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"I know I have no right, but I need to ask a favor of you, precious" He balled both hands into fists to keep froain "I’ll do my best to respect your choice of Lia like hell "But if you miss your next period, I’d like to be the first to know, not the last Would you do that for me, please?"
Raine hesitated, and his heart stuttered He prepared argu me in an aard place, Hammer, and you know that Butthis concerns you You have a right to know"
Relief eased through his veins, and she looked like she had a thousand other things to say, but she fell silent
Hammer hated the idea that she felt she couldn’t talk to him anymore Liam had done that Well, Liam and his own stupidity But if he wanted to at least keep the lines of communication open between them, he couldn’t let her shut them do
"Whatever it is, precious, say it"
He saw the debate flit through her head, then she sighed "I owe youto do whatever it takes to ain"
She licked her lips, and he noticed they were swollen, as if she’d been kissed a lot Jealousy burned
"You don’t have to bother I’m more concerned with you Be careful, Raine He’s not what you think he is and--"
"Stop I won’t discuss Liam behind his back Don’t put me in that position" She stood and put her hands on her hips "I don’t knohat’s happening with you or why Beck had to call ret ue recollection of begging the sadist for help Had Beck called Liam to find her? Had Beck spilled how drunk Hammer had been? How much like a pussy he’d behaved Now, he had one more reason to kill the asshole
"Yes Lia and pretty daed "So Liam and I, u Raine had put her little foot doith Lia into it a bit deeper soon He had to think about the best way to do that withoutwasn’t helping his hangover
Raine reached out to touch him, then seemed to think better of it and jerked her hand back "My fahed "Scra and make dry toast, chase it with Gatorade, which you shouldin the spice cabinet Take a B-complex vitamin Then drink a lot of water today" She scowled at the coffee in his hand "And stop drinking that crap It dehydrates you and will h"
Hao with a little smile Raine hadn’t exactly broken the rules, but she’d bent them For him
"Thank you, precious," he called after her
As evening fell, Raine yawned and knocked on Hao uests upstairs, she didn’t expect him here Of course, he’d been holed up in here not thirtyme--Marlie Blessedly, his "session" with the plastic skank was over for the day Raine had stopped asking herself long ago what Hammer or any man saw in the Barbie doll
When no one bid her to enter, Raine pushed the door open and dragged her trash bag in, then set about e the bins in Haray area of Liam’s rules, but honestly, if she was in the office with a trash bag in hand, doing her job, why not take the extra ten steps to empty the bins in his personal areas? And okay, maybe she wanted to spy a little
The trash cans in his bedroom and bathrooine what it meant that, for once, there wasn’t a handful of used condoms at the bottom of those bins after one of Marlie’s visits, just a disposable razor and the box that had once held a bar of soap Her ridiculous relief annoyed her And ht have a future with aher away at every turn She had to stop thinking about Haet about him as a lover
Easier said than done She didn’t care about Lia her rest when she was tired He’d also been there when she’d been too stubborn to stop and eat lunch More than once, he’d dely until she’d answered She couldn’t ask for anyone ave a silly thump every time he smiled at her
But Hammer and the sadness in his eyes haunted her She didn’t knohat to do next, what to say to himhow to act Every tie of her there, and her traitorous body tightened
God, why couldn’t she just figure all this shit out and live a nor the little bin under Hauest rooms, the main office, and the kitchen, then shoved open the door to the alley
Raine had to gather her strength to toss the full bag into the dumpster Daht, she’d finally get a whole night’s sleepunless Liam had other plans for her
And that idea didn’t upset her at all
Behind her, the door to the alley opened again, and she turned, half expecting to see hi But she was puzzled to find Marlie instead The woman barreled toward her with as e around all that Botox Marlie walked right up to her, eyes thundering, then slapped her cheek Raine raised a hand to the side of her stinging face Her hts raced If she didn’t work at the club, she would have hit the bitch back
"What the hell is the matter with you?" she de cunt! What did you do to Hammer?" A howl of fury tore itself froain