Page 6 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

It would set them back, but at least Brit could still leave when she graduated.

Layla stood and locked her door before easing her bed away from the wall. She pushed one of the square panels on the wall until it shifted enough for her to squeeze her fingers through and pull it open.

And then nothing.

There was nothing in the hole.

Her jar... Her emergency fund was gone.

Her anger overtook her pain as she stood and unlocked the door. She wrenched the door open with force and marched to the living room to stand in front of her father.

“Where is it?” she growled.

“You’re blocking the TV, Layla,” her father said with disinterest as he sipped a fresh beer. As if they hadn’t just had some wannabe gangsters threaten their lives.

“Where is my money?” she asked, her voice shaky.

Her chest was tight, and her breathing harsh. Her body trembled as fury mixed with despair. That jar was everything. All their hopes and dreams for the future. All their problems solved. And it was just gone. How could Gerald sink so low? How could a father...

Gerald stopped mid-sip to look at her and then glanced away again. But the guilt was so apparent on his face.

“I had to pay him something the first time he came,” he mumbled.

All her strength sapped from her body, and her legs became too weak to hold her. She sank to the floor among the debris from the broken table, tears filling her eyes again as she looked at the man who could so casually throw such a bombshell on her. How could he rip their lives apart like this? Did they really not mean anything to him?

No, they didn’t. They hadn’t meant anything to Gerald since their mother had left him.

“I will not be a part of your mess,” she hissed as she stood up. “I will help you pay him back with money, not my body, only because I won’t let you taint Britney.”

“And how will you help me? You earn peanuts,” Gerald sneered.

“I earn something, which is more than I can say for you. Get a job and learn some principles. It’s not okay to sell your children!”

She marched back to the bedroom to put everything back in place and pushed her pain to the back of her mind. It was a skill she had learned too early in her life so she could function. Her father would always be a disappointment. The best she could do was try to get Brit away from him, even if it meant leaving before she graduated.

The stranger’s offer popped back into her mind. Shame filled her when she considered it a little longer than she should have. But she could do this without his help.

She would have to ask for more hours at work—

Work! Shit!

She grabbed her bag and car keys and rushed out of the house without another word to her father. Being late would mean a warning, and she couldn’t risk this job, not now.

Half an hour later, she snuck in through the staff entrance and thankfully found the staff room empty. By the time she’d changed into her uniform and work shoes, she was confident she could get away with this if no one saw her. But as she pushed her cart out of the cleaning closet, she found Andrea waiting outside, arms crossed and tapping her foot.

“This is the second time this month, Layla.”

Right. The first time her junk of a car had given up on her and she’d had to take a bus. She’d forgotten about that. This would be her second strike. One more, and she was out.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Roberts. I had a family emergency.”

“I don’t believe you. You could have called. You think you can waltz around the place and do whatever you want, but the world doesn’t revolve around you,” Andrea said as she pulled a notepad from her pocket. “The rest of us understand we have responsibilities here. This will be your last warning.”

“Andrea_”

“Miss Roberts,” Andrea hissed. “I understand you’re only twenty-one, Layla, but you must learn to be more responsible. Get to work.”

She sighed. How could she ask for more hours if Andrea was on the warpath? Maybe she could pull it off if she gave her some time to cool off and tried at the end of the day. If that didn’t work, going over Andrea’s head to ask the manager directly would be her last option. Or she could walk around town after work to beg someone else to hire her part-time.

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