Worthless Read online

  Exhaustion hit hard after the adrenaline of driving wore off, which was why she struggled hard with the key to her store. It took three shaky, bleary-eyed attempts, but Amy finally managed to fit the small metal key into the lock on the back door of her store.

  It was also why she struggled to recognize the voice that greeted her as she entered. Muzzily she realized the lights were on when they were supposed to be off and the store alarm system didn’t beep to warn her she had thirty seconds to disarm. A large man stood in the hallway, causing her instinctively to step back.

  “Amy?” the man said, stepping forward out of the glare of the lights, and letting her relax.

  “Oh. It’s you,” she said to Mitch. “What are you doing here? How did you get in and how did you disarm the alarm?”

  “Kym let me in,” he said, stepping closer, almost as if he were going to try to kiss her good morning.

  She stood in place and tried to force her exhausted brain to puzzle it out. “Kym doesn’t have a key…”

  “No, she didn’t, but I asked her to try to get one, because I told her I wanted to surprise you. She’s a real romantic and was willing to help out.”

  “I’ll bet,” she muttered. She gave a little headshake to try to wake up. “Mitch, it’s sweet of you to try to surprise me, but I told you, it’s over between us.”

  “It doesn’t have to be,” he said, coming even closer. “I really like you, Amy. You’re funny and smart, and I told my mother all about you. She really wanted to meet you.”

  “We wouldn’t want to disappoint Mama,” she muttered.

  It was the wrong thing to say. Mitch got into her space and grabbed her wrist tightly, practically dragging her into her office.

  “Ow. Let go,” she said, shaking her arm when he finally let go.

  “Sit,” he said, pointing to her desk chair.

  “No. I didn’t invite you to my store, and I think you should leave. If you want to talk, call and set up a time like a normal person.” Again, the wrong thing to say.

  He glowered at her. “I have been trying to call. You blocked my number.”

  “Because you called a million times!”

  He thrust his thumb at his chest. “I’m talking now.”

  She realized she was shaking and inched toward her desk toward the phone. If he started to get really unhinged, she was calling the police. “Okay,” she said, in what she hoped was a soothing voice. “Let’s talk.”

  “Don’t patronize me. I see you inching to the phone, like you want to call the police. What? Do you think I’m going to hurt you? Shoot you or pull out a knife? You know me, Amy.”

  “I’m not sure I know you at all,” she said quietly.

  He ran a hand through his hair making it stick out at all crazy angles. “Look, please sit. I want a chance to win you back.”

  She shook her head in answer to his getting back together statement, but she obeyed his request to sit, mainly because she wasn’t sure her shaking legs would hold her up much longer.

  “Don’t tell me no,” he whined. “No one else is going to date you, and I think we make a good couple.”

  She stared at him wide-eyed. “No one else is going to date me?” she repeated.

  “We met through a dating website, remember? I looked at your profile. Not a lot of requests.”

  “You looked at my profile? How? You logged in as me,” she said, in sudden understanding. “That’s despicable.”

  “Why? I saw you hadn’t marked yourself as in a relationship, so I wanted to go in and do that for you.”

  “Why bother, if no one else would want to date me?” she asked, her voice full of anger, and a little fear.

  “That’s not the point.” He slammed a palm onto her desk, making her jump in her chair.

  “Mitch,” she interrupted before he said other things they’d both regret. “As it happens, I am dating someone else, and I’m pregnant with his baby.” She hoped telling him she was pregnant would erase any hope in his mind that there was a future for them.

  He was silent for a second and then gave her a look of such loathing and disgust that she felt like she wanted to shower.

  “So what was I to you?” he asked, “A joke? A ticket for free meals? You were cheating on me.”

  “I don’t recall ever discussing that we were exclusive.”

  She started to rise, but he pointed a finger at her. “Sit down.”

  Her legs obeyed, and her heart went into overdrive. Who the hell was this angry man in front of her? “You need to leave,” she said, in what she hoped was a voice of calm authority.

