“Okay.” I feigned a smile as I murmured, “Thank you for keeping an eye on things with the case. It means a lot to me.”
“Nothing I wouldn’t do for you, babe.” He winked at me, then motioned his hand over to my makeup bag. “Now, hurry up and finish getting ready. The girls are waiting for you.”
“Shit! You’re right.” I didn’t have time to do much more with my makeup other than finishing up with the mascara, so I closed the bag and ran to the closet for my shoes. “We’re going to eat, do a little shopping, and then we’ll be at the club in time for our shifts.”
“Sounds good.” When I came back out of the closet, Jared smiled and said, “Looking good, babe.”
“Thanks.”
I rushed over and gave him a quick kiss goodbye, then grabbed my things before racing out of the apartment. When I got in my car, I was pleased to see that I wasn’t as late as I thought. I headed straight over to the bakery and picked up her cake. After I’d put it in the trunk and hid it with a blanket, I got back in my car and grabbed the new phone Jared had given me from my purse. Once I’d plugged in Mazie’s address, I was on my way. Thankfully, it was only a ten-minute drive, and I made it right on time. As soon as I parked, I got out and started up to Mazie’s apartment. I didn’t make it far when I heard someone call out to me. “Hey, Aubrey.”
When I turned around, I found Lynch walking in my direction. “Oh, hey, Lynch. How’s it going?”
“Can’t complain.” I hadn’t really talked to him since I’d told Jared the truth about my past—mainly because I had no idea what to say to him. Panic washed over me when Lynch asked, “You got a minute? I have something I need to talk to you about.”
“Yeah, um... uh, okay. I’ve got a minute,” I stammered. “What’s on your mind?”
“Menace told me about the witness protection and how you’d been placed with my grandparents.”
“I’m so sorry, Lynch. I’ve wanted to talk to you about it, but I just didn’t know what to say. I feel so awful about what happened to them. Had I known what was going to happen, I—”
“No need to be sorry, Aubrey. Gramps knew exactly what he was gettin’ into. Gran did too.” His anguished look started to fade as he continued, “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but my gramps was a military man. He was big into the corps and was all about helping whoever he could, especially when there was justice to be served.”
“I had no idea.”
Lynch cocked his head with a grimace as he growled, “I hate that motherfucker Rossi who killed them, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he burns for it, but there’s no reason for you to feel bad about what went down. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I really appreciate you saying that.”
“Not just saying it. I mean it.”
“Thanks, Lynch.”
He motioned his head towards Mazie’s apartment. “So, what are you girls gettin’ into today?”
“We’re taking Mazie to La Casa’s for lunch, and then we’re going to do a little shopping.” The girls hadn’t gone into much detail but mentioned that the brothers had been keeping an eye on them. “Will you be taggin’ along?”
“Afraid so.” He glanced over at his bike, then back to me. “Will you and Mazie be heading straight over to the restaurant?”
“Yeah, and we should really get going. The others are already there waiting on us.”
“Okay. I’m running on fumes, so I’m gonna go fill up at the gas station around the corner if you give me your word you’ll go straight to the restaurant.”
“Yep, you have my word.”
“Great.” Lynch turned and started over to his Harley. “I’ll see you there in ten.”
I knew Mazie was waiting on me, so I gave Lynch a quick wave, then hurried upstairs to Mazie’s apartment. I’d barely knocked when the door flew open and Mazie appeared in the doorway with a big smile. “You’re here!”
“I’m sorry I’m late. I got caught up talking to Lynch.”
“No worries.” She grabbed her purse as she said, “Isn’t he just the sweetest? And good-looking too. Hmm. What I wouldn’t give for a guy like him.”
“Does he know you’re into him?”
“Are you kidding? The man can have any woman he wants. I doubt he even knows I’m alive.”
“Of course, he knows you’re alive,” I fussed. “You’re not only gorgeous but super sweet too. He’d be lucky to have someone like you.”
“I don’t know about that.” Mazie grabbed a large duffle bag of her clothes from the counter, then we headed for the door. “We better get going. Jess can be a real firecracker when it comes to being late.”