Page 18 of Dark Alleys

“Huh. But he was the only one who raped you?”

“Yeah. He was first while the other ones waited and watched. Then something happened or they heard something and the rest of them ran off. I was screaming and trying to fight him off and I didn’t hear what they were saying to each other.”

“Uh huh. Good thing they were interrupted.”

She smiled through her tears. “I thought so.”

“Okay, let’s get you inside. I’ll stay until you’re set up and safe.”

“I’m so glad I met you.”

“Same.”

The girls on Neil’s staff were trained and they took the baby and changed him, got him a fuzzy blue blanket and showed Cindy to her room. I could see the amazement in her eyes. She’d probably never met kind people before in her life.

Before I left, I asked if she had a phone, and she said she didn’t. “I’ll bring you a phone and then you can text me and tell me how you and Flint are doing. Okay?”

“Thanks, Lukas.” She hugged me at the door, and she was trembling. She was so damned scared, I hated to leave her.

Riverside District. Austin.

After dealing with the Cindy crisis—and it was a life changing crisis for that little girl—I went home to take my meds and sleep like the doc wanted me to.

I dumped out the bag of clean bedding onto my bed and one-armed the sheets and blankets on the best I could.

I flopped down, let out a breath and got my first text of the fuckin’ day. Where was everybody?

“How are you? Can I see you tonight?

“I’ll drop in for a beer. Best I can do.”

“Fantastic.”

“Okay, Regan. You haven’t given up on me.” I put my head down on my pillow and closed my eyes hoping I would feel a thousand times better when I woke up.

The meds were strong and kept me under for six whole hours. Couldn’t believe how long I slept. Before I jumped in the shower, I wrapped my arm in two plastic grocery bags and duct-taped them so there’d be no leakage. Couldn’t afford another trip to the fuckin’ clinic. The Agency paid all of my medical, but I couldn’t go back a third time and look like a goddamned idiot.

Couldn’t do it.

I shaved a bit of scruff off my face, brushed the tangles out of my mop of hair and headed out for a beer.

After all that sleep, I should be good for a few hours.

Mahaffey’s Bar and Grill. Montopolis.

The stools at the bar were full and I understood why. All the bikers who hung out at Mahaffey’s were hard for Regan, and they wanted to sit close to her.

I did too.

No use getting pissed about it. I wasn’t in shape to knock any one of those fuckers off their stools.

Regan saw me walk through the door and I gave her a little two-fingered wave as I looked for a place to sit. Found a table halfway back and sat down with a groan.

A server came running over with a pitcher of Shiners for me before I even ordered. “Boss sent this over. You want food?”

“Yeah, I could eat. You got a special?”

“Uh huh, and it’s good. I ate it before I started my shift. Chicken fried steak with potato wedges and coleslaw.”

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