04

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"Might be a sinner,
might be a saint."
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Alivia glanced between the two blondes opposite her, eyes wide and mind blank, unsure of the proper reaction to the news she'd just received.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally questioning, "How did you even manage to get him up there?"

"Most I've worked out in years," Annie breathed out.

Alivia raised a brow, "have you ever worked out?"

"Well-" Annie was quickly cut off as Ruby entered the kitchen, completely oblivious to the feel of the room.

"So, I got 18 dollars in tips, I had to sell Stan's favorite set of cufflinks for 250, Sara is playing her first soccer game in a t-shirt instead of the team uniform, which gives us a grand total of 343 dollars," she sat down on one of the barstools next to Alivia and finally looked up before continuing, "which means we now owe 59,657 grand to the violent street gang."

Alivia pursed her lips and nodded, "So, we're double screwed."

"What do you mean?" Ruby let out anxiously.

"There's been a development," Beth said nervously.

"What kind of development?"

"It's probably better if we showed you," Annie informed and walked over to the side door which led to Beth's backyard.

"I'll wait here," Alivia voiced and rested her legs on the stool in front of her as the women left.

After a few minutes of silence, she heard Ruby's voice echo from the treehouse and they soon re-entered the home.

"This cannot be happening," Ruby muttered as she pushed Alivia's legs off the stool, brushed it off, and sat down. "Why is this happening?"

"He knows about the store," Beth informed, leaning over on the kitchen island. "He was going to the cops."

"Does he know about the gang, too?" Ruby wondered, her stress levels rising with each word.

"Hell no," Annie spat. "That's way above his pay grade."

"I mean, he must know something" Alivia began, "he's always in other people's business, there's no way he doesn't know when it's his own."

"He's the definition of middle management," Annie scoffed. "Oh, and he also tried to rape me!"

Alivia's features hardened, "he did what?"

"That is absolutely true," Beth added, nodding her head feverously.

"I'm going to fucking kill him," Alivia cursed and stood from her seat, ready to storm out of the kitchen and up to the treehouse where Boomer was currently being held captive.

Ruby took hold of her arm, "we do not need any more trouble."

"I'm sure no one cares if he lives or dies," Alivia muttered angrily.

"I mean, this was all in self-defense, if you really think about it," Annie told them, causing Ruby to glare at her incredulously.

"How is hogtying a man, climbing him 12 feet above the earth, hiding him in a treehouse, and then killing him, self-defense?"

Annie eventually broke the silence, her eyes narrowing and lips pursing, "Okay, so, what else are we supposed to do? If he goes to the cops, we're screwed."

"No, we're screwed because of the gang that is going to kill us if we don't get them their money," Ruby huffed.

"Honestly, I'd rather get screwed by the gang," Alivia muttered.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Beth interrupted. "Who do we know?"

"To kill?" Alivia wondered.

While Annie asked, "To rob?"

"To ask for money! What is wrong with you two?" Ruby exclaimed, causing Alivia to purse her lips and shrug.

"Somebody rich who would care if I died? I mean, I wish." Annie said and shrugged.

Beth and Ruby exchanged glances. Alivia raised a questioning brow, "who are you thinking about?"

"Greg," Beth said, eyes focused on her sister.

"No," Annie replied, her face hardening at the thought of her ex. "No, no, no."

"Annie, this is life or death," Ruby added.

"I choose death!" Annie yelled. "Give me death!"

"Just ask him, Annie." Alivia sighed before getting up and heading towards the front door, ready to leave. "I should get going, I'll talk to you later."

Alivia exhaled loudly as she entered her beaten-down Jeep and drove home, wanting nothing more than to crawl into her bed and pretend the world didn't exist for a while.

To not think about how stupid it was of her to get involved in something like this after how hard she'd tried to avoid this type of life.

A groan escaped her lips as she entered her apartment and saw him sitting in the living room, leaning back against the sofa cushions.

His head tilted slightly to the side and he smiled, watching her take a seat on the armchair with amusement in his eyes, "Rough day?"

"I don't remember giving you a key," Alivia said in a soft voice as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment.

She opened her eyes when she felt her dog's head on her lap, his tail wagging happily at the sight of her. She smiled down at him as she petted his head and whispered, "You're lucky you're cute because you're a terrible guard dog."

A soft chuckle caused her to look back up at the man, his eyes still watching her with amusement, but his features hardened slightly.

She forced down the lump threatening to form in her throat, "We don't have your money yet."

He let out a soft hm as he nodded his head lightly, but kept quiet as he held her gaze.

Alivia sighed, "You'll have it, we just need a little more time."

He licked his lips and pushed himself off the sofa, closing the distance between them. He placed his hands on either side of the armchair and leaned in closer, his breath gracing her skin.

Her eyes involuntarily flickered down to his lips for a moment which caused him to smirk. He breathed in deeply then exhaled slowly through his nose, nodding his head softly, "Okay."

Her jaw tightened in annoyance with herself as a slight shiver ran down her spine at the sound of his voice. It was low, hoarse, and yet soft and unbothered. As if nothing fazed him.

And that damned smile.

She cleared her throat when she realized she'd been quietly watching him for a little too long, "thank you."

He straightened himself up, "I'll come by tomorrow, one good for you?"

She leaned back against the chair angrily and groaned the second the door shut behind him as he left.

She looked down at her dog and sighed, "How does Europe sound?"

She looked down at her dog and sighed, "How does Europe sound?"

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