This was not happening. There was no gun. I wouldn’t lock myself in my bedroom.

  “One hundred twenty-two.”

  “Tink? You okay?” Micah asked as his hand touched my face.

  I didn’t open my eyes. The lump was back. Choking me.

  “Dolly, baby, I’m gonna break down the door if you don’t answer me,” Canyon warned.

  Micah’s hand left me, and by the time I could get my eyes open, he moved to unlock the door and was swinging it open with the gun in his hand, pointed at Canyon. I was frozen and unable to even shout out a warning. Canyon’s eyes swung from Micah’s gun to me. He didn’t even flinch at the fact that Micah was prepared to kill him.

  “Go to your room, Tink,” Micah said in a softer tone this time.

  I didn’t move. One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  Canyon held up both his hands. “Not here to fight with you, Abe. I just need to talk to Dolly.”

  Micah took a step toward him. “You were told to stay the fuck away from Dolly. You’re not gonna use her the way you did my sister. It won’t be prison next time.”

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  The threat in his words didn’t even make Canyon flinch. Me, however? I was struggling to take a deep breath. It felt as if someone had me by the throat, tightening slowly.

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  “Baby, listen, it’s not like that. Not anymore. Maybe it was at first, but…then I got to know you. It changed. I swear.” He pleaded as he ignored Micah.

  Not wanting anything to happen to him and very close to a complete mental shutdown, I knew I needed him to leave so Micah would put that gun away.

  “Just go.” The sound of my voice sounded foreign to my ears.

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  The pain reflected in Canyon’s gaze only made the difficulty to breathe worse. I believed him. Why couldn’t Micah? Was it so hard to believe that Canyon could have feelings for me? That he could love me? Maybe it was. My father hadn’t loved me enough to stay. There had to be something wrong with me. I had always feared there was. I wasn’t good enough.

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  “You’re scaring her,” Canyon said, glaring at Micah now. “She’s terrified. Look at her. Jesus, Abe, put the damn gun down.”

  “Leave before I put you down,” Micah replied in a cold, hard voice that was nothing like him.

  Canyon turned his focus back to me, his expression softening. “I’ll prove it to you. I swear I will. This ain’t over.”

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  He’d hurt Pepper. I could never forgive him for that. But there was a part of me that had thought I was in love with him just a few days ago. That part was struggling with all this. That part wanted to be enough for someone to love. I wanted to believe someone would love me enough to stay with me.

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  “I’m gonna walk away, baby,” Canyon said softly. He lowered his hands. Then, with one last look my way, he did as he’d said.

  My entire body felt numb when Micah closed the door harder than necessary.

  “He’s a lying sack of shit,” Micah swore.

  Canyon had hurt Pepper. Even if he was kind to me, even if he had come here to fight for me, it didn’t change the past. I couldn’t forgive him for what he’d done to her. I knew people could change, and maybe he had, but it made no difference to me.

  Micah put his gun back in the holster as he watched me.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, taking a step toward me.

  I took a step back, needing my space. Right now, if someone touched me, I was sure I would fall apart. I was too close to the edge now. The number one hundred twenty-two was still replaying over and over again in my head.

  I held up both my hands and nodded. “I’m fine.”

  “You’re pale, Tink,” he said in a gentle tone. “I’m sorry about the gun.”

  I nodded again and took another step away from him. From the door. From all that had just happened. Going back to the living room to finish the movie seemed impossible now. My emotions were all over the place, and I needed to be alone.

  “I’m going to bed,” I said simply and left him there, watching me walk away.

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  13

  Micah

  Leaning against the wall outside Dolly’s apartment, I was real fucking glad I’d thrown out all my emergency cigarettes. My five months without one would have come to a screeching halt. Lifting the bottle of Jack to my lips, I took a long pull and let the warmth heat up my throat. It did little to ease the anger rolling through me. Canyon Acree had always been a bastard, but tonight, he’d been real damn convincing.

  The gun was my fault though. I’d scared the shit out of her. The urge to go after her when she walked away had been hard to fight. I didn’t trust what I’d do if I got my hands on her again. The terror in her eyes should have never been put there. Canyon should have stayed the fuck away. Pepper was right. There was a chance that bastard had developed some feelings for Dolly. Not that it mattered.

  I was here to protect her and get back what had been taken from me. This shit show hadn’t been anticipated though. If Canyon was going to be persistent with Dolly, things could get worse. I hadn’t expected his play tonight. Pulling out my fucking gun in front of her was something I didn’t think I could do again. The look on her angelic face was seared into my brain. It had fucking hurt my chest. What was up with that bullshit?

  The footsteps on the stairs were heavy, and I straightened, waiting for Brick, who I had called to come take my place. I needed to go prepare for Canyon’s next moves and make sure Dolly was safe from coming in contact with him again. Not to mention, I needed to get some distance from her. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to go back in there and wrap her up in my arms, assure her that she was safe, and fuck the hell out of her. Things that would not happen. Which was why I had to leave.

  When Brick made it to the top step, his eyes locked on me. “She kick you out?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No. I needed to cool off. She’s gone to bed.”

