Page 30 of In The Trenches (Owens Protective Services)

CASH

Rae finally walkedthrough the doors at seven-forty-five. I rushed over, ready to berate her for taking so damn long when she held up her hand, stopping me from starting my barrage of questions.

“She kicked me out.”

“What?”

“Yep, there was a guy in her apartment, obviously not supposed to be there, and she kicked me out after I shot him.”

I paused for a moment, thinking that through. “Did she kick you out because you shot him?”

“No, you would think maybe that was the reason. She doesn’t want anyone interfering in her life. Whatever’s going on, you’re not finding out anytime soon.”

“Was the guy living there?”

“Don’t think so. She lives in a shitty building. It looks like he broke in.”

“And you left her there?” I asked accusingly.

“Boss, she’s a grown woman. What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Your fucking job,” I seethed.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is she my job now? Because last I checked, she didn’t come to us for help.”

“Sometimes we help people when they don’t want it,” I argued.

“No, in fact, I don’t think we’ve ever done that.” She got in my face, forcing me to stand down. “The problem is, you like this woman for whatever reason, and you think you can save her.”

“I can,” I argued.

“No, you really can’t. Based on what I know—”

“Which you haven’t told me jack shit.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “She’s running from someone, which I assume you already know. She’s basically living out of a bag. Her apartment is a monthly rental, and she has traps out for rodents. It’s a real charming place to live. But even with all that, she seems proud of it, which would lead me to believe that despite everything, she’s fought to stay alive for a long time. She’s not going to let you step in and take over, which is why I left.”

“Wait,” I grabbed her arm as she started walking away. “That’s it? You just left her?”

“Well, yeah, boss. When a woman yells at you to get the fuck out, you listen.”

I ran my hand over my head, frustration building by the minute. I couldn’t even fucking sleep last night because of this woman. I didn’t know what it was about her, but I felt like she would play some important role in my life.

“Boss, there’s nothing you can do. She doesn’t want help, so let it go.”

“I can’t,” I seethed. I was so fucking pissed right now. If things were different, if I wasn’t juggling so much shit right now, I would march over there and demand she let me help her. I’d bang on her door and…and what? Scare the living shit out of her. I was losing my fucking mind. I’d been around women like her enough to know that going in with that kind of attitude would only push her further away.

Hell, I didn’t know anything about her. I didn’t know if she’d be sticking around. She could already be gone, for all I knew. And with women like her, when they felt their safety was at risk, they didn’t wait for the other shoe to drop. They ran and never looked back. Chances were, I would never see her again. And something about that really pissed me off. I had to let this go.

I had a business to run, and chasing after a woman was not part of the agenda for the day. Rae was right, I needed to forget about her. If I saw her again, I might be able to help her out, but for now, I had shit to take care of. Until I found out more information about my mystery woman, I had to move on with my day.

“Get Lock’s team in the conference room. We have to finish planning for the job tonight.”

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