Rick flushed. “I left, but I couldn’t stay away without you knowing what you’re getting yourself into with him.”
“Well, it’s a little late for warnings now. Jesus, Rick.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, and I was gratified that at least he did look sorry.
But fuck, I was still annoyed at him. To tell me this at all. To tell me this now, when it was clearly too late for caution. I was entirely moved in and financially dependent on Colin, I was a known associate of his and Philip’s according to the cops, and Philip and Colin were now, independent of me, it seemed, handling my situation with Andrew. The cart of groceries that Bailey sat in, the groceries I couldn’t pay for without Colin’s money, underlined the entirety of my dependence.
Bailey picked that moment to throw the stemless pepper at Rick. I wanted to do that too. He caught it and tossed it back, where it hit her in the chest with a soft thud and fell to her lap.
Her eyes widened, and her lips quivered.
Rick gave me a panicked look.
I stared back at him stonily.
“I’m so sorry,” he said with his hands up. “I thought she could catch.”
All I could think was that men really sucked. Bailey wailed her agreement.
I slammed a jar of tomato sauce down, then rethought the object of my aggression when the shelf rattled ominously. From the living room Bailey banged her block down on the floor in solidarity.
The snick of the back door let me know Shelly had responded to my summons. I’d left a brief voice mail for her on the drive back from the grocery store. “We need to talk,” was all I’d said.
She paused to kiss Bailey on the forehead and then entered the kitchen with a rush of crisp winter air.
I pounced on her. “Who’s the guy, Shelly?”
“Okay.” She didn’t play dumb. “It’s Philip. Don’t be angry.”
“Don’t be angry? This guy is like…I don’t know! Something bad.”
“He’s not so bad.”
How dare she side with him? “I saw what he did to you.”
“He didn’t do anything I didn’t agree to,” she countered.
Damn. A low blow.
“I’m sorry.” She stepped toward me. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No, you’re right,” I managed to get out.
“No, I wasn’t.” She reached out her hands for mine. “I’m really sorry. At first I didn’t know, and then by the time you told me, there was the thing with the cops, and I knew you’d be upset about it, so…”
I sighed. “Avoidance.”
“Learned from the best,” she said with a small smile.
That pulled a smile from me. I kept my voice down. “Bitch.”
“You love me anyway.”
My eyes prickled. “Is this the part where we hug?”
“Let’s not,” she said.
And I was fine again. I picked up a can of soup from the bag. “I can’t believe you’re seeing that asshole.”
She just gave me a wry look—I see who pays me—and crossed to the coffee machine.
Fair enough, but there were limits. Or there should be. “Have you seen his study?”
She started the brew, then turned around and leaned against the counter. “The bullfighter,” she said. We both laughed.
But maybe it didn’t have to be like this. I wasn’t sure how much, but Colin had money. And I knew Shelly had some saved. “Maybe Colin could…”
“No,” she said. “You know how I feel about it.” I did. Honest pay for honest work. Besides, I wasn’t totally sure Colin would be okay with stealing away Philip’s live-in prostitute.
“So if you live with him, is he like your sugar daddy?”
She crunched up her nose. “I hate that term.”
“This from the girl who prefers the word ‘whore’ to ‘escort.’”
She laughed. “It’s for the same reason. Girls want to act all uppity, but it’s all the same.”
“Colin is like my sugar daddy, you think?”
She shook her head at me—not “no,” but more like it didn’t matter. “You did the right thing. We all make deals to get what we need. Everyone has a price.”
Colin had once said the same thing to me. Everyone did, and I suppose it was a small comfort that mine was high. Oh, not as high as Shelly’s, especially not in terms of hard cash, but choosing me with all my issues, taking in a little girl, spending time with us, that all counted for a lot.
And even when I tried to box it into a neat little agreement, it didn’t fit. He could get straight sex from Shelly or someone like her, or just one of those other girls at the club. No, somehow he actually liked me. And I liked him right back, despite his gender. Fucking complications, feelings.
Shelly handed me one of the mugs she’d been preparing.
“I need a favor,” I said.
“Anything,” she said.
“They’ve been in contact with Andrew. I need you to find out where he is.”
Chapter Seven
An hour. That’s how long I’d been in bed staring at the ceiling while Colin was downstairs, “finishing up a few things.”