Page 80 of Slayin Villain
“Thought you two wacky kids were going to elope.Guess not.”
I didn’t thank him.Didn’t nod.Just walked out like a ghost.
Next stop, back to the landlord over by Shadylane Trailer Park.
The old man stood in a cloud of cigarette smoke, watering his tomatoes in a yellowing tee.He scratched his beard and said, “That redheaded bombshell?She left before the lease was up.Broke it clean.Paid the penalty in cash too.Didn’t say much.Just asked if I knew anyone who wanted the place.You know… I figured she was running from you.”
She was.
Hell.
She was running from me.
Back on my Harley, I sat there for a while in the parking lot of that dingy old Shell station nextdoor.Cigarette dangling from my hand, my heart twisting in on itself like a steel trap.I could still see her, barefoot on my sheets, talking about getting my patch and biting her lip when she was nervous.
Gone.
Without a fuckin’ goodbye.
I tried her cell for the millionth time.She had me blocked again.
I hit the throttle hard, didn’t even know where I was going until I ended up back at the clubhouse.Royal Road was loud already, bikes, music, somebody hollering over beer pong.But I stormed past all of it, straight toward the bar where I’d seen Eve talking to Pagan just the night before.
She was behind the counter, towel in hand, wiping down glasses like she didn’t feel the weight of a thousand secrets.
I didn’t mean to bark.Didn’t mean to scare her.
But my voice came out hard.“Where is she?”
Eve looked up, startled.“What?”
“Rachel.You took her to Broadway.Where’d she go after that?”
Her lips parted, concern flickering in her eyes.“I don’t know.She made it home safe.Seemed quiet but okay.Why?”
“She’s gone, Eve.Trailer cleaned out.Quit her job.Vanished.”
Her brows pinched.“Villain, I swear, I don’t know.I didn’t…”
“What did you say to her?”
“Hey!”The voice cut like a blade.
I turned just as Prez stormed toward me, eyes sharp with warning.
“You got a problem, you take it up with me, not my Ol’ Lady.”
“She knows something…”
“Watch your fuckin’ tone.”His words dropped cold.
I took a step back.Not out of fear but out of shame.I hadn’t meant to take it out on Eve.Hell, she’d probably been good to Rachel.Better than I ever was.
Kingpin stepped between us, facing me now, voice lower but no less deadly.“I know you’re hurt.But don’t go bitin’ the hands that helped her.You should’ve been thinking about this shit when you were bouncing between two women like a goddamn ping-pong ball.”
My lips flattened.“I didn’t know she was gonna leave.”
“Bullshit.You just didn’t think she would.”
