My Addiction (Second Chances Series)(10)

She instilled in my brother and me to look out for each other no matter what. All you sometimes had was family, and to her sometimes that was all you needed. My mom was shorter than me, standing at 5 feet, but she had a lot of attitude. She carried her gun on her at all times, especially around our old neighborhood. She would pull it whenever she needed and, believe me, she needed it more times than not. She also had no problem using it. She had pulled the trigger to protect us from those who tried to steal her car, our TV, and any male who thought it was okay to touch her kids.

She pointed her knife at Bradley. “But if you fuck up in any way or cause harm to my daughter, I will filet your nuts and feed them to my Rottweiler.”

“Mom, we don’t have a Rottweiler.”

“Yeah, well, the neighbor down the street does, so I’m sure he would let me use him.”

To Brad’s credit, he placed his hands up, palms facing my mom and gave her his biggest smile.

“No problem, Ms. Peters. I wouldn’t dream of hurting Ayana in any way or let any harm come to her.”

I watched as my mom suppressed a smile and nodded. “You make sure you do that and you and I will be fine.”

Brad and my mom became more than fine after that day. He was invited over all the time to have dinner with us, play video games and hang out with me. My mom loved her some Brad, and she just knew that he and I would end up together.

Just before I lost my mom four years ago, she told me not to give up. She said Brad would eventually realize what he had in me. I didn’t have the heart to tell her how much I messed up and that Brad would never see me like that again.

I took a few deep breaths and headed for the desk and the paperwork I was working on before I discovered Franks’ blunder. I’ve tried to make this office a piece of me. I even brought in plants and pictures to hang on the wall, so it could feel more like home. But no matter what I did, the dismal, dark ambiance this room gave off won the battle. The walls were dirty and needed like five coats of paint. The floors had grime that, no matter how many times I had cleaned it, wouldn’t shine anymore.

Despite the look and feel of the office, I enjoyed what I did. Galvin ‘Ice’ McGinley, the owner of the bar, brought me on as his bookkeeper, and someone to keep bills together, but it’s more than that. He trusted me to make sure everything, book-wise, was running smoothly.

I heard the office door open, but I didn’t lift my eyes. Once the loud cologne hit me, I knew it was him instantly—Ramone Allen.

“Who was the stiff you were talking to?” he asked me.

Without looking up, I said simply, “No one.”

He grunted and sat down in a chair in front of the desk. “Yeah, you better keep it that way. Understand?”

Finally, I looked up at him. “I know what I need to do. You don’t have to remind me, nor do you have to come here all the time, Allen.” I refused to call him by his first name.

My unwanted visitor plopped his shoes on the desk causing me to lean back. “I kind of like it here though. Slumming seems to fit me. Besides, I get the opportunity to keep an eye on you.”

The look in his eyes caused me to gag… literally. I rolled my eyes and tried not to think about the huge migraine I was about to get because of this douche and his cologne. Let me point out right now that the man wasn’t attractive at all. He looked pasty, and, I swear, he looked like he smelled everywhere. That’s probably why he wore so much cologne. His brown hair was long and stringy, and he kept it slicked back. I’d been wondering for a while now what women saw in him as I’d witnessed a few practically fight to get his attention. I shivered thinking of his hands on me.

Allen laughed and brought his feet back to the floor. A look came over him as his eyes roamed over me. He leaned over the desk and licked his thin pink lips. “Sweetheart, you don’t know what you’re missing and now that I know you go for white guys, I’m definitely gonna keep that in mind.” He smiled again and stood, repositioning, I guess, the hard on he had in his pants.

Yuck.

“Make sure you keep your eyes on the prize. Understand? I don’t think I have to tell you what’s at stake,” he said, bringing me back to his eyes. I remained quiet as he continued to stare at me. A shiver raked over me as he licked his lips again before left the office.

I counted to ten, then went quickly to the office door to let some air inside the cramped space. His cologne seriously reeked of some cheap ass stuff that he bathed in before he left his hotel. I hated Ramone Allen. He was the scum of the earth, the bottom of the barrel when it came to humans. The way he looked at me makes my skin crawl, but I had no choice but to work with him. Soon, however, I wouldn’t have to, and maybe I could get my life back.