Reaper's Stand (Reapers MC, #4)(35)

“What the f*ck, Loni? You don’t want to lead me on? What the hell do you think you’ve been doing the last eight weeks? Is your cunt made of gold? Because I swear to God, women don’t pull this shit with me and get away with it.”

My mouth dropped open and I gasped. Nate didn’t talk like that. What on earth had happened here?

“Nate, I—”

“We’re over.” He stood, glaring at me. “I can’t believe how much time I wasted on you.”

Then he turned and walked away stiffly, rage all but radiating through the air around him.

Well. That was special.

I glanced around, hoping nobody had noticed our little scene. Amazingly they hadn’t, despite the fact that it’d felt pretty dramatic and spectacular to me. I’d just gotten publicly dumped and it sort of hurt. Why it hurt, I had no idea. He’d done to me what I’d planned to do to him, so what right did I have to feel anything but relief?

Just be glad it’s over.

The waiter walked over carrying two enormous platters of Mexican food, and I realized that not only had Nate dumped me, he’d stuck me with the bill, too. Always look on the bright side. Without Jess to feed, I wouldn’t have to cook for the next week. I’d just work my way through Nate’s jumbo carne asada entree.

“Can you wrap those up to go?” I asked the waiter. He cocked a brow, but wisely kept his mouth shut. I decided to give him a thirty percent tip, because someone should get something out of this date.

Then I took my overpriced takeout and swung by the grocery store, because I had ice cream to buy.

Ice cream and hair dye.

? ? ?

Two hours later I swirled in front of my bathroom mirror, a new woman.

Ruby Fusion.

I looked like Christina Hendricks on acid (okay, not quite as statuesque, and my boobs were smaller . . . but still very curvy!). The new hair was gorgeous. Crazy. Fun. I wondered if Reese would like it, and then decided I didn’t care, because I liked it.

That’s when it hit me.

For the first time in forever, I was doing something for myself.

It felt good.

? ? ?

The high lasted until about noon the next day, when I carefully sorted through my finances. Counting all my savings, the business emergency funds, and the secret vacation stash, I was still broke. Okay. So no new Miatas just yet. But if I got the contract for The Line, maybe I could revisit the idea in a year or two. Assuming Reese didn’t fire me.

Powerful motivation.

I’d just have to get that contract no matter what. So what if I had to sleep with him to do it . . . I’d just call it a bonus and roll with it.

? ? ?

Jessica got in touch right after I went to bed Tuesday night.

“Hey, Loni.”

“Hey there,” I responded, biting back the “So, I see your phone still works” comment hovering on my lips. Silence fell between us, all weird and uncomfortable.

“How are things with your mom?” I asked finally.

“Things are good, I guess. I mean, she isn’t here very much. She’s really busy with her friends and stuff, and she doesn’t like me to be around when her boyfriend comes home. I don’t have a car or anything, so I’ve just sort of been hanging out by the pool. They’ve got me in the guesthouse. There are a few others staying there, but I have my own room.”

“Well, I’m glad things are good,” I told her. “I want you to be happy.”

“I was wondering . . .”

“Yes?”

“Do you think you could pack up some of my things and ship them down? I left all my clothes up there, and Mom has been loaning me shit, but I don’t feel quite right borrowing from her all the time.”

I glanced toward her bedroom door, wondering if I’d be a horrible person if I said I’d set all her things on fire. Yes. That would be horrible. Pity, because a small, hateful part of me wanted to hurt her.

But even with Ruby Fusion hair, I still had to be the adult.

“Sure, I can pack some things up—but not everything. That would cost a fortune to ship. If you want more, you can get a job and earn the money to pay for it. I’ll get some clothes for you, though.”

“And maybe some of my books and pictures?” she asked. “You know, like the scrapbook I made of the kids at the community center? I’m kind of missing them, especially since I didn’t get to say good-bye. I wanted to find somewhere else to volunteer, but Mom thought that was a bad idea.”

My heart softened a little. Amber was a Class A bitch, so staying with her had to be a punishment in and of itself. My Jessie girl had some hard lessons ahead of her.

“I’ll pack some things up and send them soon,” I told her firmly. “But it’s late and I need to sleep. I’ve got work in the morning.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Loni?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

? ? ?

Wednesday morning I opened her bedroom door, midsized cardboard shipping box in hand. I’d come in here right after she ran away and picked up the worst of her mess from the tantrum, just so nobody would accidentally cut their feet on the broken glass. But beyond that I’d left everything untouched. Jess was a slob, and we’d come to an agreement years ago. She’d do her part to keep the rest of the house clean, and I’d stop bugging her about her bedroom.