Page 85 of Redemption

“You quit?”

“Got fired.”

His eyes can’t look at her now that the words hang in the air. Instead, he stares at the wood chips beneath their feet and focuses on how he never understood why they couldn’t have sand like every other playground. It hurt a hell of a lot worse when falling on it and had the added risk of splinters.

“What did you just say?”

“They fired me.”

“Why?”

Turning, he levels her with a glare. “Guess.”

“Because of the club?” she nearly shouts. “Are you kidding me?”

“Getting shot also shot my loyalty to hell. No one wants to partner with me because of the danger involved, even though I wasn’t the target. But ultimately, it comes down to the fact I’m with Ash.”

“It’s really fucking entertaining that Julian or Travis would fire you for falling for a woman of the club when both of them want one. Julian wanted Karmen, and Travis wanted my mom. Oh, this makes me so mad.”

He laughs. “Get in line.”

“Did you talk to Lily?”

“Yeah, I talked to her before stalking you. My contract gives them the right to do this, but she did say I could sue.”

Wrinkling her nose, she kicks off the ground and swings higher, her skirt flowing in the wind. “I hate to say it, but I kind of told you so.”

Shocked, he stares at her profile as she moves beside him, but she stares at the jungle gym. “You did?”

“I told you there would come a day when you had to choose between Ashley and your job. Granted, I thought it would be more of a passed-over-for-a-promotion thing. I never thought they’d fire you.”

He thinks back to the conversation they had when she checked on him after Ashley chose her family over their growing relationship. She was the only one who tried to understand what they had, and she told him there would come a point when he’d have to choose between his relationship and his dream job. He just never thought she was right.

“I don’t know what to do, Lex.”

“What did Ashley say?”

“I haven’t told her yet.”

She groans. “You told me before your girlfriend? Dude, seriously?”

“Technically, I told Lily first.”

“That’s different. You realize she’s gonna be pissed, right?”

“I stumbled upon you, and I wanted the advice of my friend. You really think she’ll be mad about that?”

Laughing, she shakes her head. “The lack of understanding you men have just baffles me sometimes. You’re smarter than this, man.”

“So, no advice, then?” he asks, his eye twitching.

“Are you sure you want my advice? I’m not exactly batting a thousand lately. In case you haven’t noticed, my life isn’t what one would call solid.”

“You’re one of the only ones I trust. You see things the rest of us are too blind to see, even when it’s right in front of our faces.”

Stomping on the ground, she stops and stands. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

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