Reckless Retribution (West Warriors Book 1) (9 page)

I just nodded; there wasn’t anything else I could say. He gave me another sorrowful smile and walked away.

Sitting on my bed, I stabbed at my food with my fork. All hunger I did have had evaporated now. I looked up at my white picture frame on the wall facing my bed. It had a collage of photo’s inside from the various friends I had made in the different places I’d lived. I had a lovely one of Taylor and me, and I wanted to put one in of the guys from the club. I classed them as friends now too, even in the short time I had known them; although, Jamie was sometimes questionable.

Just thinking about him made me feel guilty again. I didn’t treat him nicely earlier, and he didn’t deserve it. I wanted to text him and tell him how sorry I was, but I didn’t have his number. I didn’t have any of their numbers. With my eye the way it was, I was lucky I didn’t have to face them or Kal at all for a week. I’d booked a week off with Kal before I started so that I could use it to study, now that I was getting nearer to finals, and it had turned out to be for the best. I don’t know how I would have lied my way through a black eye with them. They wouldn’t have the wool pulled over their eyes, that’s for sure. Or Taylor, for that matter. I wouldn’t be able to go into class tomorrow looking the way I did. My attendance at school wasn’t exactly stellar, thanks to Dad.

Stepping off the bus, I spotted Taylor walking over from the parking lot. When she spotted me, a big grin crossed her face, and her walk picked up speed.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, as she pulled me into a hug.

“Much better, I think it was a stomach bug,” I lied, rubbing my stomach. I’d taken days off school until my eye had gone down.

“I missed you,” she pouted.

I felt horrible lying to her, but the less she knew, the better.

“What did you walk into this time?” She gestured to my eye.

I tried not to look so taken aback that she had just pointed out the barely there bruise on my eye. I thought I’d masterfully covered it. I swore if I didn’t make it as a teacher I could get a job as a makeup artist because of the years of experience I had learning how to perfectly cover up bruises. Obviously, I was very wrong. I also wondered if her question was a rhetorical one. Isn’t “I fell” or “I walked into something” always the response when someone was being abused? She didn’t know the way Dad treated me unless she’d picked up on it somehow. I always kept that stuff to myself.

“Wiping the gym equipment down last week, I smacked my eye on one of the bars,” I answered her question with the best excuse I could think of.

She shook her head flippantly. “I have never known anyone so clumsy.”

I let out a little laugh. “What did
you
do this weekend?” I asked her, changing the subject.

“I went shopping for my graduation dress with mom.” She rolled her eyes, which told me it didn’t go well at all. I felt slightly hurt because we always said we were going to do that together. We made a pact a while ago that we would go dress shopping together so she could help me choose one. She had excellent taste in clothes and would no doubt find me the perfect one.

“It’s like two months away though.”

“I know. You try telling my mom that.”

“Did you find one?” I asked hesitantly.

She shook her head. “No, I still wanna go look with you. We said we were going to, didn’t we?”

“Yeah.” I smiled, happy that she still wanted to go look with me.

I was really looking forward to graduation. I had big plans for my life after it. I wanted to move out of the state, away from Dad and find a good job in an elementary school. A fresh start, with no worries and nobody holding me back. I had lived a life in prison by choosing to stay with Dad for as long as I have. I wanted and needed freedom and independence, and I knew the only way I would truly get that would be by moving far enough away. Saving money had been risky, but I’d managed to get enough saved to set me up for a few months. I tried not to think too much about leaving. The thought of leaving Taylor behind is heartbreaking. She had no plans to move whatsoever; she loved her life in Michigan. I only wished it could have been that simple for me.

After school, I went straight to the club for my first shift since having the week off doing mind-numbing studying. I was glad to get away from my books for a while.

The club was really busy when I walked in. Putting my things away, I sat down with Kal, and he quickly filled me in on what I had missed last week and what was going on today. The equipment was being maintenance checked, so we had a lot of customers hanging around to use the little equipment available.

