I tapped my foot, nervous and afraid. The bartender returned with the beer, and started making my whiskey and Cokey. I wished he would hurry up so I could get away from the terrifying man. I felt other eyes on us, watching. I didn’t respond to Michael’s comment, and just smiled.
“Not very talkative, are you? I guess you don’t need to be, with that young body and pretty face.” He was still smiling, but there was something sinister there.
“I’m sorry?” I said.
“No offense meant, darling, just a statement of fact.”
I felt myself recoiling from him. The bartender finished my drink and placed it down in front of me. I reached into my small clutch to put some bills on the bar.
“No need for that,” Michael said. He nodded at the bartender.
I looked back at him, desperate and afraid. “No, it’s fine, I can pay.”
He shook his head. “Pretty girls like you don’t pay in my bar.”
Before I could answer, I felt another person appear at my side. I looked up and it was Rex, his face grim and serious. He nodded to Michael.
“Hey, Michael, how’s it going?” Rex said.
“Rex, my lad, things are great. Just talking to this fine young lady,” Michael responded, and clapped Rex on the back. Rex flinched at his touch, and I sensed his body’s tension. Rex put his arm around my shoulders, his face still grim.
“This is Darcy,” he said to Michael.
Michael’s face dropped into a scowl for a brief second. My terror spiked, and the only thing keeping me from running away was Rex’s strong arm and comforting presence. I knew that I was safe, even if Michael was terrifying. As the moment stretched into dangerous, awkward territory, Michael suddenly broke the silence by laughing loudly. Rex’s face relaxed, and some of the tension left his body. Michael clapped Rex on the back again and pretended like there was never an insidious moment.
“So it is, then,” he said, and then turned and started to walk away.
I looked up at Rex. His face was a mask of grim anger. I slipped my arm around his waist and felt the muscles in his body flex under my touch.
Before Michael took more than a few steps, he turned back around and looked at Rex. “Well done last night, by the way. Keep that up.” He nodded, and then continued away.
I slipped my arm away from Rex and grabbed the drinks as he steered us back to the booth. Once there, we sat down again, and he slammed his beer back, finishing it all in one go. He banged the glass back down, and I felt the tension slowly drain from the room.
My body was shaking and my heart was racing. I realized I was full of adrenaline. I sipped my drink, trying to calm my nerves. It seemed like such an innocent moment on the face of it, but there was clearly a subtext of violence and danger. I didn’t fully understand it, but the feeling was clear.
“Sorry about him,” Rex said quietly.
I shook my head, unable to respond.
His eyes met mine. “Stay away from him if you can.”
I nodded. I could definitely follow that advice.
“What did he mean, good job last night?” I asked.
Rex leaned back in his seat, sighed, and looked away.
“I had a job last night,” he said. I finished off my drink and felt the warm, comforting embrace of the whiskey fill my chest and stomach.
“Is that where you got your black eye?”
He looked at me then nodded.
I held his gaze, desperate for him. “What do you do, Rex?”
He was quiet a minute, and then reached his hand out and took mine. It caught me off guard, how tender and gentle his touch was, completely the opposite of the last few minutes. The expression on his face was pained.
“I fight,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
He sighed and squeezed my hand. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“Wait, you can’t just say something like that and then leave.”
“I’m cashing in my favor. Come back to my place. I’ll tell you what I mean there.”
I felt the thrill of his touch come back to me. I forgot all about Michael at the bar, and all about his weird job. I fell deep into the green pool of his eyes and his soft lips.
“Okay, let’s go.”
He stood, and I followed. Right then, I knew I’d follow him wherever he led.
Chapter Seven
I went out into the night with Rex, not sure what was coming, not sure where we were going, but I found myself trusting him. I was still running on adrenaline, and although I was a little wary of what was happening, nothing about Rex suggested he would hurt me in any way. I wasn’t usually the type to follow men back to their apartment, especially not men like Rex Latour, but his magnetism was drawing me in deeper with every passing glance. I felt a little tipsy, but not drunk enough to do something stupid.