Penny and I had plans to spend Sunday night doing the absolute opposite of what we had done Saturday night, sit in our PJs with a rom-com and chocolate mint ice cream.

I was feeling a bit nervous about my first day at my new job the next afternoon. Penny had tried to talk me out of being such a worrywart but to no avail. I was a stress case in all new situations, and I had accepted my fate a long time ago. I was bound for a restless night of tossing and turning on her couch and a case of the runs in the morning.

It happened when I was nervous. It happens to a lot of people. It’s not weird. I swear.

Penny reached for the remote to turn the volume down on the television. “I don’t want my nosy neighbors asking me how we enjoyed the film. I swear they intentionally eavesdrop on me. No good, meddling middle-aged couple. They have to find something better to do with their time.”

I chuckled as I savored a mouthful of ice cream. “Maybe they just think you’re super interesting.”

“I work at a bank and live by myself. Well, sort of by myself. There is literally nothing interesting about me.”

“Maybe they want to add a third to their bedroom activities.”

“Ew! Gross!” Penny cried, but she slapped my knee playfully and gave me a wry grin as she started laughing.

I snorted as I laughed, which only made us laugh harder. Soon, we were wheezing and clutching our sides as we tried to catch our breath. It felt good to laugh this hard after the events of the previous night.

When I’d woken up in the morning, I’d been relieved. My dreams had been of the bald man who’d held the knife to my throat, and Derek hadn’t been there to put an end to it. I’d been alone and terrified, and he’d whispered the same things in my ear that he did in the alley.

Those lips of yours are begging to be used.

You’d look so good bent over my knee.

I like a good girl like you.

You smell like flowers and sex.

The morning had been welcomed, and I wasn’t a morning person. Penny and I had spent the afternoon doing everything we could to keep ourselves distracted. We went grocery shopping, which was more nerve-racking than it should have been, and hurried back home to lock ourselves in the apartment where we were safe and alone.

I was thankful to be staying with Penny. I couldn’t fathom what it would be like to have to be alone after everything that went down at Kadia. It was inconceivable. Terrifying.

“Pass the ice cream, will you?” Penny asked, nudging me in the shin with her toes.

I passed her the carton and pulled my blanket up under my chin as I sank deeper into the sofa cushions. We watched the movie quietly for another fifteen minutes or so and continued to pass the carton back and forth.

Penny was passing it back to me for the hundredth time when there was a knock on her door.

We both froze, one of each of our hands on the ice cream carton, and looked at each other.

“Are you expecting someone?” I whispered.

Penny shook her head and mouthed the word “no.”

“Do any of your neighbors like to randomly stop by?”

Again, she shook her head.

I swallowed. “Should we check through the peephole?”

That, apparently, was the right suggestion. We both untangled ourselves from our blankets and padded silently on bare feet through the living room and kitchen and down the short hall to the front door.

“You look,” Penny whispered.

“It’s your house,” I said defensively. I didn’t want to look. I was scared shitless. What if it was the big bald guy? What if he somehow found out where we lived, and he had come back for more, to fulfill some of the things he’d whispered to me. I shivered.

Penny wrung her hands anxiously. “I don’t want to.”

“Ugh.” I groaned, shoving her aside and moving in front of the door. “Fine.” I pressed my eye to the little glass hole in the middle of the door and looked.

And there he was. The bearded guy from the night before who’d driven us home. Derek.

“Well?” Penny hissed beside me, making me jump.

“It’s Derek,” I whispered.

“What the fuck? I thought he said we never had to see him again? What’s he playing at?”

“I don’t know, Penny. I have the same information as you. Should we open the door?”

“No!”

“But what if—?”

“No!” she spat again. “I don’t want to confirm that I live here. I don’t want him thinking he can show up whenever he damn well pleases and just be let in. Hell, no! I want him as far away from us as possible. And you,” she jabbed a finger at me, “should want the same things, you lunatic!”

We both leaped back from the door when Derek’s voice came from the hallway. “Uh. I can hear you guys.”

“Sorry,” I called.

Penny shot me a dark look. “Shh.”

Derek spoke up again. “I know I shouldn’t be here, but I have to ask you some questions. I swear I’ll be out of your hair in five minutes. We can talk through the door if you want.”

“See?” I said.

“See what?” Penny growled.

“He’s being polite and respectful of our boundaries.”

Penny blinked at me. “Respectful of our boundaries? The man is standing in the hallway outside my front door uninvited. And it begs the question, how the hell did he get in the building?”

“An old guy with an argyle sweater let me in,” Derek called.

I reached for the door handle. Penny beat me to it and shook her head. “No. Evie. Please. This is insane!”

“Go wait in your room, then.”

Penny let out a loud groan and closed her eyes. Then, she unlocked the handle and the deadbolt and yanked the door open with enough force that it created a small gale of wind that blew our hair back. She planted both hands on her hips and glared daggers at Derek, who looked very unassuming and nonthreatening in my opinion. “Okay. You have five minutes, buddy. Start talking.”

