T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,34
got some things on my mind.”
“I see that. You wanna talk about it?”
Gauge was a good guy. I knew without a doubt that I could trust him with anything, but I’d made a promise to Alyssa and I intended to keep it. “Thanks, man, but I’ve gotta handle this one myself.”
I turned my focus back to the task at hand, and together, Gauge and I busted our asses to get it done. When we finally wrapped things up, I cleaned up my station and headed out to my bike. I wasted no time getting on road and to my place. Once I pulled up, I grabbed the papers out of the saddlebag and went inside; then I sat down at the kitchen table and read through every page, line by fucking line. It didn’t take me long to pick up on the fact that the guy had married up with Hillary Livingston Brant. Not only was Hillary’s family loaded, she was a nurse practitioner, making enough money to support them both. At first glance, Brant seemed like an average Joe who’d played his cards right, but then I came across his police record. It seemed that Alyssa wasn’t the only woman he’d raped. While the charges were either dropped or never formally made, there were at least five other women who’d accused Brant of rape, and just like he had with Alyssa, the motherfucker had gotten away with it—well, that shit was about to fucking change.
8
Alyssa
“What’s up with you?” Jack teased as he carried a load of dishes to the sink. “All smiles like all is good in the world. You must’ve had one hell of a night last night.”
“I did.” I smiled. “That doesn’t mean I’m gonna tell you about it.”
“Seriously?” He turned on the water and let it run over the dirty dishes. “You’re really gonna hold out on me?”
“Sorry, dude.” I could’ve told him about my night with Beckett, but I found it doubtful that he’d understand how much it had meant to me. I couldn’t put into words how after being with Beckett, I felt like a weight had been lifted off me. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so alive, so free and happy—really happy. I grabbed my crate of potatoes and gave him a wink. “This one I’m keeping to myself.”
“I’m gonna remember that! Next time I’ve got tea to spill, I’m keeping that shit to myself.”
“Mm-hmm. Sure you will.” Over the past few weeks, Jack and I had become pretty close friends. He made it easy. He was always goofing around, doing his best to lighten the mood whenever things got tense in the kitchen, and he was a great listener. It also helped to know that he wasn’t the least bit interested in me. He’d let it be known early on that he was involved with someone—someone who just happened to be named Tony. They’d been dating for over a year, and from the way Jack spoke, they were very happy together. I looked back over my shoulder as I smiled at him and said, “As soon as Tony does something sweet for you, you’ll be itching to tell me all about it.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
I walked over to the cutting board laying on the counter and started peeling my second crate of potatoes. I’d been at it for almost an hour when Bisset came over to me. He stood silently watching as I continued on with my task, and after several moments, he cleared his voice. I looked over to him and listened as he said, “I’m moving you to plating.”
“Oh, okay,” I answered, unable to hold back my excitement. I’d only been there a few weeks, and to be moved so quickly was a big deal. As much as I wanted to reach up and hug him, I simply gave him a nod and said, “Thank you for the opportunity.”
“I’ll be watching. One screw up and you’re back to the potatoes.”
“Understood.”
Bisset then turned and made his way over to Jack. I watched as they spoke for a couple of minutes, and seconds later, he went back to his regular routine of barking out orders to the rest of the crew. Jack was smiling ear to ear as he made his way over to me and said, “Looks like I’m finally moving up.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I’m moving to the line,” he answered proudly. “I’m gonna be taking your place with the vegetables and salad.”
“That’s awesome. Congratulations!”
“Thank you very much.”
“I didn’t realize