Home | Happy Lowman/OC (Book 1)

twelve

Apartment hunting began the next day and carried on well into the evening. Victoria scrolled through listing after listing, finding nothing that would fit in her meager budget. She had a little bit in savings, enough to get her into a new place as long as it was a place she'd be able to afford on her own in the long term, which meant job hunting as well.

She'd already talked to Kathleen Gray—her old boss from the office she'd worked at as an administrative assistant when she was in school. There were no job openings available, but Kathleen was sure something would come about. She'd promised to keep her ears open and to call if she heard anything.

When the sun began its decent, Victoria pushed the laptop away and let her head fall back against the back of the couch. She needed a break. Her phone rested beside her on the couch, a dozen text messages from several different people all unanswered and most unread were waiting to be dealt with. She'd gone into hiding since the breakup, only speaking to Jacquelyn when she had to assure her friend she was still alive.

Sitting on the coffee table in front of her was the silver ring of Happy's. Right where she'd dropped it after the incident with Cameron. She picked it up and spun it slowly around her index finger, analyzing every inch of the reaper molded out of silver. It was heavy and finely crafted, entirely unique, like nothing she'd ever seen before, and she couldn't imagine anyone else owning such a thing. When she slid it all the way down to her first knuckle, she liked the weight of it, and so she left it in place.

Finally, she picked up the phone and started scrolling through the unread messages. She hoped for one from Happy, but there was only a single missed call from him. It came through around the time Jacquelyn had been looking for her the day before. Texting didn't seem to be Happy's style.

He'd told her to get ahold of him when the deed was done and she wondered if he'd meant that literally, that he wouldn't push her until she was free and clear of Cameron. She respected that, but a part of her wished he'd say something. He had a way of making her smile.

"To hell with it," she said to herself and stood up, placing the laptop on the coffee table, the listing of available apartments taunting her.

Victoria threw on a coat and a pair of black leather boots before heading downstairs to the car. She drove toward Boneshakers hoping Happy would be there, but she didn't see his Harley out front, just Frankie's red Trans Am in its usual spot.

She didn't want to admit how much she wanted to see him. Running into Happy at the tattoo shop was one thing, but calling him and admitting that she was seeking him out was another. It made her nervous.

She parked the car on the street a block down from the shop and pulled out her cell. After considering her options, she called the number he'd given her. It was the first time she had called him since they met.

"I wondered when I'd hear from you," Happy said in slow voice when he picked up the line. "You didn't answer me yesterday."

"Yesterday was–" she searched for the right word. "–interesting, I guess you could say."

She could hear voices in the background, as if he was surrounded by a bunch of people. He kept his voice low, like he didn't want them overhearing his conversation. "Did you do it?"

"I did."

"And?"

"And it's over."

Happy was quiet for a moment. "You okay?"

Victoria stared out the windshield and rested her head back against the headrest. "I'm fine."

A car honked somewhere off to her left, scaring her half to death, a sound Happy caught through the phone. "Where are you right now?"