The UN Series Complete Box Set (74 page)

Through my headache and stinging face, I see that it is Tate, helping me up.

“Are you okay?” he asks wide-eyed.

I nod.

“Where did he go?”

I blink a few times, trying to see straight. “What…?’

He shakes me, which does hell to my headache. “Which way did he go, Sam?” he demands.

“I…I don’t know.” I look around the dark parking lot. He lets go of my arms and runs to the side of the bar.

I slump back against the Tahoe as I try to get my shaking body back under control. Only a few seconds tick by before Tate returns. “I didn’t see anyone.” He looks around the parking lot again.

“What happened?” I ask, confused. One second someone was attacking me, and then the next Tate was shaking me.

“I came around the corner and saw you on the ground,” he states, not even breathing heavy from running around the building. “What did you see?” he asks in a rush.

“Just dark clothes.”

“Come on,” he says taking me by my arm and pulling me away from the Tahoe.

“What? Where are we going?”

“You are calling Slade and I am taking you to the hospital.” He places me up in his truck.

“I didn’t even see him and I don’t need to go to the hospital,” I argue.

“That doesn’t matter. You need to report it and you need to get checked out.”

“I’m not going to the hospital,” I snap. “The police station is fine, but I do not need to go to the hospital.”

He ignores my outburst and pulls his phone out of his pocket.

I sigh as I close my eyes, still trying to calm my heart rate. After several seconds, he asks for my phone. I hand him my purse, not wanting to dig through it to find my phone.

“Hey, Slade, its Tate,” he says once Slade answers the phone. “Yes, I have Sam’s phone.” He inhales deeply. I can only imagine Slade asking several questions at once, demanding to know why Tate has my phone. Tate goes on to explain what happened in the parking lot then hands me the phone.

“He wants to talk to you.”

Of course he does. “Hello?”

“Angel. Are you okay? What in the hell happened? What were you doing there alone?” he demands.

“I sent Holly home early because she was sick,” I explain. “And I wasn’t alone. Tate was there.”

“Well, he obviously didn’t do any good. Someone attacked you,” he barks.

“I wouldn’t call it that.” I try to lighten the conversation.

“Really?” he counters. “What in the fuck would you call it?”

“I’m okay, Slade. We are heading to the police station to make a report even though I didn’t see anything.”

“I know. I’ll meet you there,” he says before he hangs up. I toss my phone into the cup holder and lean back in my seat. My face hurts and I have a headache. I don’t want to go to the police station. I would much rather just have some peace and quiet.

I think Tate understands how I’m feeling because he stays quiet as he drives me through town.

When we pull up to the police station, I see Slade’s car is already in the parking lot. He meets us as soon as we walk inside.

“Angel,” he says, running up to us.

“I’m okay,” I assure him, trying to sound positive. My face is still burning and I can feel it swelling as I look at him.

He steps closer to me and grabs my chin. “Do not tell me you’re okay. Your face is already starting to bruise.”

I jerk away from his hold and shut my eyes at the pain the action causes in my neck.

“Miss Hall, please come into my office,” an officer says, gesturing to a small office in the corner.

Tate and I replay our story of how things happened as Slade sits quietly in the seat beside me. I decide I like it when he screams a lot better than when he’s quiet. At least when he’s speaking I know what he’s thinking. His silence worries me.

“What do you think his intentions were, Miss Hall?” the officer asks.

“My purse.” I remember him trying to grab it.

Slade lets out a dark laugh and I turn my head to stare at him. “There’s no way he was after your purse, Angel.”

The officer places his forearms on the table. “Do you have some information you want to add, Slade?”

Slade raises an eyebrow at the officer. “Well, Brad, our house was broken into last month, someone busted the window of our truck while she was out shopping and now someone has attacked her outside of her work. I would say someone is after her.”

I roll my eyes. “They are not connected.”

“How do you know that?” Slade eyes slam to mine.

I gesture to Officer Brad. “They have the guy who broke into our house in custody.”

“What makes you think that?” the officer says, frowning.

“Because an officer called Slade yesterday and said so.”

“Who was the officer that called you?” He looks at Slade.

Slade informs him of the conversation that took place between him and Officer White. The officer then picks up his phone and makes a call. He barks out a few orders and then hangs up. He folds his hands on top of his desk and looks at Slade. “The guy was released a few hours after you were called.”

“Why?” Slade demands.

“The guy was drunk and homeless. He broke into the house to get a night in jail.” He shakes his head with a scowl on his face. “He lied about the other break-ins.”

I look at Tate confused. Who lies about breaking into someone’s home?

“It happens often. The homeless would much rather spend a night in a jail cell with a warm bed and dinner, than on the streets,” he explains as if reading my mind.

