Page 12 of Penn

A cold, sickening wave of dread washes over me, and I can only stare in shock. The timing is very suspicious. A night I wasn’t supposed to work. Telling Stephen I’m not aborting our baby. His threat to take everything from me. It’s all too much of a coincidence to be random.

“He did it,” I whisper.

Penn looks down at me. “Who did this, Dixie? You know who would set your house on fire?”

I shake my head, pulling back as more secrets press down on me. I can’t tell him about Stephen. The situation is already dangerous, and I know how Penn and his brothers handle things. With violence.

“No, I just… God.”

“God?” he asks.

“It must’ve been God.”

His forehead crinkles as he glances at Nancy for help, but she just shrugs and says, “We need to figure out where you’re going to stay. At least until we can get you back on your feet. You can stay with me.”

It’s a generous offer. One that not a lot of bosses would extend, but I shake my head. “That’s very nice, Nancy, but I’m deathly allergic to cats. And you have three.”

“Four now, actually.”

“My throat would close up within ten minutes.”

Sometimes the dander on her clothes is enough to cause issues for me, and we have to avoid each other for my shift. Staying on her couch would be certain death.

“You can stay with me,” Lainey offers, chewing her gum in the way that makes me cringe. “I have a couch that folds out into a bed. It’s not much, but I don’t have cats.”

All I can see when I look at Lainey is her having sex with the Black Venom road captain. How many times do they get together at her place? Would I be forced to listen to her fucking him in her bedroom as I try to sleep in the living room and pretend it’s not happening?

She’s a good person. I know that. And I’m also one of the only people who knows about her secret. Staying with her is a very generous offer, but I suspect it has more to do with repaying a debt. She gives me a place to crash, and I keep her secret.

Which I was already planning to do.

“Thank you, Lainey,” I say, picking my words carefully. “But I don’t want to crowd you. I know you have…”

There’s really no way to say anything I want to say without drawing suspicion. More than I already have.

“You’re not staying on the street,” Penn says. “And you are not staying in some cheap, unsafe motel where anyone can walk up to your door.”

My heart does a weird little patter as he stares at me with an unfamiliar intensity. Maybe I wasn’t excited to have unprotected sex with Stephen after all. Maybe it’s the pregnancy. “I don’t really have a lot of options, Penn.”

“You can stay at my place,” he says. I expect a comment about how comfortable his bed is, but he says, “I have a guest room. It’s clean, and nobody will show up without getting a fist to their fucking face.”

Yep, I’m definitely feeling excitement thanks to the hormones because I have to squeeze my legs together as I attempt to relieve the ache between them. But before I agree to this, I have to tell him the truth.

“There’s something you should know before I accept.”

“What’s that?”

“I do have an idea who set the fire to my house, and having me at yours might put yours at risk, too.”

He frowns, and Nancy gently grabs my shoulder. “Who, honey?”

“The father of my baby. I’m pregnant, and he isn’t exactly happy that I’m keeping it.”

Penn’s brows raise. “You’re pregnant? Wait, you think your boyfriend would set your house on fire because you’re keeping the baby?”

Swallowing, I have to be honest. “He’s not my boyfriend anymore. He’s pissed about the baby because it turns out he’s married. And I was just a game. He doesn’t want the baby, and he was upset when I told him I’m keeping it.”

“Bastard,” Lainey says.