Page 34 of Steel

“Okay,” I reply softly, releasing my hold. “Thank you, Reva.”

“I’d hold those thanks, sugar. Just because you’re wounded doesn’t mean I ain’t gonna put you to work. You can’t do much right now because of your leg, but I think if we put you in a dark corner and bring over some drink menus and shit, you can start studying them. How good are you at paperwork?”

I scrunch my nose. “I hate it, but I’ll do whatever you need help with.”

Reva laughs. “It’s nothing much. Just some order shit for behind the bar and whatnot. Pretty simple. I’ll walk you through it and give you a list of what we need. Then you can just go through and mark it on the sheets. I’ll go over it at the end of the night, then we’ll shove it in the office for one of the guys to input. Do you think you’ll be good enough to stand on your feet by the end of the week?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.” I laugh. “I’ve never been shot before.”

“Hell, neither have I. We’re just going to have to wing this shit, babe. At least until Steel decides to show his ass back up here. All right, I’ll be back shortly with those clothes, then we’ll get you changed and out of here.”

“Sounds good.” I lean my head back against the cushion. “It’s not like I’m going to be racing out of here.”

My eyes drift closed once the door snicks shut behind her.

I hate that I have to depend on her and Steel to get me things I need, but my purse got left behind in my car, so it’s not like I can buy anything right now if I wanted to anyway. The clothes Steel bought me were left in his Bronco and I forgot to tell him, so I don’t have anything here. It worries me that all my information was left behind along with anything that can lead to my identity, but there’s not much I can do about that right now. The only thing I can do is get a hold of my brother and make sure he knows because he’ll probably start worrying when I don’t check in soon.

He’s used to me going silent when I’m on a photo job, but he’s always given me a time limit to check in by, and I do my best to make sure to meet it.

I don’t remember falling asleep, but Reva is gently shaking me awake a bit later with a soft smile on her face.

“How long was I out for?” I ask, working myself into a sitting position.

Reva grabs the stack of clothes sitting on the couch beside me and stands to help me up. “Not long. I just went over to my apartment and grabbed a few things. We’re about the same size, except your ass is a bit juicier than mine.”

I sigh. “Yeah, it’s such a burden to carry.”

“You’re a smartass. It’s no wonder you and Steel get along so well.”

When I grimace at her words, she laughs quietly. “Let me guess. We can only be friends. My world is too dark for you. I only fuck. Blah, blah, blah.”

My lips quirk to the side as we make our way to the bathroom. “You’ve heard it before?”

“Not from him, but it’s a spiel I’m familiar with.”

Even though the undertone of sadness in her voice has me curious about the story behind it, I’m not going to pry. I’ve been on the receiving end of that shit too often, especiallyafter the rocky as hell ‘relationship’ I previously had with Steel. Thankfully, I have a best friend who’s amazing at reading me well enough to know when I just want something to be left alone. If she’s with me and someone continues to pry, she has absolutely no qualms about putting them in their place and telling them to mind their business. Not that I can’t do it on my own, but it gets really exhausting trying to fend off people from digging too much.

Reva changes my bandages and helps me get dressed. Our conversations aren’t very deep, just basic surface-level stuff as we get to know each other in a friendlier way. It seems like I’m going to be spending the next who the hell knows how long around her, so getting to know each other sounds like a step in the right direction. I only have Lena, my best friend, so adding more female friends to my circle isn’t a bad thing, especially when we get along well already.

The next few hours are spent upstairs doing what Reva said she was going to make me do—freaking paperwork.

It’s not like it’s boring, though. Being secluded in a dark corner booth, I’m able to observe the customers and the way they salivate over the girls on stage.

Who could blame them?

I struggle to pull my eyes away from them myself. Their bodies are beautiful, but it’s more than that. The way they own that stage is so powerful. I’ve been to strip clubs before and can’t ever recall the girls actually looking peaceful while taking off their clothes in front of a bunch of leering, drunk, horny suckers.

Reva continues to keep me filled with drinks and small snacks, laughing every time I grumble about it being non-alcoholic.

Stupid gunshot wound.

Stupid freaking pain medicine.

Stupid, stupid freaking Killer.

Leave it to me to get tangled up in a mess with bikers all over again just because I wanted to take some pictures in the woods.

The booth shakes a little, and I lift my gaze from the order forms to find a stunning black-haired pixie staring back at me. Her intense sapphire eyes match the shaved portion of her pixie cut, and her blood-red, plump, cupid bow lips are stretched into a firm line.

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