Chapter Sixteen
Alia
“So many people have booked tickets,” Lydia exclaimed when she walked into the shop.
I smiled at her enthusiasm, wishing I shared it.
There were only a few days left until the opening night, and although it should’ve been the highlight of my year, I was dreading it.
Using the night to lure Brandon to his comeuppance had been my decision and now I was starting to regret it.
When Moth had kindly delivered my car back the day before, fixed like new, he’d insisted we come up with a proper plan.
“I'm scared,” I admitted, picking up a full coffee cup and taking it to the lady who sat by the fake volcano.
Lydia waved a hand in dismissal when I came back to the counter. “It'll be fabulous. With Liona in charge of our social media, we've gone viral. It'll be extremely busy.”
“That's what I worry about,” I muttered.
Pausing her cleaning, Lydia stared at me. “Look, girl, you've got everything prepared. We've got a band, hot guy models and free books. What more do you need?”
Shaking off my nervousness for her sake, I held up the piece of paper that had been sitting on the sales counter. “I also have my license, which means we can offer dark themed cocktails. Luckily, the barman I've hired is experienced and loves dark romance himself.”
“Gracie is going to be so jealous when I tell her what an amazing night it was.” Lydia came over and put an arm around my shoulders. “And I'm dying to try a cock…tail.”
She laughed and I had to giggle with her.
We'd been sharing lewd jokes for days now, when customers were out of earshot.
I couldn't help but be drawn in by the excitement of the upcoming evening.
If I could just get Brandon out of my life for good, I could start to enjoy this place properly.
His threats had become increasingly difficult to deal with, and since Moth had burst onto the scene, everything was a mess.
“Gracie has so many years of reading ahead of her,” I said, glancing up when the doorbell rang, “and… shit.”
Lydia followed my gaze, looking back to me when the woman who had entered approached us.
“Ceecee. What are you doing here?” My heart pounded in my chest as my old friend came near.
Clearing my throat, I plastered a fake smile on my face to avoid alerting Lydia to anything untoward.
Lydia stepped behind the food counter and busied herself, starting another coffee before going off to clear a table near the front of the shop.
“You shouldn't be here,” I hissed at Ceecee when we were alone. “It's too risky.”
Looking around, Ceecee grinned. “You always said you'd own a bookstore one day. It's amazing.”
I took her arm and pulled her behind the counter. “Why are you here? Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” She took hold of my arms and squeezed. “It's more than okay. I'm pregnant and engaged.”
A genuine smile came unbidden and I resisted the urge to hug her. We were still awkward after all this time, but I was so happy for her.
“You didn't come here just to tell me that, did you?” I looked towards the door. “It wasn't worth the risk. You could've just emailed.”
Ceecee sighed and looked up at me. “How’s it going? I hate knowing that Moth might hurt you at any moment.”
My snort was loud, echoing around us. Ceecee backed up in surprise, her eyes widening. “What is it?”
“Let's just say, Moth and I have a complicated relationship.” I wrapped my arms around myself, stifling the shudder that threatened.
I couldn't let her know that I'd been sleeping with the enemy. However, a part of me wanted to believe that we were no longer enemies. If I kept lying to Moth about what really happened that day, would he find out somehow? And if he did, would he ever forgive me? Probably not.
“Is he still threatening you?” she asked, frowning at me.
“No!” I insisted. “He's helping me with an ex problem actually. He‘s promised that once it's done, I’ll no longer be in danger from him and we'll go our separate ways.”
Ceecee’s shoulders relaxed and she sighed. “Thank goodness. I think it's time we tell him the whole truth. I can't have my guilt hanging over me with my new husband and child.”
My muscles turned to stone, heavy against the wooden floor beneath me. If Ceecee wanted to confess everything, Moth might hold my lies against me. I had told him that it wasn't quite what it seemed, but I didn't want him to make an enemy of Ceecee or report her…. or us… to the police.
“I'm not sure how safe that would be,” I said quietly. “It might open the whole thing up again.”
I reached for her, holding the sleeve of her denim jacket. She stared at the floor, so intent that I didn't notice the tears in her eyes until she looked up again.
