Page 175 of Challenge Me

His eyes flicked up to mine. “No wife.”

“Let me guess. She ran off with the mailman.”

“Cancer rotted her brain until there was nothing left of her.”

“Oh, Jesus.” Shifting closer, I reached out to touch his arm. “I’m sorry.”

He pulled back without a word. I thought about saying something else, but he didn’t seem the type to want condolences.

“Want a real drink?” I offered.

He shook his head. “Two years sober.”

“What the hell are you doing working in a bar?”

“Don’t worry about me, kid. I’ve endured worse than a little temptation.”

A sound from the back of the bar made me turn suddenly. “Did you hear that?”

“You probably put one of those boxes too close to the edge again.”

It didn’t sound like something had fallen off the shelf, but it was possible. Since Tommy didn’t seem interested in doing his job right now, I decided I would just have to scream really loud if someone was lurking around to assassinate me. A super-fan, maybe.

Grabbing my gun from beneath the counter, I held it at my side as I cautiously started toward the back. I looked at the rear door, which wasn’t closed all the way. After yanking it shut, I continued silently. With the office cracked, I couldn’t see enough to verify if it was empty, so I took a deep breath and adjusted my grip on the gun before I flung it open. Immediately, I tucked the weapon behind me, out of sight.

“What the actual fuck?”

“Swear,” Mal said in her familiar monotone. I had to blink a few times to work through my emotions.

She was sitting on my desk, swinging her legs idly. She had her Mustang resting in her palm.

“How did you get in here?” I asked.

She set a screwdriver on the desk. I stared at it, more than a little impressed. I hadn’t engaged the deadbolt, but it was still a badass thing for her to do.

“Don’t tell me you walked all the way here.”

Her eyes rolled. “Too far.”

“Have you learned the art of teleportation? Or maybe you’ve sprouted your Valkyrie wings.” I peered around her to check.

“Will has a car.”

“You expect me to believe that you convinced a teenager to drive you to a bar and leave you here alone?”

“Smoothie place. He sneaks his girlfriend into his room at night.”

“Ah, blackmail. What an honorable art.” The smoothie shop was only a block away, but it terrified me to think about her walking that far by herself. Dropping into my chair, I pulled out my phone. “Someone’s gonna have to come get you.”

“No.” She tried to grab my phone, but I rolled the chair backward.

“You can’t stay here, Mal. I have to work.”

“I’m not in the way.”

“That’s not the point.”

“I’m staying.”