And wouldn’t you know, the first person I see upon entering the fucking hole-in-the-wall sports bar I chose to go to: Billy McAllister.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Daisy
Ian was pretty vague about whatever it was that Dan had called him about, but after he had gotten off the phone, he hurried me out of Pete’s room and drove me back to the office so I could get my car.
I didn’t feel like going home right away though, so I drove down to Failte. Someone was having a birthday, and the whole back area of the bar had been sectioned off. The birthday girl was someone I didn’t recognize, though she looked like she was probably around my age, except there seemed to be something different about her expression. I didn’t notice this right away, but as I sat at the bar with my drink, I’d sneak looks over, and when someone brought in a store-bought cake, stuck haphazardly with candles, and got everyone around the bar to sing a rousing rendition of “happy birthday,” I realized what it was: She looked fresh. She looked excited about the prospect of her life, all that was yet to come, like she was just assuming that it would only be good things. Or mostly good things. Really, she probably didn’t look much different than I myself had felt a few years ago when I’d graduated college, certain that my real life was just now about to start.
Yet all that had really happened was a whole bunch of confusion and not really knowing if I was doing the right thing. I felt less sure about myself and what I was doing than I could ever remember, yet somehow I was supposed to just keep on going, believing that at some point, things might change.
At least things were good with Ian, though. I had that much, and I was grateful for that.
I headed home after that one drink; I didn’t feel like having more, and things were getting a little rowdy, as the whole bar had basically been invited to join the girl’s birthday party. I had to park a block over from where I normally parked when I got home, and as I was walking to my apartment, I happened to glance over and see that there was someone sitting in a black SUV parked a few buildings away from my place. He looked over right as I was going by and I realized that he looked familiar. Where had I seen him before?
I went over to the passenger side window and he put it down the rest of the way.
“Hey,” I said, recognizing him, though I couldn’t remember his name. He was one of the guys that worked for Ian that I’d seen come through the office with Dan once when I’d first started working there.
“Hello there, Daisy,” he said.
“Are you looking for Ian? He had to go meet up with Dan; he got a call from him when we were over visiting his step-father.”
The guy shook his head. “Nope, not waiting for Ian. Just on the lookout for you. Been out here for a little while; haven’t seen any suspicious activity or anything. I think you’re good. But don’t worry, we’ll be here all night. Kevin’s parked a little further down, on the other side of the street. ”
“All night? That doesn’t seem necessary.”
“It’s what Ian wants. He’s the boss.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say to that. Part of me did feel comforted in knowing that there were two guys out here, if Noah did show up, but another part of me felt bad, that they were probably not too psyched about having to be stationed outside my apartment building all night. “You’re really going to be out here all night? Don’t you need to sleep?”
He smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Daisy. We usually work the night shift; we’re used to it.”
“Well . . . thanks,” I said. “If you need to use the bathroom or need a drink or anything, you can come inside.”
“We’re all set,” he said. “But thanks.”
“Okay.” I started to turn away but stopped. “What was your name?”
“Ben.”
I nodded. “Ben. Thanks, Ben.”
He smiled again and waved me off. “You already said that. No need to thank us, Daisy; we’re just doing our job. Good-night.”
“Good-night.” I went inside, a smile on my face. Even if Ian wasn’t there himself, I still felt as though he was watching out for me, making sure that I stayed safe.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ian
Daisy was already there at the office when I got in the next morning, and just seeing her put a smile on my face.
“Hey there,” I said. There was no one else in the office, so I went over and gave her a kiss, forcing myself to pull away after a moment, even though I would’ve liked to just continue on in the direction that was headed.
“Mmm, hi,” she said. “I was wondering where you were.”
“Am I late?”