Page 5 of Dominic

“Uh-huh.” He didn’t sound convinced. “Look. I know Tito and Elena. Marge too. I’ll ride on ahead and let them know what happened. It’ll be all right.” The guy looked uncomfortable with his offer of help and I wasn’t sure why. Growing up in an encampment away from the real world had left me with more than a few social barriers. Sure, I’d learned to read people. Especially when they were angry. But the people on the outside were very different than what I’d been taught they were in the camp.

“I’m good. Honest.” I gave him a bright smile. I stuck my shoes back into my bag and pulled out some flip-flops. Not the best for riding, but my hero was right. I couldn’t very well make it to Tito’s riding a bike in heels. “Thanks for your help. And for trying to let me win.” I waved and smiled, then took off, doing my best not to let the familiar panic overtake me. “It was nice meeting you!” I called to him over my shoulder. Yeah. Not the best response. Sighing, I focused on my route ahead so I didn’t get hurt because I didn’t pay attention.

I wasn’t very good at riding a bike. Until two weeks ago, I’d never done it. Leaving the camp had been more of a shock than I’d been prepared for. I supposed that’s why all us kids had been kept isolated. So we’d be off balance and come running home if any of us ever decided to try to leave.

Keeping to the bike trail was hard. At least, for me it was. I was more than a little wobbly, but I kept on. If there was one thing I knew about myself, it was that I was stubborn. Too stubborn for my own good. My stubbornness was quite possibly the only positive thing I had going for me to keep me out of the camp and help me make a life for myself outside the hell I’d been living in.

Chapter Three

Annie

By the time I got to the diner, I knew I was in so much trouble. Not only was I not appropriately dressed, but I was sweating and still covered in the suntan oil the other candidates had slathered on them. Yeah. I was a hot mess.

I parked my bike next to the light pole in the back of the small parking lot out of the way of customers. Marge had told me to park next to the building on the corner, but there was a parking space there and I didn’t want my bike to be in the way of anyone needing to walk on the sidewalk where I’d have to park.

There was a back entrance and that’s where I went. That way, I could use the bathroom and freshen up quickly. I had a clean shirt and shorts in my locker as well as some underwear. Might seem a little odd, but I’d learned to always be prepared. If that meant I had to keep a backpack ready to go everywhere I had a hidey hole, that’s what I’d do.

I hurried in, panic and worry squeezing my chest. Yeah. I knew I was in trouble. Thankfully, there was only one vehicle in the parking lot. A motorcycle. Which reminded me of my hero. Was that why he’d been confused about my bike? Because he rode one? Only arealone.

“Annie! There you are!” Elena met me at the bathroom door when I exited. I’d put my long brown hair into a bun at the back of my head. I hadn’t been able to do much about all the suntan oil, but I’d washed as much as I could in the bathroom sink.

“I’m so sorry, Elena. I’ll stay late and help with closing. I can even come in early tomorrow. Whatever you need.” I was trembling, my stomach churning. Elena was the sweetest woman I’d ever met. She and Marge had taken a chance on me and given me a job. Marge had given me a room at the motel across the road at a discount. The very last thing I wanted to do was let either of them down.

“Relax,preciosa. It’s fine. We were worried, is all.” She gave me a reassuring smile. “You’re still learning and that’s fine. Marge and I promised to help you and we will. Now take a deep breath. Have you eaten today?”

“Yes.” The answer was automatic. It was a lie, but I’d learned that people who asked that question were usually fulfilling a requirement. They didn’t actually care. They just wanted it to seem like they did. I was really growing to love Elena and Marge. If I said that, no, I hadn’t eaten, and she made light of it or told me to make sure I ate before I came to work, I’d probably shatter. It felt like I was holding myself together with spit and glue as it was.

Elena pursed her lips. “Everyone tells little white lies from time to time,pequeña, but you’re no good at lying.” She reached out and cupped my cheeks between her hands. “You will eat,preciosa. And not give me grief over feeding you,sí?”

