Page 67 of Justus
“She’sreally pissed. I’ve got some serious groveling to do.”
“Thenwhat the hell are you doing here with me?”
He’sright. “I’m going. Thanks for the advice. Don’t tell the guys or I’ll swear youwere wearing Zoe’s panties when I showed up.”
“Goodluck, asshole. Oh, and I talked to Jeremy. He’s on board with our new way ofdoing things.”
Thefirst thing I did when I got back was talk to Dare and Landon about the way wedeal with predators. They both agreed with me that we were pressing our luckand from now on, we’ll stick to sending the info to the police. That’s not tosay we won’t monitor the ones that beat the system and…encourage them to changetheir ways. And we discussed keeping the pigs just in case a rare occurrencearises where we have no choice but to take out a psycho, but I’m no longer theISH executioner. I’m glad Jeremy agrees as well.
“Wealso agreed to sign the farmhouse over to Tucker. He might not be able to hack,but he’ll still help when we need some muscle. He’s also working for Mason Reedoccasionally, when Striking Back needs a little extra security.”
Tuckerhas been living at the farm for nearly a year now, caring for the pigs andJed’s old dog, Humper. He’s an ex-marine who was court martialed and servedfour years for killing his friend and fellow soldier to protect an Afghaniwoman the friend was trying to rape. In short, he’s a good man to have on ourside.
“Gladto hear it. I’ve got a woman to win back, so I’ll see you later.”
“GoodLuck, Miley.”
Mynext stop is Dare’s place where I’m happy to find Ayda at home. I really needher help to arrange a surprise slash groveling apology to my girl.
“Please,Ayda. I know you can get tickets.”
“Ican, and there’s a dance tonight. I can call ahead and let them know you’recoming.”
“Thankyou.”
“You’dbetter treat her right, Justus. Sadie is an amazing person. She’s always beengood to me.”
“Iknow. I screwed up and I’m trying to make it up to her.”
Darebursts into laughter. I’m amazed he held it back as long as he did. “Swingdancing? You’re going to go swing dancing?”
“Fuckoff, Hulk. I’m a dancer. It’s not that strange.”
“Yourealize these dances don’t require you to strip or grind on anything, right?”
Aydashoots Dare a dirty look, and he leaves the room, still laughing.
“Youthink Sadie will like it, right?”
Asoft smile spreads across her face. “She’ll love it. Dance isn’t her life likeit is mine, but she’s always wanted to try swing dancing.”
“Yeah,she mentioned it before. Shit, she probably needs a dress or something, right?And what should I wear?”
Laughingat my ineptitude, Zoe fills me in on the appropriate clothing and promises tomake sure Sadie is dressed for our night out. All I have to do is get myselfready and meet them at Sadie’s sister’s dance studio at eight. I’m not sure whyI’m meeting them there, but I’m not going to argue.
ChapterFifteen
Sadie
Myfeet pound the pavement as I make my way into the shopping center. The assholeactually tried to break up with me! After all that I love you talk, he wantedto split at the first sign of trouble. He obviously doesn’t know me very wellif he thinks I’m that easy to get rid of. It’d be different if he didn’t loveme or truly didn’t want me, but this is just him trying to be some kind ofwhite knight. A martyr trying to sacrifice his happiness for mine.
Itmay sound good to some, but it just pisses me off. I’ve never needed to betaken care of. I pride myself on being independent, making my own decisions anddealing with the consequences of them. I don’t need to be saved. This princesscan rescue herself.
Thatdoesn’t mean I don’t want my smirky stripper by my side while I do it, though,so he’s going to have to get over himself. Damn, that man can frustrate me.Shopping therapy is exactly what I need.
AfterI took Hannah back to rehab last night, I slept in her room. I realized thatshe really doesn’t have anything, and when she gets out, she’s going to need acomfortable place to recover. It’s time to give my credit card a workout.
Istart with bedding and a few decorations for her room. Right now it’s justplain, but the bold red and gray comforter set I toss in the cart shouldbrighten it up. I take my time picking up a few accessories, a vase, a fewpictures for the bare walls, and a fuzzy rug.