Kal was going to be busy meeting with the other trainers in the club. They trained often with the guys, and were all big men; some of them were ex-fighters too. They tended to scream and shout a lot when they were in, pushing the guys to their limits. I felt uneasy on those days, and they sure put them through their paces, which had resulted in them vomiting sometimes, because they’d exerted themselves that much.

When Kal went away from the desk, I fixed myself a coffee and made my way out, practically bumping into Jamie as he was walking into the kitchen. He frowned at me, and I wondered if he was still upset with me for giving him a less than courteous greeting at my house last week.

“What have you done to your eye?”

Again, I thought it was barely visible now. “Getting a box out of the attic, one of the ornaments smacked me in the face,” I told him, as I walked back to my desk away from him.

He didn’t say anything else about it and walked into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he came out and stopped at the desk. “Can you make me a shake please?” he asked almost timidly, and gently put his cup down on the desk.

“Wow, I’m privileged.” I raised my eyebrows at his sudden request. I took his cup and moved over to the shake bar, and he followed.

“I trust you now.” He grinned.

I shook my head, smiling at him, and he spread his hands along the width of the counter top, splaying his muscular arms out, watching me as I went about fixing his shake. I tried to keep my eyes off his arms and on the task at hand. I did my best not to fumble and make him aware that he affected me. I walked to the water machine, filling the cup up, and screwed the cap on. “Do you want me to shake it?” I held it out to him.

Smiling to himself, he looked down at his cup. “Nah, I got it, thanks.” He plucked it from my hands and shook it vigorously. My eyes strayed to his arms again before he distracted me. “Don’t ever shake it for guys. Unless it’s for one of us, of course.” He winked.

Kal strictly told me that I wasn’t to do that for
anyone
, for obvious reasons. I had to laugh at his cheekiness telling me I could only do it for them. I did it for Leon the other day without thinking. I didn’t mind though, if it was just for the guys.

Kal came to the shake bar and gave Jamie a warning look. Jamie shook his shake in front of Kal’s face and walked away. It looked like there was still tension between them. I sat back down at my desk and carried on with the rest of the work I needed to get done.

When my shift finished, I hauled ass to school for my 4 p.m. class. I hated Tuesdays for that reason only. It was a waste of a day to have just one class at that silly time. My cell started ringing, and I fished it out of my purse, looking at the caller ID, which said Unknown. Sliding my finger across the glass, I answered. “Hello?”

“Miss Baxter?” came a female voice with a southern twang.

“Yes, speaking,” I replied curiously, wondering what she wanted.

“Hi, it’s Principal Jenny Cole from Roysten Elementary school in Freeport, Texas.”

“Hi,” I said, stunned I was getting a call from Texas. I prayed it was good news.

“I’m just calling to offer you a temporary position with us starting in the fall.”

“Really?” I squealed in excitement.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, my God. I mean, I would love to accept.” I started to pace the floor in utter disbelief at what I was being offered. I’d done it! I’d actually gone and done it. I was going to Texas.

“That’s excellent news. We’re looking forward to having you as part of our team. I will email you the details so we can make some arrangements.”

“Thank you so much,” I said gratefully.

“You’re welcome, Miss Baxter. Have a good day now.” And with that, she hung up.

I stared at the cell phone in my hand. Did that seriously just happen?
My one chance out of here just happened. I wanted to scream, cry, shout, dance, everything.

I’d found the opening online a few weeks ago. I wasn’t planning on moving as far as Texas, but when I read the details, it just sounded like an opportunity I couldn’t miss. I’d been fortunate enough to get good recommendation letters from some of my professors, so I was sure that helped my chances. After the success of my application form, I was then given a lengthy interview over the phone by the principal, because I wasn’t able to fly out. I felt like it went well, but in all honesty, I thought I wouldn’t be offered the job because I was from out of state. But no, they chose me. This was huge!

In shock, I boarded the bus to school. I couldn’t wait to tell Taylor, so I texted her. I didn’t want to call her because you never knew who was listening in on a crowded bus, and I didn’t want Dad finding out before I could tell him myself.

