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She’d been ready to head out into the alley like usual, but he texted her from a different number at the last minute with a set of instructions. It was odd he wanted her to go out the front door, but she followed the directions and found him parked three blocks away at the end of a dead end alley with his lights off.
And that was what he said as soon as she got into his SUV and closed the door. Someone was watching them. That meant someone was likely watching her.
She didn’t mention that Blake had been hanging out at Madigan’s, but her heart sank and she all but stiffened in her seat at the thought of him being there simply for his job. For some reason, Blake coming to Madigan’s due to a personal issue didn’t bother Skyla at all, but if he was really there because he was on a case, that didn’t just bother her, it pissed her off.
AJ handed her a burner phone and told her he’d be using it to contact her from now on. Then, in true AJ fashion, ordered her to get the hell out.
She’d been so preoccupied with her thoughts walking back to Madigan’s, she’d gone to the backdoor, almost as if on instinct or autopilot. She hardly ever used the front door. She barely registered the loud thud coming from just inside, and opened the door in time to see one of the busboys fighting with an overfilled trash bag. “Here,” she offered. “I got it.”
He smiled down at her. “Thanks,” he mumbled and turned on his heels before even making sure she had a grip on the damn thing.
She carried the bag to the dumpster, pitching it over the top. As she took a step back, a soft hand landed on her shoulder and she startled badly.
“Whoa,” a familiar voice soothed. “It’s just me.”
Skyla spun around to see Blake staring down at her, his hands in front of him, palms facing front. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you. I parked over that way and heard someone making a ruckus out here. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
Skyla eyed him cautiously. Most people parked on the street in front of Madigan’s, and while there were a few side streets that allowed for public parking, it was mostly a restricted area. AJ’s words replayed in her mind. I’m being watched, so we have to be careful.
“Skyla?” Blake asked. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you.” Even in the dark, his baby blue eyes screamed concern, and something else she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Was he really the kind of man who would skulk around her business for months just to - what? She had no connection to AJ or his MC or his business. She was just their healer, and while to an outsider it might appear to be a questionable life choice, she didn’t think it was illegal.
“I’m fine,” she said, mentally shaking herself out of the fear AJ put in her, and the one Blake was precariously close to activating, just by his mere presence. “But you did take ten years off my life,” she smirked. “Come on, I’ll let you in through the back. Luke and Orly are here, and so is Hallie. Or they were before I -”
“Took out the trash,” Blake supplied.
Skyla nodded and started back toward the door. Blake followed just close behind her that his body heat washed over her back and made her want to lean into it. “Yeah. It is busy in there though. Fair warning.”
Blake reached around her to grab the door and held it open for her. “It’s all good.”
“Thanks,” she said, making it a point not to make eye contact. She could handle the rich timbre of his voice, the way his height loomed over her, making her somehow feel sheltered and protected, and even how he seemed to always be watching her even when his gaze was elsewhere. But making eye contact with him might just put her over the edge after the night she’d had.
Her shoulder brushed along his front and she felt the hardness of muscles against her arm. Damn, she knew he worked out, but those peaks and valleys were rigid, firm, and there were so many of them, like he had entire mountain ranges of muscle groups, all competing with each other.
Her gaze slid up his chest to his broad shoulders and eventually met his in the most awkward silence of her life. Charged with an unmistakable buzz that seemed to take up all the oxygen in the small space, she involuntarily held her breath.
Whether he noticed the shift in energy or not, Blake didn’t seem affected, and quickly let the door close behind them as he led the way out to the bar area. He spotted his friends and didn’t bother turning back before going to them.
With her heart racing in her chest, Skyla detoured to her office and locked the door. Tonight, had been bad, but that moment with Blake, had made it awful. Who did she think she was even trying to get the attention of a man like that? Never mind that he had absolutely zero interest in her, but even if he did, it wasn’t like she could keep him. She couldn’t even keep her own mom alive, or her dad from turning against her. There was no way she’d ever snag a guy like Blake O’Connell.
Defeated, she collapsed onto the small cot, her jet-black hair fanning out on the pillow. She crumpled the small blanket and pressed it to her stomach as she turned to lay on her side facing the wall where she’d stuck a small purple butterfly sticker.
Without even thinking about it, her fingers went to the soft skin just behind her left ear where she’d gotten a butterfly tattoo on her eighteenth birthday. One of the wings had her mom’s Japanese name “Niwa,” scrawled inside, which meant garden.
The other wing had her Japanese nickname “Chouka,” which meant butterfly. Her mom only ever used their Japanese names at home, but what Skyla wouldn’t give right now to hear her mother’s soft, sweet voice call out for her. “Chouka,” the name slipped past Skyla’s lips. “I miss you, Mom,” she whispered into the stillness of her office. She hadn’t done a healing tonight, but just seeing AJ was stressful enough. She’d actually thought Blake was one of AJ’s crew for a second when he’d approached her at the dumpster. How insane was that? And then the way he’d looked at her. Those endless blue eyes, gazing into hers, with nothing but questions. Like he had no clue why she was looking up at him. Or why she’d stopped for that one extra second just because she was close enough to touch him, and she had no idea when or if a moment like that would ever happen again.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, bringing Skyla out of her daydream. She chided herself for her silly thoughts. She didn’t have time for schoolgirl crushes, and she definitely couldn’t afford to lose another person she loved. It was just better - easier - if she forgot all about this stupid crush, and didn’t risk more heartbreak she wasn’t sure she could survive.
Determined to put whatever this was with Blake behind her, she pulled her phone out of her pocket to see a message from Hallie.
Hallie: I just decided we’re having a BBQ at our place on Sunday. You better come!
Skyla loved being invited and included in their little group. Being around Orly and Hallie, she always felt wanted and loved, so much like with her mother, but different, of course.
She sighed, her father’s words replaying in her mind. His threats of turning her in to the government easily mixed with AJ’s threat of being watched. She couldn’t help wondering if her father had actually done something to raise the Feds’ suspicions, and her heart plummeted at the thought. She’d never been afraid of her dad, but after that night in their basement, Skyla didn’t trust him. Whenever he threatened someone in business, he’d never shied away from making good on that threat. And Skyla didn’t think he’d make an exception for her.
It was just one of the reasons she couldn’t tell Orly or Hallie about her ability. If they knew what she could do, and anything ever happened to her, Skyla had no doubt they’d do whatever they could to help her. And she couldn’t risk them getting hurt because of her. No one would ever get hurt because of her again.
Skyla: I’ll be there and bring booze.
