Chapter 4

It wasn't a cot, it wasn't hard stone Maya slept on that night. For the first time in months, Maya slept in an actual bed. Waking up alone had been hard to do but she was thankful to wake up in the first place.

Waking up in a strange man's room scared her worse than Jeremy's dead eyes. He'd been staring at her from where he lay close by. His eyes were what scared her awake more than the softness of the bed.

Maya gasped, threw off the blanket and ran. "Jeremy! Please!" She ran out of the room, into a dim hall and went for the only door her bleary eyes could make out.

Coherence didn't register as she tried the door. It was locked. She pounded on the door with her fist, hoping that Jeremy would open it for her.

"Jeremy!" She cried as she pounded away at the door.

"What the fuck you doing, Mouse?" The gruff man grabbed her shoulders.

"Jeremy, help me!" She cried as her vision blurred from tears.

"Maya, Maya Mouse, wake the fuck up." She felt herself being shaken.

She looked up and found Dean looking at her. His hands gripped her upper arms and he didn't look menacing, he looked sort of scared. Scared for her.

"I'm sorry." She reached up and wiped a tear away from her cheek. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Waking up in a strange place can do that." He stepped back. "Who's Jeremy? The fiance who died?"

"Yeah, he was calling for me. I...I don't like when it happens." She wiped another tear away. "Only ever happened in an actual bed. It never happened in a shelter or on the street."

She saw him rake a hand over his head. "Breakfast, go make breakfast."

"What?"

"Get in the damn kitchen and take your mind off your problem. That's what Renee used to do. I'm going to get dressed." He then walked away, his fingers still raking through his sandy hair again.

Dean didn't tell her what he wanted or what to make. There wasn't much she could do, or make but doing something was better than nothing.

In the kitchen, Maya looked through cupboards and found a waffle maker and pancake some pancake mix in a cupboard. She had to grab a chair to get them and a few other things like a measuring cup and a mixing bowl. She wasn't sure how much he wanted so Maya just guessed.

Whoever Renee was, she had the right idea; making food got her mind off of her disturbing dream. Mixing batter with water, stirring the contents together and waiting for the waffle iron to heat up was what kept her from thinking of the shitty life she had, what she had left behind, and for a brief moment forgot about Dean. At least until he returned.

"Feeling better?" He asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah. Tell Renee I said thanks."

"Can't." He said. "She's dead."

Maya looked over her shoulder at him. Dean was leaning to the fridge and grabbed a beer bottle.

"Waffles?" Maya asked.

"I prefer pancakes." He responded.

"Sure, why not. Where do you keep the skillet?"

Dean walked around her, kneeled down at a floor cupboard where he pulled one out. He turned the electric range on and then walked back into the front room.

Taking a deep breath, Maya set to work again. She poured out a large pancake that almost fit the entire skillet.

"How many do you want, Dean?" She called out.

"Three, with butter and nonfat syrup." He replied.

She found the syrup and waited for his pancakes to be finished. Maya started her waffles when Dean's third pancake was cooking.

She carried two plates into the front room. "Here you go, Dean." She said, then put it down in front of him on the coffee table.

"Thanks, Babe."

"You're welcome." She said and looked at the MLB game that Dean was watching. "Who's playing?" She asked as she sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Reds versus Red Sox."

"Go Sox."

"Screw you, Reds are better."

"If it was NBA I would be all over the Celtics." She said.

"You a fan of the Celtics?"

"Don't know much about it, other than knowing Jeremy and my Dad loved them. It's one of the reasons why Dad said yes to the proposal. That and any team associated with New England, so they were Patriots fans. I just liked that they got along at all."

"Where is your old man? Why aren't you staying with him?" Dean asked before taking a bite of his food.

"He died of a heart attack a few years ago, before Jeremy and I set up a marriage date. I hated my stepmom, one of my cousins had to be the one to tell me what happened. We had a fucking fight right after the funeral." She stabbed her two waffles with her fork and started cutting with her knife.

Much like the early morning dinner they had, they ate in silence. Dean had paid attention to the baseball game. Sox and Reds were having a good game, the score was nearly neck and neck through most of the game. She watched from time to time, only to have something else to focus on than her life.

