EIGHT
“Jules, is that you?” Charlie calls out as the delivery door bells chime above me. “You’re, like, half an hour early.” She turns with her usual welcome grin and catches sight of me. Her grin slips right off her face. Her eyes widen. Her arms fall limply to her side, the rolling pin striking her knee. “Oh, my Christ! What in the heavens happened to you?”
She’s at my side in seconds, pawing at me, patting me down, turning me around, pulling my hair back from my face and searching for cuts.
“If Eric fucking touched you again—” She slips my bag off my back. “I don’t care how much you beg this time—” She pinches at my clothing, pulling up my tee to check my skin there. “I’m sending Daddy-Bear to gut him. I’ll Sweeney Todd him, I swear!”
“Charlie…Charlie stop! I’m okay.”
“You look like you got run over by a blood bank.”
“Yeah, about that. Can I get a shower? I have clothes with me, but, shit, it’s a long freaking story.”
Charlie nods absently, but turns to the doorway leading to the shop floor and yells; “Daddy-Bear!”
“What is it, baby?” Koko strides into the kitchen, all seven-feet of him, swollen with muscles on muscles. His apron is especially made, but still too small for his frame. The Samoan giant looks more like a warrior than a butcher. His frown is permanently fixed on his face during work hours, though, if you’re lucky enough to really know him, he’s the friendliest giant you’ll ever meet. His laughter shakes buildings.
Charlie, by contrast, is barely five-foot and most of that is her curly red hair. They’re an oddly perfect pair. Her smile is legendary and only leaves her face in the direst of situations. So, seeing her frowning immediately puts Koko on guard.
“Who am I killing?” he growls low.
“Eric Feelan,” Charlie spits. Any other time she’d be right on the money, just not this time…or at least it’s not his fault entirely.
“About time.” Koko grins dangerously and pulls the apron from around his neck.
“Stop!” The pair pause to look at me. Koko takes his time to catalogue my appearance in a much calmer more hands-off way than Charlie did. “There was a shooting in the Tower last night.” As soon as the words are out, I regret it. Charlie screeches so loud it might as well be an interplanetary S.O.S.
“I’m okay! Everyone is okay! I’m not injured. I saved the guy!”
“You did what?” Charlie looks set to strangle me. The don’t interfere rule is pretty universal across the Vale.
“He was my age,” I tell her, as if that explains my stupidity. “One second, he was talking to his friend and then he’s on the floor bleeding out. I called for help and put pressure on the wound,” I recount.
“That’s it?” She holds a single brow aloft as if she doesn’t believe me, but when I nod, she drops it out of attack mode.
“Pretty much,” I admit. “I freaked out and ran away. The guy’s brother came to get me and then, when I finally got home about an hour ago, Eric had locked me out again. I came here rather than hang around in the corridors.”
“Holy shit.” Charlie backs up until her legs hit the stool in the corner and slumps into the seat. “You’re going to have to give me the unabridged version, missy.”
“Am I killing someone today or not?” Koko grumbles.
Charlie shoots a questioning look my way. “Think about it…this offer doesn’t come lightly. Anyone you need to off? I’ll sell spicy meat pies on sale tomorrow.” This time I know she’s kidding. Sort of.
“No. Not today. But thanks for the offer.”
The big guy grunts and swings his apron back on. “Anytime for you, Jules.”
Well, that went better than I thought. “So, can I get that shower? I stink and itch all over.”
Charlie flaps her hands at me, ushering me to the office door and the stairs up to the apartment beyond. “Yeah. You know the way.”
“Thanks. We’ll talk more when I come down to work,” I promise.
“I’ll let you off duty today. You look like you could do with a sleep.” She isn’t wrong, but I need the pay and the treats for the kids. I’d rather earn them than beg.
“Actually, working will make it easier to talk. I need to be distracted; you know?”
“Okay. I understand.” And she does. The more upset Charlie gets, the harder she throws herself into work. Admittedly, it’s mostly my fault she gets upset in the first place, but Charlie notices when I fake being okay. She always unearths the crap I go through at home.
“Thanks, and if a guy named Dax or maybe Aiden drops in today, they’re here for me. I’m expecting them to find me here by the time my shift finishes.”
“Dax or Aiden. I’ll let Daddy-bear know.”
I was lucky to have Charlie and Koko in my life. Though she’d never said it out loud, I got the impression Charlie came from a background similar to mine. She met Koko by pure accident and he’s been her lover, friend, guardian, and protector ever since. They were my only benchmark for romance and happy-ever-afters—though the whole daddy/baby thing sounded a little kinky to me. They even worked together without killing each other, melding her love of baking with his skills with knives. They split the shop right down the middle with two kitchens and everything. Raw meats on his side and cooked on hers. Meat pies, sausage rolls, pasties, pastries, sandwiches, steamed buns. If it included meat, she made it and Koko prepared it.
I work as Charlie’s assistant. Koko works alone, although he taught me the basics of filleting and carving, enough that I could hold my own at home, anyway. Not that we ever have much in the way of actual food. Microwave meals and tinned goods are our fare—easy for Dad to cook and cheap enough not to dent his wallet.
Ugh. I don’t want to think about him. I need to get downstairs and get to work. I’ll pack up a few extra treats for the kids today and ask Charlie to put them on my tab. If I’m lucky, Dax and Aiden will come and go before finishing time and I can get home before Dad crawls out of bed.
*
Hot water feels like needles against my body until I’ve scrubbed the sweat and stale blood from my skin. I want to stay under the spray until my body melts away like the dirt does, but I won’t disrespect Charlie and overstep my boundaries. Functional and fast. Get in, get out, get dressed; that’s my plan. Or it would be if I hadn’t left my bag by the front door with all my clothes in it.
Chances are, Charlie and Koko are still downstairs prepping for opening. I could slip out in a towel, grab my stuff and no one would know. Fuck it. It’s that or put my filthy, stained clothing on again, and I’d rather streak the high road naked than do that.
A cold waft of air greets me as I pull the bathroom door open. I check the towel is secure and tiptoe into the hallway, wincing at the wet footsteps I leave on the carpet. I get to the front door and my bag propped against the wall, unzip the top pocket, and yank out my clean underwear first. As I dig deeper to wrap my fist around my jeans, a hiss sounds behind me and I freeze.
“What the fuck is that across your back? Is that…”
“It’s a fucking boot print.”
Neither of those are Charlie’s nor Koko’s voices.
My heart sinks. I should have checked. The damn living room opens to the hallway with a double wide entrance, and I didn’t even think to look. My skin ripples with pinpricks, reminding me I’m almost naked, as I turn and stare wide-eyed at Dax and Aiden.