Pulled Within (6 page)

I turned on the car, waiting for the time on the clock to show. It was…eight.

In the morning?

Fuck.

“Hey, listen, I was about to call you. I
—
”

“Ms. Ryan, you said the same thing last week and the week before. I’m done listening to you. You were served an eviction notice seventy-two hours ago. In the meantime, you had every chance to pay up. I still haven’t received a dime.”

“I have money.” I grabbed my purse off the passenger seat,
frantically
trying to unzip the top. I dug around inside until I found the wad. “I just got a job at the casino in Bangor, so I’ll be able to pay you everything I owe you.”

“You’re going to bring me the money right now?”

My fingers tightened around the cash. “Not all of it. Just some of it, but I’ll give you everything I have.”

“How much is that?”

I calculated how much I would need for gas and my cell phone bill and an extra twenty in case something came up. “Around three hundred.”

“Three hundred isn’t even close to the amount you owe me, Ms. Ryan.”

“I know, but
—
”

“I want you out. You have one hour…or your things will
become my property.”

My forehead dropped to the steering wheel, the freezing leather practically piercing my skin.

My body swayed
back and forth
.

Was this really happening?

“One hour?” I repeated. “That’s all you’re going to give me?”

“You heard me,” he said. Then the phone went dead.

BRADY’S LANDLORD
didn’t care that I’d have no place to go once he kicked me out, or that it had taken me an entire month to find a job—or that three hundred and eighty-five dollars was more than I’d ever made in one day, and I was willing to give most of it to him. He just wanted his money—
all
of it—and I didn’t have enough to make him happy.

I didn’t bother putting down the phone. I just called Shane’s number. “It’s me,” I said when he answered. “We have a problem.”

“It’s not Brady, is it?”

Shane had texted me the prior morning, telling me he’d dropped
Brady off at rehab, that he was still detoxing pretty hard and the
meds weren’t really helping. But at least he was someplace safe, someplace
that would help him get through this. From the sound of Shane’s
reaction,
he had lingering fears that something bad had happened
already…or that Brady had left.

“No, I haven’t heard from him,” I said, hoping it reassured him. “It’s about his apartment.”

Shane sighed in relief. “I’m in the middle of a meeting and can’t really talk right now. Can you swing by my job site in about twenty and we can discuss whatever is going on?”

I checked the time; I had fifty-eight minutes. It would take at
least forty-five to get to Bar Harbor. There was a chance Vince would give
me a little more time if Shane were the one asking for it. I’d ask
Shane to call him when I got there.

“That’s fine,” I said, “but it’s going to be a little more than
twenty. Where are you?”

“That old B&B at the end of Cottage Way. It’s right off Main Street.”

I put the car in drive and began to pull out of the parking lot. “I’ll see you soon.”

It felt like the drive took forever this time. Cottage Way was just outside the downtown area, only a few minutes from the Trap House and Brady’s apartment, so I knew the area well. I hadn’t been going out much—mostly because I didn’t have the money—so I hadn’t realized the old B&B had been sold. The place had been for sale for close to a year, and I didn’t think they’d ever find a buyer. But something was definitely happening now. Workers in hardhats were rushing in and out of the building; tools and machinery were parked all over the front lawn.

Shane was standing on the front steps with Josh, one of his
helpers, holding a set of blueprints. He stopped chatting when I reached
them and gave me a hug…carefully, though, like he always did,
knowing where not to touch.

“What’s going on here?” I asked, secretly hoping some rich, out-of-town investor was making the B&B into a restaurant and needed to hire a full staff. I probably wouldn’t make as much money here as I would at the casino, but it would save me hours of commuting and gas—and the uniform would likely be more comfortable.

“It’s a huge renovation,” Shane said. “We’re gutting the whole building and making it into a place called The Harbor Spa.”

“A spa?”

A twinge of disappointment fluttered through my chest. From the time I’d gotten my scar, I’d wanted so much to go to cosmetology school. I may not have been able to stand the sun shining on my face, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t help others glow in their own light.
I’d been supporting myself since I was sixteen, which made it
impossible to save enough for school. There was something more important I’d
been stashing away money for. That took almost all the extra cash I had.

“It’ll be a real high-end place,” Shane said, his eyes wandering over the building, “nicer than anything we have now and ready just in time for season.” The expression on his face was just like the one he wore when Brady did something to make him proud. Shane truly
loved his job; I was envious of that. He turned his full attention to
me. “Anyway, you said you wanted to talk about the apartment?”

My gaze moved to the ground. “With Brady gone and losing my job, I haven’t been able to afford the rent. The landlord wants me out. Today.”

“Today?”

I looked up, expecting to see disappointment. But there was only stress and worry on his face, which I understood completely. I was feeling the same things myself. “Like, in fifteen minutes,” I said.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I can’t leave right now. I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes, and we’re starting the plumbing this afternoon.”

“I’m so sorry, Shane.” And I really was. I didn’t want Brady to
lose
his apartment or any of his things that were inside, because that
would
mean I’d be losing them, too. I just didn’t know how I could save any of it.

He shook his head, pulled his hand out of his pocket and rested it on my shoulder. He was the only parent who embraced me…the
only one I allowed to. He’d taken me in when I needed it. I
considered
him more of a father than my own. Mine had taken off before my
brother had even been born and I hadn’t heard from him since. If I knew anything of the word “father,” it was because Shane had been in my life. “This isn’t your fault, Rae. It wasn’t your job to pay Brady’s rent. How much does he owe?”

“About twenty-five hundred.”

“Dammit.” He shook his head. The dark circles under his eyes
suddenly seemed even darker. “I don’t have that kind of money
right
now. Brady let his health insurance lapse, so I’m paying for his
rehab.”

