“Liar. I’ve known you since we were kids. I can tell when you’re lying.” She glanced at the door. “Don’t you remember what I said? This is exactly whatnotto do.”
I kept silent, knowing the last thing I needed was Shelly freaking out on me when she found out I was staying with Colt and that I was close to jumping into his bed.
“Mia? What’s going on?” she asked. “You have to tell me.”
“I don’t want you getting mixed up in all of this.”
“Mixed up in what? Richie’s crap?”
“Yeah, Richie’s crap.”
“I texted the entire staff and we didn’t show up for our shifts. I drove by Dive Bar and it was closed. I start working at a nail salon next week, answering phones and making appointments.”
“Good. That’s good.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “I had plans to leave town. I swear I did.” I proceeded to tell her about the motorcycles in my neighborhood and then my middle of the night flight to safety.
“You slept on the steps until they woke you up?” she marveled. “Wow.”
I nodded. “They’ve been really—ah—nice to me.”
She peered at me. “You’re blushing.”
“I don’t blush.”
“Fine, then you’re flushing. You got involved with their president, didn’t you?”
“Define involved.” I shrugged. “I’m staying at his house for the time being.”
“You trust this guy? He’s got a black eye. What kind of trouble did he get into?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said without hesitation. “I trust him.”
Shelly embraced me, hard. “You scared me. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“They’re going to help me get out of town. You don’t have to worry about me, okay?”
“I’ll always worry about you. You have a knack for finding trouble.”
“Trouble findsme,” I corrected.
“Either way, a shit storm is a shit storm.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
I hopped up and went to open the bedroom door and saw Colt leaning against the wall. I knew we hadn’t been talking loud enough for him to eavesdrop.
“You guys good?” Colt asked.
I nodded. I heard Shelly come up behind me and rest a hand on my shoulder. “Take care of her, yeah?”
Colt’s brown eyes darted to mine. “I will.”
Chapter 7
After we sawShelly to her car, Colt and I headed to his truck. Once we were on the road back to his place, he said, “You’re worried about her.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t be. She quit Dive Bar. She’s staying out of things.”