I read it twice before it was gone.Just like the one this morning.How was it doing that?I’d never known a text to be unsent after it had been read.Was that some new update?
I looked around the kitchen at the reminder of cameras that Kash was sure were in the house.Was I being watched now?Were they sending these to me and watching my reaction?Fear began to entwine with anger.It felt as if I was being toyed with for others’ amusement.I didn’t like that.Had I not suffered enough for these people?
I’d go out there tonight if that was what they wanted.I had done nothing wrong, and I was tired of constantly looking over my shoulder.I just wanted to be left alone to live my life.Find a place in this world where I fit.I wasn’t here for Kash Savelle.And I’d tell whoever it was wanting me to meet them outside just that.Even if it was Kash himself.
Today was one of Glenda’s busier days.I was thankful for that.There was little time to think about the texts this morning.Hurrying to check her post office box and pick up the list of items she needed from the grocery while she was in her yoga class, I pulled the coat I had found two days ago at a thrift store tighter around me and zipped it up.The breeze was biting today, and with the sudden drastic drop in temperature, I was glad I’d found one.
Glenda wanted to go do some Christmas shopping after her yoga class, and that left me with an hour and a half to accomplish my tasks.Just before I reached the door to the post office, I caught a glimpse of platinum-blonde hair.Glancing over that way, I froze at the sight of Saylor Rice, a man I didn’t know with his arm around her waist, Gathe Bowen, and Kash.They were walking out of the popular breakfast spot in town.It had changed names in the past four years, but it looked the same.Saylor threw her head back and let out a musical laugh I remembered from high school.It was odd, seeing some other man touching her.Back then, she’d always been Crosby’s.
Gathe was saying something that had them all smiling, and for a moment, I was back there.With them, at Kash’s side.His arm around my shoulders.The scent of his leather and spice making me feel warm, safe, wanted.
His eyes locked on mine, as if he could read my thoughts from across the street, and his smile faded.I blinked, realizing the others might notice me too.They might all be beautiful, but they were the monsters.All of them a part of the family that everyone feared.
Turning, I shoved open the post office door and hurried inside.Out of the cold, away from their sight, I placed a hand on my heart as it raced in my chest.Whether it was from seeing Kash or the reaction to other Southern Mafia members, I wasn’t sure.Both were threats, and until I could afford to leave this place, I had to be careful around them.
Glenda had one of the larger boxes, and it was at eye level for her convenience.I took out the key and unlocked it.Taking the tote bag I brought with me, I placed several envelopes, a few catalogs, and one box into the tote, then closed and locked it back up.No one else was around, so I stood there and waited.Giving Kash and the others time to leave.My heartbeat returned to normal as I stared at the clock on the wall, at the second hand ticking slowly.Once it had passed five minutes, I headed for the exit.They’d have made it to a vehicle by now and driven away.
I did a quick glance through the glass door, making sure they were out of sight before pushing it open and stepping back outside.The streets weren’t empty; there were small shops, restaurants, and a bank with people rushing around.But there was no Southern Mafia around.
I headed back to Glenda’s car, trying not to think about Kash Savelle.
“Cressida Beck.”
I’d just started to open the car door when a female voice I’d not heard in years said my name.I recognized it, and dread sank over me.Ignoring the Mafia princess wasn’t a good idea, so I turned around to face Saylor, expecting her to be with the others.
Except she was alone.Standing there, dressed like a runway model and looking like one in her long, shaggy fake fur coat and hot-pink boots, she smiled.
“It is you,” she said.“I’ll be damned.”
It was likely she hadn’t known about my return.Kash had told me once she wasn’t let in on the inner workings.That her dad liked to keep her protected from the dark stuff.
“Hello, Saylor,” I replied, unsure of what to say.
Her dimples appeared, making her all the more stunning.As if she needed any extra help in that department.“He knows you’re in town, doesn’t he?”she said.“His weird, distracted behavior all makes sense now.”
He being Kash.
“I’m not here for him,” I said quickly.“I am keeping my distance.Just working, saving money, so I can move on to somewhere else.I thought he was in Alabama when I came back here,” I stammered out, hoping she would relay this to whoever needed to hear it.
Her eyebrows shot up.“I see.You’re aware I don’t care.If you’ve been spoken to by one of”—she smirked—“them, they don’t tell me shit.”She waved a hand.“Besides, he’s only here for the holidays.Although it’s obvious that he’s seen you.I knew something was wrong with him.”
I wanted to believe that, but with the family, I knew better than to trust anyone.
“Yes, he saw me on Tuesday.I was picking up laundry for my employer.”Stick with the truth they know.
She scrunched her nose.“And earlier, when you were walking into the post office, he saw you then too.”
I hesitated, then nodded.
She laughed softly as her eyes scanned the street, as if looking for someone.“That’s why he left in a hurry,” she murmured.
The man who’d had his arm around her earlier stepped out of the bookstore behind us and started in her direction.I glanced at him, then back at her.Just because I’d never met him did not mean he wasn’t one of them.I doubted she’d be allowed to date outside the family.
“It was good to see you, but I need to go.I’ve got to get back to work,” I told her.
The man slid his hand over her hip, and she tilted her head back to smile up at him.“Jude, this is Cressida Beck, an old friend of mineandKash’s,” she said to him.“Cressida, this is Jude Rayne, my fiancé.”
Great, she was introducing me.The fact that Rayne was not a last name I recognized was odd.Was he not in the Mafia?It didn’t matter.Not my business.I needed to leave.
