The Distance Between Us (MAC Security 3)

“Thanks for the ride,” I tell him, shouldering my bag as I look up at him.

He meets me at the front of his car, smirking as he says, “Anytime, and hey, I’ll tell Garrett to stop talking your ear off, I really need to employ more people with less social skills.”

I throw my head back and laugh as he winks, surprised at how sarcastic he is.

I’ve been sitting outside of Wayward for hours and hours now. The darkness came quite a few of those hours ago and I’m sure I fell asleep at one stage. The three cups of coffee and two energy drinks aren’t cutting it now.

I’ve watched people come and go, watched Joel interact with several of them and make deals, handing them small packets in what he thinks is a discrete way but he’s not. He has to be one of the worst dealers that I’ve ever seen. Any other time I would have taken photos then jumped out of the car and arrested the scum, but not this time, this time I need to wait it out, wait for Kitty to come back.

Going into Diva’s to see her just wasn’t viable, I’d be made within minutes and that in turn would mean that her cover would be blown because there’s no way I could have acted like I didn’t know her, not with how I’m feeling right now. I didn’t want to do that to her.

I just want to make sure she’s safe, that she’s okay. That’s all.

I shift in my seat, cupping my hands and blowing into them. The coffee that I bought hours ago is cold and I grimace as I pick it up, debating whether to actually drink the rest of it.

No sooner than I bring it to my lips do headlights shine across the block. I duck down so I’m not seen and lift up slightly so that I can see who it is.

My breath catches when Kitty steps out of the obnoxious sports car, stopping by the hood and waiting for whoever is getting out of the other side.

She throws her head back laughing at something he says and the lights catch his face. Jonny. The dirtiest fucker around here. My hands clench into fists as he touches her face and I have to push myself down into my seat so that I don’t jump out of the car to rip his grimy hands off her.

The smile she gives him nearly guts me. She used to look at me like that. Fuck.

I squeeze my eyes closed, counting to thirty in my head before I hear the sound of tires squealing and I track Jonny’s car with my eyes as he drives out of the place.

Kitty is nowhere to be seen but that’s a good thing, it means she’s inside. Now I just need to decide whether I should risk going inside or whether to just leave her alone and head home.

I unlock my apartment door, a weird feeling creeping over my skin almost as if I’m being watched. I bend down slightly, ready to grab my gun in case someone jumps out at me as I look around. When I don’t see anything, I head into my apartment. As soon as I close the door behind me, I lean against it, blowing out a deep breath and closing my eyes.

I’ve been working at the club for a couple of weeks now and I’m getting closer to Jonny. I can feel myself getting to like him more and more, especially with the amount of time we’re spending together. Every day he picks me up from the block and drops me back home, much to the dismay of his “friends.” I have to keep reminding myself that he’s a job. That I can’t go there with him, that I need to separate the two, but it’s becoming harder and harder as time goes on.

I gasp as a soft knock vibrates through the door and I spin around, looking through the peephole and yanking the door open when I see who it is.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I whisper-shout, yanking him inside and making sure no one saw him.

“I came—”

I raise my hand up, slamming the door closed and huffing out a frustrated breath.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Look.” He takes a step toward me and I side step him, heading straight for the kitchen. “Ty is worried about you.”

I scoff. “So you thought you’d turn up at…” I look at my cell. “Four in the morning?”

He runs his hand over his hair and then down his face. I can see he’s agitated but right now I just don’t care.

“As you can see.” I throw my hands up in the air. “I’m fine. You can go now.”

“Don’t be like that, Kitty.”

My head snaps up and I meet those stupid eyes of his. Eyes that I find so hard to stay mad at. “Are you for real right now?”

“What—”

“You think you can use me and throw me away like a piece of trash and come back to me as and when you please?” I step forward, stopping a couple of feet in front of him. “For years it’s been the same. You fuck me and then feel guilty for enjoying it and then you don’t talk to me for weeks at a time. Then, when it suits you, you come running back and like the stupid lapdog that I am, I let you do it.” I step forward. “Time and time again.”

“No, that’s not how it went down,” he says, but his voice betrays him. He knows that’s exactly how it went down, how it always goes down.