He leans closer to the laptop and I see the tremor in his hand as he’s about to make a dash for the keyboard, but I’m quicker than him.
I pick it up, typing in the code and getting out of the system.
“What—”
“You asked me to get in the bank.” I raise a brow as I put the laptop back on the desk and walk toward the door. “You want money transferred, then I get a cut. Simple as that.”
I open the door, taking two steps back into the warehouse that is starkly different to the room we were just in. I know how to play him—to act bored and uninterested so that he’ll take the bait.
“You’ve got the job.”
I spin around and say, “Who said I wanted it?”
He laughs and points at me. “I think I like you.” He turns to Seb and West who still haven’t said a word. “You boys did good. Get him a device.”
“On it, boss.”
Darrell turns his gaze back to me. “I call, you come. That’s the deal and you get a twenty percent cut.”
“Twenty-five.”
He huffs out a breath. “Twenty-two and that’s my final offer.” He’s silent for a beat before he warns, “Don’t push me.”
I nod in agreement and walk across the dirty concrete floor before collecting my cell.
It’s been a few days since I managed to give myself a black eye, and I’ve had the worst headache since. To say that I was embarrassed with everyone knowing what I did and how I did it is an understatement.
Once I finally left, I could feel myself relaxing. I didn’t know who any of those people were, they had me on edge and afraid. No matter how much Evan said that they wouldn’t hurt me, it didn’t matter, because they were strangers and they didn’t seem too happy about me being there.
The day after “the floorboard incident,” as I’ve now dubbed it, Evan came to pick up Seb and West. I don’t know why I expected him to talk to me, to get out of the car and at least say hi, but he didn’t.
The cold shoulder had me doubting everything about him that I know; which now thanks to Cal and Mal, is quite a lot. They never hesitated to get out the many photo albums that they had with pictures inside of all of them when Evan was growing up, although not before the age of nine. I wanted to ask them where his baby pictures were, but didn’t want to pry.
So, two days after the cold shoulder and not seeing Evan at all to thank him, I decide to make some cakes and brownies.
Baking was something that Gran and I always did together: it was how we bonded, but I haven’t made one since before I went to prison.
After spending all morning in the grocery store to get the ingredients, I came back and made a collection of cakes and brownies. Livvy’s house smells like heaven, and I may or may not have eaten my own weight in brownies.
Packing them all up in the containers that I bought at the store, I move them to the front door and pull it open.
It’s just after eight and Livvy isn’t at home yet. She met someone on her night out with Mal and Cal, and has been seeing him and going on dates ever since. It’s nice to see the smile on her face when she talks about him, and I can’t help but have hope that if she can find someone special at this age, then maybe I can too.
Evan’s face flashes in my mind and I shake my head. Dammit, don’t go there. But a small voice in my head starts to protest, telling me that he’s no longer with the police officer. Mal and Cal were ecstatic when they told me, but I have no idea why, because surely they’d want their son to be happy? It’s all too much for my brain to handle right now.
I worry my bottom lip before looking over at Mal and Cal’s house. There’s no way that I can remember the way to the… what did Evan call it? A fort? I can’t remember, but I’m sure they’ll know the way.
I bite the bullet and shut the door behind me, jogging over to their house and knocking on the door.
“Lexi!” Mal opens his arms and pulls me into him, planting a kiss on the top of my head. “Come on in.” He waves his arm and I step inside. “Cal’s still at work.”
“Okay… erm…” I bite my bottom lip, twisting my fingers around each other. “I was wondering if you could give me a ride?”
“A ride?” he asks, his eyes full of questions.
“Yeah… well… erm…” I shake my head. “You know my eye.” I point to it as if he can’t see the purple and green bruise clearly. “I wanted to thank Evan and Caveman.”
“Caveman?” He chuckles.