“Sí, Elena.” I took several deep breaths, trying to keep the tears back a little while longer. If I could get through eating in the back, where I was sure Elena would stay with me, I could get to work and not think about any of this. “Prometo.” Elena and Tito were trying to teach me Spanish. I wasn’t good yet, but I was picking up a few things. I practiced every chance I got because, if they were good enough to try to teach me, I wanted to make sure I gave it my all.

She had Tito make me a burger and fries while I went back to the bathroom and did a little better job getting more of the suntan oil off my skin. I still felt like I stank, but I thought I smelled better than before I started. Progress!

When I came out of the bathroom, Elena was setting my plate down on the counter, pulling me up a chair. “Come. Sit.” She smiled as she set a chocolate milkshake beside my plate.

“A milkshake too?” I couldn’t help my smile. Of all the things I’d discovered after leaving the camp, Elena had just put in front of me my three favorites. Cheeseburgers, French fries, and ice cream.Anyice cream.

“Of course. Ice cream makes everything better.” Her smile was so beautiful. The thing about Elena was her kindness. There wasn’t a mean bone in her body. She was like everyone’s mother. She knew her customers and their families. Those of us she employed? Well, she treated us like family.

There were only a couple of us. Tito, Marge, and Elena could easily run the place without me and Caroline, but I needed the job and Caroline was a people person. She was at her happiest during the lunch rush. I wasn’t even sure she got paid. Or, rather, that she kept the pay Elena gave her. Caroline had told me her father was the doctor for a club called Salvation's Bane. If all the men and women in the clubs around the area were like the ones I'd met at Tito’s, then I had no idea why MCs had such a bad rap.

Most of the time, I was pretty sure Caroline bought new clothing or food items for a homeless camp close to us. The people I’d met at Tito’s had opened my eyes to so many things. Not the least of which was true compassion. Not submissive compassion either. These people weren’t trying to gain anything, or get on someone’s good side. They didn’t care if people liked them or not. They did what they thought was right and treated people the way they wanted to be treated.

“Ice cream does make everything better.” I grinned as I dug into the burger and fries.

“Is everything all right,chica?” Elena asked her question in a tender, caring voice. I could see the worry in her eyes.

“Sí, Elena. I’mlo lamentofor being late. I promise to get a watch as soon as I can. I can probably get a kid’s one for ten bucks or so. That’s all I need. Right?” I hated that I sounded so unsure about something so simple. I also made a point to answer her with the few words of Spanish I’d remembered. Not trying to get on her good side or anything. I genuinely wanted to learn the language. I found that stress sometimes forced me to learn quicker than I normally would have. So I used at least some Spanish when I spoke to Elena or Tito, even when I was struggling with the current situation. Owning a watch was such a small thing, but I’d never owned one. Or anything else for that matter. In the camp, no one really owned anything. Well, other than the Divine One. I grinned as I dredged a crispy, golden fry through some ketchup and popped it in my mouth.

“There she is.” Tito popped his head around the corner from the back, taking his place behind the counter where Elena had me eating. It wasn’t the first time she’d done it, but it always took me by surprise.

I started to reply to Tito when the judge from the bikini contest followed him into the main part of the diner, moving to a seat next to me. I sucked in a breath… and nearly choked on a French fry.

“Easy, girl.” His gruff voice went straight to my insides and heated them. What was wrong with me? I’d never had these impulses before. Quite the opposite. I’d been doing everything I could since I’d turned sixteen to not be noticed by the men in the camp. Especially the Divine One. Now, for some reason, I really,reallywanted this guy to notice me. I was also more than a little nervous of him. I might be simple and ignorant of life on the outside and how people truly interacted with each other, but I knew enough to know this was a man who would chew me up and spit me out. He was the type of man the Divine One would seek to make an ally because, otherwise, he’d be a threat.

“Sorry,” I choked out. I coughed a couple of times. A glass of water was held under my nose and I took it gratefully. A few seconds later, I was fine. Elena rubbed and patted my back gently, like she might a child after they got something down the wrong way.

I probably should have taken a couple more seconds to get myself under control, but honestly, there was just no preparing for the effect this guy had on me. So I looked up at him before quickly lowering my gaze. It should be a sin for a man to look like he did, and I was certain everyone in the camp would tell me I was going to hell for sinful thoughts.