AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Apologies if I made you uncomfortable, Miss Beck. It might please you to know how wrong you are, though.” He didn’t bother to clarify before he strolled away. I’d only just loosened my hold on the fork when a familiar cologne invaded my senses, and I tightened my grip again.
“Atlas.”
Sucking in a breath, I spun around to face him. Rowdy had been clear across the room a moment ago, and now he was standing in front of me. “What do you want?”
His lips parted to answer, but I grabbed my food and walked off. I wasn’t interested in what he had to say.
A part of me expected him to come after me, but he didn’t. Of course, he didn’t. Because despite what Ky thought, I wasn’t wrong.
Rowdy didn’t give a damn about me.
The party lasted a few more hours, and by the end, the last of the stragglers were either too drunk to drive or had already passed out.
It didn’t matter to Rowdy, though.
He’d disappeared from the party for a while after I’d snubbed him and had returned just in time to order everyone to go home. When the grumbling started, and everyone stayed put, Rowdy pulled out the shotgun he’d hidden behind the bar, cocked it, and yelled for them to get the hell out or get blasted.
Sobered, the guests scattered like roaches, pushing and shoving to get through the door because not one of them had to question if Rowdy was crazy enough to start shooting.
There was a frustrated dip in his brow when our gazes met across the room, but he looked away just as quickly and ignored me.
Tuesday and I helped everyone who needed it arrange safe transportation home, and then we started to clean up with the help of the Kings. Ruen gave me a quick hug goodbye once Roc paid her, and then she and her crew left quieter than they’d arrived.
Tuesday was next to go once her ride arrived. She’d gotten tipsy and had spent the last hour of the party making out with Malik in the corner. Weird that he still ended up going home with Ruen.
I finished up, waved goodbye to the Kings—Rowdy still refused to look my way—and headed to my car behind the building.
I’d finally started parking in the employee lot after leaving my shift one day and finding a boot on my car instead of the usual ticket. It had cost me the last of my money to get it removed, but at least I’d gotten paid today.
I was halfway to my car when I noticed it seemed to be favoring one side. As I got closer, I realized the tires on the driver’s side were completely flat, and I was unequivocally screwed. I’d only been working at the shop for a week. My paycheck wasn’t enough to cover two new tires, food, and my room at the motel for another two weeks.
Frustrated tears pricked the back of my eyes, but then footsteps behind me had me holding them back.
“What are you still doing here?” Joren drunkenly inquired. I turned and found him with his arm tossed around some woman who was not his wife. Although, I’d never met the woman, so I couldn’t be sure.
Behind them, Golden was silently helping an equally drunk Roc to his car. He helped him into the passenger seat before hopping in the driver’s seat and racing out of the lot without looking our way even once.
“My tires are flat.”
Joren slipped his arm free from his companion’s shoulders and stumbled over to inspect them himself. He blinked, then blinked again to clear his vision. “Yeah,” he slurred while rubbing a hand over his bald head. “Someone stabbed them motherfuckers.”
I blinked. “What?”
The door to the shop flew open, and out swaggered Rowdy. He now wore a navy-blue pullover with the wordsIdlewild’s Finestwritten in bold white letters and his hood tossed over his head, shielding his braids.
Strutting in high heels beside him was none other than the model who’d been all over him at the party. Even after he humiliated her, she was still going home with him. I curled my lip at them both, but then my head began to swim. Bile rose in my throat, so I quickly inhaled to draw fresh air into my lungs.
“O! Yo, O!” Joren’s drunk ass called out when Rowdy walked right past us and toward his gorgeous Hellcat in B5 blue.
“What?” Rowdy snapped back a little aggressively.
Joren seemed oblivious as he waved him over. “Come here.”
Rowdy hesitated only a second before unlocking his car and telling his fuck buddy to get in. I rolled my eyes when she wasted no time obeying him. “What’s up?” he asked after walking over.
“Someone flattened Atlas’s tires.”
Rowdy’s green gaze immediately strayed to me instead of my car. “Yeah? That’s too bad. She must have pissed someone off.”
