Before I knew it, we pulled up in front of Leslie’s house. I paid the driver and got out. He sped away as I stood there looking at it. It felt funny to be going in there, knowing Ted wouldn’t be there. The front door opened, and Leslie hurried down the walkway. I ran to meet her. We held each other and cried.
When we could breathe, she walked me inside. We sat down and had a glass of tea. Over the next hour, we talked about what had happened in Mexico. There were more tears. After going through the emotional wringer, she told me that she’d called and had an appointment at the funeral home at five o’clock today. She wanted me to go with her.
We ate a sparse lunch, mostly to keep up our energy. I honestly could have skipped it. My stomach was still a mess. When it was time to leave, I drove her. Inside the funeral home, I looked around uncomfortably, not the place I wanted to be. Thankfully, we weren’t there long. Leslie knew what Ted had wanted. He didn’t want a viewing or even to be buried. He wanted family and close friends to have a small funeral and then to be cremated and buried in plots they had bought.
The funeral home assured us they could have it the day after tomorrow. Leslie was fine with that. She didn’t want a bunch of fanfare. With everything settled, we left and went back to her place. After a small dinner neither of us ate much of, we called it a night. I lay in bed tossing and turning, trying not to think about Demon. It was impossible. I finally fell asleep sometime in the early hours of the morning.
The following morning, I got online and started to look for jobs and places to stay. I thought of Texas again, though a part of me wanted to stay close to Leslie. But that meant it was close to where Demon was too. I wasn’t sure if I could do that. Leslie walked up and looked over my shoulder.
“Zara, honey, why are you looking at jobs in Texas? I thought you loved it here.”
I debated on whether I should tell her about Demon. After a moment or two, I sighed. Then I told her the whole story. When I was finished, she had a perplexed look on her face.
“Sweetheart, I know I don’t know this Demon, but it seems to me, he went to a lot of trouble to come rescue you for someone who doesn’t love you.”
“Leslie, maybe he does love me, or at least what he considers love, but he isn’t a guy who can be faithful. You know why I can’t put up with that. It’s best if I go somewhere where there’s no chance I’ll run into him. I wish I could stay close to you. Ever think of moving to Texas?” I asked her half-jokingly.
“No, I haven’t. I don’t know. Could you be wrong about him not being faithful? He explained about the woman Lucky.”
“And what about him not coming to bed the night I got back and finding him coming out of the kitchen with that woman? No, I think I’m right. Hell, maybe I should move to Virginia near Uncle Tommy.”
“Your mom’s uncle you mean? Have you talked to him lately?”
“Not in the last four months or so. He’s always so busy with work. But he told me before to move there. If I did that, I’d be closer to you,” I mused.
“Don’t make any decisions just yet. Give yourself time to get your head on straight. Besides, you have to give your notice and pack up your place. Just give it a few weeks.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it. Now, let’s see what else we need to do before tomorrow. You said you wanted to have people over after the funeral. I can help cook. It’ll help me keep my mind off the shit happening in my life.”
She laughed and agreed. We spent the day cooking and baking. She did order some stuff from a caterer she knew who could do it last minute for her. That night, I fell into bed utterly exhausted. I just had to make it through tomorrow without losing it at the funeral. I had to be strong for Leslie. My problems could wait.
Demon:
This was day three since I let Zara walk out of the clubhouse. I’d been pissed and lashed out at her. Once I calmed down, I’d wanted to go after her, but Bull convinced me to let her have some space. He said I could talk to her in a couple of days.
So, I’ve been trying to keep busy. I helped at the bar and worked on some things at the compound. I worked out for hours, but nothing was helping. It had been long enough. I had to see her and talk to her. Make her see she was wrong.
When I’d calmed down, I’d realized what she had meant by the not sleeping in my room remark and the fact that Kayla had been in the kitchen when I was that morning. She thought I’d spent the night with Kayla. Jesus, what in the hell could I do to make her stop thinking I was or would cheat? Maybe we were a lost cause. I couldn’t live with always being accused of doing something I wasn’t.
I’d just finished my shower and was going to head over to her house. It was time. As I passed through the common room and said goodbye, the door swung open. I stopped in shock. There stood Gabe, Griffin, and Anderson.
They looked serious. I rushed over to them. I saw Tate on his phone. He had to be alerting Bull. I shook their hands. “What brings you guys here?”
“We need to talk. We have a situation. Where’s Zara? She needs to hear this too. We want to make sure she stays on lockdown,” Gabe said.
“She’s not here.”
“When do you expect her back?” Anderson barked.
“I don’t know. She’s been staying at her place. I was on my way over there when you walked in.”
They swore. Bull chose that moment to walk in. He nodded and shook their hands. “What’s up?”
“Your boy here just informed me he’s been letting Zara stay alone. I thought she was his old lady. What kind of man let’s his lady out of his sight after she’s just been kidnapped and almost sold?” Anderson snarled.
My hackles went up. Who was he to question my relationship with Zara?
“It’s none of your business, Anderson. Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in your dark hole somewhere, pulling strings and stirring up shit?”