Rialto (Unbreakable Bonds 8)

As they walked through the bar, the plan was for Ian to grab a table while Hollis went and ordered a couple of beers. They wanted to see if he remembered Hollis from when he worked at Jagger’s. They weren’t sure if Hollis’s cover had been blown with everyone, and if Ernie thought Hollis was an old compatriot, he might start talking. That was assuming he didn’t notice Ian in the first place.

But as they crossed the bar, Ian changed his mind. He wanted Ernie to notice him, to remember him. The monster of a man hadn’t directly terrorized him. Never laid a hand on him, but the dark threatening looks had been there. The threat obvious. If Ian had stepped out of line, Ernie was right there to knock him back into place.

Ian had never been tempted to test him. A big part of surviving Jagger’s place was making sure he didn’t attract more attention than necessary. He didn’t want anyone looking at him, thinking about him. If they forgot, then they didn’t try to touch.

But those days were over. He wasn’t going to be scared anymore. He had Hollis right beside him. Royce was somewhere behind him. Rowe, Noah, and Sven were just a short distance away. He was safe.

Hollis motioned toward a small, rickety table that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since Clinton was in office. There was no way in hell Ian was touching that nasty thing. Stepping around Hollis, Ian took two big strides toward the bar, almost instantly closing the distance between him and Ernie. Hollis hissed and grabbed Ian’s shoulder, trying to stop him, but Ian shrugged off his hold.

“What the fuck are you doing, Ian? That’s not the plan!” Royce said in a low, harsh whisper.

“What the hell is going on?” Rowe demanded, panic filling his voice. He was blind to the events inside of the bar and was waiting for the signal to storm the place. Ian suspected that Noah was just barely keeping Rowe on the street outside.

He poked Ernie three times with his index finger in his meaty shoulder, and it was like poking a sleeping giant. Ian’s heart was pounding as if it had gone mad in his chest. Breathing became difficult, but Ian held it together, using his anger and frustration as fuel for bravery.

“Hey!” Ian said sharply. “You remember me?”

The mountain of flesh slowly turned on the stool and looked down at Ian. His meaty face was a mask of boredom for a moment, and he looked like he was about to tell Ian to fuck off when recognition lit his features, transforming them into expressions of surprise…and joy.

“Ian! Holy shit! Ian!” he shouted. Ernie dropped off the stool faster than Ian had thought possible and grabbed him up in massive arms, pulling him into a tight hug. He was hugging Ian.

Behind him, Ian was vaguely aware of both Hollis and Royce shouting for the man to drop him and step back.

Ernie released him and put his hands up. “What the fuck is this?” he demanded.

“Whoa! It’s okay!” Ian jumped in front of Ernie the moment he got his brain wrapped around the situation. Ernie didn’t want to hurt him. The big guy seemed genuinely happy to see him. “It’s okay. He’s not a threat. Everything is fine,” he repeated as much for Hollis and Royce as he did for the others outside who were likely running to stop what they likely thought was an attack.

“Ian?” Ernie asked.

Ian looked over his shoulder at the huge man and gave him an apologetic look. The whole scene looked ridiculous. Ian was defending someone easily twice his height and weight against two other big guys with guns drawn.

“Sorry, Ernie. We thought you might be the person out to destroy my restaurant and maybe kill me.”

“What? No! Of course not!”

Both Hollis and Royce lowered their guns, their expressions becoming a bit sheepish. Hollis said something quick to Royce, and the bodyguard gave a little wave to Ian before leaving the bar. The other patrons continued to stare at them for another couple of seconds before turning back to their beers now that all the action was over.

“What’s going on?” Ernie asked.

Ian looked around and finally decided on a table toward the rear of the bar that looked a little less disgusting than the others. He motioned for Ernie to accompany him. As the three of them settled at the table, Ian made quick introductions, but it hadn’t been necessary.

“Yeah, I remember you. I thought I heard you were a cop,” Ernie said with a grin.

“Ex-cop now. Private detective,” Hollis corrected.

“Nice gig. And you ended up with Ian here?” Ernie continued, pointing at Ian. His smile grew even bigger, and Ian was sure that Ernie was a secret softie. “That’s great.”