Page 1 of Hurts So Good
STALKER DEAREST
Maureen Shigeno
CHAPTER ONE
Ty
Seventeen hundred, eighteen hundred, nineteen hundred, two thousand dollars.
I stuff my winnings back into the envelope and shove it into the pocket of my hoodie. Street fighting is a brutal occupation. It’s not for the weak. As a person who grew up in the system, you have more demons than you can carry. And you need an outlet to let them out, or at least a way to silence them.
Beating my opponent to a bloody pulp does that for me. It’s a type of therapy, one that pays rather than takes.
All that money, I use to provide for what’s most important to me: Lakelynn. She’s the center of my universe. I watch her day and night, provide for her when necessary, and protect her without a second thought.
As if summoned by my desires, she appears around the corner. She walks into the bar’s back entrance. I fucking hate this shitty-ass place.
She’s been working for months now; I wish she’d quit. The pay is shit, and the customers are worse. Lakelynn deserves better than this. She deserves the world. But instead, she chooses to deal with these assholes. Do you know how many motherfuckers I’ve murdered out here for simply looking at her?
Too fucking many to count, that’s how many.
Good thing we live in a big city with tons of criminal cases. While it makes this city unsafe for some, for me, it has its advantages. Cops don’t have time to dwell on every drunk, drug-addicted cocksucker who gets killed. They’d rather concentrate on important people. Those other poor saps get tossed into the “homicide, case unsolved” pile and forgotten.
It helps me keep Lakelynn safe. Since we met eleven years ago, she’s been my reason to live.
She just doesn’t know it. Yet.
There’s a lot she doesn’t know, like who I am and how I get inside her apartment every night, but I know everything about her. Nothing happens in her life without me knowing about it.
And it’ll stay that way until I say so. It’s safer for her. She’ll get the life she deserves, and no one will get in the way.
I’ll make damn sure of it.
I wait a few moments, giving Lakelynn time to get to the employee lounge, before entering the establishment. The back door is for employees only, but no one’s ever guarding it.
Music and chatter filter in from the front. I creep to the lounge, hanging out by the door where those within can’t see me.
“His son is taking over?” Lakelynn’s high-pitched voice of astonishment catches my attention.
“Starting tonight,” her coworker, another female waitress, replies. “I hope you don’t depend on tips to survive, because Keith takes over half whenever he’s in charge.”
“I don’t…”
Damn right she doesn’t. That’s what I’m for. Lakelynn knows I’ll leave cash on her kitchen counter to keep her afloat. It’s the only way she can afford the pricey apartment in downtown Atlanta.
“Good,” the woman says. “I’m going to start looking for a new job. Keith is bad news.”
Footsteps come closer. I step back, further into the shadows, as she passes. Lakelynn follows soon after.
Unaware that I’m behind them, they walk into the main room and get to work. I stroll in, staying close to the walls. It’s darker here. Shadows are always my friend. A few people close enough to spot me do a double take as I pass. It’s nothing new. Most people stare at me.
I don’t blame them. Who wouldn’t be suspicious of a man who walks around in a white face mask and hoodie all the time? I’m the definition of “stranger danger.”
They go back to their business once I’ve moved out of their sight. Most of them are too drunk to concentrate on anything for longer than a few seconds.
I sit down at my usual table in a darkened corner. Unless you saw me step in, you wouldn’t know I was here. My blackened attire sees to that. Even my hands are covered with gloves. The only thing noticeable is my mask. It’s not the most inconspicuous thing to have on, but it does leave a lasting impression when noticed.
My burner vibrates in my pocket. Very few people have a way to get in touch with me, and even less people have this number.