Breaking Conviction by Greer Rivers

Chapter Three

What the hell does that mean?

He watched her as if he was waiting for her to respond in some way, but how do you respond to a cryptic message like that?

Trust my instincts… I don’t even know what they are anymore.

So, what could she say? Everything about Snake’s presence confused the shit out of her when she already felt out of control, irritating nerves that were already shot to hell. Butterflies she’d thought were long dead and gone were going haywire in her stomach, and his concern for her and Thea took her breath away.

Yeah. Definitely can’t tell him any of that.

He still stood in front of her, preventing Thea from seeing her cry. For a moment, Naomi’s heart squeezed at his thoughtfulness, right before it twisted painfully.

Why was he being so nice? It didn’t feel like he had any ulterior motive. But what stranger was that concerned about another stranger’s feelings? And how did he know that shielding T from her momma’s pain was exactly what they both had needed?

His body was close to hers and even though he had to be a foot taller and towered over her, she felt an overwhelming sense of… security.

And that was dangerous.

The last thing Naomi needed was someone to set Dean’s jealousy off. If he knew she was even talking to another man, he’d go fucking ballistic. He never gave a crap about the circumstances. It frustrated the hell out of her, especially since she’d never once in the entirety of their five-year on-again, mostly off-again relationship given him any reason to think she’d stray.

Naomi looked away and thankfully, he got the hint and cleared his throat before turning to walk back toward T and plopping down beside her. Thea’s face lit up like a sparkler, setting Naomi’s spent nerves alight with panic.

Thea had never looked at her father that way. Ever.

The level of danger a man like this Snake brought was damn near biblical; a temptation that promised her knowledge while threatening her downfall.

The door opened wide, revealing Jules’s questioning eyes. Naomi waved the brochures at her, too embarrassed to admit that she was too injured to freaking read the dadgum things.

“I-uh. I’m finished. Y’all can come out now…”

Everyone filed in and began talking at her again. She mostly tuned them out, entering that bizarre space again where she could answer when spoken to, while not paying a lick of attention. Instead, all she could hear were Snake’s words reverberating around in her head as she tried to solve his stupid little riddle.

Thea giggled at something on the iPad, drawing Naomi’s gaze. Her breath hitched when Thea squealed and Snake’s grin widened, almost as if he were transfixed just on how happy T was.

Dean had definitely never looked at Thea like that, or Naomi, for that matter. Not even when things were ‘good’. Hell, when they’d only decided to try for a relationship after figuring out that yes, there are consequences from one-night stands.

Like when a guy swears up and down he used a condom when you were too tipsy to notice and the inevitable surprise bundle of joy that comes afterward.

Finally, Ellie stopped talking and must’ve sensed that Naomi was just ready to go. It had to have been obvious, because good Lord, was she tired. As she slid off the examination table, Devil and Ellie had to even assist her to prevent her from collapsing.

“Hey, kiddo.” Nora’s lyrical voice broke through the exhausted haze in her mind. “Come with me and your mommy and we can go shopping in the store. You can get anything you want.”

Well, that shit definitely woke Naomi up. Her pulse skyrocketed as Thea began to screech with excitement. She hated to let her down, but they couldn’t accept this.

“No, Nora, we can’t possibly—”

“It’s on the house,” Ellie’s soft voice and smile interrupted her, like that was the answer to the problem they were causing. Thea alternated between laughter and shrieks as she jumped up and down on the beanbag, barely keeping her balance.

The insistence stabbed at her pride and she almost opened her mouth to object with, ‘We don’t need your freakin’ charity.’ But just as soon as the self-righteous, misplaced anger flitted across her mind, Naomi stopped, almost laughing out loud at her ridiculousness. She was quite literally using the services of their nonprofit, aka charity.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at herself and her Santa-sized mixed bag of emotions, she still objected, because they obviously didn’t understand where she was actually coming from.

“No, Ellie, that’s not the issue—”

Thea’s cut-off scream interrupted them, and Naomi locked her gaze on her daughter. Snake was crouched over, groaning like he’d been somehow kneed in the crotch and T was scrambling across the play area on her hands and knees, her eyes wide and lips trembling as she cowered away from Snake. Her terror had Naomi instantly in momma-bear mode against the man, even though he hadn’t done anything to deserve it. Yet.

“Sorry.” Thea’s voice came out uncertain, like it did every time Dean was about to blow up about something.

Naomi took a step to protect her daughter from whatever wrath this man was about to bring. He was doubled over as if in pain, but God help him if he snapped at her little girl. Getting kneed in the balls would be the least of his problems.

A low rumbling escaped him, halting her mid-step at the odd reaction.

“Oof, you got me good, princess.” The pained chuckles continued, and when Naomi met T’s eyes, she had no doubt that Thea’s expression was a mirror image to her own confused look. Naomi tried to smile to ease Thea’s mind, and it must’ve worked because soon, giggles tinged with nervousness bubbled from her before she stood back up.

