“Oh,” she whispered. “That soon?”
“Yes. But I don’t want you to worry about it.”
God, how could she not? He looked so concerned, she patted his chest. “I won’t. Everything will be fine. I hope you’ll stay safe.”
“Yes, honey. I can guarantee that everything will be fine.”
She nodded and reached for the door handle. His hand caught it before she could, and he opened the door.
“Thank you,” she said without looking up.
“You’re welcome.”
Shelby walked into the back and put her things away before donning the apron. Then she walked around, took orders, and filled coffee cups for the next few hours. The guys stayed longer than usual, and she was both happy and sad about it. She liked being able to talk to them, but it was bittersweet because she knew it would be the last time.
“Hey, Shelby, can you take the garbage out? It’s starting to stink.”
“Sure.” She lifted it and walked out the back door. Just as she was ready to heft it into the dumpster, she heard Brett talking on the phone.
“Yeah, we’ll be bringing her in. She actually told Warrick she hacked into places. We’ll talk to her about it on the way.”
She pressed her hand to her mouth. Oh, God. She hadn’t thought about it until then, but the car they were driving could well be a police vehicle. They kind of acted like cops, and she’d just confessed to a felony. They always came in jeans and button-downs, so they hadn’t looked like any cops she’d ever seen.
Oh, no. She couldn’t go to prison. She would be shanked within an hour because she had no idea how to fight. A few of her siblings did it all the time, but Shelby never fought because she liked to spend her time under her favorite tree and reading.
What were her parents going to say? Would they even let her call them? Hell, what would they be able to do? They had no money.
“We’ll call on our way. We’re going to try to leave here tomorrow early. Warrick will talk to her boss later today.”
There was a pause. “No, she has no idea, and we want to keep it that way for now. We don’t want her running.”
Shelby slid behind the dumpster and hissed when something sharp cut into the back of her shoulder. She waited a few minutes after Brett walked in. Then she raced in and grabbed her things.
“Benny, I have to go.”
“Go? Where?”
“They’re going to arrest me, and I can’t go to jail.”
“What would they arrest you for?” he asked, laughing.
“Hacking. I made the mistake of telling one of them I’ve hacked into places. I didn’t know they were cops.”
“Oh, Lord, girl. Get going. If you need a place to stay, go to my house.”
“I can’t do that. You’d be an accessory and get in trouble.”
“I’ll think of something else. Just go and call me later.”
“Okay.” She raced out the back door and ran as fast as she could to her apartment. Once there, she packed her clothes into her backpack as quickly as she could. She wouldn’t be able to take all her things because she was on the run.
Shelby never thought she’d be a fugitive. She stopped. Where could she go to hide? She had no friends. No one that she thought could help her. She sat down on the bed, pressed her face into her hands, and cried.
God, she was more than stupid. She had to stop trusting just anyone. It only got her in trouble most of the time.
She pressed her fingertips to her temple, where a throbbing headache started.
Okay.She made herself calm down and think logically.
For one thing, she couldn’t go out in the uniform she had on. She stripped and had to dig a pair of jeans and shirt out of the bag she had just packed. She was already no good at being a fugitive because she’d forgotten the money she had hidden and her things in the bathroom.
She glanced down and saw the red on the back of her pink uniform as she picked it up. Oh, God. She was bleeding. She’d forgotten she cut herself on the dumpster. She raced into the bathroom and turned to face the mirror.
“Oh, no.” The cut was about two inches long and still bleeding. She tore off some toilet paper and tried to press it against it, but it was next to impossible to reach. She cleaned as much as she could that had run down her back, but it just kept seeping out of the wound.
There was no time to take care of it at the moment. If they were cops, they could get her address easily. She shrugged on a large flannel shirt, grabbed her things, and started for the door.