"So how did you end up here?"
I recount the morning and how I assume it was Emmie who called me an Uber to help me out.
"Smart kid."
"She's the best. She doesn't deserve any of this, which is why he stepped away from this life years ago. One minute she hates me because of what I did, and then the next she discovers her dad is just as bad."
"She'll be fine. You know better than anyone how resilient kids can be."
"She's already lost her mum and uprooted her life. This is just too much."
Reaching back for our coffees, the two of us drink in silence, but Lisa's concerned eyes never leave mine.
"Do you have your stuff?" she finally asks, glancing at the unit by her front door where her handbag sits.
I shake my head. "I haven’t seen my bag since Cruz..." I blow out a breath. "I can't even get into my flat," I admit, tears once again pooling in my eyes.
"I've got your spare key, so that's not an issue. You can get a new phone and replace everything else. What matters right now is you." She reaches over and takes one of my hands in hers.
"Thank you, Lis."
"Anytime, you know that. So, what now?"
I blow out a pained breath. "Now? I guess I try to rebuild my life once again." I open my mouth to say more but think better of it. On the journey here, leaving the city crossed my mind. Having a totally fresh start where there's no chance of anyone knowing me. I love city life, but London isn't the only one. I'm sure I'd love others just as much. Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow... there are plenty of options that are miles away.
But I can't tell her that right now.
She'll tell me it's too soon to make that kind of life-changing decision, and she's probably right. But knowing he's going to be at school with Emmie, knowing that she could walk through my office door at any time and remind me of everything… I'm not sure I can do it.
"Do those hurt?" she asks suddenly, looking down at my wrists and ankles. "I've got some—"
"No, it's okay."
A noise somewhere else in the flat makes me look up at her bedroom door.
It was kind of obvious by the state of Lisa that a man was here, so it's hardly a surprise to hear someone moving about back there. What I am surprised about, however, is how tense Lisa goes the second she hears it.
"Piper, I need to tell you something," she says sheepishly.
"Okaaay." I narrow my eyes at her, wondering what has her so nervous. There’s only one man I don't want to see walk out of her bedroom right now, and I'm pretty sure he didn't beat me here, or even know where she lives. I'm not even convinced he likes her.
"It's just that... shit." The door opens, and someone I was not expecting to see emerges wearing just his trousers, his toned, golden torso on full display, and his messed-up sex hair all over the place.
"Henry?" I ask, astonished. I know these two flirt on occasion, but I never thought anything would actually happen between them. Henry is not Lisa's type, as she's pointed out to me time and time again.
"Hey," he says, his voice still rough from sleep. "Is everything okay?" His eyes drop to what I'm wearing, lingering on my new ink, and I want the sofa to swallow me up.
"Um..."
"Piper's got some man trouble," Lisa helpfully points out.
Henry's shoulders tense, his lips pressing into a thin line. His need to protect me is sweet, but it's totally misplaced. "What did he do?" he barks.
"It's a long story. One I'm not repeating again. I just..." I sigh. "Could I get that spare key?" I ask Lisa, suddenly feeling exhausted and needing my own things around me.
"Of course. You want to borrow some clothes too?"
"Yeah, actually. That would be great."
"Come on," she says, waving me toward her bedroom. "Henry, you know where the coffee machine is. Make yourself useful."
He watches the two of us disappear with his brows pulled together.
"I'm so sorry," Lisa says, spinning on me. "I wanted to tell you when you first arrived but..."
"It's fine," I say, dropping down on the end of her bed, trying to ignore the fact that her bedroom smells like Henry and sex. "There was never anything serious between us. He's fair game."
"We had a little too much to drink last night, and well... this is where we ended up. He's pretty decent; I can't believe you never told me about—"
"Stop, please, I beg you. I said I was okay with it, not that I wanted to swap notes."
She nods and turns to her wardrobe. "These should fit, they're a little tight on me," she says, handing me a pair of leggings. "Aaand... here." She passes me an oversized jumper.
"Thank you. I'm just going to..." I gesture toward her bathroom.
"Take your time, use whatever. I'll be right out there. Would you like another coffee?"
"No, I think I just need to get home."
"Okay." She smiles at me and slips out of the room.
Gathering up the clothes she left me, I take them to the bathroom to pull on.
Despite the fact that I'm almost covered from head to toe, knowing I'm not wearing any underwear leaves me feeling naked and exposed as I walk back out to join them.
Henry is still here. He's made himself at home on Lisa's sofa.
"Here's the key."
"Thank you so much for this."
"You want me to come over later? We could get takeaway? Get drunk?"
I consider my options for a moment. I could do those things alone just to remind myself that I'm once again single while my heart still belongs to a man who stole it when I was eighteen, or I could spend the time with my friend.
"If you don’t have any other plans, that would be awesome."
"Whatever you need."
"Hey," Henry says, piping up. "You want a lift home? I need to head out anyway."
"Um..." Do I really want to get in a car with him right now? I guess it's better than a stranger in an Uber. "That would be great, if you don't mind."
"Of course not. Let me just get my shirt back." He looks at Lisa, who giggles like a schoolgirl under his stare, and then turns to the bedroom to change.