“Okay, but Wes has to come!”

Wes? Wow, I like that much better…She cringed. No, better stick with Snake. It’s… easier.

The thought tickled her mind and she locked it down before letting her shoulders rise and fall with frustration. It didn’t matter what she thought of his name. She shouldn’t think anything about him at all. If she allowed a man with his charm into her life, there was no telling what she would do or the repercussions that came with it.

She wanted to object more, but hell, she hadn’t seen Thea that excited in a while. Even at the tender age of four, the girl was a certified shopaholic, and would be inconsolable if Naomi told her no. There was no way Naomi could handle seeing a look like that on her baby’s face again today.

Maybe I can hide the stuff in the trunk… would he check there?

She had to figure something out because Dean couldn’t know where they’d been. She’d said she just needed a drive to clear her head. The shopping cover might work for other people, but her injuries looked so bad, he’d know something was up if she told him they went shopping. Nora had to understand, right? So why had she suggested it? Was there some other motive?

Thea’s squeal snapped Naomi from her mental spiral. Not everyone was out to get her, for chrissakes.

When did I stop trusting everyone? This is ridiculous.

Thea launched herself at Wes again and took him by the hand, totally ignoring that the man was still slightly hunched over in pain. But Wes’s smile was wide and Naomi felt her lips attempt to mirror his before she schooled her expression. The extra-strength Advil that Devil had left her before they went into the office was thankfully kicking in. The emotion on her face only hurt slightly rather than unbearably, but still, she couldn’t let him—or Thea, for that matter—know the effect Wes had on her.

“All right, let’s go, Babs.” Babs? I thought her name was Jules… “I gotta get my favorite boss ass bitch back to the office before your fiancé decides to unalive me for keeping you from him.”

Thea led the parade quickly down the back halls, leaving Naomi to blindly stumble on as she navigated her way with her hand against the wall. She followed T’s spirited chatter until she finally reached the thrift store.

It was nicely laid out, brightly lit, with tons of options for clothes and household items. She absentmindedly ran her hand along a sleeve of a soft sweater and if her blurry vision was correct, found what looked to be a brand-new tag.

“What do ya think?”

Naomi jumped and clapped her hand against her chest. Nora was in no way intimidating—at least not size-wise—but she’d rounded a clothing rack without Naomi realizing it and being snuck up on, even unintentionally, always set her on edge.

“You got this, Nora?” Jules asked cryptically before walking away like she already had the answer. “I’ve gotta check something real quick before we go.”

“Yeah, Babs, I got this. So… what do ya think?” Nora asked again, but Naomi was still confused.

“Uh, what do I think about what? The store?”

Naomi’s pain might have lessened, but her sight was still poor. She tried to analyze the look on Nora’s blurry face, but thankfully, Nora shared her thoughts.

“Yeah... sorry about getting Thea all riled up, but I wanted a chance to chat with you more privately. I didn’t realize she loved shopping so damn much.”

“The girl’s got an addiction. She’d live in the mall if she could.” Naomi’s chuckle was strained as she tried not to dwell on the fact that there had indeed been an ulterior motive. Although, ulterior didn’t always mean a bad motive.

“We’re always lookin’ for volunteers, ya know. Sometimes I have to twilight as a sales associate on the floor, so I’m tryin’ to recruit all the talent I can get to help a sister out.”

“Twilight?” Naomi couldn’t help the question in her voice. She’d gotten knocked around, but following this woman’s train of thought and vocabulary was exhausting.

“You know, it’s like moonlighting. But since I already daylight as Jules’s assistant at her law firm, and I moonlight as the manager for the crisis center, the thrift store is my third job, so… twilighting.”

Naomi frowned as much as her injuries would allow. “No offense, but I’m pretty sure that’s not a thing.”

Nora’s laugh was almost like music. “You sound like Jason, Jules’s fiancé. No offense taken. Stick around, though, babe, and you’ll eventually learn my language.”

Naomi shook her head with a soft laugh of her own. “As fun as that sounds, I’m not sure how often I can swing by and ‘stick around’ just to shop.”

The pixie woman’s shoulder lifted. “Well, it’s like I said... the thrift store always needs vols. Especially since proceeds go to kids with cancer. Can’t stop someone from wanting to volunteer for cancer kids, amiright?”

Naomi’s head tilted and once again she was silently grateful that the pain was easing. “Cancer kids? I thought the money went to the clinic.”

Out of the side of her eye, Naomi followed Ellie and Devil as they left the store. She scanned the room out of habit and found the front exit was a straight shot from the aisle she was on. There was also the door to the clinic right behind her. She wasn’t sure how to exit that way, but there had to be some way out.

Part of her mind told her she was safe and could relax. But the other, the part that had probably kept her alive for so long, made her continue to catalog the room. Jules had mentioned needing to speak with the volunteer behind the checkout counter before they left and a quick glance confirmed that. Wes and T were over in the kids' section. The giggles and easy laughs coming from that corner cracked the fragile glass surrounding her heart.

