Page 46 of The Lair

Chapter Fourteen

Not feelingin danger and not being in danger are two very different things.

Travis’s stupid words keep ringing in my ears all throughout my shift, as I picked up some groceries earlier, and now again as I slice my chicken breasts to make chicken tikka masala for dinner. They aren’t stupid because they lack intelligence, but because deep down—and, fine, not so deep down—he’s right, and it bothers me to no end.

I’mthe stupid one. Even if I didn’t know it was a sketchy area, I should’ve researched my surroundings more thoroughly. I’ve been so busy trying to build my life back up that I forgot maybe, just maybe, I deserve better than a mold-infested apartment in a dangerous part of town.

So when my phone rings as I get the rice ready and I spot Charlie’s name on my screen, I hold on to my last sliver of hope.

“Hello?” I put the phone on speaker and go back to finishing up my dinner.

“Greetings, my dearest friend. I bring news.”

I put some rice and chicken onto a plate. It smells so good, I could cry. “The good kind, I hope.”

There’s some shuffling in the background before he says, “Of course, Allie Cat. Worry not.”

“I’m listening.”

“My friend’s landlord still hasn’t found anyone to rent the apartment to, so I told him you were interested. I’ll text you the address so you can make a visit tomorrow morning. You’re free, right?”

“Yep.” I don’t have to be at The Lair until four. “Thank you so much, Char. You’re really saving me here.”

“Hey, that’s what friends are for.”

He says it so easily, it takes me aback for a moment.

Friends. I havefriends.

“Lola told me she chatted with you at the pub,” he says, a hint of a smile in his voice. “I knew she’d love you. She told me to ask you for your number because she wants to hang out with you sometime, if that’s okay.”

I hesitate. Years ago, I promised myself I wouldn’t stop until I got to the opposite side of the country to start a new life. Bannport isn’t the place I had pictured as my home, but it has become the place I want to be in. The community I want to remain part of.

Don’t I deserve to start anew like I said I would?

“Allie? You there?”

I expect the guilt to come when I say, “Sure,” but it never does.

“Cool. You guys will have fun. Not as much as you have with me, but still.”

The chuckle I was about to let out dies in my throat when the doorbell rings.

“Charlie, I have to hang up.” Someone is at my door, and suddenly I can’t feel my legs. Nobody evercomes here. “Tell Lola to text me. And thank you again for the apartment thing.”

If he says something else, I don’t hear it. My eyes zero in on the front door as my mind spirals with endless possibilities.

My parents have found meis the first thing I think of, but that’s impossible. I’ve covered my tracks well for the past six years. Unless… unless Mindy, the woman I thought had recognized me at The Lair, told them about me.

The doorbell rings again, and I curse under my breath. I think of not answering, but I know I won’t sleep a wink tonight if I don’t find out who is outside my apartment. With my pulse in my throat, I tiptoe toward the door and peek through the peephole.

Only to see the last person I expected to come over.

I pull the door open, my shoulders sagging with relief, and stare into the eyes of the man who both confuses me and makes my heart beat faster than anyone else ever has before.

Travis’s stoic expression doesn’t go away. “Can I come in?”

I don’t overthink it as I open the door wide enough for his massive body to pass through, then lock it behind me.

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