She rubbed her temple with a moan and glanced around from her bench.
Brick hadn’t called her in a couple of days.
They’d gone from being hot and heavy to him not calling. Was she a bad kisser? She didn’t have anyone to compare her skill to. She’d never had the time for boys or men. Brick was different, though. He gave her this buzz, and every time she was around him, she felt like she was floating on cloud nine. It was the best feeling. She sipped at her coffee, feeling so incredibly tired. Her apartment had sprung a random leak last night, and glancing up at the sky, she knew the rest of the day was going to be a huge bust. Overnight, the bucket had filled countless times, and today she’d put out a larger one. There was no rainfall as yet.
The landlord refused to answer her calls.
Not to mention, Sean Rigby told her he’d be coming by for more of her money tonight. Well, interest. Her debt should have been paid in full by now. What had she been thinking getting messed up with a shady guy like him? Everything was so fucking messed up. She rubbed at her eyes.
When would the world give her one break? Just one? She wasn’t even asking for much. All she wanted was some good luck to help her get through.
Lost in her own little worries and thoughts, she didn’t realize Jeff had been calling her name. He stood in front of her, arms spread wide. “Are you going to come in and serve customers or what?” His voice rose, and she scrambled to her feet, rushing back into the shop to see a short line of customers.
Sporting a black eye, Jeff was limping a bit.
Things hadn’t gone well with The Skull Nation MC. It wasn’t her business, and working for him was starting to become a problem.
The Skull Nation pissed him off and upset him, and as payback, he often took it out on her. Normally, he was a decent guy, but in the last few weeks, he’d gotten meaner.
She finished serving the customers and stayed in the main shop, avoiding the back.
Time ticked by slowly, and when it was near to closing, Jeff came out of the back. He went to the front of the store, turned the sign over to closed, and locked the door.
“From now on, you stay in the shop. Don’t leave it until it’s your lunch break. Got it?”
“Yes,” she said. He’d been the one to tell her to leave the store each time. Clearly, he wasn’t happy with her following orders. “Jeff, is their business really worth this?”
He glared at her. “Are you trying to tell me how to run my store?”
She shook her head, swallowing hard. “No. Not at all.” Callie held her hands up in submission so he knew she didn’t mean anything bad about it.
“Just remember I gave you a job when no one would. You owe me, Callie. You should be fucking worshipping me. I stopped you from living a dog’s life.” He advanced toward her, and she cried out as he grabbed her arms and started to shake her. “You don’t tell me what the fuck to do. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
“Get it through your fucking skull. You work for me.” He shoved her away, and she hit the side of the counter at a bad angle before falling to the tiled floor.
She cried out as pain exploded in her ribs.
“Get the fuck out of here before I fire you.”
He stepped over her. The edge of his boot hit her as he moved. She didn’t know if that was intentional or a mistake.
There was nothing she could do. She felt so small and desperate.
She needed this job.
Without another word, she grabbed her bag and jacket, then left the store immediately. The pain in her side wouldn’t go away. She placed her palm down with a wince, pulling away.
It was fine. She would look at it the moment she got home.
The walk to her apartment was slow going. She had no money for a taxi. With each passing second, the pain increased. At times, she had to stop in order to take a full breath.
The crash into the counter was bad. There was pain, and then there was this kind of pain.
Picking up her pace, she tried not to think about what this could mean. There was no way she’d go to the hospital. The cost alone would stop her from eating for months, and she’d end up homeless. Jeff didn’t offer health insurance, so she had to be more careful.
With her apartment in sight, she breathed a sigh of relief.
The acrid stench of piss and feces assailed her when she opened the stairwell door.
She took one step in front of the other, making her way up the stairs. A working elevator would be heavenly about now. Perspiration dotted her brow. Each floor made her feel even crazier for living in this dump. There had to have been a better-priced ground-floor place somewhere.