“Let me guess, you’re going to run back to Daddy and tell him?”
I smirk. “No. You two aren’t smart enough to keep your mouths shut, so you’ll tell on yourself soon enough.” I sneer, heading toward the door.
“You’re just jealous.”
Stopping, I look over my shoulder at her. “Of what, exactly?”
“That I have someone who’s proud to be by my side. Someone who’s not ashamed of taking me out. Hell, have you even had a man brave enough to climb between those legs of yours?” She laughs, and the other girl giggles.
“Just because I don’t have my name and number etched on the third stall saying I go both ways doesn’t mean I don’t get a good fucking, Sara.” Lifting my brows, I nod toward the stall I just left. Her smile fades, looking at the stall in a panic.
Laughing, I walk out of the locker room just in time to hear Sara scream in horror.
Bitch.
***
Jogging on the treadmill, I think about what Sara said. I want to run, anger demanding to be released, but I’m not sure if my foot is ready for that. For some reason, her words are hitting me harder than I expected. Zeek isn’t the kind of guy to go on a date; I know that. Us being anywhere out in public is beyond stupid, but for some reason… I want to know that taking a chance on us getting caught is worth it to him. That I’m worth the risk.
My phone beeps.
Wanna grab lunch at our place? - A
Meet you there. - J
I head to the diner and find Alessandra in the booth, her uniform on, hair pulled up tight as usual.
Her eyes lift to mine, and she smiles as I sit in the adjoining booth.
“You just work out?”
“Yeah. Trying to work this soreness away, and get myself back into shape,” I say on an exhale.
“Psh. Take it slow, you ain’t missing anything.”
“Oh, yeah? Slow day?”
“No, just the same old bullshit. A guy shit himself in one of the casinos, and guess who had to get him out of there.” She points to herself. “Then there was a wreck on the main strip, where two men got into a brawl. I got to pepper spray one, so that wasn’t bad.” She smirks. “Then we’ve had to look for some fucktard all day, but didn’t find him. Other than that, yeah, it’s been slow.”
“Who’s the warrant out for?”
“Jacob Gentry. Brown hair, green eyes. Six foot, three inches. Has a tattoo of a crow on the back of his right hand.”
I smirk. “Wow, you remembered all that?” Gentry. That sounds familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.
“They only ask us if there are any updates every fucking hour,” Alessandra continues, interrupting my thought.
“Must’ve done something pretty bad.” I shrug.
“Two burgers, two shakes.” Margie sets the plates down carelessly and walks away.
“I ordered for us, since I gotta get back to work here soon.”
“No problem.” I take a bite of my burger and sigh.
“You going to give me any details on you and a man I shall not name?”
I smirk, knowing exactly what she’s talking about.
“We’re good.”
Her face goes lax, her hand limp with the burger in it. “Seriously, that’s all I get?”
Laughing at her reaction, I set my burger down. “He met my mom.”
“What?!”
“She walked in on us naked. She didn’t even catch his name, just ran out red-faced.”
Alessandra spits shake all over her plate, her eyes wide.
I can’t help but laugh and hand her a napkin.
“I don’t know what to even say about that.” She laughs. “Your dad, he hasn’t—”
“No, he knows nothing. I’m not sure I’ll ever tell him.” My brows furrow, my heart hurting that I’m keeping something from him. I’m relieved that Zeek hasn’t pushed about information on my father.
“Probably the safest option. I can tell you right now he won’t approve.”
Alessandra looks down at her watch.
“Shit, I gotta go.”
Standing, she throws some bills down then points at me. “Next time, I want more details.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
ZEEK
I head back to Jillian’s house and find her Jeep gone. I arch a brow, curious where the hell she went, since she’s supposed to be resting.
Pulling out my phone, I call her, but she doesn’t answer.
“What the fuck?” Running up to her house, I try to open the door but it’s locked. Something I don’t normally feel runs up my back—fear. What if Frank found out about her? What if he has her?
I pull out my phone, ready to call her when her Jeep pulls into the drive.
She jumps out, a gym bag over her shoulder.
“Where the hell were you?” My voice comes out harsh, my heart still beating wildly.
She stops in her tracks, her face puzzled.
“Uh, the gym.”
“Why? You’re supposed to be resting, not in a damn gym!” I holler.
The hand holding her bag falls from her shoulder as she rolls her eyes.
“I don’t need another parent, Zeek. I hate being stuck in the house, so I went for a jog at the gym.”
She steps up beside me and unlocks the door.