Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22175 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22175 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“Yeah.”
“Are you leaving?” Her eyes drop to my pink bag.
“Hartley, you’re on.” Brook calls her to get ready for the stage.
“Shit, stay here. I’ll be back in a second,” she says, but I don’t wait.
It’s not until the door closes behind me that I think that maybe I should have poked my head out first to make sure no one was lingering around the exit. Especially the handsome man whose name I never got. He even smells good, which is wild because the men that come into the club never smell good.
This is not the time to be thinking about how men smell. I really am naïve, but thankfully, I don’t see him or anyone else. Quinn normally drove us the short distance to work even though it would be an easy walk. She said it wasn’t safe to go on foot, but right now, there isn’t much of an option.
I think I’m already on borrowed time, so I make it back to the apartment as fast as I can. I should have changed before I left because I get a few glances. When I get inside the apartment, I change and then order a car to pick me up before I start stuffing everything I can into a couple of bags.
I drop down on the floor and reach under the bed for my box filled with money. I’m not sure how much I have, but it’s more than I came here with. I shove it down into one of my bags too. I glance around the place I’ve called home for the past seven months and feel a pang of sadness.
The whole place is smaller than my old bedroom, but the walls never felt like they were closing in on me while I was here. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me feel safe.
“Motel on Ashbry?” the driver asks when I open the back passenger door to the car.
“Yes, please.” It’s the one motel that will take cash. I know because it’s where I stayed when I first hit Seaport.
I toss my bags inside but pause when the sensation of being watched runs up my spine. I glance around and don’t see anyone, but the feeling doesn't go away.
“You getting in or what?” the driver asks.
“Sorry.” I slip into the back and quickly close my door.
My destination was keyed in when I called for the car. Quinn put the app on my phone months ago in case I needed it. I don’t have a bank or credit card, so it's connected to hers. She has no idea she might be saving me once again.
It’s not until I’m in one of the motel rooms that I let myself take a real breath. What if I’m being paranoid? I drop down onto the hard bed and think about my options. Maybe I jumped to conclusions, but Quinn never would have let me take off this way.
I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing that she’s not here right now. How I wish she was, but Stowe might be right. I could have trouble coming, and Quinn would have tried to step between it and me.
I know her, and she would have tried to talk me down so that I stayed and even gotten me caught. Who knows, maybe I already am.
Chapter Six
MACK
I sat outside the hotel as long as I could before a patrol car rode by and told me to move it along. It was late in the evening by then and Whitley still hadn’t come out. Now I’m starting to worry about her, and I don’t know what else to do but go back to The Bald Beaver.
Whitley must have slept all day, but I imagine with the hours she works, it’s hard to stay awake after a shift. When I saw her run out last night, I wanted to go after her, but she looked freaked. The sight of her looking over her shoulder and being afraid tore at my heart. There’s so much more to her story that I need to know, and she needs to know who hired me to come find her.
She could be in all kinds of danger, and running out on her own and walking in a not so great part of town was dangerous as fuck. I had to follow her car to the hotel so I could make sure she stayed safe, but anyone could have followed me. What about Roy Baxter’s enemies? Does she not realize the kind of monsters that would love to snatch her up?
My only chance is that she’ll be at the club tonight. Part of me is worried she’s already taken off, but I have no idea where to start if that’s happened. The best I can do is hope she shows up, but if not, maybe I can talk to some of the other dancers and find out where she might have gone.