And why had I left Chloe alone? I mean, the place was nice enough, but it was near some places that weren't so nice. A rough element – that's what some people might call it.
I made a sound of disgust. Rough element, huh? Money or not, that would describe me, too.
When I slid into the driver's seat, Chloe turned sideways in her seat to face me. "That was interesting," she said.
"That's one way to put it."
She paused. "Are you mad at me or something?"
I turned to stare out the front windshield. The parking lot was too dark, like someone forgot to pay the electric bill. You got that a lot out here, which was pretty damn stupid, considering all the bad things that could happen, especially in this town.
Chloe spoke again, her voice softer now. "Are you?"
Mad at her? "No," I said.
It was true. It wasn'therI was mad at. It was me.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
I couldn’t look at her. I didn't know what to say.
She spoke again. "Youare."
I gave a slow shake of my head.
I felt her hand on my thigh. "Then what is it?" she asked.
I turned to face her. Her smile was gone, and her eyes were worried. Great. Now, I had another reason to be pissed at myself.
I tried to explain. "You could've been hurt."
"But I wasn't."
"But you could've been."
"Sothat'swhy you're mad at me?"
I squeezed her hand. "No. Baby. Not you.Me."
"Why you?" Her tone grew teasing. "You rescued me. You're the hero of this story, not the villain."
"You sure about that?"
She smiled. "Definitely."
"Oh yeah?" I said. "Well, let me ask you something? You ever have that happen before?"
She shook her head. "What?"
"You ever have some stranger come up and give you crap for no good reason?"
"Well, Iama waitress," she said. "So, yeah. It happens to me all the time, actually."
"You know what I mean." I leaned toward her, over the center console. "I shouldn’t have left you alone."
"Why not? I don't need a bodyguard."
"That place. I mean it's nice enough." I shook my head. "But the crowd. Shit." I reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. Thinking about what happened, I felt my fingers tense. "I wanted to kill him."