“Why the fuck was I not notified?” Slade stands abruptly.

The officer lets out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Slade. If I would have known they called and informed you of the arrest, I would have called and let you know he was released. From now on, I will be the only one who contacts you.” He points a finger at all of us. “If anyone from here calls you to give you information, you call me immediately.”

Slade turns to Tate and gestures to the door. Tate gets up, grabs my hand, causing me to stand as well, and guides me out of the office. Once he shuts the door, Tate continues to drag me toward another desk where an officer sits. “I need some Tylenol and a glass of water,” Tate states.

The officer nods and gets up from his chair. He returns several seconds later and hands them to Tate. He opens the Tylenol and hands me two pills. I take them without hesitation. My head is pounding and I still feel somewhat dizzy.

Slade exits the office with a scowl on his face. We walk out of the police station and I turn to face Slade. He gives me a hard stare before he speaks. “First thing tomorrow, you’re quitting your job.”

“What?” Some guy jumps me for my purse and that means I have to quit my job?

“You heard me. This is not up for discussion. You. Are. Quitting. Your. Job.”

I look from him to Tate. Tate just stares off into the street as if he can’t hear us even though he is standing only a foot away from me. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” he counters before he starts to walk away.

“Oh? What am I going to do, Slade?”

“I don’t care,” he throws over his shoulder.

“What do you want me to do, Slade? I sure as hell won’t sit around the house all day!”

“You do that anyways,” he snaps.

I place my hands on my hips. “What the fuck does that mean?” I scream at him.

He stops walking and spins around to face me. “It means you’re a fucking waitress who works at a rundown bar,” he snaps. “I’ve been telling you to quit, but for some reason that’s too hard for you!”

My body is now shaking for a different reason. Anger.

“So, the waitress was good enough to bring home and fuck, but now that we’re living together, I’m not good enough?”

He takes a step toward me, holding a finger up. “First of all, I did not just take you home and fuck you. I waited. You were the one who begged for it.” My mouth drops open at his words. “Second of all, like I said. You’re. A. Fucking. Waitress. It’s not like your job is important.”

I don’t think I have ever been this embarrassed in all my life. I turn and start walking toward Tate’s truck. I open up the passenger door and jump in.

To my surprise, I see Slade spin around and walk off to his car as well.

Tate quietly gets up into his truck and starts the engine. “Take me back to the Tahoe,” is all I say to him. He drives me back to the bar, once again in silence.

“Are you going home?” he asks before I open the passenger door.

“No.” Why would I go home to that? Who wants to listen to someone you love put you down? Tell you how worthless you are?

Not me!

I open the door and slam it shut. I don’t know why, but I’m pretty pissed off at Tate as well. He just stood there like a fucking shadow, not even caring what Slade had to say to me. I start up the Tahoe and decide the best place for me to go is to a hotel. I want a night without questions, a night without arguments. What happened was not my fault and I don’t want to have to sit and listen to his life lessons on how I’m a worthless waitress who continues to fuck up.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

SLADE

I get home and pace back and forth in the garage, waiting for her to get there. She looked awful. A bruise was already forming on her cheek and she had a red spot on her forehead. What the hell was she thinking walking out to her car by herself? A better question is what the fuck was Tate doing there?

I continue to pace for several minutes before I realize she has still not arrived home. She should have been here by now. I pull my phone out of my pocket and scroll through my recent calls to Tate’s number. He answers immediately.

“Where are you guys?” I demand.

“She is in the Tahoe and I’m following her,” he says simply.

“Why are you following her?” Does he plan on coming to our house?

“Because she told me she was not going home. So my plan was to follow her and then call you when she stops.”

I let out a hard breath. “What is your deal, Tate? Why were you at her work in the first place?”

“If you’re thinking I still want Sam, just stop,” he replies calmly.

“Well, you’re not making a very believable case for yourself. At her work after closing, following her.”

“I’m following her to inform you where she goes.”

“And why in the fuck would you do that?” I snap.

“You pissed her off with your outburst outside the police station, but I don’t blame you.”

His words make me pause.

“I would have laughed at her screaming at you, if you had not been right.”

“I’m confused.” This guy is not making any sense.

“I feel the same way you do, Slade. Sam needs to quit her job and work somewhere safer. But I sure as hell was not going to jump into that ring of fire. Telling Sam to do something won’t get you anywhere.”

“No shit,” I mumble.

“There is someone either after you or after her, but either way she is the one who is going to end up hurt.”

I also agree with that. If someone is after me, they will use her to get to me. If someone is after her, they will continue until they succeed.

