Whispers of a Broken Halo by Abbi Glines

“Are you mad at me?” I asked, afraid that him sending me home meant I could be fired soon.

I had been scheduled to work the next three nights. Now, he was sending me home and acting as if they didn’t need me.

He shook his head. “No, I’m not mad at you. Not fucking happy with myself, but I’m not mad at you.” He paused, then looked at his jacket wrapped around me. “That’s gonna mess with my damn head. Seeing you in my leather,” he added, then opened the door and left me there alone.

I was tired. Physically and, I realized now, emotionally. Going home sounded wonderful. Tonight was the first time I’d had to face someone I knew. I probably could have handled it better if I hadn’t been so worn down.

We had gone six months without running into each other. There was a good chance I wouldn’t see Rio for another six months. That thought both relieved and deflated me.





Chapter Seven

Rio

Work had done little to distract me today. I wasn’t in the mood to be around people, and if I wasn’t starving, then I would go directly to my bedroom. The smell of something cooking drew me toward the kitchen even though the sound of voices got louder.

The only cars outside were Saul’s, my best friend and the owner of this house; Henley’s, my sister and Saul’s girlfriend; and Drake’s. Those three I could deal with if that meant I would get some of Henley’s cooking. She was best at baking, but she could cook better than the three of us.

When I stepped into the kitchen, Henley was closing the fridge door, and her eyes met mine. She frowned. “I heard about last night,” she said.

I was sure Drake had given them both every detail.

“I bet,” I replied and shot Drake an annoyed glance.

He just shrugged and took a drink of the beer in his hand.

“Did she say why she was working there?” Henley asked.

Talking about Bryn was the last thing I wanted to do. Eating, showering, and getting in bed to hopefully sleep and forget Bryn was my plan.

“Needed a job,” I replied.

Henley rolled her eyes at my response. “Most women who work at places like that do so because they have to. They need the money that they can make there, doing it to take care of someone or to pay for school, something that a lower-paying job can’t cover. Does she have a kid?”

I shook my head. She didn’t have a kid, and she wasn’t going to fucking college. She was using folks not hiring her because of what she had done to my Jeep as an excuse. I didn’t fucking buy that.

“Her sister has a kid,” Drake said. “Or at least, I think so. We only hooked up twice, but she mentioned him. Said she was late because she had to get him to bed or some shit like that. I didn’t ask details.”

Drake’s messing around with Tory had been around the time of my Jeep getting bashed to hell. For a moment, I tried to make myself believe Bryn had done it because of something Drake had done to Tory, but that didn’t add up. It was my Jeep, and I hadn’t done shit to her. She had said she made a mistake, but she knew I drove that Jeep. She had seen it at work. We had parked beside each other a few times. I’d said good morning to her as we got out of our vehicles.

“Does she live with her sister and nephew?” Henley asked.

I nodded. “Yeah.” That much I did know. I hadn’t been aware Tory had a son, but I did know they lived together. It had been on her job application.

“Maybe she needed the money because of the nephew,” Henley suggested.

“Tory can’t keep a fucking job,” Drake piped in. “She had been fired from two last time I talked to her, and she’d only been in town two weeks or something like that.”

Henley raised both her eyebrows at me, as if Drake had said something informative.

“This is Rio’s shit to handle. Let’s not meddle,” Saul said as he walked up behind Henley and placed his hand on her waist, then kissed the side of her head.

She glanced up at him. “I’m just helping. He is struggling with this. It’s in his eyes.”

Saul smirked, then shifted his gaze to me for only a second. “Yeah, he looks torn the fuck up.” He pressed another kiss to her temple.

Henley sighed. “Fine. I’ll let it go. But”—she pointed the wooden spoon in her hand at me—“don’t judge what you don’t know. Just in ten minutes’ time, you found out she had a nephew living with her. I have a feeling there is more to her story.”

“You don’t know the girl,” Saul said, amused. “How do you have a feeling?”

She shrugged. “Because Rio cares enough about her that it’s upset him. She must have something about her that makes her special.”

Drake snorted with laughter, and I didn’t even look his way. I knew that laugh, and I knew whatever was about to come out of his mouth was going to piss me off. I went to the fridge to get a beer instead.

“Yeah, her tits are pretty damn special,” Drake said.

I slammed the fridge with more force than necessary and glared at him.

“Easy, boys,” Saul said from behind me.

“Don’t be a jerk,” Henley told Drake.

“I don’t care about her. I did once, but that world fucked her up. Seeing her so damn screwed up is hard. It reminds me what could have happened to me.” I stopped. I wasn’t going to talk about my mom. “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be back for food later,” I said to Henley before heading out of the kitchen.