“If you turned him down,” adds Cree.
“He wasn’t happy. Said I could make so much more on his side of the tracks. He took it well though. Actually, he asked me if I knew where his wife was staying. Did you know his wife was on this side of the tracks?”
I turn and leave with Cree following. It’s clear we won’t get anything useful from him.
Once outside, Cree turns to me. “It’s him, isn’t it? He knows you’ve been sniffing around Anna.”
“He don’t know shit,” I bite out. “How the hell would he? I’ve hardly seen her. It’s not like we went out on a date.”
Cree shakes his head. “I don’t know, man, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should send her back to her side?”
“Are you fucking crazy? He’ll kill her. You want that on your conscience? She’s nice and so is her kid. She’s on this side, which means she’s under our protection. Put a brother on her, but I don’t want her to know, so make sure he’s discrete.”
“You want to take this deeper by protecting her? It’ll end badly, Pres.” I glare at him until he holds up his hands. “Fine, I’ll get on it.”
Chapter Seven
Anna
Monday morning comes around fast. I feel like my weekend flew by, but I’m also excited to go back to the garage. I spent my first day on Friday learning the system, so today I feel like it’s my real first day of work.
I drop Malia at school and thankfully don’t see Riggs. Although our kiss is playing on a loop in my head, my decision to stay away from him is the right one. He’ll consume me and his life is just as complicated as my own. He said so himself.
When I arrive at work, Gears is under a car. I shout my hello and head straight for the office. My plan today is to sit and input all the invoices into the computer system. There’s a good six months’ worth, but I’m ready for the challenge.
I get so lost in work that when Eva arrives with a sandwich so we can have lunch together, I’m shocked at the time. “Guess what,” she says, leaning closer. “So, you remember Jamie from Friday night?”
“The guy who tried to lick my face off?” I shudder.
“His nephew was killed over the weekend. Shot in cold blood!”
I stop chewing my sandwich and stare at her wide-eyed. “No fucking way. He didn’t stop talking about his nieces and nephews. He must be devastated!”
“Chris told me today. It’s so sad, isn’t it? He was only a kid. Makes you want to stay home when things like this happen in your hometown.”
I nod in agreement. “I feel awful for him. Ask Chris to pass on my condolences.”
Once Eva leaves, I make the guys a coffee. I take the tray down to the garage floor and almost stumble when I come face to face with Riggs and Cree.
Riggs’ eyes fix on me and his expression fills with annoyance. “What the fuck she doing here?” I feel my face flush crimson with embarrassment. I know men don’t always take rejection well, but he looks positively pissed.
“Pres, this is Anna,” says Gears. “She’s working in the office.”
“I know who the fuck she is,” snaps Riggs. He moves towards me and lifts my chin to inspect my neck bruises again. It feels like an alpha male thing to do— he doesn’t even ask or make it less than obvious. They look worse today because I’m not covered in makeup and they’ve gone yellow now that they’re a few days old. “You didn’t tell me you had a new job,” he mutters.
“I didn’t know I needed to,” I say, pulling my chin free from his gentle hold. I move around him and go back into the office.
Riggs follows me. “You didn’t think it was important to tell me that you were working in my garage?”
“I didn’t know it was your garage. I thought Gears was the boss.”
“Everyone treating you good here? Being respectful?” he asks, and I nod. “Good. Have you told Reggie you’re working here?”
“Why would I tell him? What’s with all the questions?” I shuffle some paperwork. I’m irritated by his presence since he looked so pissed to see me again.
“Don’t tell him. He won’t like it. Things are getting messy on the streets. When you’re out alone, you need to be on high alert.”
“You’re starting to sound just like him,” I mutter. “Whatever happens out there on the streets involving all of your little gangs has nothing to do with me. I’m only Reggie’s wife on paper. I’m a normal person, a single mom just trying to move on and earn an honest living.”
“A kid was shot last night. It happened just a few streets away from where you live. I don’t know why it happened or if it’s gang-related, but either way, you’re a target whether you like it or not.”
“Jamie’s nephew?” I ask. “The guy I went on a date with, it was his nephew.”
Riggs looks troubled. “How’d ya know that?”
“Eva told me just now at lunch. Her date told her and he’s friends with Jamie.”
Riggs mutters something about having to go and rushes out the office, slamming the door behind him. I stand at the window overlooking the garage and see Riggs talking quietly in Cree’s ear, and then they both look up at me. I step away from the window. I don’t like the look of worry on Riggs’ face, and if it’s anything to do with Reggie, then I don’t want to know.
When I collect Malia from school, she’s excited and bouncy. “Mommy, can I go to Ziggy’s house? Pleeeese,” she begs. We’re already almost home, so I shake my head, thankful that she waited until now to ask me and not in front of Ziggy’s grandma.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Are you playing with other
