Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72790 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72790 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“What’s that?” Paulie demanded.
“A tip for a pretty lady who’s been on her feet all night.”
“This is almost five grand.”
I knew that. Like I said, I was up. By a lot. But clearly Charise had not done the math.
She looked startled, then grateful, then alarmed when she caught the look on Paulie’s face.
“Thank you,” she murmured in her soft voice. It was throatier than you would think from looking at her. Sexy as hell. But not sleazy.
The girl was a study in contrasts. Innocent, yet working in this place. Clean and sweet, with a body made for sin. Prim and proper, with a voice like velvet. Confident and self assured, but afraid.
“Should I put it against your tab?”
She nodded to Paulie. He hesitated.
“I’ll have to tell him where it came from.”
She looked at me, then shook her head.
“No. Wait.” She slid the chips back. “I can’t accept this. But I thank you.”
Paulie walked away and I stood up. She turned and I caught her wrist.
“Why not?”
She looked at me, and it was right there. The fear.
“He’ll hurt you,” she whispered. I stared into her gorgeous eyes, holding the silky skin on her arm, feeling electricity jump between us. “And take it out on me.”
“What did he mean about your tab?”
She shook her head and tugged her arm away.
“I have to go.”
I stood there, watching her walk away. Everything inside me was screaming that she was the one for me. Yeah, ‘the one.’ I’d caught the bug and all it had taken was one look. I was shocked as hell at the way I was feeling.
But my gut was also telling me something else.
Something was very, very wrong here.
My angel was in trouble.
Chapter 4
Kirsten
I walked quickly, my senses on high alert. The place was empty now, and that was not to my benefit. I knew Sal or one of the other guys who worked for him could snap at any moment.
I knew this place was not safe for me.
Not ever.
The parking lot was another issue. A few times guys had waited for me here. Tried to get me to get into their cars. So far, I’d been able to evade them, but I knew that wasn’t a sure thing. I grabbed my bag and shut the locker, walking fast for the exit. I knew if Sal caught me back there, he would demand I sit with him for a drink while he leered at me.
But it was late. I had to get home. If I hurried, I could be there before Jacey woke up. Shower this place off me. Make breakfast for her and coffee for me. Otherwise she’d have to make do on her own, and I wouldn’t get to see my baby girl until after school.
Paulie waved me out and watched me go to my car. He tried to be there for the girls when we left, especially me. I could have hugged him for that. He knew that Vince and Tony didn’t want me to get jumped. The Margarelli brothers were my saving grace, quite literally.
I locked the doors and waved at Paulie. He nodded and went back inside. I cracked the window and started the engine. The beat up old hatchback smelled like exhaust and broken dreams. But it had served me well, and I was grateful for it.
It’s not like I could afford anything better.
Not ever, considering that even my tips were going to Sal to pay off my debt. My debt that seemed to grow instead of shrink with every minute, every hour, every day.
I took home a couple hundred a week, just to survive. It wasn’t easy. We were living on fumes. Thank God my kid was such a trooper.
I always got nervous on the empty roads in the industrial area. It would be easy to get run off the road. Jumped. Mugged for my meager earnings. Or worse.
A small woman was a target. A small woman who hung out with mobsters and the sort of dregs the place drew was even more of a target. Even though I didn’t have a choice about the company I kept.
I stared at the road, thinking. But I was thinking too hard. I almost missed the guy in leather who stumbled in front of my car. I slammed on the breaks but it was too late. I hit him anyway. He rolled to the ground and lay there on the pavement. I jumped out of my car and stood over him, horrified.
Oh God. It was him. The gorgeous guy who’d tried to tip me thousands of dollars. I hissed out a breath, and bent to make sure he was breathing. He opened his eyes and I blinked, surprised by the rich, soulful color of them. I hadn’t realized they were a dark blue in the dim light of the Garage.