Page 39 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
If she hadn’t already burned all other bridges in this city, she wouldn’t have cared. But shehadto care. She didn’t have a choice in the matter.
Not when she didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Chapter 10
Fifty-two dollars. That was what this evening had gotten her. That and a split fucking lip.
It had stopped bleeding, at least. Since it was little more than a nick, Harper could have covered it up with lipstick and ignored it ever happened. She could have been back on the floor in no time at all.
But she hadn’t done that. Instead, she’d stayed in the breakroom. Had wiped off her makeup and exchanged her work clothes for more comfortable daywear. Rather than be productive, she was hunching over one of the vanities and trying to get herself together enough to actually leave.
Her phone vibrated against the table. A message from Patricia. Harper had texted that she was leaving early, but that had just opened the floodgates for concerned questions.
Are you okay? Do you need me to come get you? Did something happen?
Yes,no, anddefinitely notwould be her go-to answers. And they would be identified as lies the moment she got home. Harper considered herself a decent actress, but she couldn’t hide when something pissed her off. Even without her bloody lip, it would be obvious that something was wrong.
She should have just stayed at the apartment. Been there for Patricia when she needed it instead of spending another pointless night in this fucking place.
The door creaked open, and her shoulders tensed. Sharing a room with anyone right then was a recipe for disaster, but her scowl waned before it even settled.
“Safe to enter?” Maya asked. Harper managed a stiff smile.
“If you approach carefully. I’m not pleasant company at the moment.”
“Don’t blame you. Not with how that guy acted.” Maya sat down next to her and handed her a folded-up washcloth. “Some ice. For your… your lip.”
“Can’t handle the sight of blood?” Harper said, wincing as she pressed the ice against her lip.
Maya swallowed. “Something like that.”
She glanced at Harper’s mouth, diverting her eyes almost immediately.
There might be a reason she’d gone for the bartending position rather than that of bouncer. If she reacted like this to a minor scrape, she might faint if confronted with something as grave as a bloody nose.
“You forgot this, by the way.” Maya put the abandoned hundred-dollar bill on the table.
“Didn’t forget it. I don’t want anything that belongs to that dickhead. That’s how you get a thievery charge on your rap sheet.”
“Well, everyone sawmetake it. If he tries anything like that, I’ll gladly take the fall.” Maya pushed the bill towards her. “Just take it. Please.”
She still hadn’t looked fully at Harper. But her tone was the same as always. Calm and caring. A little insistent, too.
Sighing, Harper stuffed the bill in her pocket.
“Thanks. For this mainly.” She gestured with the ice. “And for the help out there. You didn’t need to come to my rescue.”
“Yeah, I did.” Maya’s gaze flicked to Harper’s lip before she turned away again, eyes hard. “I should have done it sooner, too. He shouldn’t even have sat down.”
“He still would have caused a scene. And I’d still be the most hated person in this place.”
Harper lowered the ice, touching her bottom lip with her tongue. The cut had gone numb, and the sting only returned when she touched the wound. It probably wouldn’t swell much.
“I’m surprised you’re back here, actually,” Harper said. “With you operating the confessional, you must have picked up all the juicy gossip already. You should have stopped talking to me by now.”
“I don’t like gossip.”
“Liar. Everyone likes gossip.”