  It was as if he didn’t even hear her speak. “You disgust me,” he said. “You’re a whore, using me for meals and not giving up anything more than a kiss, while you’re fucking some other guy on the side. Or did he take you out for dinner too?” He chuckled to himself. “Of course he did. Fat whores like you need a lot of calories.”

  That did it. If they’d been in the public part of the store, she could’ve gone for the panic button by the register, but instead she had to settle for a good old-fashioned 911 call. She needed to reach a phone to call the police, because Mitch was unhinged. Unfortunately, her cell phone was in her purse too many feet away, but the landline on the desk was close if she could be fast. Her hand darted toward the phone, but the second she had the handset under her palm, his hand slammed over her, making her cry out in pain.

  “Who are you calling? Your boyfriend? We’re not through talking.”

  She cradled her hand to her chest. “We’re done, Mitch. You need to leave now, and we’ll forget this happened.”

  “And if I stay?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “You’re scaring me. You’re a nice guy, I’m sure you don’t mean to scare me, but you are.”

  “If I’m such a nice guy then how come you cheated on me? If I’m nice, why wasn’t I good enough for you to spread your legs? Instead, you saved it for some other guy. I bet he’s an asshole, isn’t he? Why do women love assholes?”

  “Danny isn’t an asshole, but you’re acting like one right now,” she retorted.

  He immediately zeroed in on her slippage of Danny’s name. “Danny? Your roommate is the boyfriend?” He snorted out a laugh. “That’s great. You cheated on me with a poor gardener?”

  “That’s enough.” Danny’s voice rang through the room, and it was the best sound she’d ever heard.

  Mitch’s head spun at his arrival. “How sweet. You’re here to rescue her from me.” He stepped away from Amy. “She doesn’t need rescuing. You’re welcome to the fat bitch.” He started toward the back door, but Danny’s tall body blocked his path.

  “Move,” Mitch ordered, but Amy heard the hesitation in his voice. He’d wildly overstepped boundaries today, and was going to have to back pedal if he didn’t want her calling the police. He got within two feet of Danny, then froze. “If you touch me, I’ll sue.”

  Danny laughed. “For what? You’re right, I’m broke.”

  “Don’t you dare threaten him.” Amy found her voice, and she stood, stepping closer to Mitch, now that Danny was here. “How dare you? You came to my store, threatening me, saying horrible things, and now you’re a big coward, scared my ‘loser’ boyfriend might hit you? You’re a joke. Go away, Mitch.”

  He looked from her to Danny, then muttered something about losers deserving each other, then he pushed past Danny who moved a fraction of an inch to the side, forcing Mitch to brush shoulders with him.

  She watched Mitch’s departing back and Danny following him until he was clear of the store. The second Danny reappeared in her office, she launched herself at him.

  “Hey, I got you,” he murmured, holding her tight. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you?” His hands were running all over her body, and ended up on the curve of her belly. She covered his hands with her own, which made her wince in pain.

  “Ow,” she whimpered, but then tried to hide her hurt, because of the petrified look on Danny’s
face. “I’m okay,” she said. “He slammed my hand a little, but mostly I’m shaken up. I never imagined he’d accost me in my own store.”

  “We’re going to the hospital right now,” he said, and started to pull her to the parking lot.

  She dug in her heels, bringing them to a halt. “No, seriously, Danny, I’m fine. No x-rays needed. Maybe a little ice,” she amended. His look was still thunderous, so she added, “I promise if it still hurts later, I’ll go for an x-ray.” That mollified him enough to tug her back into his arms, which was the only place she felt safe right now.

  “Shh, don’t cry,” he said softly. Until she heard him, she hadn’t realized she was crying. She tried to get it together.

  “I’m sorry,” she burst out.

  He pulled back, looking at her in surprise. “What are you sorry for?” he asked. “You’re not responsible for that asshole’s behavior. I think we should call the police. Get it on record; that way if he comes after you again, we have a paper trail.”

  “You think he’d come after me again?”