Ten minutes later, I find myself sitting in Henry's passenger seat, heading across the city to my flat.
"You want to talk about it?" he asks.
"No, not really." I wrap my arms around myself and curl into his seat.
"Want me to go and knock him out?"
I snort a laugh, and he glances over at me as if my reaction hurt him. "I'm sorry, but you've seen him. You really don't stand a chance."
"Hey, I can hold my own."
"I'm sure you can," I say, hoping it sounds reassuring. Against any other normal guy, he could. But we're not talking about a normal guy here. We're talking about Dawson. I think he already wants to flatten Henry for ever touching me; he doesn't need any more excuses.
"You need to stop at a shop or anything?"
"Henry," I breathe, "I get that you're trying to help right now, and I appreciate it, I really do. But can you please just take me home?"
"Sure."
"And when you get home, you really need to shower, because you've got Lisa's lipstick all over your neck."
His cheeks flame red at my words. "Shit, I'm sorry. Is this weird for you?"
Part of me thinks he wants me to say yes, just to know that what we had actually meant something to me. But I never lied to him.
"Of course not. Just do one thing for me."
"Shoot."
"Don't hurt her." I have no idea if last night was actually a one off, if it was an accident or if Henry was trying to get back at me in some way. I want to say that I'm being delusional, but the way he looked at me when he emerged from her bedroom made my stomach twist in knots. I really hope I'm wrong, but I'm cautious nonetheless.
"Of course. It was just a bit of fun."
"That's good."
"You want me to walk you up?" he asks after pulling into a visitor's space outside my building.
"Thank you for the ride, but I'm fine
."
"Okay. I'll catch up with you later, make sure you're okay."
"I don't have my phone."
"Oh... What the hell happened, Piper?"
"Not now." I shake my head. "I'll see you Monday."
Before he can say anything else, I push the door open and end his chance.
Once I'm at the front door, I give him a wave and disappear inside, already knowing that he won't leave until I do so.
As I walk inside my flat, everything feels the same, yet at the same time, everything is different.
When I walked out of here yesterday morning, I thought I was coming back in a few hours to pack a bag and to spend the weekend with my fiancé. How wrong I was.
I turn on the coffee machine and place a mug into it before walking to my bedroom, stripping out of Lisa's clothes as I go.
I walk straight into my bathroom, locking down the thought of him showering right there and the sight of the water running over his body. I turn my back on the glass screen and twist the bath taps before pouring in some bubbles. The scent fills the room immediately, but it does little to make me feel any better. I'm not sure anything could right now.
I retrieve my coffee before sinking into the burning water. But still, I barely feel the sting of pain.
Resting back, I close my eyes and torture myself by replaying the events of last night and this morning through my mind.
I have no idea when it happened, but I must have fallen asleep. I wake with a start, sloshing cold water all over the floor when I sit up too fast.
"Shit," I mutter, pushing myself up and walking straight into the shower. The cold blast helps to wake me up before the warm stream heats my skin.
I reach for my Love Hearts shower gel but think better of it. It might be my scent, but all it's going to do is remind me of him.
In the end, I don't bother. Instead, I just step out and wrap myself up in my fluffy robe, twisting a towel on top of my head.
I tip my now cold coffee down the sink and make myself another before curling up on the sofa and turning the TV on in the hope that I can find something to distract me.
It doesn't work. Nothing works. All I see is him, and it rips me in two.
I barely survived him once. I knew I wouldn't survive him a second time around. What was I thinking?
29
Dawson
"You're a lucky motherfucker, you know," Link says the second I open the door and find him standing on the other side.
"It was a clean shoulder shot. It was hardly going to kill me."
"Tell that to the poor fucker who had to clean your blood out of the back of my truck," he mutters, following me down to the kitchen. "But that's not what I meant."
"Please, enlighten me."
Link—or Justin, as he used to be known as—and I were always tight growing up as kids. He was the last person I ever thought would show an interest in joining the Reapers and patching in, but a couple of years after I walked away from that life, he walked straight into it. I guess crazier things have happened.
"Piper."
"Oh, yeah."
"What's with the sad puppy tone?"
"I kinda fucked up."
"How? You were unconscious. How'd you manage to fuck shit up while out of it?"
I pass him a coffee and sit beside him with my own. My movements are still slow as fuck, but thanks to the pills my mum left, it hurts a little less right now.
"Wait, you aren't surprised to know she's alive?" He shakes his head, guilt covering his features.
"Link," I growl. This wouldn't be the first time the Reapers have come between us. I fucking hate that my father has his loyalty over me.
"It's not like that. Cruz has been trailing you. He got suspicious and he started looking closer."
"How long?"
"A week."
"He was waiting to strike."
"And you didn't think to fucking say anything?"
"I couldn't. Well, not to you. But I did to him. I told him to let it go, that it was no longer our issue. The two of you seemed happy, and it was as it should have always been."
"But he didn't listen."
"Of course he didn't. He fucking hates her, D."
"I know. He blames her for what his life became." Link doesn't need to tell me that, I've heard it from the horse's mouth enough times over the years.
