Chapter Eighteen: Pressure
Mia
My phone rang and my fingers trembled when I saw the caller ID. Naomi. I bit the bullet and answered the call, “Hi Naomi. How are you?” I’d been crying so I was sniffling into my sleeve.
“Hey, Mia. I wanted to call you. I wanted to let you know I heard about what happened with Numbers. Is it true? Are you working for Doc? I wanted to hear it from your mouth,” she asked in a disappointed tone.
I closed my eyes as more tears slipped down my face. My world was crashing down around me, and I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel to rebuild it. “Partly. I don’t want to talk about this on a phone call, but I am under pressure. The main thing I want you to know is that I’ve been blackmailed in the situation,” I said in a wobbly voice.
“Oh honey, why didn’t you just say something? You could have told the Rebels. They would have helped you. I don’t understand why you did this? What—”
I held the phone away from my face. This is crappy.
The last thing I wanted to hear was a lecture on the other end of the line. “Naomi, I can’t deal with this conversation right now. I really can’t. Technically, this is client information and I shouldn’t be speaking to you about my client list.” My voice dropped into cold, professional mode, and I hung up the phone.
I burst into tears, hiding my face in my hands.
This was the most humiliating place I’d been in my life. I dragged myself to get in the shower. As the hot water washed over me I thought about the night I shared with Numbers. It had been so perfect. I’d felt so happy and content in his arms. I wanted nothing more than to wake up there every morning.
I stayed in the shower for a long time trying to wash away the pain. When I got out, I wrapped the towel around myself and made another call. “Doc. I think we should meet.”
“Yes. We should. I have a little assignment for you, especially since I asked for information and I haven’t received it. Now, I’ve paid you very well, so I expect the job to be done to my standards,” he said in his ugly tone.
“We can meet in the same spot at Bernies,” I replied ignoring what I thought to be an empty threat.
“Good. 1 p.m. Today.” He clicked off the phone abruptly.
I got dressed, feeling like the whole world was against me and like I was headed into the fight of my life. I felt so alone, but I wanted to face Doc to see what his plans were, so I could warn the Rebel Saints.
1 p.m. came around way too fast. I drove through the suburban streets of Holbeck as a mugginess set in. I grabbed my water bottle and sipped on the way over to the diner.
I spotted Doc’s Harley parked on the side. As per usual, there were only a handful of cars in the parking lot.
When I entered, low chatter and the smell of pancake batter filled the space as the large ceiling fans whirred overhead.
The waitress at the front counter was all smiles as I walked in with my head down. I scanned the place and saw Doc sitting on the right hand side with a smug look on his face.
His silver-streaked hair and beard stood out. He was wearing a black bandana around his head, and his beady eyes were watching me walk towards him.
I dropped into the diner seat.
The waitress came over and dropped off two menus. “Here we go, two menus for the love birds.” She smiled at us both. She must have been all of 20.
My mortified face made Doc belly laugh.
“Ah no, this isn’t my husband. At all. Thanks, I’ll just have a coffee,” I responded with a jittery tone.
The aloof waitress touched her chest and raised her eyebrows in shock. “Oh, I’m sorry. My bad. I just made an assumption. Your coffee is coming right up. For you sir?”
Doc was still laughing and making me feel ill as I cut my eyes at him.
“Pretty good assumption, except, she’s not my type,” he whispered behind his thick, burly hand. The waitress seemed to have the same aversion to Doc as I had. He placed a light hand on her forearm and she subtly twisted her body away from him so she was out of reach.
I despised the man in front of me and if I could, I would throw hot coffee in his face.
“Ah, okay. What can I get for you?” she asked with a nervous little laugh. His intimidating stare made her chew her lip while she waited.
“I’ll have what she’s having,” Doc said with a smirk on his dirty mouth. His belly moved up and down as he chuckled at what she said.