  He squeezed her. “Who knows how a guy like that thinks? I’m not taking chances with you.”

  She burst into renewed sobs.

  “Baby, don’t cry. I won’t let Mitch near you.”

  “That’s not why I’m crying,” she managed. “I stayed up all night, sure you were out getting drugs, and I was wrong. I thought I couldn’t trust you, but instead you’re here, being amazing, and last night I was such a jerk to you. I made a huge deal out of something stupid, and you’re right. I don’t care what people think of us. Our relationship is no one’s business except our own.”

  “And mine,” Cat interrupted, walking in on them, carrying two white steaming cups of hot drinks. She grinned, then caught the tension in the room, getting instantly serious. “What’d I miss?”

  Amy looked out from the comforting cradle of Danny’s arms. She tried to speak, but compressed her lips together and shook her head.

  “Mitch came by,” Danny said. “He was a jackass and nearly got violent.”

  “What?” Cat looked furious. “Why did you open the door for him? Especially after how cruel he was when you broke up with him in the first place?”

  Danny’s arms tightened around her. “He was cruel?”

  “I didn’t open the door,” Amy mumbled. “Kym let him in.”

  “What?” Cat looked as if she was going to drop the coffee cups. “I’m going over there right now.” She set the cups on the closest desk and spun on one foot, obviously ready to go kick some Kym ass.

  “Cat,” Amy called after her. “Find out how Kym got in. Did she steal a key?”

  Cat turned back looking horrified. “I gave her a key. A few days ago. She’d made it sound reasonable that it’d be a good idea if we exchanged keys so if we ever got locked out.” She held a palm to her mouth. “God, Amy. I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

  “Damn straight,” Danny said.

  “With a normal neighbor that we trust, it is a good idea. Obviously your trust was misplaced in Kym,” Amy said.

  “I’m sorry,” Cat repeated. “I know we don’t like her personally, but I thought she could be trusted professionally. I’m going to get our key back.”

  She shook her head. “I’m calling a locksmith. We’re changing locks and alarm codes.”

  “Now that I never gave her,” Cat said. “How did she know our alarm code?” She looked puzzled and then snapped her fingers. “That day. She was waiting for me outside in the alley and stuck close to me as I opened shop for the day. She must’ve watched me key in the alarm code.”

  “You need to be more careful, Catherine,” Danny said, sounding more like a dad than a big brother.

  Amy agreed with him, but she didn’t want this incident to be about Cat’s and Kym’s mistakes. It was about Mitch, and keeping him out. She stated this out loud, and even though she could tell that Danny wanted to rail at his sister some more, he let it go. The three of them decided to head next door and face Kym on her own turf.

  The tall blonde brightened when she opened the back to her not-yet-opened-store and saw Danny, but lost her fake smile when she saw the expression on all three of their faces. “What’s up, guys?” she said, still cheerfully, even though she looked from one to the other, obviously on alert.

  “You let Mitch into my store,” Amy started. “How dare you?”

  “He said he wanted to surprise you. What can I say? I’m a romantic,” Kym said, but her arms folded across her chest in a defensive position.

  “You knew we broke up,” she retorted.

  “But he wanted to get back together,” Kym practically whined.

  “Did you consider what I want?” Amy asked coldly. “The locks on our doors will be changing as will the alarm code. You are not welcome at my store anymore.” Next to her, Danny stood silently, but gave her hand a squeeze in support. She loved that he was there for her, but letting her manage the situation and not trying to take it over.

  Kym looked unhappy, but didn’t respond.

  “Bye-bye,” Cat said in a fake-sweet voice, which was their cue to spin as a group and leave Kym gaping after them.

  “That went well,” Cat said as soon as they were back in her store.

  Amy tried to chuckle, but the adrenaline that had been powering her body flooded out of her, and she collapsed onto the nearest chair. Danny was immediately on his knees in front of her. “What happened? Cat, call 911.”

  “No,” she managed to shout. “Just tired.” She shut her eyes and leaned back in the chair, feeling as if an elephant was sitting on her body. Even with her shut eyes, she could feel Danny’s intent gaze on her.