“The money does go to the clinic.” Nora nodded, bringing Naomi back to their conversation. As she talked, Nora sifted through the racks on the clothes in front of them, straightening each shirt on its hanger. “But no one knows that but us, and no one else needs to know that. As far as anyone outside of Sasha Saves is concerned, the money goes to cancer kids. Well, except the government, but they know errbody’s business, the bastards.”

Naomi bristled. “So y’all lie? That’s pretty messed up.”

Nora’s sigh was exaggerated and Naomi imagined she was rolling her eyes. “Girl, stahp and chill out. We do both, capisce? We just don’t tell people about the women’s clinic part, or that everything inside is free for survivors, and a portion of the thrift store proceeds does, in fact, go to wee babes with cancer.” She led Naomi by the hand closer to the cash registers and pulled some brochures from a slot on the desk. “Here.” She handed the brochures to Naomi but except for the large font of the store name, they were too blurry.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what these say. I-um, I can’t see them.”

Nora’s breath hitched and she muttered something under her breath before she started to type and talk at the same time. “Well, I know you’ve got yourself a mean bicycle at home… but even if you can’t read them, they can at least be your alibi. They include info on the cancer proceeds, so if you put them in your purse, you’ve got yourself some evidence to back up your story. Volunteer with the store. Help those cancer kids. Not even a bike can complain about that shiz without lookin’ shitty AF.”

Naomi tried to work around what Nora was saying, but she was so exhausted she just wanted her to get to the point. “Why would I volunteer here? I mean, why do you want me to volunteer here? I’m not lettin’ y’all help me more than you already have. I have a job and I can’t just leave T alone all the time.”

“Look, doll, we’re super flexible with our volunteer hours, you set them completely. And obvi Lil’ T can come hang. We need someone who’s good with kiddos like you to help out with the ones that come in here with their moms. Shoot, Lil’ T can even play with them. It’d be a major relief to the moms to see their kids happy, as you know. So... volunteer at the thrift store.”

Naomi twisted the information around in her mind, trying to look for gaps, holes, or excuses. It was a nice offer. Her boss, Gail, had mentioned before that the company needed to get more involved with pro bono and nonprofit work. Working at the store would definitely qualify.

“Plus,” Nora continued, probably sensing her logic was working. “If you… I dunno, have had your last straw and need to just like not go home after your shift here, you could take what you need from here and jet, with our help... ya know? That guy over there...” Nora tilted her head to indicate Wes, who was bowing to Thea as if he were her humble servant. “He and five—” Nora gulped. “I mean, four other dudes are a team from BlackStone Securities, a security firm that works very closely with us. They’re some bad mamma jammas in the private security world, but good to have on your side.”

Naomi felt her eyes widen. Had Dean heard of them before? He came from the same security ‘world’ as Nora put it. Did they know him? Fuck, what if they take his side—

“And they’ll protect you from anything, Naomi. I swear it. You just gotta give ‘em a chance. They have literally fought battles to help survivors.”

The words took the edge off her anxiety. Not everyone was her enemy. Her father had shown her good men existed.

She went to massage her temple, barely remembering in time that it would hurt like hell. She closed her eyes in thought instead, letting Nora’s offer and logic piece together like a puzzle in her mind. And the picture... was freakin’ perfect, actually.

Nora was right, Dean couldn’t get mad—or at least, not too mad—especially if she told him Gail wanted her to volunteer.

Define your line.

Jules’s advice whispered across her mind. What would it take for her to leave Dean? The racing thought jacked up her pulse and drew her attention straight to the kids’ section. From what she could tell with her blurry sight, T held green heels and was putting a crown on Wes.

A memory of Naomi’s daddy and his huge belly laugh as he played dress-up with her flashed in her vision, fitting over the picture in front of her like an outline, and a hot knife of grief twisted in her heart for the parent she’d lost.

What would happen to Thea if Naomi weren’t around anymore? Naomi knew all too well what it was like to not have two parents at home, and up until that moment, she’d been worried over the effect kicking Dean out of their lives would have on her daughter.

But what if things got so bad that she… never got the chance?

“Okay…” Naomi made her decision just as she opened her mouth. “Alright, yeah, I’ll volunteer. I can just um... come with T after work or something?”

Nora waved her hand. “Whenever works for you, babe. We have a skeleton crew of paid thrift store employees, so our volunteers can come and go whenever they please.”

Naomi huffed some cleansing air from her chest, feeling lighter with her choice. There was no way to know if Dean going to therapy would work, or whether he would escalate even further. She’d promised herself one more shot at their relationship, but now she was making a different promise entirely, defining her line, and allowing him to even touch her in anger again was too far. If he ever made a fist toward her again, she and T were gone.

And now she had the perfect escape plan.