“But—”
“Shh.” He shuts me up with a kiss.
Chapter 28
Rip
My phone lights up right on time. It’s three a.m. and Preacher is at the gate. I let him in and slide out of bed. Eden’s exhausted. Between our activities in bed and her inner thoughts, I know she will sleep for several more hours. I put on a pair of shorts and the T-shirt Eden had on earlier.
I let Preacher in and take him downstairs to my homemade gym. He throws a manila envelope on my weight bench, and I pick it up.
The first thing I see is Eden’s credit report. My head whips around to face my friend after noting her low credit score.
“She was living with a guy who screwed her over,” Preacher says. “I tracked down their old landlord, and he said she was giving the guy her half of the rent, but he didn’t pay for four months. He started the eviction process. She took out a high-interest loan to pay the back rent. The guy also totaled her car, according to the landlord, and stole money from her.”
“The landlord knew all of this?” I ask.
“Eden broke down crying and unloaded on him and his wife.”
I review the paperwork, including information about Eden’s ex, Gavin Bolton. He’s about the same brown complexion as Eden, but he’s a nerd in big glasses.
“This fucking clown?” I ask Preacher, who nods. “What the fuck did she see in this dipshit?”
“My daddy used to say there’s a lid for every pot, or some shit like that.” Preacher offers me a shrug.
“Was there any physical abuse?”
“Nah. I asked the landlord myself because I figured you’d want to know. He said they were good kids and good tenants until they stopped paying. He would have worked out a payment plan, but he has two kids in private school.”
That answer just saved Gavin’s life. That’s about all it saved. Now I know why she’s killing herself, working twelve-hour days and taking overtime shifts on top of that. She also had no choice but to come back home and start over.
“Is this where he is?” I ask while I look down at his address.
Preacher nods. “Living in his parents’ house,” he states. “The craziest part is that he’s some rich kid. His parents own a software engineering company.”
“How much did he steal from her? And why did he take her money if he’s rich?”
“About eight thousand. I think that’s what she managed to save. That would have been enough to pay the back rent, but he fucked her over.” Preacher twists his neck. “You know how I feel about thieves. I almost tracked this guy down myself, but—”
“That’s my job,” I ground out.
Raising both hands, he nods in agreement. “I don’t know why he stole from her, but he did.”
“What do I owe you?”
“A favor of my choosing in the future,” is all he says.
I give him a curt nod, and he leaves my house. I put the file in my safe and return upstairs. She is still in the same position and snoring loudly by the time I strip naked and climb back to bed.
Her arms tighten around me, but I’m already going as slow as possible. It took some convincing for her to put on the clothes I got her and to get on the bike. She wanted to ride in the car, but it’s a warm day, and I love the freedom only a motorcycle can give me. She finally agreed, and now she’s holding on to me for dear life and squealing each time we hit a curve.
The plan is to spend the day out of Shadow Cove. People will learn about us soon enough, and although she hasn’t mentioned it, I know she is nervous about the prospect.
We arrive at a little breakfast spot about thirty miles away. I practically lift her off the bike, and her legs wobble. I throw an arm across her shoulders, and we walk inside.
No one bats an eye when they see us. I nod at the host, and he gestures for me to go, so we walk to a booth in the back. Instead of sitting opposite her, I slide in beside her, pull her close, and kiss her temple.
She moves closer and presses herself to me before she slides her little hand underneath my shirt. I take it and move it out of the way.
