“Why don’t you tell me what she was supposed to bring you, and I’ll make sure she gets the message.”
The woman’s eyes narrow. “Jus’ tell her I came by. And that I’m not happy.” She punctuates the last part with an angry glare and turns around.
“Mira was attacked on her way to see you,” I say.
The lady stops and looks over her shoulder.
“Your daughter didn’t show up because she’d been beaten.”
A flicker of something crosses her eyes. Or it could have been light shifting through the trees. “Who did it?”
I shrug as if it’s no concern of mine, but I care. I’d feel bad for any girl who’d been hurt like that. Nothing to do with Mira.
“Yeah, well, she should have come when I asked her to. If she hadn’t been running late, maybe it wouldn’t have happened.”
My jaw tightens. Her mom makes it sound like Mira deserved the beating. It pisses me off that this woman acts like she doesn’t care about her daughter.
“I said she was hurt. Badly.”
The woman squirms and looks away. “Well, she’s alive, ain’t she?”
I shake my head. Fucking unbelievable. “Whatever, lady. I’ll tell her you came by.”
I go to shut the door, but Mira’s mom moves quickly, considering her disheveled look, and shoves her scuffed white sneaker against the jamb, holding it open. “Tell Mira not to wait too long.”
I study her face. “How’d you know where to find her?”
Her eyes dart away. “I waited near that Lewis fellow’s place and followed him.”
And she didn’t see Mira leave here with him?
It would depend how far back Mira’s mom trailed Lewis. Mira left pretty quickly…to get away from me. Maybe Mira’s mom only saw Lewis’s truck pull away from Cali’s cabin and thought to check out the place? Cover all her bases. She’s dirty, likely drunk or high, but not stupid.
“You should call Mira if you need her so urgently. I don’t know when she’s returning.”
Or if she’s returning. Mira might decide to stay somewhere else, now that she knows we’ll be living together.
“Can’t. Don’t have a phone.” The woman turns and walks down the drive toward a beat-up, mammoth sedan. “Jus’ tell her I came by. She’ll know what to do,” she says without looking back.
If Mira hadn’t been on her way to see her mother, those men wouldn’t have cornered her alone. What does Mira’s mom need so desperately she’s willing to put her daughter in danger? And what kind of mother does that?
Fuck. I knew this would happen. It’s why I can’t live with Mira. I don’t want to worry about what goes on in her life.
But if I discover the truth and a solution to Mira’s problem, maybe I can put a stop to this mess. Mira will be safe and can move out, and life will be good.
Well, not good, but my new normal.
Chapter Ten
Mira
I drag my trashed suitcase on its single roller the last few feet to Cali’s closet, then peek out into the living room. Tyler doesn’t look up from his laptop at the dining table. I quietly close the door and press my forehead against the cool wood. I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time alone in this room, avoiding Tyler.
I grabbed a few things from my place and I have my truck, but I don’t feel settled. Those men in the forest scared the hell out of me. I’m not sure where living with Tyler falls on the list, but it’s up there under undesirable situations. I’m safer with Tyler than by myself, but I don’t like it.
I told Lewis I had a plan, but now that I’m sitting on the bed in Cali’s room, attempting to come up with said plan, my hands are shaking. I clasp them together, squeezing out the nervous energy, and grab my phone to search for jobs. The first one I apply for is the one I mentioned to Lewis. I fill out several more applications for positions that seem likely to pay more, assuming someone exaggerates my skill set for me to qualify.
An hour passes and I decide to give myself a break from my self-imposed isolation. I filled out ten online applications with my iPhone (a pain in the ass without a computer), which is a solid start. Plus, I’m hungry.
