Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 65225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“Baby,” Gareth said. “You don’t even work here three-quarters of the time. She does. And you know how hard it is to find workers right now. Financially, it makes more sense to me to keep her and not you, since you’re only part-time.”
Gareth did have a point.
“Fine,” she said. “I won’t bother coming in tomorrow, and you can find someone else to take over my shift today. I’m out.”
“You don’t even have a car,” Gareth tried. “Just stay. Don’t make me do this.”
“It’s already done, Dad. You chose Mirabel, the asshole to everyone, over me. Now, you get to live with your decisions.” Banger acted like she was unaffected by the decision her father had just forced her to make. But I’d observed her enough to know just how upset she was.
With that final comment, Banger gathered up her stuff from under the bar, flashed Mirabel the bird, then grabbed a beer before storming out of the bar.
I caught up to her as she shoved the doors to the bar open wide.
“You okay?” I asked curiously.
She glanced over at me, then away. “No.”
I curled my arm around her, and color me surprised, but she actually allowed it.
She sighed and leaned into my shoulder. “I’m going to have to find a new place to live.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I live over the bar with Mirabel sharing one of the rooms off the bar, too. I won’t stay here anymore and be handy when my dad decides that he needs me.” She paused. “You know of any places that are renting?”
Before I could stop myself, I was answering. “I have a room you could rent.”
She blinked. “What?”
“A room,” I replied. “I have one. You could rent it.” I paused. “I’m hardly ever even there.”
She handed her beer to me. “Open this.”
I did, handing it back to her.
She downed it in five seconds flat, then threw the bottle so hard that it smashed against a car.
I blinked. “Umm.”
“That was Mirabel’s car,” she said as we passed the vehicle.
It had a large dent on the hood, followed by a scrape as well as a now-cracked windshield.
“Deserved then,” I said smoothly.
“Way more than deserved,” she grumbled fiercely. “That’s actually my mom’s car. My mom lets her use it because ‘Mirabel goes to school and works her butt off.’”
I stopped, pivoted, then pulled out the knife from my boot before shoving it straight into Mirabel’s tire.
I followed the pattern on two more tires.
“Why three and not four?” she asked curiously, her eyes alight with humor.
“Four means you can claim it on your insurance. Three means it’s a nuisance for her and she has to pay,” I explained.
Pulling out my phone, I sent a text to our on-call tech guy.
“What about those cameras?” she whispered. “Someone could ask to pull the feed.”
I hit send on my phone and got confirmation five seconds later that the feed in question would be taken care of in a few minutes.
Just as I had that thought, something zinged, followed by a pop.
Then the three cameras in the area started to smoke.
“Well, I guess that answers my question,” she mused.
I reached into my pocket and extricated my wallet. Pulling out a five-dollar bill, I folded it in half, despite the fact that it made me want to cry.
Paper money wasn’t made to be folded.
I handed her the bill as I said, “Make sure you always hold everyone accountable. There’s never going to be a time when anyone is solely on your side. People are a selfish species.” She took the money as I continued, “My number’s written on the back of that bill. Text me anytime, and I can get you in to look at my place. You can let me know if it’s for you.”
She blinked.
Then I walked away, giving her the space that she needed.
CHAPTER 3
Why does it hurt so bad when you find out your family ate something good without you?
-Banger’s secret thoughts
BANGER
It took me half the night to pack my stuff. And the other half to gather the courage to text Easton that I was willing to take him up on his offer, sight unseen.
He gave me the address and that’s where I found myself a few hours later, in my big rig minus the trailer.
I was moving out of the bar and into a house with Easton, all within twenty-four hours of quitting my job.
I wasn’t quite sure what the hell I’d been thinking, but there I was, doing it anyway.
I wasn’t spontaneous.
I wasn’t a disappointment to my dad.
I wasn’t this girl.
Yet, there I was, doing the things that I shouldn’t do anyway.
I pulled up, put the truck back into first, and set the parking brake before staring at the house in awe.
I didn’t quite know what to expect on my way out here, but the farther we got from the city, the more I realized that Easton likely owned property.