“Got everything you need?” I ask him.
“Yeah,” he says, walking backward to the exit. “Don’t go following me or calling the cops. Stay right where you are until I’m gone.”
Spinning in the doorway, the guy continues to walk backward as he shuffles across the car park.
“Stay here,” I tell the clerk. “And don’t call the police for three minutes.”
“O-okay,” she stammers.
Keeping our eyes locked on one another, I head to the exit and step outside.
“Stay there!” the thief yells. “Stop! I swear I’ll shoot you!”
Ignoring him, I pull my cigarettes from my pocket and keep walking.
“Want one?” I ask him, lighting it as I lengthen my stride.
“Don’t smoke!” he shouts.
I nod. “Smart move. I’m thinking of quitting myself.”
“Stay there!” he yells, lightly squeezing the trigger.
Leaving my cigarette in my lips, I raise my hands and stop just five yards from him.
“You’ve never done this before, have you?” I say.
He closes one eye to look down the barrel. “That doesn’t mean I won’t shoot you.”
“I know,” I say. “I also know you’re desperate for that money.”
He glances down at the bag. “How?”
Blowing smoke through my nose, I keep my voice calm and even.
“Because I know you saw my six-hundred-thousand-dollar Rolex watch. And you didn’t steal it because you’re notthat guy. You just need money.”
“Y-you don’t know me,” he stammers.
“True,” I agree, pulling my cigarette from my lips. “But I know that look in your eye. How long did you serve?”
Glancing over his shoulder, he steps back a pace. “What?”
“I’ve seen it dozens of times,” I tell him. “I also see it when I look in the mirror. And only a soldier knows what put it there.”
His jaw twitches.
“Nine years. Three tours. Then the bastards ditched my ass.”
Harper is making me so fucking soft…
“PTSD?” I ask, and he nods. “I get it. Can you fight?”
“You wanna fight me?” he snaps.
I snicker. “At ease, soldier. It’s a simple question. Can you handle yourself against three drunk guys twice your size?”
He glances around the street like he’s waiting to get jumped.
“Why you asking me that?” he says.
The words that fall from my mouth are Harper’s…
“Because we always have choices, pal.” I point back to the store. “In less than two minutes, that lady there is going to call the police and there is CCTV everywhere here. The cops will kick your door in and arrest you for armed robbery before your head hits the pillow tonight.”
His eyes flicker with fear.
I sigh. “You’re going to spend the next ten years in prison for the sake of a measly three hundred dollars.”
He takes another step backward.
“It ain’t measly to my kids,” he says. “This will feed them for a month.”
I nod. “I get that. But you’re no good to your kids in jail, are you? They’ll end up in the system, and you’ll never see them again.”
“Probably better off without me,” he mumbles.
Harper standing at her mother’s grave makes me shake my head.
“That’s not true, and you know it. So, you have a choice. Right here, right now, you get to make a decision that will affect the next fifty years of your life.” I tilt my head. “So, I’ll ask you again. Can you handle yourself?”
“Yeah,” he says.
I take a long drag, and he doesn’t move when I step closer to him.
“Good,” I say with a gun just inches from my forehead. “I won’t be around after tomorrow. But you’re going to pay back every single cent of what you stole here tonight.”
Lines crease his forehead as he mumbles, “W-what?”
“You’re going to pay those three hundred and twelve bucks from your first month’s wages. Because you’re my new doorman at Ecstasy nightclub. You’ll have to arrange babysitters, but I pay well.”
Staring at me in disbelief, the guy lowers his gun.
“You’re…you’re giving me a job?”
I drop my cigarette and stamp it between us.
“Yeah. Let’s just say you caught me in a good mood.” I reach into my pocket and hand him a business card. “Your first night shift starts tomorrow, seven o’clock. I would tell you not to pull a stunt like this again, but I don’t think you will…”
“I won’t,” he confirms, wide-eyed.
“Good. What’s your name?”
“Logan,” he says. “Logan Dickens.”
“Okay,” I say. “Thank you for your service, Logan Dickens. Now go home and look after your kids. Someone will be in touch.”
He just stares at me.
“Go!” I tell him, glancing back at the store as the clerk picks up the phone.
Logan turns and runs, and I make my way back to the store.
“Put it down!” I say, waving at the store clerk.
Bemused, she lowers the phone.
“Don’t call the cops,” I tell her. “I’ll cover what he took and give you a thousand dollars for the stress he caused you.”
The middle-aged lady gulps, and I glance at her name tag.
“I’ll just need one thing from you, Margaret,” I say. “I’m going to need to wipe your CCTV.”
Staring back down at the rose petals and candles, thoughts of what’s about to happen tonight curl my lips into a contented smile.
“And we need to be quick…”
Lighting the candles on Harper’s bedside table, I smile as I glance down at the rose petals sprinkled across her pink sheets.
Thoughts of what will happen in this room tonight make it difficult to breathe.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” I mumble.
I’ve slept with countless women in my forty-two years, but I know deep down that Harper Reeves is different. She’s the first girl I’ve ever truly cared about, and it’s freaking me the fuck out.
Glancing at my watch, I sit down on her bed and face the window.
And just as I’m wondering whether I can leave this place tomorrow, the door creaks open behind me and my heart races.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say. “You’re not going to believe what happened to me in the late-night store just now.”
Silence.
Not sure if I’m ready to see her in that stunning red gown, I suck in a deep breath and stand.
“This guy tried to rob the all-night…”
My voice falls quiet as I turn.
“Hey, beautiful,” Mark Reeves says, leaning against the doorframe.
My heart pounds as we both glance down at the bed.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.