Holding her car keys ready, she held her breath as Hammer got out and walked toward her room. Giving him a few seconds to get inside, she then took off at a run.
Unlocking the car, she jerked the back door open and tossed the suitcase inside before getting in the driver seat. She didn’t start breathing again until she was on the main road heading out of town. When she did, hiccupping cries filled the car as she imagined Jonas and Hammer hurt.
What if they were as upset as she was? But what if they weren’t? It would have put them on the spot when they explained to her that they weren’t interested in a relationship with her. So, had she really done them a benefit by leaving first?
The drive back to Lexington and the flight home seemed to last for an eternity. Returning to her lonely apartment made it even worse. How could two men that she had only spent a few hours with change her life so drastically?
After unpacking, she went to her spare bedroom that she had used as an office. Turning on the computer, she buried herself in work. Normally work held her full attention, but now her thoughts were centered on Hammer and Jonas.
Looking at the time on the computer screen, she wearily turned it off, then went to her bedroom. She had to be at work in a few hours, and unless she got a few hours’ sleep, she would be useless.
Crawling into the empty bed, she told herself that she would get over the men. It was just that she had enjoyed their encounter. She reminded herself that after a couple of days in their company, they probably would have hit the door anyway. This way, she saved them all the heartache by skipping out on them.
Whacking her pillow with a pounding fist, Mika couldn’t believe she was making such a big deal out of a casual encounter. Thousands of women did it all the time. Was it because that night had been her first time?
Unable to answer her own question, Mika forced herself to close her eyes, promising herself that within a few short days she would get over meeting Hammer and Jonas. If not, well, she had wanted more experience, and she did what she’d set out to do. The problem was she realized she’d gotten more than she had bargained for, and the cost was much higher. It was a cost that she was afraid came at too high of a price.
Her heart.
Mika waited impatiently outside the restaurant. It was freezing.
When she texted Julia that morning, she hadn’t expected an answer. Surprisingly this time, Julia texted back, asking if she wanted to have lunch. Hopefully, their friendship would be on the mend.
She counted Julia as the only close friend she had in town. They had met freshman year in college and, while she was older, they had shared the same interests. Julia loved biking and hiking like she did, and they had gone on several camping trips together. She missed riding with her in the mornings.
Seeing Julia approach, Mika waved and smiled as she started to walk toward her to meet her halfway. Her smile then slipped when she saw the dark circle under Julia’s eye that her makeup had no hope of concealing.
Hiding her concern, she hugged Julia when she came within reach. “Hi!”
“Hi!” Julia’s self-conscious smile wavered. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch—”
“Don’t,” Mika cut her off. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.” Hooking her arm through hers, she pulled her in the direction of the restaurant. “You know I hate this restaurant. Only you can get me to brave the traffic to get here. Next time, I get to choose.”
“Okay. I can live with that.”
Mika bit her lip at Julia’s choice of words.
It didn’t take long for them to get a table and order their food and drinks. While Julia was placing her order, Mika tried to come up with a way to ask her about the black eye. Before she could ask, though, Julia brought it up herself when the waitress walked away.
“Go ahead and ask. I know you’re dying to.”
“What happened?” she asked gently.
“Another argument with Dillion, of course.”
“It’s not of course this time. He hit you!”
“Yes.”
“Are there other places he hit you?”
“Nothing that won’t heal,” she admitted.
Mika reached across the table to take her friend’s hand. “Did you report it?”
“Yes. He’s in jail. He gets out tomorrow. I have a restraining order, so he has to stay away from me.”
“That’s going to make it difficult with you living in his house,” she ventured.
Several times she had tried to talk her friend into leaving the toxic relationship. Dillion was overly possessive, monitoring every move Julia made.
“Yes, it does. I have to find a new place to live before he gets out of jail.”
“You can come and stay with me.” It wasn’t the first time she made the offer, but Julia always refused.
Her friend gripped her hand back. “I wanted to ask, but I’ve been such a bi—” Julia hastily cut herself off before continuing. “I would appreciate it. I won’t stay long, just until I can find myself my own place.”
“You can stay as long as you want. You can have my spare bedroom. I’ll move my computer and desk to mine, so you’ll have plenty of space for your things.”
Julia looked out the window, evading her gaze. “You warned me, and I didn’t listen.”
“You love Dillion. You wanted to give him a chance.”
Julia swung her gaze back to hers, giving her a strange look. “You never said that before.”
Mika moved the napkin so the waitress could set her plate down. When they were alone again, Julia didn’t make a move to touch her food.
“You always asked how I can keep loving someone that I fight with so much.”
“Oh, I see. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that to you. Whatever you want to do, I promise I’ll support your decision.”
Julia smiled and picked up her fork, but Mika didn’t move to pick up her own.
“Unless you decide to go back to him,” she told her honestly.
Julia laughed. “You won’t have to. I learned my lesson. No more Dillion.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” she warned her friend.
/>
“Go ahead.” Julia shuddered. “He hit me, Mika. He’s never done that before.”
Mika grabbed her free hand that wasn’t holding the fork. “I’m glad you’re moving out and in with me. I’ll have someone to watch movies with. Have you seen the new Avengers?”
“No, but I’ve seen Death Day 2.”
Mika zoned out as Julia started describing the movie. It didn’t sound like her kind of movie.
Trying not to stare at the bruise on her friend’s face as she pretended to listen, she worried that Julia wouldn’t be strong enough to stay away from Dillion for long. They’d had several fights before, and she didn’t know if she believed that Dillion hadn’t hit her before. But she was willing to let it go since Julia said she wasn’t going to be with him anymore. Hoping she would stick with her decision when he was released, Mika would stick by her friend regardless. That was what friends were for.
CHAPTER 10
“Any luck?” Hammer asked as Jonas got back in the Escalade.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He wasn’t exactly in a cooperative mood after you threatened to rip his windpipe out.” Jonas sent him an admonishing look as he buckled his seat belt.
Frustrated, Hammer leaned his head back on the headrest. “I know. I should have let you handle it. I just lost it when he kept shutting me down. He was being a dick. So, what were you able to get out of him?”
“Nothing,” he told him as he started texting on his phone. “Let’s go.”
Hammer started the vehicle. “Where are we going?”
“To The Last Riders. We need Killyama’s help.”
“Fuck. Do we have to?”
“Do you want to find Mary?”
“Dammit.”
“It could be worse.”
“How?”
“At least it isn’t Greer.”
“Why aren’t we meeting Killy at her house?” Hammer asked as they walked up the back walkway behind the clubhouse.