He laughs,laughsat my snark, “Yeah, mine isn’t man either. So maybe drop that attitude.”
I’m still pissed off, but he isn’t wrong, and I ran into him, not the other way around, “Name’s Mac.”
He nods and extends his hand to me, I take it on instinct. “I’m Davis. You coming to the meeting?”
“Nah, I don’t need that shit. No offense or anything.”
“None taken. So, where you headed, Mac?”
I think about that for a minute before answering him, “I don’t really know.”
“Want company?”
He looks genuine, but I’m confused on why. We’re not friends. “Why?”
He shrugs noncommittally, “Just look like you need a friend.”
“Well, I don’t. I’m just trying to clear my head. Not looking to bring in any strays.”
My words are meant to slash at his ego, but oddly enough they don’t.
“Okay, well if you change your mind, let me know.” He hands me a business card. It’s such a douchebag move that I can barely contain my sneer. Then, just because I can also be a dick, I pull out my own business card and hand it to him.
“Yeah, same to you.”
Davis nods and quickly turns to hide his smirk. He heads into the basement right behind everyone else, shutting the door as he goes. Effectively shutting myself and everyone else out. My brain is telling me to go check it out.Notbecause I need to, but because I’m curious by nature. Shaking the thought from my head, I turn on my heels and head further into the city. I need another drink.
6
Chapter Six
Lee
Lee, are you listening to me?” My eyes dart from the assignment on my laptop to Tory, the nurse who comes by three times a week to hook me up to a machine for hours.
Tory is in her late twenties. She’s about Annie’s height, and her auburn hair is tied up into a bun on top of her head. Her whiskey eyes search mine to make sure I was just really into my job and not about to lose consciousness.
“Sorry, what was that?” Giving her my full attention, I take my fingers off my keyboard.
“I said I’ll let you work here for half of your time, but that other half I need you to rest. Do you want to rest first or work first?”
“Work first.” It’s an easy decision seeing as I’m literally working right now.
With that settled, I wait while she hooks everything upand starts the machine that’s thankfully on wheels so when I inevitably get exhausted I can move to the couch without much fuss. That, along with my living room and kitchen basically being one giant room, works in my favor. It’s maybe ten feet from where I’m sitting to the couch I’ll be lying on in an hour and a half.
With Tory done, she moves into the living room to talk with Jakob. She has the biggest crush on him and doesn’t even try to hide it. Unfortunately for her if you aren’t a bitchy Bratva princess he’s going to pass. He hasn’t dated anyone since Natasha, and I don’t see that changing.
Focusing back on my task, I return to helping Land find the guy he’s looking for. Land’s another guy Mac and I work with. One would think his name is ‘Landon’ but they would be wrong. His name is Harold, and he, along with a select few others including myself and Mac all work around and with each other. Sometimes we help each other or are on the same jobs. Other times we’re working against each other.
I put in a solid hour of work before my head starts feeling heavy and my mouth starts excessively watering. Shit. Shutting my computer, I push it away and pick up my phone, shooting off a text to Mac telling him I’m done for the day. I’ve noticed if I don’t do that, he’ll text me and ask where I went.
“Jake.” My voice is shaky even as I try to steady it. My brother’s by my side in the next second with a small trash can. No sooner than he places it under my chin, I’m emptying the contents of my stomach inside it. My body slumps to the side, leaning on his leg. This saint of a man is holding up my weight with his body, the trash can in one hand, and rubbing my back with the other. I’m so glad he’s here, but atthe same time, I can’t help but wish it was a different man helping me out right now.
Once I stop retching, he places the trash can on the table and grabs a box of tissues from Tory, holding them out for me. I make quick work of cleaning up my face while Tory takes care of the trash. Jake scoops me into his arms and gently kicks the machine along with us until we reach the long couch. He gently settles me on my makeshift bed and settles my arm outstretched onto the coffee table that he pushes beside me so it can rest semi-comfortably. They say shit like this is a family disease not just affecting the individual, and as the bad days come more frequently, I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know how I’d do this without them. He pulls my favorite oversized blanket over me before offering me a small smile, “Sleep, Lelonie.”
* * *
I’m feeling marginally better than I did yesterday. I’ve wrapped up my assignment, and I’m home alone. Thoughts of Mac flood my head like they often do. Those thoughts have been keeping my battery operated boyfriends busy for years, but now that we’ve seen each other in person, I’m surprised they haven’t given out on me. It’s mid-day, and I haven’t heard from Mac yet today, so I decide to bite the bullet and be the one to text him first.
