Page 39 of Mace
“Which means mind your business.” Her awkwardness hits my gut like a stone. “Got it.”
“It ain’t a secret, Maylie. It’s just a really long, really horrible story.”
Her eyes are sad for a moment. “I understand that.” The lights go down on the main floor, leaving only the bar area and stage illuminated. It steals the opportunity I have to press her for answers, to find out what she understands about long and horrible stories.What happened to her?“The doors are about to open. I better get back to work.”
For the next hour, the bar transforms. Tables and booths are filled with men of all ages, and a few women too. Maylie and Bella work like whirlwinds, pouring drinks with practiced ease and then grabbing their trays to disappear into the shadows of the main floor. I watch Maylie with eagle eyes, ready to pounce into action if anyone so much as flinches in her direction.
On one of her numerous trips out to the floor, I track her like a predator as she weaves between the tables. Someone tries to touch her, and I stand immediately, ready to snap his fucking wrist until she diffuses the situation.
What the fuck am I doing?
This… this ain’t me.
I don’t care about anyone outside of Nicky and Riot, but somehow, this woman has got under my skin in a matter of days.
I’m in fucking trouble.
TEN
MAYLIE
I wakeup early on Saturday morning, and the urge to stay in bed all day makes my bones heavy. Ivy came home last night,finally. I desperately wanted to talk to her about everything, but I was so relieved to see she was okay that I just hugged her and let her go to bed.
The morning light brings all the problems I left behind while I slept and dumps them right at my feet. There is no escaping them.
Forcing myself out of bed with a groan, I get up, shower, and dress before heading to the kitchen. There is not enough caffeine in the world to fix this shit, but at least my far too strong cup of coffee chases the remnants of my crappy night’s sleep away.
What would Mum have done in this situation?
I draw a blank. I’d been a good kid, never in trouble—same for my siblings. She’d never needed to deal with anything like this, and if I’m being honest, I’m out of my depth. This is bigger than anything I’ve had to tackle as their guardian, and I don’t know what to do.
Leaning my elbows on the table, I bury my head in my hands and resist the urge to give into the tears I’m fighting. I’m finding it hard to keep my mask in place, to keep up the pretence that everything is fine. Ivy’s life is a mess, I still haven’t paid Bernie, and work is… I don’t even know what work is.
Toby and, of course, Ivy don’t know what happened at Temptation, and I have no intention of telling them, but my sleep has been marred with nightmares since my attack.
True to his word, Mace has been at the end of the bar every shift I’ve worked, watching for trouble, and although he eases some of my fear, he raises whole new ones.
The man is dangerous, and he’s a complication I don’t need when my life is already a tangled knot, but the way he looks at me across the bar sends flutters through my belly.
Are you that starved of affection that you’ll fling yourself at the first man who shows you attention?
More importantly, am I reading into a situation that doesn’t exist?
Mace is my boss. Of course, he wants me to be safe at work, especially after what happened, but it feels like more than that.
I shake my head as colliding arguments wage in my brain and don’t even try to stifle the yawn that erupts from my mouth. It’s just the sleep deprivation talking. Mace would never be interested in someone like me.
My phone buzzes on the kitchen table, and I turn it over to glance at the screen. It’s a message from Bella. She has the details for the manager of the bar Steve hadmentioned. I stare at the information. There is so much going on in my life right now that I don’t think I can deal with finding a new place of employment as well. Temptation might not be perfect, but it’s familiar. I like the people there, and the bikers haven’t been terrible to us. I don’t understand why they are so set on leaving when they stayed under the Pioneers.
I message back a simple thanks, not wanting to get into a debate with Bella this morning. Not when I have so much other stuff to work through.
Movement from within the depths of the flat has my back straightening. I know I have to handle this carefully, which is making me anxious. I have to scale the walls my sister has built between us. I have to address the grown man she’s dating as well as her behaviour. I need to somehow reach my impenetrable sister, and I have no idea how I’m going to make that happen.
I wait until she’s finished in the bathroom and steps into the kitchen.
Her eyes come to mine, and already I see the suspicion behind them. She says nothing to me as she walks over to the kettle, filling it with water.
“Is this how it’s going to be from now on?” I ask. “Are you just planning on ignoring me forever?”