Chapter Seven #2
“I put it back,” I cry for what feels like the hundredth time. “And it was twenty quid, for goodness’ sake.”
He holds his hands up. “Hey, I don’t make the rules. And a night’s wage is so much better than the alternative, trust me. It’s busy in there. You’re on cleanup first, then the bar. Any trouble, give me a shout.”
“Thank you for the lesson in being a damsel,” I say sweetly, my tone full of sarcasm.
He steps in closer, lowering his voice. “I need you safe.”
It lands somewhere I don’t want it to. I nod once, sharp. “Good. Then don’t hover. It makes me look owned.”
One corner of his mouth twitches. “God forbid.”
The good thing about work is it makes you useful, and if you’re useful, people keep you around.
The afternoon trickles into evening, and I work my backside off.
I trade jokes for tips I’m not allowed to take, slide waters to the guys who are way too drunk to speak, and I keep on top of the flirty banter.
Shadow hovers nearby, not obvious, but always there at the edge of things. Talking to Axel, talking to prospects, looking like he isn’t watching me while he absolutely is. It should piss me off, but it doesn’t.
Ragnor comes in late, his grin bright, dimples out like a weapon. I don’t smile back, and he notices.
“You alright, angel?” he asks, leaning on the bar.
“Don’t call me that,” I say, wiping a ring of spilled beer.
He lifts his hands. “Touchy.”
“Busy.”
“Come by mine later,” he says lightly. “Not for cleaning.” He winks like it’s charming.
“Hard pass.”
He laughs and pushes off the bar. “You’ll change your mind.”
“Not in this lifetime,” I say to his back, and Shadow chuckles, his eyes connecting with mine. I almost smile back, happy that he’s pleased with me. Then I give my head a shake and go back to wiping the bar, because getting closer to Shadow is absolutely not a good idea.
When I finally get a minute, I check my mobile to see a message glaring back at me.
Unknown number: Midnight. Steel’s carpark. Don’t be late.
Great.
At ten minutes to midnight, I’m almost off shift. I tell Axel I’m going for air, and he nods, distracted with his phone. Shadow’s at the far end of the room in conversation with Duke, and for once, his eyes aren’t on me. I slip out unnoticed and head for Steels.
The car park is mostly empty, just pools of orange lamplight stretching across cracked tarmac. The new sign reading ‘Chaos & Angels’ buzzes above.
I spot the car straight away. The man leaning against the bonnet is built like a wall, his neck thicker than my thigh and his arms folded tightly across his pumped chest. His eyes track me the whole way.
I push down my fear and smile. “All this for little old me?” I ask, blinking innocently.
“You Remi?” he asks, though it doesn’t sound like a question. I nod, and he pushes off the bonnet and opens the rear door. “In.”
My stomach flips, but my legs keep moving. I duck in before my brain catches up, sliding onto cracked leather that smells faintly of smoke and sweat.
The man inside is worse than the one outside. Not big, but lean and wiry, and his face looks carved from something sharp. Scars ladder his cheek, and when he smiles, it’s cruel.
“Remika Harris,” he says, like he’s been waiting years to say my name out loud.
My throat tightens. “It’s Remi.”
He ignores that, leaning back, arm stretched across the seat like we’re old mates. “Your mother owed me money. Five grand.”
I keep my face blank, even as my chest hollows. I snort because bravado is easier than begging. “You’re chasing five grand? What kind of low-rent gangster are you?”
The smile doesn’t move, but his eyes go flat. “Five grand plus interest. Years of it. Let’s call it twenty.”
“Twenty!” I cry. “I don’t have a pound to my name.”
“Then you’ll work for it.”
I already know the kind of work he means, and I am not going there. Once I dip my toe into prostitution, it’s a slippery slope.
“No. I’m not selling myself.”
He sneers, his lip lifting slightly to flash a gold tooth. “You start paying me quick, girl, or I’ll take your payment finger by finger, limb by limb.”
“And then you’ll never get your money,” I snap.
“I know men who’ll pay to watch the show, to watch you bleed out slow. It’ll make me ten times what you owe.”
A chill scuttles down my spine, cold and electric.
I swallow, forcing my chin up. “I’ll get you the money.”
“Smart girl.”
The door clicks open beside me. The bodyguard looms, waiting.
I step out on shaky legs, forcing myself not to bolt until I’m back on the street, out of sight. Only then do I let the tremble hit, curling my fists into my sleeves until my knuckles ache.
Twenty grand.
And if I don’t pay, they’ll carve it out of me.
Shadow
She’s gone.
One second, she’s behind the bar, wiping down glasses like she’s got nothing to hide. The next, I turn and she’s nowhere. Not in the back, not outside . . . just gone.
My jaw tightens as I stalk through the clubhouse, scanning every corner. She didn’t tell me. Didn’t even tell Axel. Just slipped out.
By the time I shove my way into his office, Axel’s half-laughing at something Lexi said. He looks up, amused, like I’m the punchline. “What now?”
“She’s not here,” I snap.
“Who?” asks Lexi.
Axel rolls his eyes. “Remi.” He brings his eyes to me, shrugging. “She’s not chained to the bar, Shadow. Maybe she fancied a walk.”
My fists curl. “It’s midnight.”
“Then maybe she fancied a late-night walk.” His smirk deepens. “Christ, brother, you’re worse than a jealous husband. You want me to put a tracker on her?”
“It’s not funny,” I growl. “She’s sleeping rough.”
That wipes the grin off, at least for a second. Axel leans back in his chair, expression cooling. “And how the fuck do you know that?”
“Kade saw her this morning, curled up outside the church. Told me himself. You think he’d make that shit up?”
Lexi straightens from where she’s perched on the arm of Axel’s chair, eyes soft but sharp. “If that’s true, she shouldn’t be out there alone. You know what can happen to a girl on the streets.”
“Exactly,” I bite out, grateful someone finally sees it. “She needs help. A roof. Something.”
Axel drags a hand down his face, groaning like we’re giving him a headache. “We run a club, not a bloody shelter.”
“She’s working behind our bar,” I shoot back. “That makes her our responsibility.”
“Our responsibility ends at paying her wages,” he says flatly. “I don’t know what she’s running from, but I’m not dragging the club into someone else’s mess.”
“She doesn’t have anyone,” Lexi cuts in, her voice firm now. “And before you say it, I know we shouldn’t take just anyone in. But she’s here, Axel. She’s on our doorstep. Pretending it’s not our problem doesn’t make it true.”
I look at him, pleading with my eyes in a way I don’t for anyone. “Pres, she won’t ask. She’ll run herself into the ground before she does. But if we don’t step in, something’s gonna happen to her. You know it. I know it.”
For a long moment, Axel says nothing. His gaze flicks between us, from me, tense and tight, to Lexi, calm but insistent. Then he leans forward, elbows on his knees.
“What’s she mixed up in?” he asks quietly. “Because nobody gets that desperate without baggage. And baggage has a way of landing on my table.”
I don’t answer because I don’t know. All I know is the thought of her curled up on cold concrete while I’m in here with four walls and a roof makes my chest ache like a fresh bruise.
“She’s hiding something,” Axel says finally.
“Until I know what, I’m not giving her more than shifts and a bed.
” I grin. “In your room,” he adds, arching a brow.
“She’s your responsibility, Shadow. She don’t piss without you knowing.
Got it?” I swallow the argument down. There are plenty of spare rooms. He’s only doing this to show me that he ain’t happy and the only reason he’s agreeing is because Lexi’s here. I nod.
“I’m gonna go look for her,” I say, heading out.