“I can't live like this anymore,” she whispered, “especially knowing that you're currently facing the brunt of our mistake. I'm going to be a mother, which means I need my child to be safe. If Moth was to ever come for me, when the baby’s here, I'd hate myself. If I’m to protect my son from something I did when I was young, I need to make my peace with Moth somehow.”
“Son?” I whispered, looking down when Ceecee pulled her coat tight against her baby bump.
Fucking hell. Seeing the evidence of new life within my friend made it real.
She was right. For too long, we'd lived with the burden hanging over our heads.
The cops had ruled Jack Baker's death as misadventure.
They'd blamed the boys for the fire, thinking that they'd been trying to warm themselves.
Not once had they considered another explanation.
“So, you want me to tell Moth the truth?” I frowned, “But he believes that I started the fire. You're not even a suspect on their radar. I don't want to put you and your baby in danger when it's not needed.”
“My mental health won't let me be a good mother if I'm not absolved of this.” Ceecee wrung her hands in front of her. “I don't want to be reported to the police, but I need those guys to know what really happened that day. The whole truth of it. And I need their forgiveness.”
How could I refuse such a sincere request? I'd lived protecting her for so long, I didn't know how it would feel to finally tell the whole truth. If any of the guys wanted justice, they could report us both to the cops and an inquest could be opened. Where would that leave her?
“What if they go to the police?” I hissed, checking that no one paid us any attention.
Lydia was talking to a customer about ACOTAR, animatedly expressing her views on the book.
I'd forgotten what it was like to read the book for the first time.
Oh, if only I could go back to that time, when I got lost in the series.
In any series, really. It had been too long since I'd felt safe enough to escape in my books.
“We didn't trap Wasp or set the house alight on purpose.” She took my hands in hers.
“I doubt the justice system would be interested in re-opening a case that was concluded so long ago.
Come, let's go somewhere and talk… properly.
I miss you and I need you in my life now that I'm going to be a mother.”
A warmth flooded through me as she looked into my eyes, sincerity shining straight at me. She wanted to know me again, to release the burden we'd both been clinging to for so long.
“Okay,” I said, glancing towards the door when the bell rang.
My blood ran cold as Moth strode in, his helmet on, his leathers creaking and shiny from the glare of the sun that flooded through the windows. If Ceecee hadn’t have been there, I would've swooned a little, despite my vow to forget him.
“There he is,” I muttered, glancing at Ceecee, whose eyes widened.
“Fuck,” she exclaimed. “I wasn't ready to do it now.”
“Do you want to leave out back?” I pointed to the back door as Lydia greeted Moth, distracting him. “If so, go now.”
She stared at the mysterious figure, who slowly pulled off his helmet.
The slight flop of his hair and the sharp cut of his square jaw took my breath away.
Being beside my friend, who had known him back when we were young, helped me to see him for who he was…
not the complicated man who was slowly messing me up from the inside.
“No,” she muttered, “I feel like I am ready to get it off my chest now. He won't kill me, will he?”
Her doe eyes looked at me, wide and scared. I shook my head vehemently and released her hands as Moth said goodbye to Lydia and approached the counter, looking between the pair of us.
“Alia,” he muttered a greeting in his gruff tone.
Avoiding his gaze, I nodded in his direction. “Moth. Do you remember Ceecee?”
His forehead creased as he studied her face, a lightbulb clearly going off when his eyebrows lifted. “Yes, I do.”
“Could you join us upstairs?” I asked him, clearing my throat when it closed on my words.
Ha, my dirty mind had gone straight to where I didn't need it to go. Upstairs was not a metaphor for fuck me. Even if my brain twisted it.
Moth didn't even flinch, just nodded an agreement and turned to the stairs. I took Ceecee’s hand and squeezed, releasing her as I followed my frenemy, hoping that she'd come too, which she did.
Moth tried to open the club door at the top of the stairs. I paused, glancing into the contemporary romance room to see if it was free. No, there were a couple of women reading, their heads so buried, they didn't even notice me.
Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the club door and let them in.
There was something vulnerable about showing my old friend my new obsession…
not just Moth, but the dark romance too.
Would she see me in a different light and not want her baby near me?
As much as I hoped we wouldn't judge one another, I knew that a lot of people didn't understand this side of most women.
“Wow,” Ceecee exclaimed as we came into the club.