Dean finished his pancakes before Maya finished her waffles. She was on her last two bites when there was a knock on the front door. The sudden sound almost made Maya dropped her fork. Dean came out of the kitchen, pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the front door.

"Diane, why did Junior bring you here?" Dean asked.

"Junior?" Seth asked as he followed a nicely dressed older woman into the penthouse.

"He's playing, Seth." The woman looked vaguely familiar.

She had salt and pepper curly hair, brown eyes and the same nose as Seth. She wore a suit in rich dark colors like black and brown. Maya had seen her somewhere before but where was unknown.

"Diane Rollins," the woman walked up to Maya with a smile on her face. "I heard you stole my son's wallet last night."

"Uh," she stood up with her plate. "Sorry, hi."

"Now I can see why you would do such a thing. At least you had a reason for it." Diane's eyes traveled the height of Maya as she opened a large work case, a briefcase of richer brown leather and price. "Keys and my ID card, my case files. Where the hell did I put that damn thing?" She rummaged around and pulled out a large wallet looking thing. "Okay, cell phone in case I have to go in early. Here," she handed Maya something. "I put a grand on that card for you to go clothes shopping today."

"I don't, I don't understand."

"Do you really think I'm going to have you running around in Dean's clothes?" Diane tilted her head. "No. You're going to get new clothes today. Today, oh when is Handsome Reigns coming over?" She looked at Seth.

"I think he slept in, Mom."

"Of course he does." She shook her head. "Unfortunately I can't go because I'm the District Attorney for Las Vegas but I'm sure my son and his friends will keep you in good hands."

Then Diane reached out and took Maya's almost empty plate before heading to the kitchen.

"Mom did suggest that you make up for what you did," Seth said when Maya looked at him. "I talked to Neville and he said we could use some serving girls for the club."

"I've waitressed before." Maya looked at the card in her hand. "This is too much."

"It's fine. You're going shopping. What woman doesn't want to go shopping?" Dean asked.

Maya's stomach twisted. Sure it had been a dream to wear nice clothes but she didn't earn the money the right way, the legal way.

"You are going to feed the girl while you're out today right, Seth?" Diane asked as she came back into the front room.

"Yes, Mom, I am. Afterward, we're going to Irish Whip Gym to meet with some of the guys."

"You're taking her to a gym? Really?"

"Jeremy used to go to Irish Whip when he wasn't out on deployment," Maya said. "I used to pick him up from there. Before he died at least."

"Oh, honey." Diane walked up to her and pulled Maya into a hug. "I'm so sorry."

Maya didn't outright hug Diane back but it was close enough to one. She pressed her hand into the middle of the woman's back as her face was buried in her shoulder. Just another curse for being so short.

When Diane pulled away she smiled at Maya. "You were given a shitty life, now we can fix it."

Maya opened her mouth but nothing came out. How could she react to something like that?

"Well," Diane patted Maya's shoulders. "I have to get going. District Attorney stuff is never done, I'm afraid. Oh, Seth, we need to have a sit-down and talk about your gentlemen's club. There's something not right."

"Neville's mentioned something like that. We'll do lunch sometime, Mom."

She pulled him down and kissed his cheek.

After Diane left, Seth and Dean were alone in Dean's front room. Well as alone as having Maya standing in there as well.

"Money problems with the Club?" Dean asked.

"We're losing it somewhere. The number of people coming in aren't adding up and Neville can't really understand why. I guess he told my mom when he couldn't get a hold of me." Seth said.

Dean looked over at Maya, her eyes focused on the debit card in her hand. Her face held something like worry in it, her pale face creased in areas that shouldn't have been. When she looked up at him, Dean looked at Seth who was dialing a number in his cell phone.

"When is our hero coming?"

"I don't know. I'm trying to find out now." Seth mumbled.

"Should I, should I get dressed? To leave I mean." Maya asked.

"Change into what? I tossed all your shit out. Guess we'll have to get you some bras and undies, unless you like going commando."

"Man, really?" Seth asked.

Dean smirked in response.

