Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Mikayla even had signs up, and the patron also signed a paper stating they would attach the stop-clip to their clothing, so they were about to be out of an ass of money once Mikayla’s attorney got through with them.
“Be safe,” she told me, glancing up from her paperwork. “Harlan here yet?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll find out—” My phone began vibrating in my pocket, cutting me off. I pulled it out and smirked, waving the phone at Mikayla. “Speak of the devil.”
She snickered. I stepped out of the office and headed toward the front door. I was itching for a cigarette. It was rare that I smoked anymore, but fuck, life had become a shit show within the past twenty-four hours. First, my ex cheated on me with some random trashy bitch, and then I got fucking arrested because the dick had the nerve to press charges against me.
“Hey,” I greeted when I answered the phone. I scanned the parking lot, frowning when I didn’t see Harlan’s bike or his truck. “What’s up?”
“I’m running late,” he told me. “I went into work after dropping you off, and I lost track of time. I’m so fucking sorry, but I’m leaving now. I’ll be there in ten minutes. I promise.”
I shrugged and began to walk down the sidewalk toward the grocery store a few stores down from the gym. “No biggie,” I told him. “Be safe.”
His deep chuckle rumbled through the phone. “Always, doll.”
I ended the call and stepped into the store. Air conditioning blew over my skin, which was already clammy from the humidity. Would it rain soon? Who fucking knew. Certainly not the weatherman. The weather here was so ridiculous and unpredictable that I stopped watching the news and checking weather apps. I just let it surprise me now.
I walked up to the customer service counter where the cigarettes were kept. The older lady working the counter smiled at me. “Hey, Lennox. What can I get ya?”
“Just a pack of the cheapest cigarettes you’ve got,” I told her. “Menthol preferred.” Maybe if I got the cheapest ones, they’d taste like shit, and I wouldn’t be tempted to smoke the whole pack in one day.
She grabbed a pack of L&Ms and slid the barcode beneath the scanner. After sticking my card in the chip reader, I grabbed my cigarettes, waved goodbye to her, and made my way outside. I took a moment to light one of the cigarettes before making my way back down to the gym.
“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered a couple of minutes later. I’d just gotten comfortable against the brick wall after putting out my cigarette and tossing it into the trash.
My ex, Tyler, was making his way up toward the gym, and his eyes were set on me. Grinding my teeth together, I quickly pulled out another cigarette. If I didn’t get nicotine in my body, this was going to end fucking horribly…and probably with me tossed right back in jail with no chance of bond this time.
“So, they let your crazy ass out?” he snapped once he was close enough.
I blew smoke out of my mouth and flicked ashes to the ground. “Seems so,” I told him.
The sound of a motorcycle reached my ears. I glanced over Tyler’s shoulder, watching as Harlan rolled through the parking lot, heading in my direction. I went to move around Tyler, but he gripped my arm and pushed me back. I stumbled a little, my cigarette falling from my hand. Pain pulsed through my arm.
“What the fuck?” I growled, narrowing my eyes at him.
He stepped into my personal space. “I don’t know what the fuck I ever saw in your psychotic ass, Lennox. You’re a bitch with a loose pussy. You wonder why I had to go find that shit elsewhere? Need to take a look in the fuckin’ mirror. That biker ain’t gonna want your used ass for long either.”
I didn’t even see Harlan walk up to us, but one moment, Tyler was in front of me, and the next, he was lying on the ground, blood spilling from between his lips. He shouted in pain, his hand coming up to cradle his jaw. I swung my wide eyes over to Harlan. His fist was clenched, his rings catching in the lights above us.
“I’ll fucking have you arrested for this!” Tyler yelled at Harlan as he scrambled to his feet, blood now seeping into the collar of his shirt. A tooth was lying on the ground, and there was a hole in Tyler’s gum where it used to reside. “You’ve lost your fucking mind!”
“And I saw you put your fucking hands on her,” Harlan growled at him.
The bell above the door of the gym jingled, and I looked over. Mikayla poked her head out the door. “Cops are on their way,” she announced.