I hadn’t even considered asking Shane for the money or anyone else. This was our mess to handle—mine and Brady’s—not his. He’d given me enough over the years. And I knew even if we ended up being evicted, Brady would be fine. Once he was done with rehab,
he’d just crash with Shane for a month or so until he’d saved up
enough for another place.

My situation was a little different.

There was no way I would ever go back to Mom’s house; those
walls weren’t home anymore, and hadn’t been for a very long time. That space was dead to me. And I didn’t want to squat at Shane’s,
either. Going back there would only remind me of how little I’d
grown
since I had left. I felt enough of that helplessness on my own.
Sleeping on Shane’s couch or in Brady’s old bed would just rub that wound until it bled.

“Don’t worry about the apartment,” I said. “I just want to make sure I get Brady’s stuff out before the landlord takes it all. Maybe if you talked to him, he’d give us an extension?”

He reached into his front pocket and pulled out his phone. “Do you have his number?”

I scrolled through my call log and read it off to him. He waited for the landlord to answer as I wandered off toward the water.

I needed to think beyond the apartment.

I hadn’t heard from the manager at the casino, so I was pretty sure I had a full-time job. But even with making that kind of money, it would still take me a few weeks to be able to afford a place on my
own. Where would I live in the meantime? Whenever this had happened before, when I was between crashing with the few guys I’d dated in the past, Brady was the one who took me in. That wasn’t going to happen this time.

“Hi, Rae.”

My breath got stuck in the back of my throat. I had to stop
myself
from choking. It was that voice again, the one that made my entire
body melt…and that made my heart ache at the same time. I’d lost track of him at the casino. He’d so easily left me behind.
Again.

What the hell was he doing
here
now?

“Seeing you at the poker room was a coincidence,” he said as I
turned around. His soft lips were pulled into a grin. “This time, it
feels a little more meaningful.”

I didn’t bother telling him that, after I‘d gotten out of work, I had
checked the whole parking lot for him. I hadn’t expected that he’d
stick around, considering his tendency for leaving. Maybe I’d just
been hoping it would be different this time.

“The poker room was definitely unintentional. But you’re in
my
space now.”

And he was. He was standing only a foot away, with his hands
in his pockets. A fleece hugged his tall, tight frame.

His eyelids narrowed. His bottom lip was wet where he’d just licked it. “
Your
space?”

I didn’t just hear his words when he spoke; I felt them push
through my jacket and tickle the skin around my navel. Had I closed my eyes,
I’d have seen his lips in that exact spot. His tongue, too. My back
arching from the syllables he breathed over my flesh.

But I couldn’t close my eyes…and I couldn’t let any of that
happen. I wasn’t going back to that place with him. It had taken me far too long to recover last time. All he would get from me now were simple answers. “Yeah, this is…”

I stopped speaking when Shane joined us suddenly, his eyes bouncing from Hart to me. “Did I interrupt you guys?”

“No,” I answered quickly, thinking of a question to fire off at
Shane. “Is everything okay with the landlord?” I hoped it would make Hart
uncomfortable enough to walk away. But he didn’t. He just stood
there facing me, his eyes never leaving mine.

“He’s giving me a few extra days to move Brady’s things,”
Shane
said. He wasn’t done speaking. I could tell that whatever was
coming next, it hurt him to say it. “That’s the only allowance he’ll make. He doesn’t want you—or anyone—living there, so that means you
—
”

“I’ll head over there right now,” I blurted out. I got it. He didn’t
need to say any more, especially in front of Hart. Not that it
mattered,
but Hart didn’t need to know anything about my living situation.
And it was a reason to make my exit.

“He wants you to leave your key on the kitchen counter,” Shane said.

That spot inside my stomach began to thaw from Hart’s silvery stare. It was the same spot that liked to shoot little bolts to the place between my legs, reminding me of the control he used to have over
my body…and apparently still did. I only wished it could heat my
face,
too; it was the only skin that wasn’t covered by at least a layer of
clothes.
And the colder it got, the deeper and redder my scar appeared. I
hated that I couldn’t hide it from him.

“No problem,” I said.

Shane’s hand was back on my shoulder, more fatherly concern filling his face. “You know you can always stay at my house. No one is using Brady’s room, so it’s yours if you need it. You still have the key I gave you?”

Hart had noticed Shane embracing me, and his concerned
expression. He was processing the pieces he’d just heard, putting the whole
picture together. His stance told me he wasn’t going
anywhere…which meant I needed to. “Yeah, I have it, but I’m all set. I have a place already.” I hated lying to Shane after everything he had done for me. It was something I didn’t usually do. I just didn’t want him to worry,
and I really didn’t want Hart to be here while we had this
conversation, either. “Thank you, Shane. I’ll call you after I leave the apartment.” I glanced at Hart. I had no idea what to say to him, so I said nothing. I
raised my fingers and waved as I turned around and rushed to my
car.

I slid into the driver’s seat and watched the guys from the corner of my eye. I saw their lips move. I couldn’t help but wonder what
they were talking about, why Hart was at the construction
site…what
he was even doing back in Bar Harbor. Shane would tell me
everything, but it would have to wait until later.

I put my foot on the brake and turned the key, and a sputtering filled my ears. The entire car shook. It sounded like it was trying to start; it just didn’t actually fire up. I checked the key to make sure it was the right one. I tried tapping the gas.

Nothing happened, other than the noise attracting their attention.

This can’t be fucking happening.

As my forehead pressed against the steering wheel, my skin chafed from the leather rubbing against it. I didn’t care. All I wanted was to go to Brady’s and grab my things and figure out where I was going to live. Hopefully, it wasn’t going to be inside this car.