” He turns to me and hands me a white envelope. “Spend what you need. This is for you.” Then he turns to Tank. “Drive her wherever she wants to go. Stay close enough that you can get back to her fast when she tells you she’s done. She’s got work to do.”
Tank looks totally unbothered that he’s basically a chauffeur for me and Aurora for the day. He nods. “You got it, boss.”
Savage looks at me like he’s going to say something. He opens his mouth, and his eyes move from mine to my toes and then back. It’s fast, not like a creepy look. His eyes dart everywhere as if he doesn’t know where to look. But then he looks past me at Aurora and nods. “Later.”
He says it like that’s a complete sentence, and then he turns and heads back down the hallway.
Something flutters in my chest as I watch him walk in the opposite direction. I wish I knew why he was doing so much for me and my daughter. And I wish that I could turn off the very real way I’m starting to feel for him.
“Hey there, sunshine!”
I almost forgot that Tank was waiting. He ducks his head and is waving at Aurora, who lifts a chubby hand and waves back before sticking her fingers in her mouth.
I turn to the biker and give him a shrug. “Looks like you’re stuck with me again.”
“Claire,” he says, giving me a look. “You know this is the cushiest gig we got goin’ now, right?” He cocks his head. “Ten other assholes out there would kill to be the one to drive you around. I practically had to bust in some teeth so no one else volunteered.”
He holds up his beefy hand in front of Aurora. “I’ve got a bet with the other guys that I can teach her how to high-five me. And I’m not going to win if I don’t get some face time, you know what I mean?” He gives me a seriously pleading look. “She doesn’t know how to high-five yet, does she?”
I laugh. “Uh, no.” I set my diaper bag down on the floor outside my room, take Aurora’s hand, and clap it to Tank’s. “High-five,” I say.
Aurora’s eyes go wide at the clapping sound, and she bubbles spit over her little lips and says, “Ma ma ma.”
Tank drops his hand like she burned him, and he turns to me faster than I think a guy his size should move. “She’s talking? Is that, like, her first word? Holy shit, I’m going to teach her to say Tank.”
I shake my head and grab my bag. “One thing at a time,” I tell him. “Let’s focus on the high fives.”
I don’t really know anyplace else around here for us to go, and I’d really love a cold soda and some hot fries, so I have Tank drive us to the diner.
The ride is short, and Tank tries to teach Aurora to say his name the entire way.
She doesn’t seem like she’s in the mood to learn anything new this morning, but I let him chatter on as he drives.
“You want to come in?” I ask Tank. “You can eat something. Savage gave me money.”
He shakes his head. “I had a lunch date today, and I was fucking nervous. I ate a whole large pizza minus one slice by myself. I’m stuffed.”
“A date?” I unbuckle the car seat from the base so I can carry Aurora into the restaurant and have her sit beside me in a booth. “Tank, who’s the lucky girl?”
His smile disappears as he turns in the driver’s seat. “I’m the lucky one. She’s somebody I know from high school. It’s nothing. I mean, it was just lunch. I don’t think she’s that into me.”
“She’d be a fool not to like you,” I tell him. I hardly know the guy, but he has such a sweet, gentle soul. “Imagine what she’s going to think when you teach a six-month-old how to high-five.”
That gets him to laugh. “Practice time, kid. Hand up.” He holds up his hand, palm out, and I take my hand and high-five Tank.
I motion for Aurora to do it. She kind of smacks her hand in his direction, but it’s enough to have him laughing.
“Yes. High-five, Aurora,” he says.
“Ma ma mamama,” she says, excited, even if she’s not sure why.
I climb out of the back seat with my diaper bag and the car seat. Tank follows me into the restaurant and holds the door open while I walk in.
“You need me to do anything while you’re workin’?” Tank asks.
“I could use another package of diapers. Do you mind?” I tell him the size Aurora needs and reassure him that he can’t screw it up. “If you’re worried, text me a picture before you buy them.”
We agree that he’ll come back to get me in two hours unless I text him to come sooner. He heads off to wash his truck and pick up my diapers, and I walk up to the hostess stand alone.
“Table for one?” A young girl, probably still in high school, grabs a menu and gives me a huge smile. “Or would you prefer a booth?”
“A booth would be great.”
The girl brings us to a fairly quiet part of the diner, and as soon as I have Aurora settled with some toys, I try to look over the menu, but it’s overwhelming with the number of options.
