Page 20 of My Prince

“I’ve heard that from you before, Adalee,” Don growled. “If I don’t have something on my desk by the end of the day, you can kiss your job goodbye.” His angry face disappeared without so much as a goodbye.

“Goodbye to you, too, Don,” I muttered, closing my laptop. That went about as well as I thought it would.

Don had no reason to believe me when I told him I was interviewing Fade today. I had been telling him that for two weeks. But today was going to be the day. I had managed to get a few hours of good sleep, and I was ready for whatever today had to throw at me.

I was on my third cup of coffee, adequately dressed, and ready to head over to the clubhouse. I was a little anxious about seeing Fade, though. After yesterday, I was seeing him differently. I also had about twenty questions I needed answered.

I gathered my things, grabbed an energy drink from the fridge, and then headed out the door. I stopped suddenly, remembering my beloved Beetle had been a part of the drive-by shooting at the donut shop. All of the windows had been shattered, and one of the tires was flat.

“Need a lift?” Mark called from his porch.

I sighed and made the short walk over to his porch. “That would be great. I forgot I don’t have a car for the time being.”

Mark chuckled, and we walked over to his van. We got in and headed toward the clubhouse.

“Have a visitor last night?” Mark asked.

I glanced at him. “Were you spying on me?”

“Well, it’s hard not to since we live on top of each other, and the roar of a motorcycle is noticeable. Also, he paid me a visit, too.”

I reared back. “Really?”

Mark nodded and turned onto the main road to the clubhouse. “Mr. Fade asked me to keep an eye on you last night. He was pretty vague about why, but I could tell he was serious.”

“Keep an eye on me? What does that mean?” I had made sure both of my doors were locked. That was more than enough to keep me safe, right?

Mark shrugged. “I don’t know, but I barely slept a wink because I was worried you were going to be abducted by aliens or something,” he joked.

I laughed and shook my head. “I think you guys might be overreacting a bit. I was fine last night.”

Mark shrugged. “Whatever you say, sweetheart. I know that man talked to me about you like Yarder talks to me about Poppy.”

That was a confusing sentence, but I managed to follow along. “And just how is that?” I asked.

“Like he really, really, really fucking cares.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

Mark shook his head. “Yeah, I figured you would be blind to it.”

We drove silently the rest of the way while I freaked out in my head. What the heck was Mark talking about? He talked about me like he cared? Really cared times three?

We pulled into the parking lot, and Garett was outside getting footage of the construction crew laying the foundation for the new garage. The sight of the new project brought a sense of normalcy, something to focus on other than the whirlwind of thoughts spinning in my mind.

I got out of the van and took a deep breath, ready to face the day. Mark gave me a reassuring nod before heading inside.

“Morning, Garett,” I called out as I walked over to him.

“Morning, Adalee,” he replied, adjusting his camera. “Ready for the interview?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said with a nervous laugh.

“Good luck,” he said. “Fade’s inside. I have the camera all set up for you. I figured just you in the room would be better than having Mark and me watching. Fade’s been waiting for you. He asked me where you were when I got here half an hour ago.”

I nodded and made my way into the clubhouse.

Fade was looking for me? Wondering where I was?

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