out on the street without my car. “Don’t concern yourself. You might even find time to go out to party and pick up some other girl to blow a load in.”
His eyes narrow.
His lip curls.
I walk out and shut the door quietly before he can say anything else. I don’t want to hear any of it.
The walk out of the bar is as bad as I thought it would be but there’s something about Tomi’s shirt on my back that keeps anyone from actually grabbing me. Rue frowns at me from across the room but I duck my head and keep going, the crowd slowing him down enough that I can make it out without having to fucking talk to any of them.
I don’t see Speck.
Thank fuck.
There’s so many people at the party that the parking lot is packed as well, none of them taking notice of some stripper with tears running down her face. Goddammit, why am I crying again?
I get across the street to the garage there, my Chevy still up on the jack from where Poe’s been working on it, and I duck down the side of the building to stay hidden while I try for a cab.
It’s too late to get one.
Or too early, I guess.
Fuck.
There’s no way I’m walking back into that fucking building, no way I’m going to risk one of those men touching me while I hunt around for Speck. The new phone doesn’t have his number in it anymore, or Poe’s, and they’re the only two people I can think of that would help me.
So I slump down on the front step of the garage, my bag between my legs with the strap wrapped around them too so no one can grab it without waking me and I let my eyes drift shut.
I don’t even really notice myself slipping into sleep.
“Are you high?”
I startle and scramble to my feet, one hand clutching at my pepper spray in a panic and the other tightening around my bag like it’s a shield.
“Ah, oh God, no. No, I’m not high. I was just… fuck, I was just sleeping. I’m sorry.”
He looks at me like I’m highly suspicious, and my mouth just keeps running. “I know Poe and she has my car here. That’s why I stopped here. Oh God, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
He frowns at me, his eyes shifting back up to my car, clearly visible through the dusty window. “I mean, it’s a beauty. A good old classic but I’m not sure it’s worth guarding overnight. This place is secure enough to keep anyone out and I’m usually a ‘shoot first’ kind of guy.”
Fuck.
I need to think fast. “I got kicked out of my apartment. There’s a few days in-between me moving out and being able to move into my new place. I just had a fight with my… well, with a guy and he kicked me out of his place. I was, uhh, I was staying with him for the week.”
The frown deepens a little. “Is there no one else you can go to? There’s a hotel down the street, you know.”
I stayed there once and the bellboy tried to break into my room. Never again. “I didn’t want to wake any of my friends up and worry them. It’s only one night, I didn’t think it would be a big deal to sleep here. I’m so sorry, I should have realized it was trespassing. I’ll go.”
His arm comes out and I flinch back but he doesn’t try to touch me, he’s just turning the lights on so he can get a better look at me.
His face hardens at the flinch. “This guy of yours hitting you?”
I shake my head. “Not… not this one. Look, please don’t call the police. I swear I didn’t try to get in. I just sat on the step and I’ll never come here after hours again. I swear it.”
He shakes his head. “You look like a child. Posey said she met you out at The Boulevard. Are you old enough to be dancing there?”
My spine snaps straight. “Yes, sir. I am. I’m just… tonight isn’t a great night for me.”
He nods again slowly and grabs out his phone. My stomach drops and tears fill my eyes again. Dammit, I’ll need my fake IDs to stand up against a full police check. Fuck, I should have just walked into town or something.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want to wake you either but I have a little girl