“Nah, I’m good.”
I follow Luke out and head to the car that I’ll be using. It’s an old beat up truck that smells like wet feet, the thing needs a deep clean but it’ll do for now. I can’t very well turn up in my Camaro.
“Check in with me when you get there,” Ty grunts, enveloping me in a hug.
“Will do.”
“I’ll speak to you soon,” Kay says, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
I swallow the lump in my throat that’s forming and wrap my arms around her. The last couple of years we’ve become close and we tell each other everything. She knows about my past, about my upbringing. Everything.
Once she opened up to me about her past, I felt it was only fair to do the same thing, even though I didn’t really want to at the time, but I’m glad I did.
“Yeah,” I croak, trying hard to push that lump back down.
Get a grip, Kitty. It’s not like you’re never coming back.
I get passed from Evan to Luke and then I jump into the truck, turning the key and making the engine rattle to life.
“Laters!” I wave and drive off the compound.
The compound comes with added security and once you’re on it, you know that no one can get in. Being out in the open has its risks. We’ve all played parts in putting some big players away and the threat of them looms over our heads.
But I’ve never been one to adjust my life because of the fear of the unknown. No one dictates what I can and can’t do. Not anymore anyway.
The engine sputters a few times on the way to the apartment that I’ve rented in the town that the club is in. It’s in a rough part of town but that doesn’t bother me. It’s all to add to the act.
I pull up outside the complex, the darkening sky making it look even more dangerous. That coupled with the group of guys standing outside sends my instincts haywire.
I breathe deep and switch the engine off, counting to ten in my head and then sliding out of the truck.
“Ah, you must be Kitty?” a voice says from behind me.
I turn slowly and scan the guy from head to toe. Badly-fitted suit pants and a button-up shirt with a tie, a clipboard tucked under his arm, and a nervous smile on his face.
“Yep, and you must be… Cliff?”
He nods and shifts his eyes from me to the opening of the complex, running his finger under the collar of his shirt and pulling against it.
“Shall we?” he asks, waving his hand.
I nod and pull my bags out of the truck bed, handing him the one that holds my clothes. He looks shocked at first but I just give him a sickly-sweet smile and tilt my head.
We walk side by side toward the complex and past the group of guys who watch us with observant eyes.
“Just up the flight of stairs,” Cliff says, pointing to the stairs that run on the outside of the complex.
I walk up ahead of him and stop when we get to 5B. He puts the key in the lock and opens the door.
“My manager said that you paid three months’ rent upfront, so all you need are the keys.”
“Thanks,” I say once he’s put my bag down inside the apartment.
I hold my hand out for the keys and he places them into the palm of my hand and looks around nervously again.
“So erm… yeah… bye.” He waves awkwardly and shuffles out of the door.
I spin on the spot, taking in the apartment. There’s a ratty sofa in the middle of the room, covered in stains that I don’t even want to think about and a small TV in the corner. The small living r