“Tommy!” I shout into the phone.
“Where are you, Grizz?” he asks calmly.
“Cherry Road, heading home,” I say quickly.
It’s quiet for a moment, then, “Look, we have to get Anastacia some things—”
“Tommy, fuck—”
“Whatever is going on, we’ll be fine. I have my gun.”
“You don’t understand!”
“We’ll meet you at the house when we get back. We can talk then.”
“Tommy!”
“We’ll talk soon.”
The call ends, and I whip it across the car. It bounces off the other door, then bounces off the seat and lands on the floor. I press my foot on the gas and pray I’ll get home in one piece—and that my family is alive when I get there.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Anastacia
“If you’d like to take a shower, you can. I’ll watch the baby,” Snapper offers.
I watch him for a moment, not understanding why he’s being so helpful. When I was here last time, he ignored me most of the time and tried to get out of doing anything with me or for me.
“A shower does sound nice, but I have nothing to change into yet.”
“I’ll lend you some clothes.”
Just like he did last time…
I can’t say I know him much better than I did when I was living here before, but I do feel like I know more about him. He’s a little easier to read now.
“Thank you,” I say with a smile.
“I’ll leave them in the bathroom for you.” He goes upstairs again, this time returning a few moments later. “Tommy just left the clubhouse, so they’ll be here in about an hour, if I had to guess. The roads are pretty bad, and the snow is picking up.”
“I’m surprised she’s still sleeping,” I say, chewing on my lip. “If she cries…”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
He nods, but he doesn’t look like he’s sure.
“You can come get me if you need anything.”
“Go take a shower, Anastacia,” he says firmly.
Without an argument, I head upstairs and to the bedroom that was once mine. The lights are on in the room and the bathroom, a pile of clothing sitting on the counter top—sweatpants with a drawstring and a T-shirt.
I turn the shower on, and while I wait for the water to get hot, I look in the mirror.
I look terrible. My eyes are red, cheeks puffy, and my skin is pale. All over one night gone bad? Imagine how I’ll look in a week. I can’t do this to myself. I can’t allow myself to lose everything I’ve gained in the last couple of months. If it was just me, that would be one thing. But I am all that Dorothea has, and I will not leave her to fend for herself.
