“Leah, we’re leaving,” Knox said, as if he no longer wanted to waste another breath on Burt.
“Wait, I have one more task to do,” she told him. Leah marched up to Burt. “I quit and one more thing.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“You better start looking for another job or else.” Leah left the threat hanging in the air, because Burt was a smart guy, or she thought he was.
“Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?” Burt demanded.
Before Knox could come to her defense again, Leah brought her knee up against Burt’s genitals. Mindy and another waitress who were nearby let out giggles. Someone else cheered. Burt howled, covering his privates. He sagged against a nearby table.
Knox came by her shoulder. Leah snuck a glance at him. Pride filled his features.
“I could handle a pig like him,” she told her man.
Knox chuckled. “I never doubted you once, kitten.” The warmth in his eyes that was only reserved for her faded as he turned to Burt. “You heard my woman. Better leave the city tonight or my men will hunt you down. You won’t see the light of day.”
Knox fisted Burt’s shirt and slammed him against the wall. Knox made a face. Leah wrinkled her nose as the smell of piss filled the air.
“Tell me you understand, fucker,” Knox said.
“I understand!”
Knox released Burt and held out his arm to Leah. She took it and they finally left the diner. Leah had a feeling that was the last time she’d ever walk through those doors.
****
It was still dark outside when Leah woke up.It’s time to wake up, make Larry breakfast. Shower, then dress for work.Knox tightened his grip over her waist and Leah remembered where she was. She leaned against the solid wall of his back and breathed in and out.
Leah was no longer in the cramped apartment she shared with her brother. Three days had passed since she had officially moved in with Knox. The last seventy-two hours felt like a dream. Her new life felt surreal. She still couldn’t believe she quit her job and had done so in a spectacular fashion.
Being a waitress at the diner represented her old life. Things were less complicated then, but didn’t she work her ass off believing someday she would be able to get off the hamster wheel? Sleep and work. Pay the bills. Honestly, some days, it felt like Leah was living in hell. Knox had ended that vicious cycle.
She’d never taken a day off her entire life so for the past three days, Leah felt like she’d been drifting. Knox seemed to have plenty on his mind. He carved out time in the mornings to spend with her and he usually came back home really late. Knox sometimes smelled of blood and gunpowder, which told her he wasn’t with a woman.
A small comfort.
“You awake?” he asked behind her.
“Yes.”
“Thinking much?” he asked.
Leah twisted in his arms. Knox loosened his grip so they could look at each other face-to-face. She touched the healing bruise on his cheek and grimaced. He knew she hated him seeing hurt but Leah was a fool for thinking Knox would someday give up his empire for a shot at a normal life.
If she intended to spend more time with this man, Leah knew she had to accept what he did. Knox embraced this lifestyle. It had been chosen for him from the moment of his birth and he loved every minute of it as much as he loved her.
Did he love her?
Was that wistful thinking on her part?
“Talk to me, kitten,” he said. Knox could be extremely persuasive if he wanted. He ran his fingers through her hair, gave it a little jerk to expose her throat.
She moaned when he kissed her neck tenderly before moving to her lips. Knox used his other hand and slipped it under the sheets, touching her bare skin. She didn’t know when she’d started going to bed without any clothes on. It seemed redundant, given she always ended up begging Knox to strip her out of them.
“I feel lost,” Leah admitted.
“After quitting your job at the diner?” he asked. “I was fucking happy when you did.”