Her head shot up, and she turned in the chair to face me.
“If there’s anything new I need to head off, tell me now,” I said, making it clear.
“I don’t think there’s anything new with Lulu, and Francene loves living an uneventful life.” Angelica smirked, and my blood ran cold. “You’re here because of Roxy. She’s front and center in the video they posted, and let’s be real, every parent has at least one picture of her.”
I scoffed. “We’ve had this conversation before. She’s going to leave. You’re going to be hurt. I’ll be relieved until the next new person rolls into town.”
“The little kid talked to her, and I think she was enjoying the innocence.” Angelica placed her hand on my forearm. “When it first started, we tried to tell her, but I don’t think she understood. Then with the cameras, and you coming in and getting pickup, she’s realizing that she might not be so invisible. It’s really rattled her.”
“Did she tell you anything I need to know about?” I’d asked her twice, and she’d shut me down both times. If she told Angelica first? I was going to collect on a favor, and I didn’t care if she liked it or not.
“No, she likes to fade into the background, like the three of us can’t see her. It’s such bullshit.” Angelica tapped my arm again. “I don’t think she’s going to hide for much longer. The mom who posted named Roxy. Said her kid couldn’t stop talking about the saloon the rest of the day. There were comments about her schedule. One father even said he’d bring his kids back if Roxy waited on them.”
Socked feet were heading down the hallway, and small smiles settled on both of our mouths.
“How’s that going?” I whispered, waiting for Bri to make an appearance.
“Good, but we’ve had some serious talks about boys and life. I’m not sure I’m ready for any of this.”
“Stop talking about me. I can hear you.” My niece turned the corner. The resemblance to Angelica at that age was uncanny. Same face. Same glare. “I’m on house arrest, so it’s not like I’m having any fun.” She rolled her eyes, opening the refrigerator to get a drink.
“Anyone who is worth your time won’t ask you to break the rules. They’ll protect you from needing to.”
Angelica threw her head back, laughing. “I’ll cut you two pieces of lasagna.” She pushed up from the stool, heading to the oven. She paused, smirking. “Say hello before you push.”
I’d do anything to make sure this didn’t fall on Angelica, even if it meant feeding Roxy to the frenzy.
***
Roxy
I barely made it back to the motel. My feet hurt. My head pounded, and I couldn’t risk sticking around the saloon to eat—not with the way people were watching my every move. I closed my eyes, willing myself to fall asleep, when there was a light scrape at the door.
Instantly awake, I waited. There were more scraping noises, and the end of a credit card appeared through the doorjamb. I shifted further into the bed. Cactus was breaking in. He was probably here to interrogate me about the viral video. If only I had known. Before, I’d walked from the motel to the saloon and most people left me alone. Now, everyone knew where I worked, and the men with nothing better to do would catcall using my name. As long as they didn’t rob me, I could ignore them.
Turning over, I let my back face the door, knowing that it would set Cactus off. It was a favorite pastime of his to tell me how much danger I was in, and I liked to push his buttons, watching the calculated control slip. The door swung on its hinges, and I instantly closed my eyes, pretending to sleep.
The door shut, and I imagined Cactus sitting in the chair that was underneath the desk. I hadn’t shoved it below the door handle when I’d walked in earlier. Listening intently, I tried to place where he was in the room, but he startled me when the bed dipped. He must have been sitting behind me.
“You’re not sleeping.”
I didn’t answer, playing the game.
Feeling him lean over my shoulder, he whispered into my ear, “I’m well aware of what you look like sleeping. This ain’t it. Don’t be a brat.”
“Did I earn a spanking, Daddy?” I mumbled, feigning sleep. Part of me speculated whether he’d come closer if I stopped playing pretend.
His hand landed on my ass without warning. I wasn’t afraid. He was crude, definitely rude, but he’d pushed none of my boundaries. The heat that rushed up my spine told me I wanted him to.
“Wear jeans and grab a sweatshirt.”
“You going to leave me in the desert somewhere they’ll never find me?” I made it sound like a joke, but he could make me disappear if he really wanted to, even without a map.
“I’ll bring you back to this shitty place.”
“It’s home sweet home for now,” I said, throwing the blankets towards his side of the bed as I stood.
He hissed through his teeth, and I smiled like I hadn’t dangled red in front of a bull. I was only wearing a t-shirt and a pair of panties, and while they covered as much as a swimsuit, this was the first time I was showing some skin. Grabbing my jeans, I bent at the hips, dragging them up slow. I could feel the heat of his stare as I reached for my sweatshirt.