"You should have warned me."
"What difference would it have made? Last night was always going to happen in one way or another."
My teeth grind, hating that he's right.
"I should have spoken to them."
"Maybe. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have stopped them."
"So what now?" I ask, dread sitting heavy in my stomach.
"Your mum's got involved." I drop my head and rub at my temples. Of course she has. She's the only one who can talk any sense into my father, and sometimes even Cruz if he's in the right mood. "Prez has called everything off. You should be good to go."
"Just like that?" I ask curiously. After the effort they went to last night, I'm surprised they'd give up so easily.
"I don't think Prez wants to lose any more men to your trigger-happy hands."
"Jinx?" I ask, knowing that I left him with a bullet lodged in his stomach.
"Critical."
"Fucker deserved it. He was about to..." I trail off. Link doesn't need me to paint him a picture of what went down. He's been around that shit long enough to know what happens.
"I get it, man."
"So, what did you do?"
"You mean Cruz hasn't already told you?" I raise a brow.
"All I know is that she's back from the dead."
I blow out a breath. "You know I enrolled Emmie at Knight's Ridge?"
"Yeah. What the fuck is that about? I'm not sure any of us belong at private school."
"She might not belong, but it's what she deserves." He nods. "Anyway, I kinda need to pay for it. I'm due inheritance from my gran, but in order to get it, I needed to be engaged. Piper just appeared at the right time.”
"You played her?"
"To start with, yeah. But then—"
"You remembered how pussy-whipped she makes you and you fell for her all over again?"
"Something like that. I don't give a fuck about the money, really. I just thought I could give Emmie a better start into adult life. It was almost like fate. I needed a fake fiancée, and there she was, like a fucking angel."
"Jesus, D."
I take a sip of my coffee, not really knowing how to respond to that.
"Do you have a plan yet?"
"A plan?" I ask. "I'll find the money somehow. I'm not pulling her out now that she's started."
"I'm not talking about the fucking money, arsehole. I'm talking about your girl. You still love her, right?"
"Never stopped."
"So you need to fucking fight for her."
"She deserves better."
"Fucking right, but are you going to let that stop you?"
Link only stays long enough to drink his coffee before he pulls his phone out, telling me that he's ordering an Uber.
"Wait, how did you get here?"
"How'd you think, motherfucker?" He pulls open my front door and points down the street a little at where my bike sits by the curb.
"You fucker. How’d you do that without the keys... wait, don't tell me. I don't think I want to know."
"Wise choice, man. But just know, she's as good as new now. Piper's bag and shoes are in the top box. Maybe you should take them to her," he suggests seconds before his car pulls up. "That's me, I'm out. You know where I am," he says, turning his back on me and slipping into the car.
Grabbing my keys from the side, I walk down to my bike and get Piper's things.
He's right. I should take them to her. She's going to need her phone and purse.
I place them on the dresser in the hall before making my way upstairs. Emmie hasn't even come out since she slammed her door this morning, I really need to
talk to her.
"Em," I call, knocking lightly.
"Go away."
"Emmie, come on."
"No, I'm mad at you."
"I'm sorry, Em."
"Are you?"
"What? Of course. I never wanted to hurt you."
"No, you just wanted to hurt Piper. She betrayed you, I get that, Dad. But she was a kid. I'd like to think that mistakes made at eighteen can be overlooked a little once we're adults. Hell knows I'm gonna screw up over the next few years. She loves you, Dad. Like, really loves you. And you totally destroyed her."
"I know," I whisper, pressing my forehead to her door.
"You love her?"
"Yes."
"You really want to marry her, even if you get nothing but her out of it?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then go and make it right."
I blow out a breath, wondering how on Earth I'm meant to make that happen. Something tells me that she's not going to forgive me easily—if ever—for this.
The second I walk back into my room, I fall down onto my bed, my exhaustion too much to ignore. When I wake again, the sun is sinking, and my room is a warm shade of orange.
The low beat of Emmie's music fills the silence around me, and I push myself up to rest against my headboard.
Reaching over for the water and pills that are still sitting on my bedside table, I take two before heading for the shower, hoping they'll kick in quickly.
I wash as carefully as I can before pulling on a clean pair of sweats and attempting to pull a shirt on, but I give up halfway and grab a zip-up hoodie instead.
"Em," I call through the door once more.
"What?" she barks. Good to know she's still mad, then.
"I'm heading out for a bit. You good?"
"That depends on where you're going."
"Link dropped off Piper's bag, I'm going to take it to her."
"Good. Make her listen to you and bring her back."
"I'll do my best."
Shaking my head at my daughter, I walk away, pulling up the Uber app as I go, knowing that there's no way I'll be able to ride my bike.
It's dark by the time I pull up outside Piper's building. My heart thunders in my chest. I don’t know how she's going to take to me turning up like this, but I can't sit at home and do nothing.
Climbing from the car, I look up to her living room window. Her lights are on, but that's the only sign that she might be home.
Play You: A Second Chance/Single Dad Romance (Rebel Ink Book 4) Page 23