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Also, I’ve never been fired before and my stomach twists as I read that part of the email again. I should storm down there and demand some answers.
But it’s not worth it.
I was leaving anyway so Brett just moved up the timeline.
Besides this is one damn fight I don’t need right now.
Sighing, I close out of my email and toss my phone onto the table in front of me. It lands with a thud as I lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. The window in front of me faces the alley and I stare out at the bright blue sky without a cloud in sight.
Well, shit.
Now that I have all the time in the world, what the hell am I going to do with my life?
Chapter Seven
Rooster
Dread weighs heavy in my gut as I roll through the front gate of the compound, my mind churning with the news that I need to go break to Raya and the best way to go about that. Not that I think she’ll be surprised by any of it but I still hate to see that haunted look in her eyes anytime the topic of Derek is brought up. Also, telling someone that the only option you have for them is to run and leave everything they know behind is shit, no matter how you look at it.
But I don’t have a better damn idea.
And that pisses me the fuck off.
Part of me wishes I could go hit the bag for a couple rounds before this conversation to center my thoughts but Raya knew I was going to meet with Mobley and I don’t want to keep her waiting any longer than I have to. I can imagine she’s just been pacing the cottage since I left earlier. She seemed so damn carefree when I saw her this morning and I hate that I’m reason she’s about to lose that again.
Fuck.
Joe raises his hand in greeting from the guard house as I pass him and I nod in his direction but I don’t stop. I don’t have the bandwidth for small talk right now. As I slowly roll down the gravel road in front of me, I glance over my shoulder, checking to make sure the gate is closing behind me and my gaze snags on the box of donuts strapped to my bike. I roll my eyes.
Yeah, real good, Dalton.
Donuts will fix fucking everything.
The trees on either side of the gravel road that snakes its way through the compound provide enough shade to make the ride a little bit more bearable but even after living in Louisiana all these years, I still hate this damn heat. Maybe since I spent the first fifteen years of my life in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, it’s one of those things I’ll never get used to. The guest cottage comes into view up ahead and a steely wave of resolve washes over me.
Let’s get this shit over with.
As I pull my bike into the driveway, the front door to the cottage opens and Joey comes barreling out, ready to take on the whole damn world, a mischievous grin on his little face.
“Hey, Rooster,” he yells, flying down the front steps and racing onto the pavement to meet me, sans shoes… again. Despite knowing the news I’m here to give, I can’t help but let out a chuckle.
“Dude,” I warn, killing the engine so he can hear me. “You’re gonna tear your feet up if you keep running on that hot concrete.”
He shakes his head, stopping front of my bike and crossing his arms over his chest. “Nu-uh.”
“Uh-huh,” I call back just as Raya steps out of the cottage and watches us with a warm smile. It doesn’t reach her eyes though. Those are full of worry. I turn my attention back to Joey for a moment. “I brought you something.”
His eyes light up and he practically leaps with joy. “You did? What is it?”
Reaching behind me, I free the box of donuts from the back of my bike and turn the front of the box towards him before pulling open the lid. His gasp echoes through the trees around us and pulls a smile out of me.
“Donuts!” He shrieks and I look up at the sound of Raya’s laugh. “Mom, can I have some?”
She nods, joining us in the driveway. “You sure can, bud. Why don’t you take the box back into the house and you can pick out your two favorite ones to eat?”
“How about three?” he asks, a glint in his eyes as he glances up at his mother. She arches a brow.
“How about one?”