Derek looked from Penny to me. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes. “I wanted to talk to you both about a guy who approached you while you were dancing.”

“A lot of guys approached us,” Penny said hotly.

Derek nodded. “Naturally. You were the best-looking girls in the club. But I’m talking about one guy specifically. Brown hair. Kind of wiry. Rough around the edges.”

“Not ringing any bells,” Penny said.

Derek sighed. “He offered you both Zandra.”

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. “Zandra?”

Derek nodded. “Yes. It’s a pill and a sex drug. Dangerous shit.”

I bit my bottom lip and felt Penny’s stare wander over to me. Derek was watching me too. “Yeah. I remember him. He was young.”

“Yeah, he is.” Derek tucked his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “He’s a stupid kid who’s in over his head, and I’ve been trying to find him for months. This is the first we’ve seen of him, and I need to know what he said to the pair of you.”

I frowned. “I’m sorry. He didn’t say anything. He asked us if we wanted to have a good time and tried to get us to take the pill. Penny, with all her charms as you’ve witnessed firsthand, told him off. And he left. That was it.”

Penny crossed her arms and nodded in affirmation. “That’s right. Tucked his tail between his legs and left like a good boy. Unlike some people.”

Derek flashed her a wicked smile. “Careful, Penny. I’m starting to like you.”

Penny threw her hands up in the air in frustration. “You’re on your own, Evie. I’m going to finish watching the movie. Scream if he tries anything.”

“He won’t,” I said.

Penny marched off, and I heard her drop down onto the sofa with a huff. I leaned against the open door with one shoulder and crossed my arms. I was suddenly aware of the fact that he was seeing me in my PJs, my oversized, bright pink, mermaid patterned PJs. The horror.

Derek hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “You know, I should probably get going. Thanks for opening the door, Evelyn. I appreciate it.”

As he turned to leave, I called him back. “Since you asked me questions and I was honest, do I get to ask a question?”

His smile was sheepish and curious. He shrugged. “Knock yourself out.”

I felt a smile of my own tugging at my lips. I hated that he was making me feel this way. Like a young flirty high school girl who had the attention of a jock who was way out of her league. “Who are you? Like, who are you really?”

Derek arched an eyebrow.

“You’re not just some normal guy,” I clarified. “Right?”

“I think I’m pretty normal.”

“Come on. Tell me.”

He scratched the back of his neck. “All right. My name is Derek Baxter, and I’m the treasurer of the Lost Breed Motorcycle Club.”

I blinked. I hadn’t really expected him to come clean that easy. I thought he’d put up a bit of a fight or maybe even tell me a lie. This story very well could be a lie, but I believed him for some reason I couldn’t explain. “I’ve heard of Lost Breed. You guys were in the paper and the news a couple weeks ago, right? You were involved in the arrest of the gangster Ruby Johnson?”

“We were.”

“Then, the man in the alley,” I said slowly, putting two and two together.

“Was one of the men there that day when we took her down. Yeah. And he didn’t get any time for murder. None. We thought at first that he’d get at least a few years. Then, it went down to months. Then weeks. The bastard was out in weeks.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

I could see the frustration in him. It sat on his shoulders like the weight of the world, and I felt his pain. “I’m sorry,” I said.

His expression was unreadable as his warm brown eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “Why?”

“For the friend you lost. The one he took from you. I’m sorry.”

Derek rubbed his chest absently. “Thanks.”

I shrugged and gave him a smile. “For the record, I’m not afraid of you. I know I should be, as Penny keeps telling me, but I’m not. So … don’t be a stranger. All right?”

The look he gave me was bewilderment. And curiosity. And something else. Joy, perhaps. He nodded but didn’t say anything as he turned and went to the elevators. When the doors slid open with a chime, he gave me a long up and down. “Nice pajamas by the way. Mermaids. Sexy.”

I blushed fiercely as he stepped onto the elevators and disappeared from view. Then, I hurried to close and lock the front door.

How mortifying.

I rested my back against it and looked into the living room where Penny was scowling at me from the sofa. She shook her head at me and grabbed the ice cream carton. After spooning a massive bite into her mouth, she said, “You’re not getting any more of this ice cream. You know why? Because I need it to deal with the amount of stress you’re putting me through. When I told you to loosen up, I didn’t mean develop a crush on a biker and suddenly turn into a fearless rebel.”

I laughed. “I am so not a fearless rebel.”

“Oh? What would you call all this then? It’s fearless rebel or reckless idiot. You choose.”

I rolled my eyes and joined her on the couch again. “I love you, Penny. You know that?”

“Yes,” she grumbled.

“I’m sorry for stressing you out, but you don’t need to worry so much about me. I can take care of myself. Besides, Derek isn’t what you think he is.”

“You don’t know him,” she reminded me.

It was true. I didn’t know him. Not really. But I felt like I knew who he was. What he was. It didn’t scare me off. It drew me in.

Maybe reckless idiot was more appropriate in this situation.