“We are leaving tomorrow.” He looked out over the pond that we had spent many days swimming in. “This isn’t going to be an easy mission, I need you to have your wits about you.”
I nodded my head. Disappointment flooded my body. I wasn’t going to get the beating I had anticipated. “Yeah, I’ll have my shit together.”
Jace nodded. “If you ever need to talk…”
I didn’t say anything, I grunted instead.
Chapter Six
Aiyanna
After I had pickedup Mr. Grumpy-pants, I vowed that I would no longer get involved with people that came into the bar. I would no longer take people back to my home, no matter how much I thought they needed me. I would no longer put myself in the position to get hurt again. After that vow, I stayed away from the bar. There was no point in me being there. I had trustworthy employees. The books were looking fantastic. There weren’t any good reasons why I should go back there for the time being.
I holed myself up in my apartment and watched stupid craft videos and vegged on Little Debbie cakes. I didn’t know how I got into this slump, but I hated it and couldn’t seem to get out of it. I hadn’t taken my colored contacts out in a few days and my eyes were itchy. I couldn’t find my hairbrush and overall, I was a mess. Somehow I had let that stupid, grumpy military man get under my skin. I never let anyone get under my skin and here I was, unraveling at the seams. I pressed my hands into my forehead and groaned. Here I was making this complicated again.
I pulled up the surveillance cameras from the bar before I sighed and shut them off. There was no point in looking, the boys would be at their regular table and Mr. Grouchy-pants would be killing my plant. I wanted to be angry about that but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t be. It was too damn cute to watch. I scrubbed my hands down my face and was about to turn my phone off when it started to ring.
Unknown
I frowned. “Hello?”
“It’s about time you came home.” A deep voice vibrated through my speaker.
“Excuse me?” My voice shook.When was the last time I had gotten one of these calls? Two years?
“We miss you Aiyanna.”
I hung up. It had been too long. I had started to forget. I couldn’t be reminded of what had happened. I couldn’t listen to them beg for me to forgive my father.
This time when my phone rang, I was ready.
“What?” My voice no longer shook.
“Aiyanna, we are super swamped.” My bouncer, Vince, rumbled through the phone.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to the caller I.d.” I held my breath for a moment before I let it out in a swoosh. “What’s going on?”
“Two of the girls called in.” I could hear the music and people in the background. They did sound busier than usual. “We could use your quick hands and loud mouth.”
I smiled to myself. “Yeah, I’ll be there in fifteen.”
Dread filled me as I drove to the bar. Wouldhebe there? Did it really matter? No. Men were a dime-a-dozen and getting worked up over one was silly. I squared my shoulders and marched throughmyfront door. My bar. I kept my gaze trained forward toward Mikey juggling the drinks. He gave me a worried glance before he continued the cocktail. Vince was in the corner watching me like a hawk as I approached him. His long black hair was piled high on his head in a messy bun and his tattooed arms were folded over his tight white shirt.
“You okay?” he shouted over the pumping music.
I shrugged. He knew I had a past. There were many times in the beginning that he had come into the bar early to find me a mess behind the bar and broken glasses. My frustration got the best of me those days and I had taken it out on my livelihood. I would never make that mistake again. Vince had picked me up off of the floor and brushed me off. He had cleaned up the mess and was the only constant in my life and the bar. “I’ll be okay.”
Vince wrinkled his eyebrows at me but didn’t say anything. His eyes left my face and looked toward the packed bar. I threw my hair into a ponytail and rushed to the bar.
“What ya need, Mikey?” I planted my hands on my hips.
“It’s not a busy cocktail night,” Mikey ran his hands down his apron and picked up a bottle of rum. “I need you to beer run, if you’re cool with that.”
The corner of my mouth pulled up. I was completely okay with that. I hated preparing cocktails. I was terrible at it. Mikey was one of the best and I planned on keeping him for as long as I could. His brown hair was shaggy over his forehead and his southern drawl made all of the ladies crazy.
After running for a few beers, I finally allowed myself to look in the corner. The corner I had purposefully avoided since I walked through the door. But my eyes met unfamiliar faces. The regulars that kept that table were nowhere to be seen. Relief crushed me, but also worried me. They had been constant customers every weekend for as long as I could remember. But now they were gone and I wondered, for a brief moment, if it had been my fault.
Chapter Seven
