"Keep the change," he said, his smirk widening as though he’d just handed me a winning lottery ticket. "And keep in mind that you’ve spent way too long making our lives hell. You’re not from around here. Working at this bar doesn’t make you a local, and while Brooks may have been wrapped around your finger, the captain is wrapped around ours.”
As soon as his back was turned, I exhaled.
"Hey, you good?" Tuffy, appeared at my side, her brow furrowed with concern.
"Fine," I lied, shaking it off. "Just need to focus on the next order."
For the next hour, I managed to avoid any more confrontations. They ordered more and more through the server on the floor, but not directly from me. Shit, I missed the days when they would show up around lunchtime and be gone by four. When they were more of a nuisance than a menace.
“Hey,” Tuffy nudged me with her hip, “Who's the new guy in the corner?”
I looked over, past the pool tables toward a booth by the window. One of the waitresses was talking to him, blocking my view of his face, but I could tell by his cufflinks that he wasn’t from Harmony Haven.
Before I could get a better look, I smelled the stench of the Murphy brothers approaching and I backed away from the edge of the bar to give myself some space.
“Two more,” they growled, clearly having way too much already.
“Maybe it’s time to go home,” I suggested. If history repeated itself from last weekend, if they drank anymore, they were going to start breaking glasses and pool sticks. Jeff took that out of thestaff’s earnings, and even though it was completely unfair, there wasn’t much we could do about it.
“Maybe it’s time you got on your knees and sucked my dick like your sister used to,” the older one growled. His name was Buddy, or that’s what everyone called him. I didn’t care enough to ask for clarification.
“Hey,” Tuffy tried helping, “You boys need to stop causing trouble. For once, just go home.”
As if tempting us to lose our fucking minds, the younger one, who everyone called Huck, picked his empty glass from the bar and dropped it onto the floor. “Oops.”
Taking several deep breaths, I tried to control myself, but something in me finally snapped. Probably the fact that he brought my sister into it, which was another subject that made me ready to fight. Not for her honor, but because she pissed me the fuck off.
Rounding the bar, I threw the towel I kept on my shoulder down to the floor and slammed a hand down on the old wood.
“Out!” I yelled. “Get the hell out of this bar. You’re not welcome here.”
“You don’t get to decide where we aren’t welcome,” Buddy hissed, leaning close to my face.
It took everything in me to not slap his cheek and kick him between the legs. I had to physically hold on to the rail that was attached around the bar just to keep myself in place. He saw my struggle though, and started to laugh as he dropped his glass next to his brother’s.
“Damnit,” Tuffy muttered from behind the bar.
Before I could think better of it, I raised my fist, ready to punch his teeth in, even if it might break my hand in the process. I no longer cared, and I knew there was a good chance I’d be bailing out of the local jail later for assault.
I barely registered the movement, though. One second my hand was mid-air, the next, a strong grip caught my wrist.
In a blink, an arm wrapped around my waist, hauling me back against a solid wall of muscle. I stumbled, crashing into the hard chest behind me, and before I could even curse, I was shoved gently but firmly behind him.
All I could see now was a clean, white dress shirt stretched across broad shoulders and Tuffy standing off to the side with wide eyes. They were flickering between me and the stranger like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
I craned my neck, peeking around him… and my breath caught.
Buddy, the cockiest of the two brothers, had gone pale, staring up with wide, terrified eyes.
Because standing between me and them, looking like he was about to burn the whole damn place to the ground, was none other than the oldest Brooks brother himself.
Chapter Four
WEST
West Brooks showingup at a dive bar on the side of the highway wouldn’t have made anyone’s list of likely sightings. Hell, I’d only stepped foot in the place once, and that was weeks ago when I tagged along with Miles when he needed to check in with the bartender. We hadn’t stayed long, and I’d felt the itch to leave the second I walked in.
The second time was different.
