Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 60848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“C’mon, sweetheart, just one drink with me,” the man slurred, yanking her closer. “You’ve been teasing me all night with that ass.”
The server, Mike’s niece, I remembered vaguely, twisted her arm. “Sir, I need you to let go. Now.”
Something hot and familiar uncurled in my chest. I watched her gaze dart around, looking for help, but Mike was in the back and the brothers were too caught up in their own revelry to notice.
Knight followed my gaze. “Shit.”
I stood. Didn’t mean to make a scene of it, but when I unfolded to my full height, the conversations nearby stuttered to silence. I didn’t rush. Didn’t need to. My long legs ate the distance in a few strides, my shadow falling over both of them like night.
The drunk looked up, and up, and up, his mouth going slack as he registered my size. I could see the calculations happening behind his eyes. The Mohawk down the center of my otherwise shaved head, the full beard, the club colors, the muscles that strained against my shirt were all impressive, but mostly, I knew, he was seeing how easy it would be for me to break him in half.
I didn’t speak right away. Just stood there, letting him stew in it. When I did speak, I kept my voice soft, almost gentle. “You’re going to let go of the lady. Now.” It wasn’t a request. The drunk’s fingers sprang open like he’d been burned. “We good here?” I asked the server, who was rubbing her wrist.
She nodded, relief plain on her face. “Thanks, Tiny.”
I turned my attention back to the drunk, who seemed to be recovering some of his liquid courage. “Listen, man, I was just --”
“Leaving.” I didn’t raise my voice. Didn’t need to. “And on your way out, you’re going to remember that women aren’t toys. They’re not things you get to grab when you want to play.”
“Who the fuck do you think --”
I leaned down, just a fraction, just enough to bring my face closer to his. “Fifteen years I’ve been away. Crushed the skull of a man who raped my sister. With my bare hands.” I paused, letting my words sink in. “First night home, I’d hate to go back inside for something as insignificant as you.” I smiled then, a gentle expression that never reached my eyes. “Especially since they might not find enough pieces to prove it was murder.”
The bar had gone quiet around us, the celebration paused like a held breath. The drunk stood on wobbly legs, fumbled for his wallet, and threw some bills on the bar. “Fucking freaks,” he muttered, but he kept his eyes down as he staggered toward the door.
I watched him go, the tension in my shoulders easing only when the door swung shut behind him. The server patted my arm lightly as she passed by, greeting a patron she hadn’t seen in a while.
“This round’s on me, Tiny. Welcome back.” Mike, the bartender, must have come in on the tail end of things. Now he handed me a double shot of Jack and I nodded my thanks as I took a measured sip, embarrassed by the attention. As I made my way back to my corner, conversations gradually resumed, though I felt eyes following me.
Knight was grinning when I sat back down. “Some things don’t change,” he said, raising his glass in a small salute. “Still hate bullies.”
I shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. “Just didn’t like how he was grabbing her. Especially when she told him to stop.”
But as the celebration resumed around me, I felt something ease in my chest. Maybe there was still a place for me out here after all. Maybe some parts of me hadn’t died in that concrete box. I took another sip of my whiskey and let the noise wash over me. Seemed a little less abrasive than before.
* * *
Penny
Present day
I stuffed another sweatshirt into the duffel bag, my hands shaking so badly I nearly dropped it. The overhead light flickered like it always did, casting shifting shadows across the bedroom walls. Three duffel bags. That’s all our lives added up to after twelve years of marriage. Three bags and two daughters and the thundering of my heart so loud I was certain he would hear it, even though his car wasn’t in the driveway. Even though I’d watched him leave with my own eyes.
My ears still rang with what I’d overheard him saying on the phone yesterday. “She’s twelve, but she looks and acts older. Pretty too. You’ll like her.”
There was a pause. His next words chilled my blood and filled me with more terror than I’d ever known. “Just to be clear, I give you Zelda, my debt’s paid in full. Correct?” He said it like it was a demand rather than a question. Which didn’t really surprise me. Andy liked to think he was always the one in control. Even when he clearly wasn’t.