Page 21 of The Afterthought

"Yeah, I would have told you that, but you freaked out. If you're interested in the job, stop by later tonight. The address and phone number for the place are on the card."

I eye him carefully before grabbing it from him. "This isn't your phone number?"

"No. If you wanted my phone number, I'm sure you would have asked for it. You seem to have no issue stating your thoughts, opinions, or wants."

That makes me laugh. "At least you're smart enough to figure that out. I'll give you that."

"I'm anything but stupid, Avalynn." His eyes narrow slightly. If I hadn’t been paying attention, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

"Right, and the uniform for a bartender at your club is what?" I seriously hope he doesn't expect me to wear something too exposing.

"Whatever you're comfortable in. If you want to let your tits hang out, have at it, or don't. You don't have a uniform."

I relax a bit and smile at him before walking toward the door. "Thank you for this. I'll stop by tonight." He follows me, and we exit together.

Chapter 11

Greyson

When I told Knox that Ava coming back to town wasn't going to be an issue, that's what I honestly believed at the time. I thought I would be able to convince her to leave again. The fact that she refuses is really getting under my skin. I'm letting her affect me.

My thoughts go back to last night when she was pinned up against the wall. She didn't fight me as much as I know she could have. Ava has never been a weak woman. The fact that she let me make her come must mean that at least a part of her wanted it to happen.

Fuck. Part of me has missed the look she makes when she falls apart. It's been so long that I almost forgot how her gorgeous cheeks redden. The way that her tight little cunt squeezes my fingers. I can almost imagine what it would feel like to be inside her again.

I play with my Zippo lighter, flipping it open and closed over and over again. I've had this lighter for eight years now, and I’ll never get rid of it. The silver has a few scratches, and the waterfall design on the front doesn't exactly fit my persona, but this is one of the few possessions I have that is invaluable.

My phone ringing pulls me from my thoughts. "Yeah, Knox?"

"Come to Adam's Garage. I've got a surprise for you."

"Be there in a few." I end the call and pocket both my phone and the lighter.

I wonder what he has up his sleeves today. It could be anything from a joint to a new person to kill. I never really know when it comes to him. When I pull up to the garage, he's standing outside with a huge smile on his face. What the fuck is going on? I park and walk over to him.

"I have a surprise for you," he tells me before I can get any words out.

"Yeah, you already said that. Why are you standing out here smiling? It's freaking me out."

He rolls his eyes. "It's more like a double surprise. Remember the douchebag from last week that was going around and running his mouth?"

"Yeah, I'd love to burn that smug look right off his face." I reach into my pocket to fiddle with the lighter again.

"What if I told you that you can?" He elbows me in the side and tilts his head to prompt me to follow him.

We go behind the garage and step a few feet into the tree line. The garage is on the outer edge of town, so it's pretty secluded. There are a few acres of woods behind it that I've used a time or two. It was the perfect place to torture a couple of assholes who felt like they had the balls to speak out against the Crimson Rose.

A structure in the woods catches my eye. This definitely wasn't here the last time I was back here. We walk closer, and I notice it's a large dark brown building. It's the size of a small warehouse. It's much bigger than your typical backyard shed, which I was expecting Knox to place back here for me. This has double doors on the front. The color of the metal blends with the browns of the trees surrounding it. If you weren't looking for it, you would never even notice it's here.

If this is here for what I think it is, then I'm beyond excited. Knox has been hinting about getting me a place to carry out my work so we don't have to tie these fuckers to trees anymore.

"Is this what I think it is?" I ask him.

"It sure as fuck is. What do you think?" The smile on his face should be alarming, but I can tell that he is just excited to be able to give me this.

My brother doesn't always understand my desires, but he still supports me. I can't even count the number of things that belonged to him that I destroyed when we were younger. I used to go into the house to grab things just so that I could light a fire in the backyard and stare at it while it burned.

There's just always been something so transfixing about watching the flames dance. The older I got, the better I became at trying to keep my urges in check, but they were always there. Times like right now, when I am extra stressed, have a tendency to make them worse. I won't lie. I've been really struggling to keep my shit in check since Ava came back into town.

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