Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
“Don’t matter if she did. When you touched her, she changed her mind. That’s all that counts. So you and your buddies here are all gonna fuckin’ leave the bar. Now. Don’t come back.”
“You can’t throw us out!” One of his buddies had stood but made no move to get help. In fact, he had his hands up and backed up a couple steps, belying his statement.
“He can.” Pops had come up behind me. Again, he moved me gently out of the way, putting himself between me and the three men. “So can I. We both say to get the fuck out.”
The bar had quieted near us, but the other side seemed oblivious. I looked around to see a couple at my tables raising nearly empty glasses or bottles wanting refills. I desperately wanted to duck my head and just go on about my job, but I had no idea what was expected of me.
“You good, Cotton?” Chase asked, not looking back at me but still eyeing the men who’d yet to leave.
“Yes,” I answered automatically. My arm hurt, but I wasn’t about to draw more attention to myself. “May I go back to work?”
He glanced at me then and I quickly looked away. Chase Dutton was the sexiest man I’d ever seen. And a man I had no business even looking at. He also seemed to hate me on sight. Cain and Pops both assured me they would keep my incarceration to themselves, and I didn’t want to take a chance on anyone else finding out. Which Chase likely had. Things always changed when anyone found out. People I thought were friends suddenly wanted nothing to do with me. I couldn’t really blame them, but it hurt that no one thought me important enough to find out my side of the story. I’d kind of been crushing on Chase from a distance, and to have him affirm that I wasn’t worth befriending -- even though I already knew that’s what he thought -- would hurt worse than when it had happened before. Because I was stupid to let my emotions get the better of me like this.
“What?” Chase glanced back at me, then snapped, “No, you can’t go back to work! Get your ass to the office! I’ll talk to you after I’ve taken out the trash over here.”
The big guy snickered, but Chase just hit him in the butt of his gun again, this time in the face. “Next sound you make is a bullet to the kneecap.”
“Go on, girl.” Pops urged me back toward the office behind the bar. “We’ll be there once this is done.”
I nodded, my whole body trembling. Tears threatened to fall but I held them back by sheer force of will. I would not cry in the middle of a biker bar. I just wouldn’t!
Hurrying around the people, I placed my tray at the edge of the bar and headed back to the locker room. No way I was sticking around just to get fired. Not for the first time, I wished I had a car, though not just to get to work quicker. I wanted to make a clean getaway. No way anyone followed me. Pops especially would probably be glad to be rid of me.
I’d just shrugged into my still wet backpack when a decidedly irritated, masculine voice cut through the noise coming from the bar. “Just where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
I turned, knowing I was going to have to face Chase after all. Wincing, I met his gaze for a brief moment before looking away. “Look, I’m just saving you and Pops the trouble of firing me. It won’t look good for my… uh… résumé?”
He crossed his arms over a strong, wide chest as he gave a derisive snort. “Résumé, huh.”
“Yeah. My résumé. Believe it or not, I’ll be looking for a job the second I leave here.”
“No one said you were getting fired, Cotton.” He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face then the back of his neck. “Now, get your ass in the office. We need to talk about what happened.”
“Nothing to talk about.” I couldn’t help my mulish tone. The very last thing in this world I wanted to do was talk with anyone about what had happened. Or why I wanted to keep a low profile.
“Plenty to talk about,” he snapped back. “You’re not goin’ anywhere right now except where I tell you to go. Now, go park your sweet little ass on the fuckin’ couch in my office. I’ll be there in a minute with Pops.”
“You’re not the boss of me!”
He snorted again. “Keep tellin’ yourself that, Cotton.” Then he jerked his head in the direction he wanted me to go. Wouldn’t you know it, my stupid feet shuffled off in that same direction.