Page 78 of 12 Months of Mayhem

Tank

It was nearing one in the morning, and I knew before I even parked that Maddie would be alone again. Part of me hated that for her—working nights without backup. But another part of me, the selfish part, was glad Diamond was still sick. It meant I got another night of Maddie all to myself.

The station looked the same as it always did—quiet, glowing under the fluorescent lights, like a beacon in the dark. I parked next to her car again, same as last night, cut the engine, and swung my leg over the seat.

When I stepped through the door, the bell jingled, and there she was.

Maddie.

Braced behind the counter, like she’d been waiting for me.

She gave me a small smile. “Diamond’s still out. Starting to worry about her.”

I nodded slowly and stepped toward the counter. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. She’s never sick this long. And she sounded terrible on the phone.”

“That sucks,” I said. Then I smirked a little. “But I’m not gonna lie—I’m not mad about it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“Gives me more time with you.”

Her lips twitched like she was trying not to smile, but it happened anyway. “You here to hang out again?”

I leaned on the counter. “Unless you’re kicking me out.”

“Not a lot left to do. We knocked most of it out last night.”

“Then I guess I’m just here for the company.”

The next couple hours passed in that quiet rhythm I was getting used to. Customers came and went. Some just sleepy-eyed locals. Others? The drunk variety. The weird ones. One guy came in and spent ten minutes talking to the hotdog roller before buying a single Slim Jim and a Red Bull. Another guy kept asking Maddie if she believed in aliens.

But then there was that guy—the one who stumbled in smelling like beer and bad decisions.

He slurred through his sentences and tried way too hard to charm Maddie. Leaned on the counter, called her “sweetheart,” and “darlin’” like we were in some backwoods country song. I sat back on the stool behind the counter and just watched.

I didn’t say a word.

Maddie handled him like a pro.

Until he finally noticed me.

His eyes widened like he was seeing me for the first time—which was impressive considering my size doesn’t exactly blend into the background.

“Whoa,” he said and blinked at me. “You her brother or something?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Not her brother.”

He squinted, confused. “Then who are you?”

I smirked. “Let’s just say she belongs to me.”

He held up his hands and stumbled a step back. “Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to disrespect. You’ve got a spectacular taste in women.”

Maddie raised an eyebrow as the guy turned tail and practically jogged out the door.

Silence settled over us for a second. Then we both laughed.

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