Page 22 of Shine: Sins of the Father
I roll my eyes at his exaggeration. “It’s cute. I bet kids love this place.”
“Sure. Sure. Bet on Halloween they have an old witch out front, luring children in with candy.”
I almost spit out my coffee.
The waitress returns and takes our order. While we wait for our food, Shine keeps a steady vigil on the traffic on the highway. Finally, he glances at me.
“When’s your next shift? I hope I’m not making you miss too much work. Work is income for you girls, right?”
The reminder that he thinks I’m a stripper has my smile melting from my face. I busy myself, swirling the spoon in my coffee and creamer. “I, um, need to be back by tomorrow night, if possible.”
He nods and drains his cup. “I’ll try my best to get you there in time.”
“Maybe there’s a bus I could catch?” I have no desire to take a bus home, and I don’t know why I offered it. The last thing I want to do is trade riding on the back of Shine’s bike for that mode of transportation. I think a part of me just wants to seeif he’d actually let me ride a dirty bus home with a bunch of sketchy people.
“Sweetness, I’m taking you home. That’s that. Understand?”
“Okay.” My voice comes out soft because I like his answer. I try to rein myself in. The last thing I need to do is go reading more into his words than there is.
***
It’s past midnight when Shine dresses in black and leaves the hotel on foot. From the balcony, I’ve got a clear view of the unit he’s going to, but he goes around from the front of the hotel, and I never spot him.
An almost full moon hangs in the sky, its reflection sparkling on the water. No one is out this late, but earlier there were quite a few people out enjoying the beachfront, some sitting on blankets in the sand, others walking the shoreline. Now it's quiet and peaceful.
It should be calming, but my heart is beating a mile a minute. There’s a chance someone could call the police when they see Shine creeping around in the shadows.
He wouldn’t tell me exactly what he planned to do, and that has my imagination running wild. I hope to God he doesn’t plan to break in or accost this woman about her sons. Surely not. But with a member of the Evil Dead, there’s no telling. They have a tendency to take care of business, no matter what that requires.
Frankly, I’m surprised Shine told me as much as he did. Usually, I’d expect a club brother to be more closed-mouthed about the type of things Shine has revealed. Perhaps the trust he feels in me is due to what he perceives to be my loyalty to the club. After all, he thinks I work for an MC-owned business, and he thinks they trusted me enough to come “do this favor” for them by being some kind of gift for Shine.
My biggest fear is he’ll find out the truth before we part ways. I’d have a lot of explaining to do. As it is, I’ll probably never see him again. But if he calls his club brothers or they call him, there’s always the possibility being at the cabin will come up. I don’t even want to think of what would happen.
Glancing over at the condos, I see no activity. I also don’t hear any approaching sirens either, so that’s a good sign.
I’ve spent such a short time with Shine, but I’ve already become quite attached to him. There’s an easiness between us I’ve never had before with a man. Maybe he’s that way with me because of who and what he thinks I am. He doesn’t have to worry about any relationship bullshit, because this isn’t one.
It makes me sad to think this will all be over soon, and we’ll go our separate ways. He’s already left such a mark on me, I know I’ll miss the jokes and the kisses and just the smile on his face when he looks at me.
Figures. I finally find a man I’m interested in, and he turns out to be someone so out of reach. Especially now that I’ve basically lied to him about everything since the moment I met him.
Eventually, I can’t bear the waiting and wander inside, strip to my t-shirt and panties and slip under the covers. I try to distract myself from the tension and anxiety of worrying about Shine by playing on my phone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Shine—
Only one lamp burns on the nightstand when I slip into the hotel room. Desiree is asleep on the bed, her phone in her hand.
I take it gently from her and set it on the nightstand. When I do, her screensaver comes on, and I freeze.
It’s her in a skimpy costume, probably a publicity photo from Sonny’s. In it, she’s wearing a fireman’s outfit, but I’d only know it by the hat she wears and the wide suspenders that are all that cover her breasts.
Ho-ly fuck.
She’s hot as fire.
I pull out my phone and snap a picture of it. A little memento of our time together. At this point, I’m not sure we’ll ever exchange phone numbers. She’s with me as a favor to the club. But someday, I may have to look her up, and I know I’ll be able to find her at Sonny’s.
