CHAPTER 12
GRAHAM

I went by the coffee shop in town before I made my way to the garage. I had a hard time sleeping the night before after my fun little encounter with Paul. He thought he was some badass who had his shit together for Lily and Cindy. I didn’t like the way he bucked up to me, the way he had told me to stay away from the two of them. He didn’t have a claim to them any more than I did. He was a hothead in a pair of tight jeans and a badge. I knew what those guys were all about. Fuck, I used to be one of those guys on occasion.

I stood in line, recounting my moment with him in my yard. He had tried to posture like he was some big dog, but only men who were insecure in who they were postured like that. Real men who knew they could do some harm if needed never bucked up like that.

I never bucked up like that.

He was ridiculous and unnecessary, but I refused to swing a punch. I’d wanted to break his nose for some of the things he said, things he threatened to do to me if I came around Cindy and Lily too much. I debated on telling Cindy about it, about how he felt he owned the two of them or some shit.

But it really wasn’t my place. I could tell by her exasperated attitude that she was tired of him anyway. Not to mention, I was trying my best not to get too involved in their lives. Though that was a daily struggle I often felt I was losing.

“I’ll have a nonfat caramel macchiato, please.”

“Hot or iced?” the cashier said.

“Iced,” a familiar voice said.

Cindy looked back at me, and a smile crossed her face. I had been so preoccupied with thoughts of strangling that no-dick asshole friend of hers that I hadn’t even realized she’d been standing in front of me the whole time. She nodded her head, turned to finish her order, and then stepped off to the side so I could place mine.

But she didn’t walk away.

“A large black coffee. With room for sugar.”

“Cream?” the cashier asked.

“Nope. Just sugar,” I said.

“A simple man. I like it,” Cindy said.

“Make sure you drink that coffee before you leave,” I said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I’m leaving now, and I don’t want you running into me again.”

The giggle that fell from her lips was music to my ears. It had been a long time since I’d enjoyed a nice joke with a woman. I felt that idiotic grin trying to cross my cheeks again, and I swallowed it down, trying to keep some semblance of a wall between us.

I could feel myself being pulled into her and I was torturing myself over it. While it was nice to share some human interaction with someone, it also went against everything I’d believed in since my family was taken from me. “Heading into work?” Cindy asked.

“I am. You?” I asked.

“Yep. It’s a part-time gig, but it gets me through until I’m at a place to do what I really want.”

“Which is?”

“Open up my own bed and breakfast.”

“Why don’t you do that now?” I asked.

“Because I have other immediate responsibilities that don’t involve taking out a loan for another house,” she said.

She grabbed her coffee and put the straw to her lips. I watched her suck on it, my mind racing back to the image of her lips wrapped around my cock. A pang of guilt shot through my system, and I dropped my eyes, leaning against the counter while I waited.

What the hell was going on with me?

“You know I still feel bad for hitting your car.”

“Have you gotten it fixed yet?” I asked, waving her off.

“Not yet. I’ve got a little bit of topical work to it, but the taillight is still out.”

“That’s not the safest thing to have not working,” I said.

“When I can afford it, I’ll take care of it,” she said.

“Why don’t you let me take a look at it? See what I can do.”

“I can’t ask you to do that, Graham.”

“I’m a mechanic.”

“And I’m a woman who can’t pay,” she said.

“Your rear bumper’s practically dragging on the ground.”

“No, it’s not. It’s … lightly wafting in the breeze.”

I stood there bantering with her as my gut filled with guilt. I couldn’t be enjoying this as much as I was. I was quickly losing sight of why I was in Oregon in the first damn place. I was on the run, a fugitive, of sorts. I had people who wanted me in DC, and people who wanted me six feet under. They would stop at nothing until they found me, and if they saw me interacting with Cindy this way, they would find leverage through her. And Lily.

Leverage I couldn’t afford to let them have.

“Fine. Okay,” she said.

“Okay. I’ll come by after work and get it into the shop. I’ll give you a loaner car until it’s done,” I said.

“You want to take it tonight?” she asked.

“The quicker we can get it repaired, the better,” I said. “Don’t worry. I won’t strand you without a car.”

“Okay then. I’ll be ready with the keys this afternoon.”

I headed on to work with thoughts of Cindy swirling around in my head. I shouldn't be thinking about her. It was detrimental to my focus. But I couldn't deny how much I enjoyed her company, how captivating she was, and how her smile seemed to expose me to a light I hadn’t felt in years. I went through my day, working on cars and fielding stupid ass questions from idiotic vehicle owners until I wanted to burst.

