He wasn't used to the hesitant look on her face. Her stunning looks and piercing eyes were made for fire and contempt. It felt as if he was looking at a queen being forced to be demur before her subjects. And as much as her snooty little attitude annoyed him, this tired, scared look bothered him even more—it was wrong, and someone had to pay for creating it.
Hayden turned away without a word and stomped down the stairs.
Joel waited on his idling bike as Hayden locked the café front door. Coming back to his bike, Hayden started his engine. Joel looked up the front of their building and stopped at the sight of the face staring down at them from the second floor. Even from this distance, he could see the worry in her features as she watched them.
Smiling at her, he turned to face the road and pulled away from the curb and onto the quiet street alongside Hayden. With each second, his smile faded from his face until he felt the glacial expression of rage set across his features.
The repetitive growl of the engine beneath him nearly drowned out his words, but Joel could see Hayden turn his head to listen as he spoke. "When Tyler gets out, I think I'm going to slit his throat."
The words were cold and matter of fact. They heralded a time years ago they both could never forget no matter how much they tried. A time full of stupid bravado and costly mistakes, a time where a man's life was merely the stakes of that day's gamble. It was a time he, Hayden, and Vic all agreed not to go back to. Somehow, they had gotten out and sworn to themselves and one another that they would turn their back on their dark past and start anew. But Tyler and his friends' actions tonight were egregious—it could not go unchecked.
Glancing at Hayden, Joel caught the twitch of his beard and knew the man was giving him a ruthless smirk in silent agreement.
The bar was packed when they got back. It took them nearly ten minutes of enduring sidebar chats and hearty back slaps of acknowledgment just to get through the outside crowd milling about.
With both hands planted on the bar's edge from behind the counter, Vic towered over the horde of people standing around the bar. Through the din of laughter, talking, and music, Joel could easily hear the big bastard's deep voice as he took drink orders.
Lifting the heavy bar flap up, Joel passed through, followed by Hayden before shutting it once more, sealing all three men behind the bar.
Though he didn't turn from his task at the taps, filling three glasses, Joel could see Vic's dark eyes cut to them both in acknowledgment.
Both he and Hayden got to work. Throwing a towel over his shoulder, Joel began drying off the glasses that came out of the dishwasher while Hayden began taking orders at the other end of the bar.
After a while, the surge of requests died down, and the crowd was more focused on the pool game in the far back than the three owners. Finally, they had a chance to talk.
"The rest of Tyler's little crew left real fast the moment they heard y’all two were pissed." Vic let out a deep chuckle, not looking up from his task of drying freshly cleaned glasses.
Joel nodded at that.
Hayden made a grunting noise under his breath as he scooped more peanuts into the little metal buckets dotted along the long bar.
"How's Herman?" Vic asked.
The bar door opened, and all three of their eyes automatically went to the door, watching as a group of loud women came in, each holding little paper bowls filled with tiny tacos and elote. Eileen and her husband must have set up their food truck outside, Joel observed. Bless the woman. Since they didn't serve anything other than free peanuts in their bar, having a food vendor helped immensely, especially on busy nights like this. Full stomachs helped offset the alcohol and kept the fights down.
Refilling a man's glass, Joel looked at Vic. "He's fine. A little shaken, though the old bastard won't admit it. Man was standing out there with his sawed-off when we got there."
Vic's dark brow rose at that even as a woman leaned boldly over the counter, her eyes wild for a good time and her breasts practically hanging from her low-cut sweater. Giving the woman a wink as he passed her a glass of beer, Vic turned back to Joel with a waiting expression.
Joel thought of Sapphire. The scared look in her eyes seemed so out of place. All week her expression had been one of proud indifference. Those dark russet eyes looking at any and everyone with cool, almost bored assessment. But tonight, her proud expression was erased, and fear had settled onto her delicate face. It angered him more than he cared to admit.
"She's fine," Joel said abruptly, answering Vic's unspoken question, his voice a little harsher than he meant for it to sound.
If Vic noticed, he said nothing.
"She's in your old room," Hayden added gruffly as he wiped off the counter near him.
"That seems logical." Vic nodded before shaking his head with a rueful grin. "So, you now have a kid—a girl—you don't even know under your roof? That soundsrealsmart." Sarcasm dripped from his voice.
Joel stiffened, and he nearly overfilled the glass he was working on. Setting it on the bar loudly, he shot Vic a look as he snatched up the money. He waited for the customer to leave before replying. "She isn't a kid. She's eighteen." But the argument sounded weak even to his own ears.
An evil grin slashed across Vic's face as he walked past both him and Hayden. "Says every pedophile," he whispered tauntingly.
Hayden glared at Joel, and he could see the unspoken "I told you so"in the man's eyes before he shot Vic a warning glare. "Look, I didn't want to take her in either," Hayden growled low, so no one would overhear them. Gossip was a source of revenue in this town. "The girl is about as friendly as a cactus. Trust me. I've only ever seen her smile at the customers, and it’s forced at best. Besides, what choice do we really have? She can't stay at the motel."
Vic gave him a wolfish smile. "Mmm, okay,UncleHayden."
Hayden's whole body went rigid at that, and Joel knew the man was seconds from stepping up to Vic. Joel sighed. He really didn't need this right now. The place was packed as fuck, the night was technically still young, and in about an hour, the last shift at the meat packing plant was about to get off and come running their way. They had no time for fights amongst themselves, especially not with the poker game they were supposed to be hosting at the end of the night. Most of the time, Hayden and Vic got on great, like long-lost brothers. But sometimes, their equally domineering personalities clashed.