My phone buzzed a few minutes later.

No fucking way! Gonna miss you. Tell me more when you can.

I put my phone away and started to think about August. That was going to come around fast. We were already in April, and graduation was happening next month. With little time left in Michigan, my mind began to swim with all the things I needed to do. My priority was finding a place to live. That was going to be a task in itself because I didn’t even live in the same state. I didn’t want to end up living in a bad part of the town, especially because I would be living alone.

Gosh, was I really ready to do this on my own? Leave everybody? Panic was trying to rise in my chest. Closing my eyes, I made myself breathe in and out a few times. I had no choice but to go. I needed to.

Now, there was the small matter of telling Dad. How on earth was I going to tell him? I knew he was going to flip out; I expected that. His only living flesh and blood, his daughter, would be leaving him alone. With nothing.

The minute I got home from school, Dad immediately summoned me. Fear set in as I walked slowly to him, wondering what the hell he was going to ask me. Did he already know? Had he been suspicious all along? Did the school principal ring here first? All possible reasons of how he knew ran through my mind.

“I need you to go to the store. I’m all out.” He shook his brandy bottle at me.

Relief filled me, although I’d literally just got home and now he wanted me to go back out to the store. I didn’t dare complain; it wasn’t worth it. “Where’s the money?”

“What money?” he asked, trying to look like he didn’t understand what I was talking about.

I knew he had some. He always did. He just preferred taking mine. “The money you get for being off work?”

He looked at me silently, and I could see the gears turning in his mind trying to come up with a justifiable excuse as to why he had no money. He had just been paid yesterday, so I knew he had some.

“
I
haven’t got any. I haven’t been paid yet.” I shrugged and turned, walking away from him.

With a hefty sigh, I heard him rise from his chair and his feet soon started shuffling down the hall behind me. Trying to hide my amusement, I turned around to him.

“There,” he snapped, thrusting a $20 bill at me.

“Thank you,” I quipped, plucking the note from his hand. I shoved it in my coat pocket and left the house.

I picked up his favorite brandy from the liquor shelf and suddenly felt someone come to a stop a bit too close behind me. I froze.

“A bit strong for you,” said a voice huskily into my ear.

I spun around, coming literally face-to-face with Jamie. I backed up to get my personal space back and nearly went into the shelves of liquor.

He quickly pulled me forward. “Jesus, how many have you had?” He let out a raspy laugh.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Funny. It’s not for me.” I looked at the bottle in my hand.

His shoulders dropped and he cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “Let me guess. It’s for your friend?”

I shook my head at his playfulness. What was with the teasing? I noticed he wasn’t wearing his usual gym attire; he was dressed in normal clothes. Nothing out there, just plain and simple. But he wore plain and simple well, which was a stark contrast to how he was as a person. Jamie was anything but plain and simple.

Black jeans with a tight black T-shirt that dipped deliciously in a low V, exposing some of his toned chest teasingly. I could make out the lines of his pecs, and it was quite distracting. Why was he so damn hot?
It was effortless for him
.
When I realized I was staring, I lifted my eyes to find a cocky smirk on his face. Immediately, he glanced down to his chest then back to me and raised his eyebrows, still with that cocky smirk. I felt myself blush and my insides started to squirm. “Why are
you
in this aisle, oh holier than thou?” I asked, eyeing his empty basket, recovering from my awkward, blatant staring.

“Stocking up on party supplies. I’m having a small… get-together Saturday. If you’re interested?” He paused, waiting for my response.

Had he actually just invited me to a party he was having? Me? To his house? I then became suspicious. Why would he all of a sudden invite me to his party? I didn’t even think we were real friends yet. There must be a catch, or he was high, which I doubted.

“Bring your friend if you want.” He shrugged, before setting his basket on to the floor.

I narrowed my eyes at his words. Taylor was the catch.

He folded his arms across his perfect chest, watching me, and a slow smile spread across his lips. “For you, not for me,” he said like he could read my mind.