Free Double Dare (Devil's Fighters MC Book 3) by Evelyn Glass Page B

right, Alyssa. We’re swamped. I know it must not seem fair to you that he gave you an ultimatum, but we need you. No one wants to have someone else working in your place; you’re the best we have.”
     
    Alyssa was flattered. Anna had been working at the veterinary clinic a lot longer than she had, and even though she wasn’t an associate, she was the next best thing. To hear her say that Alyssa was such an essential part of their staff was a huge compliment to say the least.
     
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “I never meant to cause problems; it’s just…I can’t come back right now.”
     
    “Alyssa—”
     
    “I’ll do my best to come back before the two weeks are up.”
     
    Anna’s brown eyes flashed in annoyance. “What do you mean, ‘you’ll do your best’?”
     
    “There’s stuff that I have to do here,” Alyssa said. “I don’t expect you to understand. But I can’t go until it’s resolved.”
     
    “Damn it, Alyssa—”
     
    “It’s not about my parents,” Alyssa finally snapped.
     
    Anna blinked, confused. “Then, what is it about?”
     
    Alyssa hesitated. How was she going to get out of this? “Don’t worry about it,” she finally dismissed. It sounded weak to her own ears, and predictably, Anna didn’t fall for it.
     
    “Yes, I do worry about it,” Anna said, her voice hard. “Excuse me, but I worry about it very much. It’s not even about work. I came to see you to check on you, make sure you’re all right, and what I’m seeing hasn’t reassured me at all.”
     
    Alyssa frowned. “What do you mean?”
     
    “You’re not all right, Alyssa. That much I know for sure.” Anna watched her intently. “Now, do you want to tell me just what the hell is going on?”
     
    Alyssa swallowed hard. Anna’s penetrating stare and incessant third degree questions were starting to really take their toll. “I can’t,” she said quietly, looking away. “I wish I could tell you, but I can’t.”
     
    The last thing Anna needed was to be exposed to the mess that Alyssa found herself in.
     
    “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”
     
    Alyssa’s head snapped up. She all but glared at her friend. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
     
    Anna calmly took a sip of her iced tea. “It means I’m not going anywhere until you spill your beans.” Her already delicate features softened further. “I’m worried about you, Alyssa. I’m your friend; I just want to help you.”
     
    Alyssa could feel her defenses cracking. Lynn had been and continued to be an incredible support system, but the fact that she was directly involved made her both closer and further away. What Alyssa needed, she realized now, was a friendly face who had nothing to do with Pinebrook and the Devil’s Fighters.
     
    “If I tell you,” she began carefully, “you have to promise me you won’t repeat it to one soul. You may be tempted to tell Derek in order to make him understand that I’m not being insensitive with my requests of time off, but you can’t do that. Understood?”
     
    Anna stared at her. “You’re scaring me a little.”
     
    “Understood?” Alyssa repeated urgently.
     
    After a moment, Anna nodded. “Understood,” she said. “I promise. Now, tell me. What’s going on?”
     
    Alyssa felt compelled to warn her: “It’s a very long story.”
     
    Anna shrugged. “I’ve got nowhere else to be.”
     
    And so Alyssa told her. She told her everything. She told her about how her childhood friendship with Xavier had morphed into something different and bigger as they grew up. She told her about how he was almost always over to her house, trying to escape an alcoholic father whose self-destructive way of life had driven his mother into an early grave. She told her about how their love had blossomed to the point that she had promised Xavier he would get him out of Pinebrook, no matter what. She had told her about how she had put off going to college in order to give him the