Page 10 of Bring Me Back
“I’m sorry, Beck. I wish-”
“Don’t. Don’t apologize. I’m not sorry, Willow. I understand that you think building these walls around yourself is the only option. I respect that. I don’t agree with you, but I know you’re protecting more than just yourself here. If I have to wait, then I’ll wait. As long as it takes.” He speaks with conviction. I only wish I could believe in myself as much as he believes in me. Inus.
“I need you in my life, Beck. I know it sounds selfish, but I do. And I’m not sorry for that.” My chest aches as I push him back into the friend zone.
I turn from him, unable to look into his beautiful, hopeful eyes any longer. I turn the key in my front door lock, but meet no resistance. I swear I locked this door before I left. Maybe Jaxon’s been home? I don’t have the energy to panic over anything else tonight, so I tell myself it must’ve been an oversight. I’ll have to be more careful next time. He offers me a soft smile, tipping his head slightly as he meets my gaze.
“How will you get back?” I ask, feeling terrible for inconveniencing him.
“That’s why they invented Uber,” he smiles, typing away on his phone. I know he’s lying to spare me any further anxiety. None of those modern conveniences are a thing in a town as small as Grovewood.
"Good night," he says, his tone carrying a soft sincerity, like he’s wishing me peace after the night we’ve had. “Lock the door.”
I nod, watching him walk back down my driveway.
“Will?” he says, my eyes flicking to meet his as he turns around just as I move to close the door.
“Thanks for the dance, pretty girl.”
In that moment, I feel the first crack in the wall I’ve worked so hard to build.
seven
“I’m telling you,Everett. I've run it four times, and it’s been the same every time. There’s a little over two thousand dollars missing from the account.” I breathe out a heavy sigh. There’s never been a single error in the entire time I’ve managed these accounts.
I don’t make mistakes. Not like this. There’s money missing from the account and over ten minutes missing from the one interior security feed.
“Everyone who has access to these accounts I trust with my life, Helo. Run it again. There has to be an error somewhere. Something entered incorrectly or a miscalculation? I don’t know, but there’s something.” The tension in his voice is palpable, even through the phone.
I read over the figures line by line again, comparing them to the numbers written in the logs I picked up from the shop. Nothing is entered incorrectly. I’veaccounted for every expense, every transaction, everything. There’s still over two thousand dollars missing. In my head, I try to list every single person who has access to these accounts. Ev and Eli are obviously not taking their own money. They would just tell me if they needed to make a withdrawal that large. Breaker controls the online account access, but I know he would die for this family. He would never do this. I suppose the wives have access to these accounts, but there’s not a single reason they would do anything like this. Megan, the daytime shop assistant, has access to any cash coming in, but she’s new. And she definitely doesn’t have access to the security feeds. She barely knows what she’s doing with the scheduling system. Honestly, I don’t think she’s got the brainpower to do something like this.
And Willow. My beautiful, mysterious girl. All the business finances are wide open to her because we all trust her. I believe deep in my bones that she would never do something like this. I’ve seen her soul, tasted her, I know she isn’t the type to betray the people she loves. She struggles to keep things going for herself and Jaxon, but she works her ass off to keep it together. She works doubles at the shop, babysits, literally anything and everything to make sure she can take care of her son. Why would she work so fucking hard if she was stealing the money behind our backs?
“We’ll go over it again on our end. Maybe I input something wrong when I charged a client or something,I don’t know,” Eli says, huffing out a breath. I highly doubt that, but what else can we do?
“Yeah, I’ll do the same. We’ll figure it out.” I tell them, disconnecting the line. I need to call Breaker and see if he can recover the missing video footage, but I don’t have the energy right now. I toss my phone down on my desk when I’d much rather throw the fucking thing across the room.
This office is much bigger than I’ve ever needed, but then again, so is this house. Floor to ceiling bookshelves line two walls, holding thousands of books on mathematics, law, science, technology, anything and everything a true nerd needs to take over the world. A rolling ladder spans across the shelves to give me easy access to the knowledge I want at any moment. I’m practically living in the fucking Beauty and the Beast movie up here on my mountain. But the space around me is barely big enough to hold the nervous energy pouring off of me.
It’s my responsibility to protect these finances. To make sure my closest friends are always taken care of and that their assets are safe. And I’ve managed to fuck that up. There’s no easy way to talk to people about money, but how do you ask if someone has seen two thousand lying around anywhere?
I drop my head into my hands, a headache creeping in around my temples. I’m not entirely sure when the last time I slept was. I’m going to have to talk to Willow. I don’t suspect her of anything, but maybe she sawsomething she doesn’t realize was important. Shooting her a text, I ask her to meet me at the coffee shop next to Grovewood Ink, and her response is almost immediate. We make plans to meet in half an hour.
After rushing through a shower, I pull on a worn pair of jeans, slide my boots on, grab a t-shirt and walk out the door. I tug my black t-shirt over my head as I start the engine of my 67’ Ford Mustang fastback and take a second to listen to the engine rumble. I love this fucking car. I’ve got more money than I know what to do with, and I’m more than happy to spend it on beautiful things like this. I paid to have it custom built in the exact image of Eleanor from Gone in 60 Seconds. Totally worth it.
I glide her down the mountain, and through the streets of Grovewood, parking in front of the shop just as Willow pulls up behind me. I gather my computer and the notes I’ve made, and step out of the car. Willow is digging for something in the floorboard of her car, giving me time to open the door for her. Sometimes, I think she hates my gentlemanly tendencies. But she’s just not used to chivalry being consistent.
“Thanks, but you don’t have to get the door,” she says, stepping out of the car. Her black jeans hug her curvy hips, flaring out at the bottom. She almost looks shy, like she’s struggling not to think about our kiss. I don’t blame her. I’ve relived it a thousand times, and still can’t get enough.
“Yeah, I do. Let’s grab some coffee,” I say, placing myhand against her lower back and steering her towards the coffee shop. She shivers slightly at my touch, and internally I smile. I know I’ve still got a chance at convincing her this isn’t the disaster she fears it will be.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to your old-school ways, Beck.” She smiles that soft, beautiful smile, and I push down the overwhelming need to pull her body against mine.
“I’m not that old-school. That’s just the way it should be. A woman like you deserves to be taken care of, Willow.” I shrug.
“Whatever you say.” She rolls her eyes, ordering her caramel macchiato with two extra shots. Jesus, it’s like a heart attack in a cup. I order my black coffee and take a seat across from her at a table in front of the window.
“So, what’s up? Was there something you wanted to talk about?” She asks, and I feel my stomach knot.
