Unleashing Sin - A. M. Wilson Page 0,41
her ear.
Her shoulders slump in relief. “Thank you.”
The night takes off after that, and as it progresses, Shelby comes more into her element. Her fear melts away as she deals with customers and grabs the simple drinks. It’ll take a while for her to learn to mix cocktails, but she’ll get there. If she wants to, that is, and I hope like fuck she does. I’ve seen more energy out of her in a few hours than I have since she showed up. I’m not saying she’s healed—we’ve got a long way to go for that—but she’s definitely shown signs of improvement. None as obvious as tonight.
Closing time comes, and I send Christopher home. He’s cleaned up the outer area of the bar and washed all the dishes he left lying around for who knows how long. It’s obvious he’s not manager material, but I might keep him on as a busser.
“You did really well tonight.”
“Thanks. It was fun, actually.” She wipes down the last table and puts up the chairs.
“I want you to work for me.” I wasn’t planning on saying that, but now that I have, it feels right.
She stops in her tracks. “I’m not sure.”
“No?” I dig through the register and pull out the tips we made tonight—over two hundred dollars. I give her the entire stack.
“What’s this?” she asks as I place the money in her hand.
“Your tips. Work for me, and they’re all yours, minus a small cut for Christopher. Look at it this way, I could use the help in the evenings when it picks up, and you could use the interaction with people. Help you integrate back into the real world. You’d be by my side the entire time, not to mention, Elias comes in frequently. Plus, you’ll earn a regular wage in addition to tips.”
Shelby twists her fingers and looks down at her hands. “That’s really nice and all, but I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Shelby.”
She looks back at me, her eyes pleading with mine to make the decision for her.
“Work for me. What other choice do you have right now? Until you decide what you want to do, this is the best place for you to be.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Damn right, I am. Now let’s get out of here. It’s nearly three in the morning.”
She gathers her coat from behind the bar. “Is it really that late?”
“Bar closes at two. I let Elias know you were with me.”
“That was nice of you.”
I lead her out the same door we came in and lock up behind us. “I also chewed his ass out for not showing you how to work the cell phone.”
She glares at me while putting on her helmet. “You didn’t have to do that. He didn’t know.”
I give her an are you serious look.
“Okay, so it was an honest mistake.”
“First thing tomorrow, I’m showing you how it works. Second thing, I’m feeding you because you still aren’t eating enough.”
“Alex!”
I fire up the bike. “Third, I’m really fuckin’ proud of you.”
Without giving her the chance to respond, I take off.
Chapter Eleven
Shelby
The first thing I remembered was his eyes. So brown they’re nearly black. There was a familiarity there that I couldn’t place, but I’d swear I’d seen those eyes before. Coming in and out of consciousness, he’d be there. Peering over me. Standing vigil like a fallen angel. I had no idea who this man was, but he seemed to know me. He seemed to care for me.
Several weeks ago, I woke up in a strange place, surrounded by strange men, and now I’m staring into those dark eyes again. Except this time, I awoke with a gasp that stole all the breath from my lungs. I was disoriented and terrified.
Until I saw those eyes.
“Whoa, blossom. It’s me. Alex.”
Alex.
He says it with familiarity, as if Sin never existed and took his place. Not like a few weeks ago when it seemed painful to have me call him Sin, yet nobody had called him by his real name in years.
“I’m sorry,” I grumble sleepily. My back cracks as I move to sit, and the crick in my neck screams in pain. He needs a new couch in this place. Sleeping on it wasn’t my brightest idea.
A frown puckers his heavy brow. “What are you doin’ here?”
“Elias had a date,” I mutter.
“Not here, here. I meant here, as in, on my fuckin’ couch instead of in a bed.”
“Oh.” I breathe, looking across the space to the empty kitchen. I wonder what