Every time I felt myself getting angry, I would hear her laughter echo off the corners of my mind.

Work dragged on, but Cindy’s memory helped. I made a decent chunk of change that day to take home with me and stuffed it in a safe I kept in the back of my closet.

Having a bank account in my name wasn’t a good thing. Even though I was using an alias, the CIA had ways of tracking things that would blow the public’s mind if they ever found out.

I took a shower and washed myself off, and thoughts of Cindy kept bombarding me. I needed to find a distraction. I needed to get my mind off her. I dried myself off and put on some clothes, trying to shake her from my mind.

Then, I picked up my phone and decided a call to Daniel might help.

“My man! Twice in the span of a week and a half. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“You’re a drama queen, you know that?” I asked.

“Only because I have found the newest love of my life,” Daniel said.

“What’s her name?” I asked.

“Nicole. And she’s got the most beautiful set of tits on the West Coast.”

“Uh-huh. This the stripper?”

“No. That was Nikki. Different girl.”

“Right. So where’d you meet this girl?”

“In your town, actually. I went by this place I heard some locals talking about. Nicole’s Novelties. I was looking for a set of neon lights to go underneath my car, and I figured that was a good place to start looking.”

“Uh-huh. Why don’t I believe you?” I asked.

“Because you never do. Not my fault you have trust issues.”

“So, she’s got nice tits.”

“And comes like a beauty.”

“You’ve slept with her already?”

“No, that’s the thing. We just text back and forth. Skype. Things like that. Oh, it’s great. She’s busy during the day, so I don’t have to always text her, and she gets in the shower after work and calls. It’s fabulous. Low maintenance and sexy as hell.”

“Sounds like your perfect relationship,” I said.

“Hardly a relationship, but whatever.”

“You know how you told me to go out and make friends?” I asked.

“Oh, shit. Who did you kill?”

“Asshole. I didn’t kill anyone. But I kind of befriended my neighbor and her daughter. Somewhat.”

“No shit. Seriously? What's her name? Is she hot? How old’s her daughter?”

“Her name’s Cindy, and she’s pretty. Sure. Her daughter’s five, I think. Name’s Lily.”

“Wait. Cindy and Lillian?”

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Do you know them?” I asked.

“Does Cindy have, like … oh fuck, hold on. Let me pull up the message.”

I heard Daniel clicking through his phone as I sat on the edge of my seat.

“Does Cindy have ‘dark red hair and a twin for a daughter’?”

“Wait, where the fuck’s this coming from?” I asked.

“Nicole. It was a conversation we had a few days ago. I asked her how work went, and she said it was a slow day for her and her employee. Went on and on about how her best friend needed a job so she gave her one and all that shit. I told her that was good. Cool. Good friend and all that shit. And she said, ‘Yeah. She’s a good person. I’m glad I could help. Maybe you’ve seen her around town. She’s got dark red hair and a twin for a daughter.’”

“The girl you’re seeing is friends with Cindy?” I said.

“Oh, shit. You think Cindy’s seen my dick? Nicole strikes me as that kind of girl,” he said.

“Cindy doesn’t strike me as that kind of girl. I think your dick is safe.”

“Does your Cindy work?”

“Part-time, yeah,” I said.

Daniel started laughing over the phone as I groaned.

“We’re dating best friends, Graham.”

“Cindy and I aren’t dating. I said I made a friend. Sort of.”

“You said she was pretty.”

“That doesn’t mean I wanna fuck her, Daniel.”

“I haven’t heard you refer to any woman at all since—”

The phone call went silent as I fell back onto my bed. Guilt began to trickle down to my toes as I closed my eyes. All of this was so wrong. Every single part of it. I was a dangerous man with a dangerous past who had interacted with dangerous criminals, and here I was trying to act like my life was something suitable for a woman and a child. It obviously wasn’t. My life had taken my own fucking family away from me.

I needed to end this shit before it went any further.

“I gotta go, Daniel.”

“Graham, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things weird,” he said.

“You didn’t. I’m tired. I’ll talk to you later.”

I hung up the phone and tossed it across the room. I slipped underneath the covers and closed my eyes, ready for sleep to wipe this day away. But, the minute I closed my eyes, I saw Cindy with her beautiful legs and her flowing hair and her light-hearted smile.

And she haunted me all night.