“I bet your Scrooge ass loves that.”
“I’m learning. I got a niece and nephew now, so it’s fun watching them get excited about it.”
“Something is different about you.” Sisi squinted. “Give me your number so we can keep in touch while I’m here.” She dug her cell out of her bag and held it up.
Once they exchanged numbers, the two finished eating, and Sisi got a message from her sister, asking her to come Christmas shopping with her. She told Moose she would catch up with him later, and he sat there alone for a minute before deciding to get up and pay his tab at the counter. Stacks and Inari were chopping it up as Dane stood with his phone in his hand.
“Aight, Ma. I’m headed to meet my boys for the movie. You good?”
“I’m fine, Dane. Have a good time.” Inari sipped her Pepsi and watched him go.
When she turned and found Moose approaching, she swiveled back around on her stool to face Stacks.
“While I’m here, Mrs. Vernon wanted me to get your forms for the sponsorship, Stacks. She’s sending her elves shopping for the toys for tots with all the donations, but she wants to make sure she’s got everyone’s numbers right.” Inari cleared her throat when Moose paused at her side.
After the investigation ran cold, and Mrs. Vernon realized she couldn’t run the Vault without Inari, she allowed her back on a probationary period that would be up in the next few weeks.She was just glad to be back at work doing what she loved. At first she wasn’t sure it would even happen.
With Moose nearby, it was suddenly scorching hot although it looked like a blizzard would hit outside at any moment. She didn’t want to look at him. That would be too much. The soft waft of his cologne flowed through her nostrils, and she clamped her thighs together to control her girl. She was purring like a cat in heat.
“I’ll go grab those.” Stacks excused himself, and Inari’s eyes somehow drifted over to Moose as he pulled some cash from his wallet.
“How have you been?” She found the nerve to ask.
With a blank expression, he faced her. Although his face gave no emotion, his smoldering eyes said so much. Suddenly she felt like she was under a microscope. Breath shaky, palms sweaty, she waited for him to say something. His thick brows bunched together, studying her.
“You want to sit here and make small talk?”
“I was just being friendly,” Inari answered, stunned by the coldness in his tone.
“Friendly?” Moose repeated. “We ain’t fucking friends, Inari. You made that clear when you cut me off for no fucking reason.”
“It wasn’t like th?—”
“Then what the fuck was it like?” he hissed, stepping into her space and making her heart speed up in her chest. “Give me one good fucking reason why you did what you did?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” she whispered, eyes misting as she broke his intrusive stare. “I’m sorry if I hurt you?—”
“Miss me with that bullshit!”
“What do you want me to say?” she shot back. “I had to fall back, okay! And you wouldn’t understand that! You couldn’t. I hate that I had to do it, but I didn’t have a choice.” Her teary eyes latched onto his once again.
He believed her. He didn’t know why, or what it was, but he did. As much as he’d been going through it; missing her, trying not to call her or check on her, Inari had been going through the same thing. Moose’s presence couldn’t be duplicated. The more Danilo tried to get that old thing back with her, the more she thought about what could have been with Moose.
It was torture. She was fucking Danilo out of obligation, faking it until she figured a way out of the shit. Every time she had to lay down with him, it felt dirty and wrong. She often tried to block him out, replacing his face and his stroke with Moose. Danilo and Mira had power over her, though, and Inari had no idea how she was going to escape it.
With every brick she helped him flip, she felt herself slipping further away from the life she wanted. All it took was one slip, and she would go to jail for a good portion of her son’s life. Now, Mira was pressing for information onVintage Vaulttoo. Inari was already on the radar there because of the first robbery, so there was no way she could risk her career for them too. She’d been giving Mira push back as long as she could, but she was sure she was going to bring it up again the next time they saw each other.
Inari was stuck with her back against the wall and nobody to talk to about it. Often feeling trapped, she was smoking and drinking like the shit was going out of style, and Moose recognized the agony drowning her. Stepping into her space and leaving none between them, he lowered his mouth to her ear.
“When we leave here, follow me.” The deep rumble of his voice stirred the butterflies in her belly.
Inari took the winding dirt road behind Moose on his motorcycle, arriving at an iron security gate with two brick columns. A large Moosehead sat on top of each one, and she leaned forward in her seat, hugging the steering wheel as he stopped at the gate and used his hand for entry. The gate swung open, and Inari trailed him through before it closed behind them. The modern style, three-story house that came into view took her breath away. It was surrounded by land. Moose let his garage up on the bottom level and drove inside while Inari parked in the empty driveway. She did spot the black Audi beside the bike as she reached for her purse in the passenger seat.
Moose kicked the stand down on his bike and shut the engine off. Removing his helmet, he shook his locs out and set it on one of the handlebars before placing his feet on the ground. Inari took in his well-manicured lawn and the surrounding trees. It was quiet and serene. There was a storage closet in the right corner and tools neatly lined his walls along with an organized shelf full of nuts, bolts, paint, and other items you would see in a garage. She could tell he was meticulous by how everything was arranged. Once she was safely inside, he let the garage door down.
“So, this is home?” she asked.
“It is.” He nodded. “You want a drink? I’ll roll up.” He nodded to a nearby door beside a large storage space.