“So, quit questioning my intentions. That’s why I was there at Larry’s. I want her safe, just like you, and I failed,” he says quietly. “I was too slow. When I got into my truck, I had a phone call. I thought it would take her longer to close up. I was wrong. By the time I pulled around the back, she was already on the ground and the guy had run off. I guess my headlights scared him away.”

I take in a deep breath as I lean up against the car door. He probably saved her life by being there. “Well, then I guess I owe you a thank you. And I owe her an apology.”

“Hell no, you don’t owe her an apology. You are right in wanting to keep her safe,” he says surprising me. I start to speak but he tells me she has stopped and informs me of the name of the hotel.

I open the door and jump back into my car, heading to the hotel. Not fifteen minutes later, I’m walking into the lobby heading straight for the reception desk to ask for a room key. There is no way Angel is going to answer the door for me. I’m going to have to get in that room on my own. The woman behind the counter perks up when she sees me.

“Slade,” she greets excitedly.

Fuck!

I swear I have never seen this woman before. “Hello,” I say nicely, giving her a big smile. I have to play this right.

“What can I do for you?” She smiles brightly.

“I need a key to room 406.” After Tate told me what hotel she was in, I had called and asked for Samantha Hall’s room. They very easily told me what room she was in. I intend on calling the manager tomorrow and giving him a piece of my mind. What if I was the person who is after her?

“Okay.” She looks down and starts typing into her computer. After a few seconds, she frowns. “Oh,” she says sadly.

“What?” Could she have already checked out? She just got here.

“It belongs to a woman,” she states, still looking at the computer.

Shit!

“I’m sorry, you are not listed on the room, so I can’t give you a key,” she says looking at me, a smile no longer on her face.

I lean up against the counter casually and give her my best smile. “I know. Do you remember my friend Josh?” I ask, since she seems to know me.

She nods her head. “Well, that is his girlfriend’s room. She rented the room for a couple of nights.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Sleeping with your best friend’s girlfriend? Even that is low for you, Slade.”

“No. They decided to go out of town and left yesterday, but had paid for another night. They said I could use it, but forgot to give me a key.” Fuck, that was the stupidest thing I have ever said. Being with Angel has totally ruined my mojo with women.

“Okay,” she says like the dumb blonde she is. I look over to the man sitting next to her and he frowns. I’m praying that he doesn’t rat me out. All the blonde has to do is look and see that Angel had just checked in. “Would you like to meet up later? I get off at ten in the morning.”

I smile brightly until she has the key ready. “I’ll call you,” I say as she hands it to me.

I know Tate said I don’t owe her an apology, but I feel like I do. I should not have said a few of the things I did. I’m not her father. I can’t make her do something she doesn’t want to do.

I make my way to her room to find her lying face down on the bed with the covers shoved down to the foot of the bed, still dressed in her work clothes. She must be exhausted.

I take my phone out of my pocket and text Micah that I will be in late tomorrow. Then I take off my clothes and crawl in bed so that I’m facing her. I thank my lucky stars that she is already asleep. Otherwise, she would have thrown me out. I lightly touch the bruise that is on her cheek. It’s so frustrating knowing someone was trying to hurt her once again. I close my eyes and inhale her scent. This isn’t the first time that I’m thankful she’s with me.

*****

I wake up to Angel getting out of the shower. I walk into the bathroom and see her drying her hair with a towel. “I don’t know why you even came. I don’t want you here,” she says, not even bothering to look over at me.

“I want to talk about what I said.”

“Which part?” She places a finger over her lips and looks up as in thought. “The fact that you pretty much called me worthless and said that I just lay around the house all day? Or where you called me a bar whore?”

I grind my teeth in frustration. “You’re putting words in my mouth.”

She takes a step forward with a finger pointed at me. “A guy tried to rob me and you were more worried about what I do for a living than how I actually felt.”

I run a hand over the back of my neck. “That’s why I came here.”

“Speaking of
here
. How in the hell did you find me?” she demands, placing her hands on her hips.

I go to speak but a knock at the door has me releasing a sigh. Angel looks at me. “Are you expecting someone?”

“No.”

She walks over to open the door and there stands the girl from downstairs.

Fuck me!

Could this day get any fucking worse?

She looks from Angel to me. “Uh, Slade. My shift is over and I realized you may not have my number anymore.”

“Excuse me?” Angel chokes out before I can speak.

She looks to Angel with a smile on her face. “He said he would call me later and I didn’t know if he still had my number.”

I tense as Angel slams the door in her face and then proceeds to slowly turn around to face me. I have never seen a woman want to kill me as much as she does right now. Fuck, shit just got worse.

I stand there, staring back, not really knowing what to say. I would have never called that girl. I just needed a key to get up here, but Angel doesn’t know that.