"Damn it, Roman, pick up. Shit, I know he loves his ex and all but I would love to have him show up when I need him." Seth then slid his phone in his back pocket before running a hand over his bearded face.

"Did he go home with one of the performers? Please, if he did don't let it be Eva Marie. Who knows what she's carrying." Dean said.

Seth shrugged. "I didn't see him after closing. He won't skip out on a workout at Irish Whip. That much is for sure."

"Soldier boy hasn't been himself since his last breakup."

"Yeah, why do you think? He's almost sucked dry financially. His last girl was a gold digger." Seth said as he turned to Maya.

She shrugged. "Okay."

"Not like you. He's a good Catholic boy." Dean added. "Too bad he almost married an incubus."

"How do you know that?" Seth questioned.

Dean ignored his friend's question but responded with his own. "Let me guess, you brought your damn Lambo?"

"Yep." Seth grinned and waved his keys around. "Let's get going. We'll just meet up with Roman later."

"So, where are we going?" Maya asked as they left the apartment.

"The Mall," Seth said as Dean locked up. "Well that's what it was called, First Mall was more of a shopping center area. It's where my Mom really likes to shop."

The elevator down the hall went all the way down to the basement parking garage. And of course, Seth brought the black Lamborgini, considering the red one seemed to be a target for the cops in the great Vegas area. High rollers like Rollins always had nicer things.

"You parked it next to my Harley? If you put a ding in it so help me…" Dean said through gritted teeth.

Maya's face went white, whiter than usual. She stared at his motorcycle. She stared at his motorcycle like it was a rabid dog. One balled up fist was pressed into the center of her chest as she held onto something under said shirt.

"Hey, we're over here," Seth called out as he stood next to the Lambo.

Maya turned and looked at him. She lowered her gaze at him. She lowered her gaze and walked up to the Lambo. She got in the backseat as Seth held the door open for her.

"Dude, what happened?" Seth asked as he closed the door.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. She was staring at my bike like it was going to attack her or something."

"So don't take her for a ride."

"Only Renee ever wanted that. I don't want that Mouse on the back of my Harley."

"I'm not asking you to fall in love with her. Just be nice."

Dean crossed his arms. "Why couldn't one of the women take her shopping?"

"I don't want her trying to run off." Then Seth got in the driver's seat.

Dean got in the front passenger seat and spied Maya in the back. She was looked small as before, her gaze out the tinted windows but he could see the far off look on her face. She was thinking of something that he wasn't going to ask her about.

They took the Strip to the main thoroughfare that went to the Mall. Las Vegas was a mecca for shopping and all things fun, which included gambling. The place where they were going was in an upper scale neighborhood. There was a shopping center there that had Diane's boutique she liked to visit called Flair Fashion.

Seth parked his Lambo and got out to open Maya's door for her. Dean rolled his eyes as he got out.

"Right this way, Maya," Seth said.

Dean's lips curled upward when Seth touched Maya's back to guide her towards the boutique. He shouldn't have cared but he did, the why escaped him as he followed them.

It as the same boutique Renee used to shop at. Seth's mom became everyone's mom at some point- it was no different for Renee. She loved this place, her and Neville's wife often shopped there together before it all ended. He hadn't been to this place in over a year.

"What sort of things do you wear?" Seth asked Maya.

"Sensible." She looked around. "Jeans, shirts, undershirts. When I worked at a diner I wore slacks and a white blouse. But everything here looks too expensive."

"Really, you're worried about the cost?" Dean asked as he eyed some lingerie a few racks over.

"How am I going to pay your mother back for this?" She asked Seth as she held up the debit card.

"You're not. Now go find some clothes." Seth said.

"Or I'll find something for you and it'll be the skimpiest outfit in the store. I'll even help you pick out some matching bras and panties. You're what, an A Cup?" Dean raked his eyes over her, from head to toe, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Please ignore him. Go find something." Seth nudged her towards a rack of pants. When she walked off Seth glared at Dean.

"What?" He tugged on his leather jacket.

"You're such an ass."

Nothing else was new about that.

I hope you guys liked this. I've got more to come soon.