  Brick glanced around the place. “Not the best part of town.”

  “I know,” I grunted, not wanting to think about that. I couldn’t save Dolly from everything, and I didn’t want the job. But, dammit, someone needed to. “Not sure if he’s stupid enough to come back here, but the way he was begging her to believe his lies, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

  Brick nodded. “I’ll handle him if he does.”

  Running my hand through my hair, I looked back at her door. “She’s naive,” I told him. “Sweet as sugar, but she’s…slow,” I explained. I hated saying it.

  When she had been younger, it had been obvious she wasn’t that sharp. But now, sometimes, when she looked me in the eye, I saw something there that I hadn’t years ago. She didn’t seem that slow anymore, and maybe I was off about that. Regardless, she was too gullible.

  “Slow?” he asked as his brows drew together.

  I nodded. “Yeah. She thinks he loves her. She clearly hasn’t had much experience in the matters of men.”

  Brick looked as if he found that hard to believe. “That doesn’t make her slow. It makes her female, and we both know females are a helluva lot sharper than we are. They sit on a pot of gold, and they know it.”

  I smirked and shook my head. “Not all women.”

  He tilted his head and grinned. “You sure about that?”

  I wasn’t going to stand here and argue about the intelligence of men and women. “I need to go. Stay outside the apartment so you don’t scare her and don’t kill anyone. Call me if Acree shows back up.”

  “I got this. You can go on,” he assured me.

  I handed him the bottle of whiskey. “Here. Just don’t get shit-faced.”

  He took the bottle. “Not enough in here to do the job.”

  I glanced over at the kid’s apartment door. I’d promised him a Nintendo Switch if he left us alone tonight. It had worked brilliantly, but my night had gone to shit. I’d been looking forward to a movie with Dolly. I wasn’t digging into that too deeply. I also wasn’t going to think about the fact I’d kissed her hand. If Canyon hadn’t shown up, I wasn’t sure what else I’d have kissed.

  It was the fact that I couldn’t fuck her. The off-limits thing was just making her more tempting. That had to be all this was.

  I’d keep my distance. Just call and check in on her. Ringer and Brick could take turns coming over and staying outside her door. I didn’t need to be inside that apartment with her anyway. No fucking good would come from that.

  14

  Micah

  Sitting on my bike, I listened to the phone ring as I held it pressed to my ear.

  “Hello?” Dolly replied in a clipped tone, making me smile.

  “Good morning to you too, Tink. You sound chipper.”

  I could almost see her frowning.

  “What can I do for you, Micah?”

  Suck my cock, but I wasn’t about to suggest that. She’d tell Pepper, and then I’d have my sister to deal with.

  “Just checking on you. Seeing if you’re feeling better this morning.”

  “What, after you pulled a gun on a man at my door last night? Yes. I am peachy keen. Thanks for asking.”

  Damn, I liked it when she was a smart-ass.

  “About that, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. I scared you, and I feel real bad about it.” That shit wasn’t a lie. It had kept me up last night, but I wasn’t about to admit that.

  She sighed. “Okay.”

  “That’s all I’m getting?”

  “What would you have me say?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I forgive you might be nice.”

  She let out a small laugh. “I forgive you. Better?”

  Grinning, I crossed one arm over my chest and settled in. I wasn’t in a real rush to get off the phone, I decided. I was enjoying this. “Maybe. What about you offer to let me come sleep in your bed and keep you nice and warm tonight? That might make it all better.”

  “I’mma say, hard pass, Micah Abe.”

  “Ouch. Come on, Tink. You won’t even give my cuddling offer a chance?”

  Another laugh. “No, I won’t. I wasn’t born yesterday. Now, I need to get to work. If that is all you called for, I gotta go.”

  I didn’t want to let her go, but I had no other excuse to keep her on the phone. “Have a good day, Tink.”

  “You too, Micah.”

  Two days later, I walked into church, pissed off about so many things that I wasn’t sure where to start. Liam sat at the head of the table, and Jars, Brick, Butch, and Grinder sat on the right side while Country and Tex sat on the left. I was the last one here.

  “Glad you could join us,” Tex drawled sarcastically, leaning back in his chair with a cigarette clenched between his teeth.

  “Fuck off,” I snapped before pulling out my chair to Liam’s direct left and sat down.

  “Someone has his panties in a wad,” Grinder replied with a smirk.

  “Dylan giving you hell over Dolly?” Country asked me, grinning.

  “I don’t give a fuck what Dylan says or does,” I snarled, annoyed with the entire conversation.

  “And I don’t give a fuck about Micah’s lineup of females,” Liam said. “What I do give a fuck about is Canyon Acree and the one hundred grand he owes us.”

  “It’s been four days. I gave him ten,” I told him.

  “Why exactly did you decide on ten?” Liam scowled.

  “Told you, Pres, Acree had Pepper’s best friend with him,” Brick said. “Micah was a little thrown off by it.”

  Which Liam would know if he spent less time in Ocala with his grandkid and more time here. I didn’t say that though. Wasn’t my place.

