Married To My Bully's Father

s part of a skin she couldn't wait to shed. Her shift had ended an hour ago, but she hadn't moved. She couldn't brin

,68

r back felt like part of her bones and the ache behin

every online ad that promised "fast cash," every number she could call. She'd even drafted a

ised bette

did that

heek to her knees and listened to the city wake up. A truck honked. Somewhere, a baby cried. Fo

r opening. The rustl

. They came early sometimes, sipping overpriced lattes and acting like their calendars made them gods. Sh

ps stopped in

he didn'

is

d of voice that had been trained to command a room. Or maybe one

lowly rais

h a tailored coat that probably cost more than her father's last hospital visit. Dark hair, slicked back neatly, not a stran

was a problem he hadn't

y straightening up

k here?"

dded.

e coffee. Two

She hadn't re

"Black, no sugar. I sat in

old in the way he watched her, something too stil

in, unsure wha

ment longer. "You're

but her face didn't

lept. Your apron's ripped at the seam. Your shoes

ed in her lap. "That's

mething into the inside poc

her side of his jacket and

r not like an offer,

nsive, matte black with only a single line of embossed gold

cold in the

dn't t

is?" she as

" he sai

wh

her. "To

alley, and Scarlett's arms tighten

purp

ven know w

t need to

rate. Like he was building something she couldn't see the shape of

d, her voice barel

was a flicker of something like amuseme

said. "And I only ever make offers to

heat crawling up her neck. She didn

w what I'd do for t

ple will do once they stop p

he card again. Still

n didn

her, like a move in a game she hadn't realized she w

offer i

thout mentioning his n

f expensive shoes tappi

ard gleamed slightly in the gray morning

r gut

icked