Page 16 of Deadly Secrets

“Thanks, see you tomorrow, Titus,” I say to one of the bouncers at my work as he walks me to my car in the parking lot behind the building where only workers are allowed to be.

“My pleasure, sweetheart,” he says in return. Titus is six-four, easily 220, and has a permanent menacing scowl on his face. Definitely not someone I’d want to meet in a dark alley. He takes care of all of us at work and makes sure the women feel safe around here.

I just finished my shift here at The Fox Hole and I’m exhausted. Never in my life did I think I’d end up working for a strip club in the middle of Montana. But here I am trying to make ends meet until I can find a job where I make this type of money without having to take my clothes off.

The drive home doesn’t take me long when it’s three in the morning. I’m usually home by no later than two but one of the girls got sick and couldn’t finish the night so I stayed to cover and help out. The extra cash will help with how much my son is growing these days. Feeding a thirteen-year-old who has a bottomless stomach can be tough.

When I pull into the garage, I press the button on my visor to close the door and grab my bag and purse before heading into the house.

From the garage, I enter through the laundry room and begin the more important job of motherhood - place my clothes in the washer so I can start it when I wake up; check the dryer and finish the last of Ryder’s clothes that he’ll need for the rest of the week and place it on top of the machine for him to put away in his room; hang up my work bag and quietly open the laundry door off the kitchen. The routine never changes.

The stove light is illuminating enough in the room for me to navigate to my side of the house. Glancing down at the empty recliner tells me that Cole has come over for the night and sent Mindy, the babysitter, on her way.

Tiptoeing to Ryder’s side of the house, I peek in his room. He’s sound asleep with his fan on the nightstand going full blast. The kid needs to have the noise to be able to sleep and I can’t say that I blame him. I like to have some type of noise going to help me sleep too. The closer I get I see a socked foot poking out from under his sheets and comforter. Ever since he was a baby, he loved sleeping in socks but they never stayed on all night. When it was laundry day, I’d have to remember to check the bottom of the bed or he’d have no socks that week.

Hearing his light snores calms me. I could stay in here all night and listen to him sleeping. The last thirteen years haven’t been easy, to say the least, but I know I’ve done everything I can to make sure he’s lived the kind of good and safe life that his dad would’ve wanted.

When he turns over, I quietly exit the room and close the door behind me knowing that he’ll be up in a few hours ready to head to school. Thank God it’s almost summertime and I won’t have to break up my sleeping schedule for school drop off.

Walking across the living room, I make my way over to my side of the house and enter my room to find Cole asleep in the middle of the bed. I don’t mind most of the time but lately I can feel that something has shifted. I’m afraid he’s wanting something that I promised never to give anyone. Silently I search for clean underwear and walk into the bathroom to wash the work off of me. Once the water is hot and steamy I strip out of my sweats, placing them in the hamper then step in the shower. The water washes over my body and it feels so refreshing. Using my favorite cream, I scrub my makeup off when the sound of the shower door opening and a cold wind hitting my back makes me turn.

“Just what I love to see,” Cole’s deep voice fills my ears. “Naked and wet for me.”

I grab a dry wash cloth, wiping my eyes then look up to see that he’s just as naked as I am. His body is covered in tattoos that paint across his muscular build. He steps in, his hard cock pressing up against my stomach.

“What are you doing here? Mindy wasn’t in the living room,” I ask. “Thought you had some family coming into town for a few days.”

“Got home a few hours ago. Sent her away to wait for you.” He waggles his eyebrows.

“Okay, but remember the rule. You have to be gone before Ryder gets up,” I remind him.

Cole and I have had an understanding from the beginning that this is a no strings attached situation. It’s purely sexual and nothing more. He fills my needs and I do the same for him. He’s my neighbor and landlord and I don’t want things to be awkward if one of us changes our mind.

Ryder likes Cole and honestly, he does a lot for my son. He’s helped him get into both football and baseball leagues since we moved here and Ryder really looks up to him. A mom can only fill the dad’s role for so long before they crave that male role model in their life. And since Ryder’s dad isn’t in the picture, Cole has integrated into that part of our lives for the last eight months, even if it has been unintentional. The last thing I want is for my son to lose a man he looks up to, so this has to stay physical only.

“Got my alarm set, honey,” he says, then crowds me up against the tiled wall. “It’s late. Was everything okay tonight?” he asks boxing me in.

“Sugar got sick so I covered,” I tell him as his head dips down where my neck and shoulder meet.

“Guess that means I’ll have to be quick tonight.” He presses up on me.

Looking into his eyes when he pulls back, I can’t help but rile him up.

“Shouldn’t be a problem for you then if your last few performances have anything to say,” I state, knowing I’m a liar.

His gives me a challenging look. “Oh you’re going to pay for that one, Remi.”

He tugs me off the wall and picks me up. A squeal leaves my throat as he hauls my butt to the bedroom and tosses my soaking wet body on the mattress.

Guess I’m surviving on catnaps today.

The sound of an alarm blares by my head and I swat at it to shut it up. It feels like I just shut my eyes after Cole was done disproving my statement. After hitting the screen a few times, it shuts off and I let out a groan. My eyes feel like sandpaper when I try to open them.

Pots and pans clanking catch my attention and then multiple voices echo in the house making me sit up. I’m tangled in all the covers and can still make out Cole’s body shape on the side he likes to call his. Thank God we finished our shower after the first round and changed the sheets.

Slipping from the bed, I grab for my robe on the chair and pull it on before walking out into the house. Male voices are talking from the kitchen and I know for sure that one of them is Ryder.

“Do you think you can be there?” I hear Ryder ask.