I wait.
She sighs like she’s about to say something she shouldn’t. “Bethany came with the debt.”
“What?”
“Her family bailed the club out years ago. Old president wanted influence and money. Bethany wanted Oaks.” Lottie shakes her head. “Girl always wants what she can’t have.”
“And Oaks?”
“Oaks did what the club needed. He didn’t do it because he loved her.”
I swallow. “Does she know he cheats?”
Lottie laughs once, sharp and bitter. “She knows. She just don’t care as long as he don’t leave.”
Silence stretches between us.
Finally, she points at me. “And that’s why you watch your back.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she says. “Bethany don’t need facts. She just needs a target. And club women don’t miss when they aim.”
That makes my hangover feel worse.
I leave not long after, my head pounding harder with every step, and unlock the pawn shop with shaking fingers. The bell jingles when I step inside, loud as hell in the quiet.
I flip the sign, turn on the lights, and lean on the counter, breathing through the ache behind my eyes.
Bad idea.
The door opens. The bell rings again.
My spine goes stiff before I even look.
Boots. Heavy. Slow. Familiar.
I straighten, heart slamming against my ribs.
Oaks stands in the doorway.
Sunglasses on. Hands easy at his sides like he didn’t walk into my damn thoughts on purpose. He takes one look at my face and tilts his head.
“Morning, sunshine,” he says.
He closes the door behind him without looking back, and my headache suddenly ain’t my biggest problem anymore.
Chapter 3
Brittany
Oaks reaches back and turns the deadbolt with two fingers, slow and deliberate, like he’s done it a thousand times. Like it’s his door to lock. Like I’m already inside something I didn’t agree to enter. Suddenly, I see him in a new light. Not just the sunlight coming through the front window. He looks more dangerous in the daylight. No smoke. No music. Just him.
My head’s still pounding, my mouth dry as cotton, and I’m standing behind the counter pretending to sort through a tray of loose rings I already counted twice.
I don’t ask why he’s here.
I don’t ask why my pulse is suddenly racing.
