Page 9 of Devil Within

By early evening, it was a battle to keep her eyes open. Everything from the past week, hell, the past year, was crashing down around her. She said good night and headed back to her room. As she drifted back into sleep, that damn sexy biker was there once more to greet her, and for the first time in a long time, she slept through the night.

****

“I’m on call this week,” Vette told her when she walked into the kitchen early the next morning, wearing jeans, a flannel shirt, and boots.

“Caffeine is made.” Shiloh pointed to the coffee pot.

“Oh, thank you!” She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup, then added cream and sugar. “Like, I said, I’m on call from Sunday to Sunday. If I have to go in the middle of the night, I’ll end up sleeping at the office.”

“Want me to make you some breakfast?”

Vette shook her head. “Thank you, though. What do you have going on today?”

“Get some papers and check out the help wanted ads. Figured that might be the best place to start.”

“You sure?”

Shiloh nodded. “I’ve never been good at doing nothing.”

“Okay.” Vette smiled. She finished off her coffee and placed the mug in the sink. “Whatever works for you.”

“Thanks, Vette.”

“And thank you for the coffee. See you later.”

Shiloh nodded and watched her leave. A minute or so later, she heard the car start up and drive off. Letting out a sigh, she rose and brought the few dishes over to the sink, methodically cleaning them by hand, drying them off, and then putting them away.

For a moment, she stared out the kitchen window, and her mind tried to wander back to the mess she’d left behind. No matter how many times she tried to pull herself out of the nightmare flashbacks, the images stayed ingrained in her psyche. She raised her fist and hit the counter, and the pain snapped her back to the present.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed everything out of her mind and ignored it in her heart. She took a shower and dressed, then stepped out of the house. When she glanced down at her phone, she realized her prepaid cell phone bill had come due, and since she hadn’t added funds, it was shut off. Absolutely fantastic.

With a sigh, she started walking. It was a beautiful summer day as the sunlight danced through the tree branches. Luckily, Vette’s house was off a side street and close to downtown. For a while, she wandered. There were several help-wanted signs around in various businesses, some she even had experience with, but each one didn’t feel right. So, she kept walking, and before she realized it, she’d walked to Kira’s diner.

Entering, she walked to the counter and sat down. Kira came out a moment later from the kitchen, carrying two plates of food. As soon as she spotted Shiloh, she gave a huge smile.

“Welcome back,” she greeted. “I’ll be right with you.”

“Okay.”

She grabbed a menu and started to look it over, mentally calculating how much money she had in her pocket. The stool next to her swiveled.

“Hello, Shiloh.”

The deep baritone startled her so much she let out a little yelp and placed her hand over her heart. Her jaw dropped when she realized it was her sexy biker dude. What the hell was he doing there? It threw her off kilter. Definitely disturbing since he’d kind of popped up in her dreams, and her traitorous body zinged alive at his nearness.

“Jade?” she questioned, staring at him in disbelief. “Oh. You have green eyes.”

“That I do.” He smiled. “It’s how I got my club name.”

“Aren’t they, like, rare?” They were shockingly the color of emeralds. She shook her head. “Uh, forget that question. How did you find me?”

“I thought you found me,” he said.

“So, it’s a coincidence?”

“Maybe on your end,” he said. “Kira’s our queen.”

That confused her. “What?”