Page 3 of Black Site

"Hey, I wanted to apologize if I came on too strong this afternoon. I don't want you to think I'm a douche bag or something." He looks bashful and maybe a little ashamed of what he did so I cut him some slack.

"It's okay. You weren't the one who put his hands where they weren't supposed to be." The guy sucks in his lips and widens his eyes at something or someone behind me. God damn it. I know exactly who is behind me before I even turn around.

"Maybe I should apologize as well." Dark velvet whispers across my ears and I have to fight hard to control my shiver. All I wanted to do was eat my salad. I roll my eyes because I'm going to have to be nice to this guy since clearly, he's hitting two out of three of my jobs and I don't put it past him to find out the third and show up there.

"Nonsense," I turn so I can look at him, "none of you have to apologize for anything since there is nothing to apologize for. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go back to work."

I stand and take my salad with me. A part of me mourns the loss of that crisp crunch of lettuce and the smothered goodness of all the bacon bits I could fit on the top of it. But I don't feel comfortable eating in front of people. It's one of my hang-ups. Don't ask me why, but it has always been a problem.

"But you just got here." Genuine disappointment is in Remy's voice.

"Actually I just remembered I have to work through lunch to pay for all the glass I broke. So, I have to go. I'll see you around." It's a throwaway statement you make when you want to leave - I'll see you around; catch you later, bye for now. I'm almost worried Green Eyes will try to touch me again.

"Libby," I pause so I can turn to Remy with my warm friendly waitress smile. "It was really nice to meet you. Maybe we can talk some more sometime." I'm not sure if this is another throwaway statement or more flirting so I give him a smile but I don't nod or shake my head just in case.

Back inside my heart is pounding in my chest so hard the whole restaurant can probably hear it. God, what is wrong with me that I can't seem to get control of myself when he's around.

2

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Libby

Four days the men have been coming to the diner and each time they make sure to sit in my area. I stopped trying to bribe Diana to cover it for me when I realized I was going to be working to pay for her college if I didn't grow a backbone and just deal with what is happening. Surely if they were going to kill me they would have done it by now.

It's not all bad, I really like Remy. He's flirty but he doesn't mean anything by it. I've even started making a small effort to flirt back with him because he knows nothing is going to come of it. I finally learned that Green Eyes' name is Jamison but they call him Jim. And that they are in town on 'business'. I also met Evie. She's Ace's girlfriend. They call him Ace because...well I'm not why they call him Ace but they do. She is warm and bubbly and reminds me so much of Lexi that the night I got to talk to her I had to go in the bathroom and cry after they left.

As I step on the bus to head to the inn on the fifth day I wonder how long they're going to stay. The men from before, the big guys with scary tattoos, gets on the bus and brush by me to sit one seat behind me. Chills run up and down my spine and this time I can't seem to control them. They start talking about things and even though I try not to listen the bus is quiet today. Again it's in Russian and again they are talking about taking care of someone. It doesn't take me too long to catch a name - Archer.

I have to work really fucking hard not to gasp so loud they can hear me. Instead, I settle for letting my mouth fall open just a little bit. By the time I'm ready to step off the bus I'm sweaty and my mind is racing. I don't remember walking the fifteen minutes to the inn. I can remember how afraid I was that they would find out I was listening to their conversation or that they would get off at the same stop I did. Before I could stop to think if this was the smartest thing I’ve ever done I was at number nine knocking on the door.

It’s still dark outside. I am so wound up I forget they may still be asleep. I start to have some sense come back to me right as the door opens and I'm confronted by a shirtless Jim - and damn! What the hell was I knocking for? His shoulders are wide enough I could sit on them and I do not have a scrawny ass at all. Golden tanned skin with a fine dusting of hair right in the middle of his broad chest round out the hot as hell package. I didn't think the guy was small or anything but I didn't think this was hiding underneath his shirts either. As I stand there he's pulling his shirt down over his head and working his cast through the armhole like an expert. He also reaches for his glasses and now that he's covered most of his hotness up I can finally regain speech - and higher thought process.

"Some men on the bus are talking about killing you, in Russian." Okay so maybe not fully back to higher mental processes. I expect to be greeted with worry or strain or hell mild interest. Instead, his eyes never change and his body remains as still as one of the big cats I'm constantly thinking of when I'm around him. He takes me by the upper arm and pulls me into the cottage. He drags me all the way to the kitchen and kicks out a chair he plops me in and immediately I'm surrounded by big scary men. Shit!

"And you know this how?" his voice drops and I can just barely pick up on the lethal undertones. Even Remy isn't looking too friendly this morning. Maybe I should have waited for them to wake up.

"They were sitting behind me on the bus." Maybe he's going to have one of those delayed reactions and the news just hasn't sunk in yet.

"I understand that part," okay, that theory is blown all to hell, "I meant how do you know they spoke Russian and how could you tell what they said?"

Oh, that makes sense that he would want to find that out. "Um, I can speak a little bit of it."

Silence rings out in the room at my statement like the sound of guns cocking. I'm really starting to regret my decision to come straight here and tell them anything now.

"You expect me to believe someone who barely has a high school education is fluent in Russian?"

Dick! He doesn't have to be such an ass about it. I can't figure out if I'm mad or hurt by what he said. I have a sensitive spot about having to quit college, so yeah for him. He found that button to stomp on.

"We know who you are Liberty." The way he says my name makes it sound like a curse word. He could be saying nutbutter or twathole and he would use the same inflection. "We know where your sister is at and what she is doing as well."

I sit up straighter in the chair. What the hell does Lexi have to do with any of this?

"We know you took over raising her when she was fourteen. How does she like the campus? Is she having fun away at college?"

What the fuck did I do? I should have just stayed away. I should have listened to Marnie and not done anything else with them or for them or anything else.

"I know how your parents died." In my head on repeat I'm thinking, 'please don't say anything about taking my mom off life support, please don't say anything about taking my mom off life support.'

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