“Unfuckingbelievable,” she says as her hard green eyes stare into mine. Then she turns and stomps off to the bathroom.

I go to follow her but she turns and points to the door. “Show yourself out, Slade.”

“Angel, let me explain.”

She huffs taking a step closer. “Explain what, Slade? How you’re sorry about what you said last night? How you found me?” Her eyes look to the door then back to me. “Is that what you want, Slade? Is that why you have never settled down before? Hmm? No one is good enough for Slade Long,” she says sarcastically. “Well, not for anything more than a fuck, that is.”

I run a hand through my hair. “No, no one ever mattered until you.”

She gives a dark laugh before she looks me in the eye. “I believe I told you to leave. I have heard all the bullshit I can handle for one day,” she says before she stalks off, slamming the door to the bathroom.

I turn around and march out, slamming the hotel door as well. I fucked up, and she hates me. Fuck all this shit, we both just need time to cool down.

*****

SAMANTHA

After I hear Slade slam the door, I hear my cell phone ringing. I exit the bathroom to see who it is.

I answer when I see Holly’s name flash across my screen.

“Hey, Holls.”

“Oh my God, girl, I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“Yes. You sound like you feel better.” I try to change the subject.

“Who cares how I feel. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I fill her in on all of last night’s drama. She apologizes more times than I can even count about being sick and leaving early. She blames herself for not being there, but I feel better knowing she wasn’t there. She couldn’t have stopped anything, I’m just glad that she wasn’t there to get hurt as well. We say our goodbyes and I rest my hands on the counter, hanging my head as I think about Slade being here this morning.

I don’t know what was said between him and that girl who showed up at my room, but I do know that he would never cheat on me.

The thought that she showed up still pisses me off though. I look up at myself in the mirror and see my necklace that he got me for my birthday hanging around my neck. I’ve always known he feels differently about me and that he has only ever loved me. I just don’t know how much more crap I can take. I once told myself I would never change anything for a man. You can still love someone that has flaws. Hell, that’s what makes them so beautiful. That’s what makes them special. Maybe my flaw is that I’m too stubborn. I’ve actually been considering quitting Larry’s. Maybe take Courtney up on her offer of the opening her bank has right now, but not now. Oh, hell no. He is not going to control my life.

Then a thought hits me. I find myself smiling as I start to get ready for the day. The bruises on my face and the memory of my fight with Slade are not going to hold me back from doing what I want.

I have a fuck him attitude today and I’m in the mood to have a new car to go along with it. I do not want to drive the Tahoe. Just because I have come to terms with the fact that my mother is gone, doesn’t mean I feel comfortable driving her car around every day.

I text Holly and tell her to get ready for lunch and I send out a message to Missy and Courtney to see if they want to do some shopping on their lunch break.

Then I hurry to get ready and head out of the hotel room.

*****

“Hello, ma’am.” A good-looking younger man greets me as I walk into the Acura dealership. I don’t really know what I want, this just happened to be the first dealership I spotted.

“Hello,” I say nicely.

“What can I do for you today?”

“I would like to trade in my Tahoe.”

“Well you came to the right place. What are you looking for?” he says as I follow him into his little office.

I sit down in front of his desk. “It doesn’t matter. I want black and I want it to be a two-seater.” The voice inside my head is telling me Slade will be pissed when he finds out about this. I smile and choose to ignore it.

“What price range are you looking at?” he asks, returning the nice smile.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter?” He raises an eyebrow, surprised.

“No, the price does not matter. Something sporty with two seats,” I request excitedly. I already feel better about this day. Fuck Slade and his I’m not good enough shit, and fuck his trying to control everything.

“Here are some brochures of our selections.” He hands me a handful of pamphlets and I instantly like the one that reminds me of a little spaceship. It has NSX written next to it. “I want this one.” I hold it up.

He looks up and his eyes get big. “Those run around one hundred and seventy five thousand dollars, ma’am.” Then he looks at my Tahoe parked outside.

“Don’t worry.” I wave a hand. “I’ll pay the difference,” I tell him, digging into my purse for my phone. “Will a wire transfer work?” I ask, pulling up my contacts.

He nods his head, eyes still big as half-dollars.

Not an hour after transferring the money and the salesman trying to take care of me by having my new car washed and detailed, I am on my way to pick up Holly to do some shopping, before we meet up with Courtney and Missy for a late lunch. I feel like I need to get away for a couple of days. I need to take a trip back to Tulsa and take care of the last few things left. For some reason, I just feel like it’s time. I don’t know if it was my fight with Slade or what, I just feel ready to let go. I’m tired of all this fighting and the fact that someone might be after one of us. So, I’m going to clear my life of all the baggage that I can.