“Okay, so what’s this good deed of yours gonna cost us?”
“Nothing. I was just trying to help ya out.”
“Is that right?” She sounded more than a little skeptical. “Well, we both appreciate your help, and if you give us your information, we’ll reimburse you by the end of the day.”
“No need in that.”
“It must’ve cost a fortune. You have to let us pay you back.”
“It’s all good. Don’t worry about it.”
“Seriously?” she pushed.
“Seriously.”
“Well, thanks, I guess.” She studied me for a moment, then asked, “Will you at least tell us your name?”
“I’m Conor, but my brothers call me Lynch. And what about you?”
“Umm, you bailed us out. Shouldn’t you already know our names?” She was right. I’d gotten both of their names from the cop at Stilettos; however, I had no idea who was who. I wasn’t about to tell them that, so I simply stared at the two with a blank expression. Thankfully, my silence worked in my favor, and the pretty brunette finally answered, “I’m Raelyn, but my friends call me Rae. And this is my best friend, Haleigh.”
“Nice to meet ya. So, you girls wanna get out of here or what?”
“You mean with you?” Rae asked.
“Well, yeah.” I could see the apprehension on their faces, so I quickly added, “Look, I’m just offering a ride. You can take it or not. It’s up to you.”
“Well ...”
“Rae,” Haleigh hissed between her clenched teeth. “We don’t know this guy. We can’t leave with him.”
“He just bailed us out of jail,” Raelyn hissed back.
“So, we didn’t ask him to do that.”
Once again, they started the whole whispering thing like I couldn’t hear them. “But he did, and now, he’s offering to take us both home.”
“And we have no idea if this guy’s legit, or if he’s a psycho killer.”
I was tired, wounded, and my patience was wearing thin. Even though I had an interest in Rae, I was over the whole back and forth bullshit between her and her friend, so I grumbled, “You know what, just forget it. Call a cab or an Uber. I don’t care. You do you.”
Without saying anything more, I turned and started out the door. I thought that would be the end of it, but as I proceeded towards the truck, I heard Rae say, “Now look what you’ve gone and done.”
“What?” Haleigh fussed as they both followed me out the door. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
“You don’t know anything about the man.”
“And neither do you!”
Unable to stand it a moment longer, I glanced over my shoulder and asked, “You do realize I can hear you, right? Like every fucking word.”
“Oh, my God.” Rae grimaced. “I’m really sorry about that. Our hearing is a little off from last night... the wind shear and all that. I didn’t realize we were talking so loudly.”
“Yeah, whatever.” I had no idea what she was talking about, nor did I care. I just wanted to get on with my day, so I stopped and turned to face them. “Do you two want a ride or what? I’ve gotta get some damn sleep.”
“Sleep sounds really good about now.” Rae glanced over at Haleigh, then back to me. She raked her teeth over her bottom lip. “You’re a good guy, right? You’re not gonna kill us or anything?”
“I’m far from a good guy, but I’d never hurt either of you. Not now. Not ever.”
“Okay, then we’d really appreciate the lift.”
“You got it.”
The girls followed me over to Widow’s truck, and while they seemed a little hesitant, both hopped inside without arguing. Once they were both buckled up, I started the engine, then turned to Rae and asked, “So, where are we headed?”
“I don’t know.” Raelyn looked over to Haleigh. “Should we go to the car or just head on home?”
“I really need to get home and get changed, or I’m going to be late for work. And I really can’t afford to be late again—especially after last time.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re probably right. Why don’t we just get him to take us home, and then you can drop me off at my car on your way to work?”
“Yeah, I think that’ll be okay.”
“Great.” Raelyn then turned to me and smiled. “You can take us to our place.”
“Sounds good. Just need an address.”
“The Village apartments at Green Hills. It’s over behind the mall.”
“Yeah, I know the place.”
I knew Green Hills well. Everyone did. It was one of the nicer areas in Nashville where folks with money tended to migrate due to its upscale boutiques and restaurants.
I wasn’t exactly surprised that Rae and Haleigh lived there. I could tell just by looking at them that they were high-class chicks, which made me wonder how they’d ended up in the back of that cop car.
I knew it was none of my business, but that didn’t stop me from asking, “So, what did you two get into last night?”