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“I know.” She said, slipping her hand into mine. We finally found a quiet spot over in the corner of the room.
“What’s up?” I asked, looking into her eyes to see them lined with worry.
“Um, I am not sure how to tell you this,” she bit out, almost on the verge of tears.
“Tell me what?”
When she wouldn’t look at me, I placed my hand on the side of her cheek and turned her head toward me.
“I was sitting outside. I needed to get some air and that Garrick guy approached me again.”
I felt every muscle in my body tighten. “What? Did he put his hands on you?”
“No.” She sniffled. “I ignored him, told him to go away, but he wouldn’t. Instead, he kneeled beside me and started asking me questions about you and I.”
“What questions?”
Her cheeks were red, and she avoided my eyes.
“What questions, Bailey?”
“Questions about…” She swallowed hard. “About our personal life.”
“About sex?” I asked through clenched teeth.
She slowly nodded her head. “He wanted to know if you…”
Anger shot through me while I waited for her.
“If you pleasure me.”
“You’re sure he didn’t touch you?" I barked, pulling her against me.
She nodded. “He didn’t. I refused to answer him, and I got up and came inside to see my mom, but he stopped me. He told me he would see me tonight at work. That he would wait at the end of the bar like you do because you wouldn’t be able to be there. Then he took off.”
Bailey put her face in her hands and sobbed. I pulled her against me while I scanned the room for signs of him or any other member of the Green Cobras, but saw nothing out of place.
“You don’t need to worry. I will be in the bar later tonight, okay? I will make sure I am there to pick you up.” I whispered, placing my thumb and finger under her chin, tilting her head back, leaning in and meeting her lips. “Until that time, I’ll have one of the other guys come and watch.”
“Jackson, you don’t have to do that. He just gives me the creeps, I guess,” she said, wrapping her arms around me, giving me a hug. “Please be careful tonight,” she whispered in my ear.
“Always am, you know that.”
She kissed me once more before heading off toward her mother, while I stood there still scanning the venue for Garrick. If I found him here, I knew I’d kill him.
Bailey
I’d gone home after the memorial and slept for a few hours before going in for my shift. From the time I’d run into Garrick, spoke to Jackson, and had left the memorial to now, I’d had a funny feeling that something bad was going to happen. I did my best to put that silly thought to the back of my mind and push on with my night.
The bar was packed, and I could barely hear Cara over the music in the bar. “What did you say?” I shouted as I turned the music down a little.
“I asked if you were doing okay?” she shouted over the bar and then let out a laugh.
The music had been cranked all night, people were everywhere, and I had never been more thankful for being on bar duty. It saved me having to make my way through the crowd time and time again, taking orders and then going back out to find people. I glanced over at the clock and signaled to Glenn that it was just about closing time. Glenn flipped the music off, not bothering to offer a last call. I gathered up the mess of bottles and caps on the bar counter. I was looking forward to having the place to ourselves. It took a little longer than thirty minutes for the bar to empty, and once the bouncers escorted the last patrons outside, I walked over to the door and turned the lock. My stomach turning at the fact that I still hadn’t seen Jackson tonight.
“You sure you’re all right?” Cara asked as I walked back in behind the bar.
“Yeah, just worried about Jackson,” I said as I started collecting glasses from a nearby table. “He promised me he would stop by after work because of what happened today.”
