The Boss

Chapter 39

We spent the rest of the day locked inside the hotel room before we had decided it was enough, I let Claire call Jace and Bellmay to see how everyone was.

Watching her sigh in relief over their words made me smile, she truly cared for them as much as they did for her.

After she called them on the promise that they would call her the moment they had the club ready, I suggested we go to my apartment.

It was nothing fancy, however it had more than the hotel room. I had food, clothes and accessories that we could use. Her smile was bright at the thought of washing her hair, apparently the small bottles the hotel offered just weren't enough.

I opted to leave at night to help hide our passing, the night shift was easy to avoid. They didn't bother to really pay attention to their jobs let alone anything else.

I found a side exit that allowed us to leave undetected, we walked hand in hand down the alley making our way to the back of the building.

The back alley made it easier to slip into the shadows in case anyone came walking down them. It also was a straight shot to my apartment where we could sneak up the back staircase and avoid the street altogether.

Once we made it to my front door, I knelt down to the welcome mat and picked up the single key hidden underneath.

"Jason insisted," I said sheepishly. "He wanted to make sure in case I lost my keys I could still get inside."

"Let me guess you thought it was a stupid idea?" She laughed as I opened the door and let her walk inside.

"Maybe," I muttered as I kicked the door closed and set the alarm.

I turned on the lights and watched her glance around. It was furnished but lacked the feeling of a home.

"This is nice," she whispered as she trailed her fingers along the couch. "Could use a woman's touch, but it's nice."

I chuckled at her words and made my way into the kitchen, something she didn't know about me was, I loved to cook. When I was between jobs, I spent my time in the kitchen perfecting recipes and trying new ones.

"Can I shower?" She asked standing near my table.

"Uh yeah, my bedroom is down the hall. I'll pull out clothes for you, are you hungry?" I asked walking up to her and cupping her cheek in my hand.

"Starved," she murmured leaning into my touch.

"Come on, I'll get you situated and start something for us." I grabbed her hand and led her to my room.

She released my hand to walk around and glance at the small handful of photos that I had placed on my dresser. Photos of Jason and I, one of my parents and us boys before they died and of my brother Jeremy.

Those photos were the only personal belongings that I couldn't easily replace. No one saw them but me, I doubt Jason even knew they were there.

"You guys seem happy here," she whispered as she picked up a picture Jason and I had taken at the beach.

"I didn't want to go but I'm sure you know how hard it is to tell him no." I told her remembering that stupid trip he made us go on.

"He said I worked too hard and never had any time off, so he took me to that beach to blow off steam. Pretty girls in bikinis, the hot sun, what's there to shy away from?" I chuckled at the words that he had told me before dragging me to the car.

"I would never admit it but I enjoyed myself on that trip. It was the first time in a long time that I had laughed so hard, watching your brother hit on girls and failing miserably is a favorite past time of mine." I laughed softly.