Saving Della Ray

With a smile, she handed the cocktails over to me, and I took it over to the young group of women.

I served them their drinks and went on with the rest of the night, my mood becoming gloomier and gloomier as the minutes passed. The bar would be closing by one and by midnight, I’d given up on him ever showing up. After handling what I hoped was my last table for the night, I headed over to a corner of the bar with my tray and plopped down on one of the seats.

Plopping my elbows and hands on the counter I rested my head on my hands and tried to catch some rest. I felt utterly defeated and tired.

“Rough night?” I heard someone ask. I’d intended to ignore the inquiry until I realized …

My head shot up to meet the hot blue gaze of—I didn’t even know his name.

Even with no name, he had become important enough to cast such a shadow on my evening just from not turning up. I couldn’t think of anything to say as I took him in. His hair had been slicked back neatly. I followed the clink of the ice swirling around in his glass.

“When did you get here?” My voice was an exhausted whisper.

“What?” he asked, and leaned forward so I could whisper my question into his ear.

“When did you get here?” I repeated, dazed by the scent of him.

He leaned away and looked into my eyes. “A while. This is my second drink.”

“Why didn’t you look for me?”

“You were occupied,” he stated. “I didn’t want to intrude.”

I wanted to be furious at him, but just like that, he had taken the logic out of my annoyance. “I’ll go get your money,” I said and walked away. A few minutes later, I returned with the envelope. Whatever excitement I had nursed for so many hours had completely dissipated. When I returned, his glass was sitting at the bar, but he was no longer there. I looked around, wondering where he had gone off to, but I couldn’t see him.

Suddenly, I felt a hand slip around my waist just as I was pulled roughly against a body.

My heart instantly seized at the sudden intrusion. For a fraction of a second, I wondered if it was him, but the disgusting reek of tobacco and beer hit my nostrils, and I immediately tore the hand away and spun round to face the last person I ever wanted to see.

Della Ray

Michael!

Wearing a wide smile. He had replaced the broken part of his premolar with a gold tooth. “Angel,” he said in that insufferably patronizing voice.

How I’d ever been able to stand his voice, was still beyond mysterious.

“Missed me?” he asked.

I was helpless to stop my eyes from rolling up towards the ceiling, but his gloating expression didn’t falter. Hell, the man had a rhino’s hide. My first thought was how long would it take to get rid of him. I definitely didn’t want biker guy to think I was with him. Ugh.

“No, I did not miss you. I’m working now, so please can you leave me alone?” I turned to walk away.

He reached out to grab a hold of my hand.

I had anticipated that move and in response, I swung my arm away.

It appeared he had this figured out, because a second later, his other arm circled tightly around my arm. He yanked hard and my body slammed into his.

I lost my temper. Using all my strength, I jerked away and turned on him furiously. “How dare you?” I spat.

He swung his head around us to see if anyone had seen the rejection he had suffered. When his eyes returned to me, the amusement had faded from his face. “How dare I what?” he snarled.

I rubbed the place where he had gripped me and stared at him silently.

“Touch you?” he asked nastily.

Damn, why did I let him get to me? I shouldn’t have reacted to him. Clearly, I had given him the very ammunition he was looking for.

“Are you kidding me? You poverty-stricken bitch? You still have that air about you, don’t ya? As though you’re worth more than that sour slit between your legs. You turn anymore guys away and that hole is going to dry right up and wither away. Hell, I can’t fucking believe I wasted my time on a frigid little bitch like you.” His voice was deliberately loud and his teeth were clenched with fury at what he considered to be disrespect from a mere woman. People were starting to look at us. The last thing I wanted was a scene.

I worked here, so I really needed the job and my reputation intact. “Great. If you feel that way then keep away from me from now on,” I said, and immediately tried to hurry away, but he caught me again. I faced him and tried to unclench his fingers from round my arm.