“Hi there, sweetie.” A waitress wearing an orange smock over a white golf shirt and tan pants greets me. “Well, my goodness. I don’t think I’ve ever seen prettier eyes than these.” She bends slightly to look at Aurora. “Hi there, angel.”
I set down the menu. “Aurora, can you say hi?” I ask.
She smacks her hands together and says, “Maaaaa-ma maaaa-ma.”
“We just learned that word,” I tell the waitress, whose name tag reads Val.
“Well, that is the most important word of them all, isn’t it?” Val turns to me and grins. She smooths down thick white hair that’s cut to just below her chin and pulls out a little notebook. “Are we having food, sweetheart? Anything to drink?”
I didn’t really bother looking, so I ask Val for some recommendations. I end up getting my favorite—the burger with sweet potato fries and a soda.
Val takes my order, and while Aurora busies herself with a toy, I get to work. It turns out to be a lot harder to get anything done in a restaurant with a six-month-old than I imagined.
When Tank comes back two hours later, I have little to show for the time out of my room. I was able to look up my old law firm, the one I worked at before, and I looked up some résumé samples online.
Val quickly comes back to greet Tank.
“Well, hello there, Savage,” she says. “Is this your family?”
I look from Tank to Val. “This isn’t Savage,” I say, but Tank and I are talking over each other, and I don’t know if she hears me.
“Nah,” Tank says. “These are just some friends. I’m the designated driver. That baby formula is powerful stuff. I can’t let her get behind the wheel after a bottle or two.”
Val laughs so hard and so sincerely, I think it actually heals me a little bit. I laugh, too, while Tank assures Val he doesn’t need anything, and he’ll see her next time.
She brings the check and I pay it, but I notice that Tank pulls out his wallet and adds some cash to the pile I leave on the table while I’m wiping Aurora’s hands clean with a napkin.
“I left enough,” I say quietly. “Savage gave me money.”
He nods but then shrugs. “She’s our regular waitress. Savage always tips her extra, so I figured he’d want me to.”
Of course he does. Savage is a generous tipper. Probably nice to old ladies. Rescuer of women and children. But he’s also a biker, maybe a criminal, and most definitely a mystery.
I shut down my curiosity and gather up my daughter and bag. I have no business thinking about him, let alone feeling anything for him. Not affection and sure as heck not curiosity either.
Tank grabs the car seat with Aurora in it while I pick up the diaper bag. And all of a sudden, for a moment, everything around me goes white. Panic settles in. I reach for Tank’s arm, but then I stop myself and duck my head, bracing for a blow.
I almost grab my daughter back from him. But I can’t. He’ll get angry. He’ll stop me. He’ll take her away.
I clutch the top of the booth, snagging my palm in a smear of sticky syrup. I can’t stop the racing thoughts, the instinctive panic that has me at war with myself.
He’s not taking her.
He’s not leaving with her.
He’s only trying to help.
He’s not Anthony.
I reassure myself with deep breaths, my nails digging into the side of the booth, until my heart rate calms. Tank takes about ten steps and looks back to where I’m still standing at the booth.
“You good?” he asks, lowering his brows and cocking his head. “You look pale.”
Val, the waitress, comes up to us and starts clearing the table. She notes the large tip in cash and clucks her tongue. “Y’all shouldn’t do that. You’re too generous.”
Tank suddenly looks uncomfortable. “Claire, you ready?”
No one seems aware of my freak-out. I look at Val and her warm, dimpled smile and Tank’s look of mild confusion.
I’m the weirdo here. I’m the one who’s broken. I’m the one who needs to listen when spoken to and go with the flow.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m ready.”
Tank nods and waits, letting me walk ahead of him through the diner doors. When we get there, I stop and turn around. He’s lightly swinging the car seat while talking to Aurora the whole time.
“Uncle Tank,” he says. “I know it’s a mouthful, but it’s going to be your second word. I guess second and third words, but I’ve got faith in you, kid. Say it with me, Aurora. Uncle Tank.”
She says, “Maaamaaamaa,” but she answers him back.
Aurora looks at me as she says it, and something inside me crumbles. I feel tears sting my eyes, and I say, “Hey, baby.”
“Uncle Tank.” Tank’s voice is so playful and happy as he tries to urge my daughter to say his name, I can’t help but feel more assured and at ease.
And even though everything inside me feels panic and worry about letting this stranger carry my daughter, about how he’s going to feel if I react or speak up, I fight the feelings. Because none of these people have done anything to even remotely suggest they might hurt me or my daughter.
We’re safe.