Page 10 of The Coffee Shop

“Well,” Luke wavers, “your dad sorta bought the place after you started working there.”

“What!? That wastwoyears ago! Are you fucking kidding me?”

I can’t believe this shit. I’m going to kill him.

I am. Going. To kill. Him.

It’s not enough that he hacks into my bank accounts or my DMV records to keep track of me, now he is fuckingpurchasingthe places I choose to work.

“When your father found out that someone was after you, he got worried,” Luke continues, “so he hired us. Once word got out that we were called in for extra security, well, most people decided to back off.”

“Until now,” Sebastian adds.

I rub my temples, exasperated because I thought I was free of this. Ofallof this. And yet here I am, in the eye of the fucking storm...again.

“So what the fuck is the plan here?” I ask, already wanting to get this over with and move on with my life.

“The plan was that if shit went down, we would make sure you disappeared,” Luke says, “so here we are. Seb and I are the only ones who know about this place,not even your father knows. In three days, one of us will go find a payphone to check in, see if they figured out which gang is after you.”

“Three days?! And if they haven’t figured it out by then?” I ask, not liking where this is going.

“Then you better get comfortable, sweetheart. We could be here a while,” Seb says, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.

—

When I return from the bathroom, fully dressed and my long black hair combed over one shoulder, I find the guys hovering in the front entryway. Sebastian is just outside the door, busy installing one of those video doorbells, and Luke is nearby, concentrating on something else. I step closer.

“Are those cell phones?” I ask, suddenly relieved that we won’t be completely off grid.

“Burnerphones,” Sebastian mumbles through the screws he’s holding between his teeth.

“And they’re not for making outside calls, they’re for the security system,” Luke says.

“Do I get one?” I ask quickly, but both men answer- “No,” at the same time.

“So… what do we do now?” I grumble, looking between them.

“It’s late, you should get some rest,” Sebastian states.

“Are you kidding? I was shot today and I just took a five hour nap. I have no idea how long I have to stay here, and when Idoleave? I have to start all over again. New job, new apartment, maybe even a new name.Again.There is no way in hell I could sleep right now,” I say, myvoice shaking just a little as my eyes begin to water. I’m so beyond angry at this point, even my body doesn’t know how to react appropriately.

They look at each other, then at me, before Luke finally speaks up.

“Seb, did you bring the go-bag?”

“Well, yeah,” he replies quietly, “but do you really thinknow’sthe time for that?”

“Notthatgo bag, you asshole. The other one,” Luke says, shaking his head.

“Oh, yeah. Be right back,” Sebastian says, heading down the porch steps to the car. I stare after him, then peek back at Luke who has a giant, adorable grin lighting his face.

What the fuck have I gotten myself into?

Chapter Six

SEBASTIAN

“Go Fish.” I say slowly, looking over the top of my cards.

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