“I’m so sorry, baby.”
“I should have guessed they would do this.”
“Please don’t worry. Get the sentimental things you want to keep. We’ll get you everything else you need…”
“I can’t let you do that.”
He held her steady with his hands on her shoulders. “You will let me do that. I’m responsible for you quitting your job and moving. Please, princess. Let me take care of you. It would bring me so much pleasure.”
Brylee looked up at him. “I … I guess we can take one day at a time.”
“Good. Let’s get you packed.”
Brylee kept putting things in a few bags she found. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched Gage text someone, and then he got busy putting things on the bed.
“Is there any furniture you want to take?”
Brylee shook her head.
He must have caught the look on her face because he came to stand before her again. “What’s going on?”
“They took my jar. It had all my tips in it.” She tried to hold back the tears that wanted to fall.
“How much do you think it was?”
“I stopped putting money in it when I noticed they’d been taking it. But I think maybe a few hundred dollars.”
“Where’d you put your money if not in the jar?”
Brylee turned, walked into her closet, and knelt down. She dug up one of the loose boards and pulled out a bag. She stood and opened it.
Gage looked into it and started laughing when he saw the wads of money. “Good girl.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
“Let’s get this stuff and get out of here.”
She nodded and hurried to find everything she wanted to take that hadn’t been destroyed. Within thirty minutes, they were ready.
She heard Gage chuckle when someone knock on the apartment door. She listened to her roommates gasp. “What’s going on?”
“I called in a few officers.”
Brylee’s mouth dropped open. “Why?”
“They said there was a break-in, so I thought they’d want it investigated.”
Brylee covered her mouth to quiet her laugh.
“Come on,” Gage said and grabbed all but one bag.
They walked out into the living room to see her roommates sitting on the sofa.
“Thanks for coming.” Gage shook Tommy’s hand.
“Am I going to have to bail you out every day?”
Gage snorted. “Shut up.”
Tommy grinned. “So, what’s going on here?”