  “Cat, you’re in charge of the store today. I’m taking Amy home for a nap.”

  “Of course,” Cat agreed, and helped Danny get her up out of the chair then back out to her car. Danny had managed to grab her purse, co-opting her car keys. She didn’t argue when he arranged her in the passenger seat and walked around to the driver’s side. She was grateful she’d driven to work today instead of walking as she did most days.

  She was in a fog the entire six-minute ride home, and trudged to her bedroom where Danny undressed her as he would their baby. The stray thought made her smile.

  “What’s got you smiling?” he asked softly.

  “You. You’re going to be a great dad.”

  “Hope so,” he said, and pulled back her covers, helping her climb in. Her mattress was hands-down the greatest place on earth at this moment. She closed her eyes, already halfway to dreamland, but she jolted when Danny made a move to leave.

  “Don’t go,” she called as his back.

  Immediately he was back at her side. “What do you need, baby?”

  “You. Holding me.”

  “Done.” His shoes were off and his pants halfway to his knees in the next moment, and he was curled behind her seconds after that. With his chest pressed to her back, and his strong arms wrapped around her, she closed her eyes happily wishing they could stay like this forever.

  “D’you have to work today?” she murmured.

  “No. Called in sick last night.”

  That woke her up slightly. “Where were you last night?”

  “Cat and Ian’s,” he said.

  A tight ball of tension she hadn’t realized had lodged in her stomach unwound at his easy, unhesitant answer.

  “I’m sorry I worried you,” he said.

  “Next time you stay and we fight.”

  “Not going to be a next time,” he said.

  She froze, scared he meant he was giving up on her, but then he said, “We’re not going to fight anymore.”

  She laughed. “I doubt that. Sometimes a good fight is needed. It means we care about each other.” She scooted back to get even closer and absorb more of his warmth.

  His grip on her tightened and froze. Tension crackled. “Do you care?” he asked.

  She hated that he felt as if he had to ask, which meant she hadn’t been
a nice girlfriend at all. Rolling over to face him, she laid a gentle hand on his scratchy cheek. She was glad he hadn’t taken the time to shave this morning, because if he had, he might not have made it to her store in time to save her from Mitch. “Danny, even if I weren’t pregnant with your baby, I’d still want to be with you. You terrify, exhilarate, and thrill me. You see me, and what’s crazy is that I let you in. I don’t do that with a lot of people.”

  “I’ve noticed,” he said dryly.

  She chuckled, but then they got serious again, when he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “You see me, too, Amy. Better than anyone. I think you always have. Promise to always see me. Keep me from the edge.”

  The naked need in his voice had her tearing up. “I promise,” she whispered. She leaned in to kiss his lips. “I’ll be your anchor. Always.”

  Ten months later

  Amy reached over to squeeze Danny’s hand where it rested on the stroller handle. He gave her a smile which she returned. “Is the peanut still sleeping?”

  She glanced down at the tiny lump of blankets nestled in the carriage. A pale face with parted lips and closed eyes met her gaze. “Yep.”

  “Good. She must be tired after last night.”

  “Not as tired as you must be,” she said, remembering how patient Danny had been at each cry of distress. By four a.m., she’d been ready to toss her baby in the crib and lock the door behind her. Danny had unfailingly picked her up, fed her and soothed her back to sleep.

  He shrugged. “She’s teething. Poor thing.”

  “Yeah.” She fell silent because they’d reached their destination. Without thought, she reached to take the stroller from his grasp and let him take the next few steps on his own, while she remained behind watching.

  He knelt down in front of the plain grey stone. “Hey, Mom. Hi, Dad. I brought someone to meet you.” His shoulders rose then fell with a deep breath. This was their third time visiting his parents’ graves, but the first time bringing their daughter. Danny didn’t usually talk at the cemetery. The first two times he’d stood silently for nearly twenty minutes, simply looking at the grass. Today was obviously going to be different.