“That’s not the only thing I’ve been rubbing,” I heard a deep voice rumble faintly in the background of the call followed by Wendy shushing him.
“Do you have me on speaker phone?”
There was a pause, then: “Hi, Mina, how’s the new job treating you?”
“Hi, Reggie,” I sighed. “It was okay. Not a bad first day.”
I didn’t mention the hot and cold reception I’d received from some of the tattoo artists. I didn’t think any of them used the gym, so I’d been surprised to find Cash standing at the front desk when I was done with my shower.
He’d seen my tattoo and had frowned at it. I just hoped he didn’t mention seeing me at the gym to anyone else at the shop. I wanted to keep some semblance of my dignity—even if I was currently sleeping in a broken down car.
“I didn’t get fired at least,” I murmured absentmindedly, my thoughts still on the gargoyle. “Hey, it’s pretty late for you guys there, why don’t you head off to bed and I’ll call you in the morning?”
“Okay, but you’re all right? I don’t need to get on a plane and come save you?” Wendy sounded serious, like she was already one step away from buying a ticket.
“I’m good, really, now go get rubbed by your hot husband and leave the rest of us singletons alone,” I said, forcing a jovial note into my voice.
“You heard her,” Reggie’s purr came over the line. “Thanks, Mina, I owe you one.”
I heard Wendy’s breathy laugh right before the phone cut off, leaving me sitting in silence.
I’d only ever seen Reggie and Wendy together in person once. Usually it was only Wendy coming to our secret visits, so most of what I heard about her husband was through her.
But it was clear that they were madly in love.
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I tilted my head and rested my shin on them. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt that kind of love for Mike. Even in the beginning.
Space and time away from him had given me clarity about the relationship that I had let dominate my life. Mike had bombarded me with so many gifts and so much affection at the beginning of our marriage that I had no choice but to cling to him for fear of being alone.
He filled the void that my vivacious mother had created when she died. I was so entrenched in my own grief that I didn’t realize that he’d systematically tightened the net around me until it was too late and I was trapped.
I shook off my suddenly morose thoughts with a shudder. “Enough of that, Daphne. You’re out of that and safe.”
Pulling my blanket tighter around my shoulders I curled up in the backseat, finally letting myself doze off. I was exhausted after such a long first day and just wanted to sleep so that I could do it all over again tomorrow.
Unfortunately, the drunk party-goers outside had other ideas.
“Dude, is someone sleeping in there?” I heard someone’s muffled voice say outside.
“I saw some chick get in earlier,” someone else slurred.
Someone knocked on Peep’s window. “Hey, girlie, wanna drink a beer with us?”
I didn’t answer, my entire body frozen with fear.
A few more knocks filled the cab of the car, all on different windows.
“Think she’s even still in there?”
“I mean why else would there be towels rolled up in the window?”
Reaching down for my backpack, I grabbed the little can of mace that I’d purchased at a truck stop in Utah. I didn’t want to mace them, but I’d be damned if they thought they could touch me.
Suddenly the car began to rock and it took me a second to realize that it was the drunk idiots who were doing it.
I was about to open my mouth and tell them to stop when the car stilled.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I heard a familiar voice growl outside.
