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I nod and watch as he climbs out of the van, subtly scanning the lot before he walks toward the door and slips inside. He sits in the corner opposite of Fuzz and Mia bounces over to him, a wide smile on her face.
“Just be smart, okay?” Nix says and I nod, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.
“I will. I promise.”
Lincoln sinks back into the seat and sighs. “I fucking hate this.”
“Just think, after today, you and I can have a normal relationship.”
He scoffs. “Does normal include you tasing me?”
“I don’t know. I guess it depends on how much you piss me off.”
He laughs, slipping his hand into my hair as he pulls me onto his lips. When he pulls back, he brushes his thumb over my bottom lip and smiles. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I kiss him again before pointing a finger at Nix. “You both stay in this van, you hear? I can’t be worried about you and watching out for Dominic at the same time.”
They both roll their eyes.
“Yeah, we hear you.”
I nod and give Lincoln one last kiss before opening the door and stepping out into the Louisiana sunshine. My stomach rolls as I scan the parking lot and approach the front door, wondering if he’s here already. How stupid am I for not even looking at a picture of him? Truthfully, though, I didn’t want to know what he looked like. I didn’t want to put a face to the monster.
“Tate!” Mia squeals as soon as I walk in the door and I grin, bracing myself as she rushes toward me and hugs me.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing here? I thought you were on house arrest or something,” she says and I laugh. When the guys insisted that I have constant protection, I had to ask Roger to divvy up my shifts between the other waitresses and I told him I wasn’t sure if I was coming back.
“Not really. I’m actually meeting someone so I’m just going to hang out at a booth, okay?”
She nods. “Of course. Take whichever one you want.”
As she turns back toward the counter, my gaze flicks to one corner where Fuzz is sitting in a booth with his back to the wall. I choose a table in the middle, just like Rodriguez suggested and let out a breath as I sink into my chair.
“Coffee?” Mia asks, holding out a mug and I nod. She sets it in front of me and fills it up before propping her hip against the table. “So, what’s going on with you? I haven’t talked to you in forever.”
“Oh, I know. It’s been really crazy and I’d love to tell you all about it but I don’t have much time right now.”
She nods, glancing toward the door. “Sure. You want anything to eat?”
“No, I’m good with the coffee.”
She nods and turns back to the counter again and I try not to focus on the awkward vibe hanging between us as I take a sip of coffee and almost choke on it.
“Creamer,” I whisper to myself, grabbing a few from the bowl Mia set down and pouring them into my mug. My hands shake violently as I try to focus on drinking my coffee and I wonder how long it will take for Dominic to show up. He’s probably the type of man that likes to make people wait while he makes an entrance and I roll my eyes, irritated already.
The minutes tick by painfully slow and when I finish off my coffee, I motion to Rodriguez that I’m going to go to the bathroom. He nods and I push back my chair, feeling a little off kilter as I turn toward the bathrooms but I force myself to press on. I just need to stop, take a breath, and splash some water on my face so I can get this meeting over with.
Stumbling into the bathroom, I stop in front of one of the mirrors and brace my hands on the sink as I suck in a breath. My world spins and I shake my head, my heart rate spiking in fear. Something is wrong. I glance back up at the mirror and gasp at the familiar face smiling back at me.
“What are you…” I whisper, my voice trailing off as I become weightless and darkness descends over me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tatum
“Taaaatuuuuum,” the same voice from my nightmares whispers in my ear and warm breath trickles over my skin as a violent shiver racks my body and I let out a whimper. This isn’t real, I think to myself again and again as I slowly fade into consciousness. My head hurts along with the rest of my body and I fight through the haze to recall my last memory but come up empty. Where am I? “Are you awake, my sweet little Tatum?”