  “That’s the girl we have Ringer guarding?”

  “And me,” Brick added. “But, yeah, Ringer is there right now.”

  “Why ain’t Micah over there, babysitting, seeing as it’s Pep’s best friend?” Jars asked, leaning his beefy arms on the table.

  “ ’Cause she’s pretty as a peach and Micah wants to fuck her,” Tex said, grinning.

  “I don’t want to fuck her,” I corrected him, although that wasn’t completely true.

  I’d about decided I might be wrong about her being slow. She wasn’t like I remembered when she had been younger. She had a quick wit I hadn’t expected. She didn’t stare at me silently anymore either.

  “I say we shorten the ten days. Might as well make it seven for shits and giggles. I want to hurt the son of a bitch,” Grinder suggested.

  “You seen the fucking news? Another hurricane formed, and we’re in the cone. Be a few days yet though before it lands,” Brick told him. “Probably don’t want to start any wars when we might need to be boarding up and prepping for a full house here soon.”

  “When are we not in the cone?” Tex asked. “Tis the fucking season. No need to get worked up over it. Let’s go find the bastard and end this bullshit. If Dolly wants to mess around with him when we’re done, that’s on her.”

  “This hurricane is promising to be a big one,” Brick said.

  “We will wait and see what the hurricane is gonna do, and then we hunt him down and get our money, or we send in the family. He’s been warned,” Liam said. “Now, what’s the update on Toxic Throttle’s refurb? And has the case been settled with that bitch who was claiming sexual assault when she was caught taking from the register?”

  I watched Tex take in another long pull from the cigarette and fought the urge to reach over and snatch it from his hand and inhale. I was ready for church to be over. I had my own list of shit to handle. Starting with one of the dancers claiming she had gotten knocked up by a prospect and demanding the club pay for her abortion.

  I knew the first thing I was going to do when I walked out of here was call Dolly. I was finding myself needing to hear her voice, and I wanted to believe it was just because she was important to Pepper and nothing more. If I was honest with myself, I liked the sound of her voice, and listening to her talk soothed me. I was keeping my distance, but I found myself calling her more often than I should.

  Last night, I’d talked to her on the phone for far longer than necessary. Just listening to her go on about her job, Mrs. Mildred, and her attempt to get Harold to sleep on her sofa had distracted me from everything else.

  She made me laugh. That was all this could be about. I just had to make sure I stayed away.

  15

  Dolly

  After climbing out of Ringer’s truck, I waved goodbye and thanked him before heading toward the apartment building. The past four days, Brick had been outside my apartment when I went to bed and woke up. Ringer arrived to take me to work, then brought me back. There had been no more calls or texts from Canyon, but Micah, on the other hand, was calling me at least once, sometimes twice a day.

  After the gun incident, when I had freaked out on him, he’d stayed away, but he checked on me. Asked me about my day and listened when I started rambling on about what all had happened. He even laughed and seemed to be enjoying my need to give him more information than he required.

  “I’d better stay here.” I heard Brick’s voice talking to someone at the top of the stairs. “No, I can’t do that. Not without Micah’s approval. You’ll need to call in Tex to help out,” he said.

  There was no other voice, and I realized he was talking on the phone. I wasn’t sure if I should interrupt him or not. I had planned to tell him I was going to see Mrs. Mildred. She hadn’t been home the last time I had stopped by to help with her bills, and they were due now. I knew that much.

  “Micah claims she’s slow. He’s not messing with her. Shut that shit down. The boy hasn’t even been over here in days,” he said in a low voice that I could still hear clear as a bell, seeing as the building was quiet.

  I gripped the handrail hard and stood there, letting his words sink in. Slow? What did he mean, Micah said I was slow? I felt bile rise in my throat as my stomach turned.

  “She’s a sweet girl. Too damn sweet for him. Don’t know if she’s slow or not, but if Micah wants to think so, it’ll keep him from fucking her.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then backed away to stand where I couldn’t be seen if he looked down here. Placing a hand on my stomach, I tried to talk myself out of being hurt.

  It didn’t matter what Micah Abe thought about me. I shouldn’t care at all. It had been years since anyone had accused me of having some mental deficiencies. I’d proven them all wrong.

  When I didn’t hear Brick talking anymore, I waited a few more minutes before walking back to the bottom of the stairs.

  If I never laid eyes on Micah Abe again, I would be just fine. The nerve of him to call me slow. What did even know about me? Nothing. He didn’t know me enough to have any opinion on my intelligence. He was the slow one.

  I called out from the bottom of the stairs, “I’ll be up in an hour or so, Brick. I need to help Mrs. Mildred with her bills.”

  Brick’s large body appeared at the top of the stairs. He had a burger in one hand and was chewing. “I’ll be right here if you need me,” he replied.

  I nodded, then headed to the door to the right of the stairs and knocked on Mrs. Mildred’s door. The welcome mat needed sweeping off, or maybe I should just replace it. I made a mental note to look at getting her a new one. This one was worn and frayed.